Nothing has emphasized more the fragility of the global economy more than the pandemic. And while inflation has been the top subject in many of the reporting, we need to pay attention to the fact that the US relies heavily on the manufacturing in China for their goods in the US and many portions of that country are in lockdown in response to the omicron variant.
China has a 0-COVID public policy – this means they aim at 0 COVID cases. As some outlets have reported, China currently has an indefinite lockdown in 25 million people Shanghai, one of China’s top manufacturing and export hubs. The lockdown has led to food shortages, inability to access medical care, child separations, and the report of pet killings.
In the long run, many economists see the decoupling of the Chinese and US economies happening. That the pendulum has swung back into local sourcing and away from globalization.