The view from China

Ongoing restrictions

The long-suffering inhabitants of Beijing have been restricted to staying within city limits until early March at the latest.

At the time of writing, UK-China direct flights to Hong Kong have been suspended due to an uptick in Covid-19 cases. As a result, international travel (and the opening of direct flights to mainland China from the UK) will remain a key business issue for much of 2022.

China’s desire for increased regional integration

The beginning of the New Year also marked the start of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which China is keen to join and reinforce its own regional integration.

This new vast trading block will cover some 30% of global GDP and see close to 90% of tariffs phased out. Provisions relating to state owned enterprise (SOE) reform as well as labour and employment regulation have been watered down.

Despite this, the fifteen country-strong trade pact - including Jap