As China tightens its “zero-Covid” lockdowns, the world’s economy could get rocked 2020-style

Stark contrast... While Americans fly to spring vacays (legally) unmasked, 26M people in Shanghai are under strict Covid lockdown, policed by robot dogs and drones. China's largest city has been on a monthlong freeze as the government enforces its zero-Covid policy. Last week Shanghai reported three Covid deaths, the first official fatalities of an outbreak that’s infected about 400K people since March. Despite a near-zero death rate and falling cases…

• China’s doubled down on the harshest measures since the pandemic began: it’s sending all Covid-positive patients in Shanghai to quarantine centers, regardless of symptoms. It’s also amping up mass testing and tracing.
• Some residents are running out of food and water as clogged ports and closed roads crush supplies. It's illegal to leave home to get groceries, and food-delivery drivers are overstretched. The food crisis has sparked clashes between residents and police.

A city 3X the size of NYC... Shanghai accounts for a 10th of China's exports, but now the world's busiest port is at a virtual standstill. It’s hurting China: spending fell last month and unemployment hit the highest level since early in the pandemic. It’s also rippling across the global economy, disrupting everything from corporate profits to the ETA of your Shein order:

• Pricey shipping: The cost to export a container is 5X higher than pre-pandemic, and air freight rates have doubled.
• Deflated earnings: Nearly a fifth of S&P 500 companies get at least 5% of their business from China, and half of US companies in China have reduced their annual sales estimates.
• Crushed output: Tesla, Volkswagen, and iPhone-assembler Pegatron are among the manufacturers that’ve had to shut down plants during the lockdown.