Commentary: Hyping up global impact of Shanghai "lockdown" baseless, near-sighted

Photo taken on April 11, 2022 shows a view of Pudong New Area in east China's Shanghai. Shanghai has divided the whole city into areas belonging to three categories as part of targeted efforts to overcome a local COVID-19 resurgence. (Xinhua/Chen Jianli)

SHANGHAI, April 12 (Xinhua) -- As China is grappling with flare-ups of the Omicron variant, some overseas media claim its COVID-19 controls have led to a "lockdown" of Shanghai, the country's eastern metropolis and the world's largest port, and "will have a global effect on almost every trade."

Such statements lack the support of in-depth investigations and underestimate China's economic resilience and resolve to forge ahead with opening-up.

Global investors and businesses can be reassured that China will remain a stabilizer and ballast stone in the global industrial and supply chains.

With high daily caseloads since March, Shanghai's restriction measures, designed to cut the virus spread, have indeed affected trade and logistics to some extent, and into April there have been marginal business declines at the city's port.

However, the controls placed in Shanghai have been far from the so-called "lockdown" as overseas media claimed.

For instance, the deepwater dock Yangshan, a significant part of the Shanghai port, has been running normally. On Saturday, it handled 26 international vessels and 42 domestic container ships, basically at the usual level.

With effective measures to cushion the epidemic impact, such as closed-off management at port zones, the Shanghai port has at large maintained its usual around-the-clock operation, ensuring the stability and connectivity of industrial and supply chains in the Yangtze River Delta region and, most importantly, unimpeded ties with the rest of the globe.

Shanghai has stood the test of COVID-19 over the past two years. While major overseas ports witnessed congestion and a shortage of containers, the Shanghai port maintained smooth and stable operation. Its container throughput exceeded 47 million 20-foot equivalent units last year, topping the world for 12 consecutive years and gaining steadily from 43.5 million in 2020.

An open and reliable Shanghai largely illustrates China's role amid the pandemic.

As the world's major manufacturer and trader, the country has reined in the outbreak quickly, retained sound economic fundamentals for the long run, and stayed committed to opening-up. China's imports and exports surpassed 6 trillion U.S. dollars for the first time in 2021, an encouraging figure for not only its own development but the world as a whole.

Exaggerating the global impact of Shanghai's epidemic controls is near-sighted, and temporary challenges will not shake China's determination to open its doors wider. Looking ahead, the world can still count on China for more contribution to global industrial and supply chains, trade, and economic recovery.