In this podcast [min35], Insightview has interviewed Michael Chang, General Manager of Yara Marine Technologies in China - part of the Yara Group. Michael lives in Shanghai. We talk about the ongoing Covid-related lockdowns in China - and the future consequences. Many of Insightview's subscribers have probably met Michael if they have participated in one of Insightview's many "China tours" in the past. Michael Chang is also a Nordic M&A Senior Advisor at Nordic Match.
Insightview asks Michael, who has been quarantined, how this impacts daily life. We also talk about how foreigners and local people have responded to the lockdown in Shanghai - and whether this could erode support for President Xi Jinping. Last but not least, Insightview asks Michael, how China's zero-tolerance strategy could impact inflation in Europe and the United States in the second half of 2022.
This podcast is a follow-up to a significant "geopolitical risk" outlined in Insightview's Outlook 2022 released in early December 2021. In December, China's zero-tolerance strategy was forecast to fail big time when facing Omicron. [Read also the articles, A short note on the Ukraine Crisis, Omicron hitting 'unprotected China', inflation pressure - and why a 'peace deal' with Putin will change nothing, March 14, 2022, and, USA: Headline and core factory gates inflation jumps to a new record high. More in the pipeline. Omicron in China boosts the risk of more global supply chain disruption in Q1, December 2021.]
In the podcast interview, there is a short two minutes excerpt of a twelve-minute telephone conversation between a German expatriate in Shanghai and a Chinese interpreter representing the local government. The German businessman complains, without filter, about China's handling of quarantined people in the city. The entire conversation is available here.
Music: Melodyloops, 'Technology Park' – by MediaM
