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Shanghai by the numbers: China’s Covid lockdowns

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The Huangpu River divides Shanghai into two distinct areas: the old settlement to the west and the more modern, financially-oriented area to the east.

Johannes Eisele | Afp | Getty Images

China’s latest wave of Covid restrictions has forced millions of people — roughly three times as many as live in New York City — to stay home and undergo mass virus testing in the metropolis of Shanghai.

Shanghai attempted to contain the Covid epidemic by implementing targeted lockdowns in their neighborhoods as cases rose late February. Shanghai, which is a major center of global transportation, manufacturing and finance, implemented a two-stage lockdown in March. It was quickly applied across all areas, generally preventing people from leaving their homes.

While most people in China are aware that Shanghai is huge, few outsiders realize how important it can be economically. The following numbers indicate the scale of Shanghai as an economic center — and may hint at the cost of the lockdown.

Size

GDP

Trade center for the global economy

Shanghai lies at the mouth Yangtze River’s main river, the Yangtze River.

Bernstein:

  • Shanghai holds the title of world’s busiest harbor, just behind Singapore.
  • Shanghai’s Pudong international airport ranks third among all cargo airports, just behind Memphis, Tennessee, Hong Kong, and Hong Kong.

According to Citi, Shanghai was responsible for 7.3% and 14.4% respectively of China’s 2021 exports, respectively.

Manufacturing and corporate centre

Citi says Shanghai is China’s number one.

Finance

Consumer hub

CNBC Pro provides more details about China

Three of China’s top 20 universities are located in Shanghai, according to U.S. News and World Report.

Official censuses show that Shanghai’s foreign population fell by 21% to 163,954 inhabitants in 2020. Guangdong in the south is currently home to over 400,000 foreigners.

The overall number of foreigners in the country rose during those 10 years by about 40% to 1.4 million people — or about 0.1% of China’s population.

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