SIMIC

"With the weakening of the pathogenicity of the omicron virus, China is facing new tasks in epidemic prevention and control, said vice premier and Covid czar Sun Chunlan after meeting National Health Commission experts.

Ms Sun comments follow an announcement that vaccinations among elders will increase, widely seen as a reopening of the Chinese economy.

Lockdown restrictions in key cities including Guangzhou and Chongqing have been lifted, while certain neighbourhoods in the capital and elsewhere have instituted their own new form of domestic quarantines, very different to enforced lockdowns of entire areas.

"We believe that Chinese authorities are shifting to a 'living with Covid' stance, as reflected in new rules that allow people to do ¡®home isolation¡¯ instead of being ferried away to quarantine facilities," ANZ Research analysts said in a note.

Said Breakwave Advisors founder John Kartsonas: "Such a development will positively affect shipping, as demand for ships to transport such commodities will increase."

More cautiously, Freightos research chief Judah Levine said: "An easing of China¡¯s zero covid policy could ultimately result in more lockdowns that could affect manufacturing and port operations. Though with demand easing and vessel capacity available, these disruptions would not be expected to have the same impact on logistics as they did earlier when demand was surging and capacity was constrained."