Shangahi Lockdowns

[JWags85]

I know some of you hate Barstool, but one of their bloggers was an ex pat in Shanghai for close to a decade and posted a WILD first hand account, from one of his good friends still in Shanghai, of what the lockdowns there have been like.

https://www.barstoolsports.com/blog/3419137/what-was-life-like-during-shanghais-strict-lockdown-an-interview

Really eye opening.  The propaganda piece isn't totally surprising, but even more insidious than what we might have thought.

[MU82]

That's wild, Wags.

I had heard some anecdotal things so I already knew that our definition here of "lockdown" and their definition there of "lockdown" were a bazillion light years apart. But to read an entire deal like that ... wow!

[Uncle Rico]

That's wild, Wags.

I had heard some anecdotal things so I already knew that our definition here of "lockdown" and their definition there of "lockdown" were a bazillion light years apart. But to read an entire deal like that ... wow!

There will be worldwide ramifications from these lockdowns in China

[tower912]

Continued supply chain issues.

[MU82]

There will be worldwide ramifications from these lockdowns in China

There already are, Unk.

[Goose]

It is funny because we have two of our guys in lockdown since March and hearing their Chinese point of view. One is more westernized and was more vocal on his opinions of the lockdown and the other is more "local" and he has not complained once. There is no doubt that Shanghai will see mass exodus of ex-pats once the lockdown ends. A once great, international city pretty much changed overnight.

I have to be honest, I have missed China great deal since my last visit in December of 2019 and have been chomping to get my ass back to work, but with the horror stories of the lockdown I am not rushing back any time soon. It will be interesting to see how China emerges from a post Covid world. One thing I am certain about, China will never be the same as it was in December of 2019.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

I need to visit my customers in China at some point.  The General Manager of my sister factory in Guangdong Province (he's Australian) basically told us in a weekly call "See you next year."

[Goose]

MuFan

I am hoping it is "see you next year".

[JWags85]

I need to visit my customers in China at some point.  The General Manager of my sister factory in Guangdong Province (he's Australian) basically told us in a weekly call "See you next year."

Yep.  Our rep who operates our China office went from "maybe you come visit in late Q3/early Q4" a couple months ago to "probably spring 2023".    My Asian sales lead is losing his mind.  In a normal year, he's in China, conservatively, 12 weeks a year, sometimes more.  He hasn't stepped foot in the country since Jan 2022.  WeChat convos only go so far.

[Goose]

JWags

Ironically, the lockdown has been great for our company. Our team in China has grown almost 3x since the pandemic hit and I believe there will be drastically less travel to China by Americans once things open up. Many companies have realized they can survive without their staff traveling to China.