China’s Consumers Keep Their Wallets in Lockdown as COVID-19 Curbs Ease

China’s Consumers Keep Their Wallets in Lockdown as COVID-19 Curbs Ease
A man walks past a closed shop during a COVID-19 lockdown in the Jing'an district of Shanghai on May 30, 2022. Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images
Reuters
Updated:

BEIJING—China’s economy has a lot riding on its consumers, who are just now emerging from lockdowns in Shanghai and other big cities. But those hopes are running up against the likes of Wu Lei, a soccer coach in Beijing who has put off buying a new mobile phone.

“I’ve lost the lion’s share of my income since Beijing called a stop to after-school sports clubs in April,” said Wu, a 37-year-old with two daughters. The five-week-long near-shutdown of the Chinese capital under the Chinese regime’s stringent COVID-19 measures was eased on Monday.