What are zero-covid lockdowns costing China’s economy?

China’s 5.5% GDP target for 2022 is the least ambitious goal the country has had in three decades, but it’s already looking challenging in the face of ongoing lockdowns, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

China’s continued zero-covid approach is “bound to pose another headwind to the already decelerating economic growth,” said a note from French investment bank Natixis in March, predicting that the sharp reduction in mobility in China could shave off 1.8 percentage points from its first-quarter growth, due on Monday (April 18).