PUTTING THE PANDEMIC BEHIND
This comes as companies sought to diversify their supply chains away from China, when there had been no end to the country’s zero-COVID policy in sight. Trade tensions with the United States have also raised concerns among businesses.
Online logistics platform Container xChange founder Christian Roeloffs has observed a significant number of excess containers at China’s ports.
Mr Roeloffs said price is not the only factor in his business decisions.
“If I deal with an export country, where I can’t rely on politics to create a climate or an environment for reliability, but the politics that creates a climate of sort of severe restrictions of ongoing production, then I’m more inclined to move to more reliable alternatives,” he said.
Observers pointed to other challenges that lie ahead, as the world’s second-largest economy tries to put the COVID-19 pandemic behind it.