China’s $43tn property sector is showing signs of a worsening downturn, even as Beijing attempts to get businesses operating again following the coronavirus outbreak.
Beijing is trying to revive economic growth from one of its worst periods since the Cultural Revolution that ended in the 1970s. Mass quarantines and the restricted movement for hundreds of millions of people have caused key economic indicators such as industrial output and retail sales to contract at record rates this year.
Now that cases of coronavirus have almost disappeared in China, officials in many parts of the country are pushing for factories, homebuilders and other businesses to get back to work as quickly as possible. Authorities announced they would begin relaxing restrictions on travel to and from on Hubei, the central Chinese province where the outbreak started in January, from Wednesday.