South Asia and Beyond

‘China Has Weathered The Virus, Now It Looks At Economic Renewal’

NEW DELHI: These are interesting times to be in China. Amit Waikar is a case in point. He’s an Indian, settled in Shanghai for the last decade, a senior executive in a German multinational. He stayed on through the peak of the coronavirus and in an exclusive chat with StratNews Global, gave us his impressions. He says the government is very confident that it has beaten the virus, people are back on the streets, shops have reopened, so have many industries especially those in e-commerce. Domestic flights have resumed but no international flights as yet. Stray cases of the virus continue to pop up, whether in Wuhan or elsewhere, but the state machinery after having weathered the worst of it, is on top of the situation.
Waikar is not sure if Indian workers who left their jobs in China to return on evacuation flights, will get their jobs back. All visas and work permits stand cancelled and are likely to be restored only on a case by case basis. He says the local media does not reflect any of the ongoing tensions with India, and the local people he interacts with have little idea the two countries fought a war in 1962.

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Surya Gangadharan

Thirty eight years in journalism, widely travelled, history buff with a preference for Old Monk Rum. Current interest/focus spans China, Technology and Trade. Recent reads: Steven Colls Directorate S and Alexander Frater's Chasing the Monsoon. Netflix/Prime video junkie. Loves animal videos on Facebook. Reluctant tweeter.

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