Li Zhenguo is trying hard to return to work after spending five weeks at home in Zhumiao, a village in the central Henan Province. But there is no public transport between Zhumiao and the nearest city of Zhumadian. From there Mr Li, 51, could hop on a high-speed train bound for the southern Guangdong province where he works as an assembler for a battery factory. Even if he somehow could make it to the railway station, though, he would not be able to afford the train ticket. The high-speed train costs more than three times the regular service, which has not operated since January. “I can’t go anywhere until traffic returns to normal,” said Mr Li.
Tens of millions of Chinese migrant workers, mostly from the under-developed hinterland, are also stranded. Since the end of the lunar new year holiday, they have been trying to return to coastal factories after Beijing restricted traffic to contain the fast-spreading coronavirus.
The toll that the travel restrictions have taken on the economy underlines the challenges confronting China. While Beijing said that 70 percent of big businesses were operating again, the figures for small factories in particular are dire. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said last week that less than a third of small and medium-sized businesses, which employ almost 80 per cent of China’s labour force, are operating normally.
“Labour shortage is making any effort to kick-start the economy a futile one,” said Larry Hu, an economist at Macquarie Group. Since Beijing declared the epidemic a national emergency in January, local governments have imposed strict limitations on resident’s movements. The measures are especiallystringent in the countryside, where roadblocks have prevented residents from even visiting neighbouring villages.