Can China handle the economic turmoil of its viral outbreak? – By Michael Standaert (Al Jazeera) / Feb 4 2020
One analyst says the crisis may provide the government with the excuse it needs to miss its growth target.
Shenzhen, China – For Eppu Makipaa, some quick thinking in late January as a new coronavirus swept through China and many other countries helped avert a significant disruption at the company he works for.
Makipaa – a sales engineer and manager at Lifa Air International, a Finnish company that makes air purifiers and protective masks in a factory with 3,000 workers in Dongguan in southern China – opted to keep manufacturing operations going even as most Chinese companies shut down for the Lunar New Year holiday that started on January 25.
“We decided to keep our factory open a little bit longer because we had some new product launch events going on,” Makipaa told Al Jazeera. “We saw the situation with the virus and decided that we would [only] close the factory for less than 24 hours [for the holiday].”
This was a challenge, as most of the workers wanted to return to their hometowns and villages for the holiday. But for the staff who stayed, doing so proved to be a blessing.
“We were able to find enough workers who were willing to work, and, of course, a lot of those people were from areas that are now affected by a virus,” Makipaa said.
Continue to article: https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/china-handle-economic-turmoil-viral-outbreak-200204023002884.html
