Emanuele Scimia

The European members of the 17+1 group are dissatisfied with their "privileged" relationship with Beijing. Their trade deficit with China (US$ 75 billion) is growing. Chinese investments are going mostly to the wealthiest countries of the Old Continent. Czech President Zeman slams the Belt and Road Initiative. This should be a warning for Italy.

For the first time since January 23, residents of the pandemic epicenter can move freely. Quarantine remains for some city neighborhoods. Restrictions in Beijing. The Party investigates Ren Zhiqiang, the billionaire who called the Chinese president a "clown". The drama of the dissidents.

Taiwan appears to be engaging in its own "coronavirus diplomacy," striking a partnership with Czechia to manufacture testing kits and a possible vaccine. Taiwan has also provided aid to Italy. For Marc Cheng, Taiwan is “not competing with China” but Beijing is irritated. The US is pushing for Taiwan’s to be accepted in the WHO.

This is the first time since January when the authorities began reporting deaths. Quarantine remains in some Wuhan residential compounds. Hong Kong extends airport closure to foreign travellers indefinitely.

The well-known human rights lawyer served a sentence of over four years. His wife Li Wenzu fears that the new restrictive measure will be used as an excuse to keep him in custody for a long time. Wang helped political dissidents, underground Christian communities, members of Falun Gong and expropriated peasants. European Union asks for checks on whether he was subjected to torture in prison.

In the Land of the Rising Sun, the measure affects large centers. Singapore quarantines 20,000 migrants. In Indonesia, there are fears that official estimates cover only 2% of actual infections. Surge in cases in India and Pakistan. Russia and Saudi Arabia postpone meeting for agreement on oil production.

Xi Jinping is using this opportunity to go after China's nascent civil society and to favour his protégés. Intellectuals and activists are speaking out. Whenever the one-party state makes a mistake, it gives the Chinese people a chance for greater emancipation.

With her, the list of regime critics has been incommunicado during the crisis is getting longer. There is also no news about the billionaire who called Xi Jinping a "clown", and a student from Shandong who told China’s president to resign. Xu Zhiyong, Xu Zhangrun and He Weifang have suffered the same fate.

50,000 dead in Europe; almost 6 thousand in the US. China focuses on imported cases. Numbers remain low in Taiwan. Pyongyang: no case in our country. Nightly curfew imposed in Thailand. GDP growth in Asia-Pacific will slow down to 2.2%.

Chinese authorities fear a second wave of contagions. Possible infections in a hospital in Jia County. The news from the area clashes with government data on the number of infected. Restrictive measures in Henan come as the economy shows signs of recovery.

Western companies have over the years outsourced many activities to Indian companies, especially call centres. In India, many companies remain open despite a government lockdown. India has half of the global outsourcing market, but now some western companies are backsourcing.

The National Health Commission reports over 1500 cases on 30 March. Domestic and foreign pressure changes the regime's approach. WHO calls for all positive patients to be counted. Between 18% and 31% of infected patients in China are healthy carriers of the virus; 60% in Wuhan. Sino-American study: asymptomatic cases could increase the calculation of coronavirus-positive cases by 59%.