Industry Still Has 'Confidence' in Chinese Supply Chains Amid Coronavirus Outbreak, China Says
China said it does not think the coronavirus outbreak will cause supply chains to leave the country and have a sustained impact on China’s supply chain base, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said during a March 11 press conference. “The COVID-19 epidemic only affects the Chinese economy in a temporary and limited manner,” the spokesperson said. He added that industry “still has confidence in China's economic prospects and the resilience of our supply and industrial chains,” and said China hasn’t “seen any major movement of supply and industrial chains from China to other countries due to the epidemic.”
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Because supply chains are “deeply integrated” in China, it is “unrealistic and insensible to try to sever them or even trumpet ‘shifting’ or ‘decoupling,’” the spokesperson said. He added that China is not sure how the virus will affect the global economy. “I think it mainly depends on how many countries will be affected and how long it will last, which comes down to the response of countries involved.”