No one expected China to reopen this fast.
Even a month ago when the signs of some easing of restrictions and rules trickled in, it looked like it would be a slow process. Adding to that thought process was the calendar, with winter hitting now, and Lunar New Year holidays next month. The 'best case' scenario -- seemingly -- was that China would fully reopen in the springtime.
Instead, it appears they're throwing open the doors and throwing caution to the wind. The latest move is the total withdrawal of the loathed Travel Card (also called Itinerary Card) app that monitored covid contacts and could block things like Alipay if you didn't. According to reports, the entire thing is been withdrawn on Tuesday.
Combine this with the multitude of other announcements, including the ability to quarantine at home and mass testing, and it's going to be an interesting few weeks. The flu virus this year is also particularly rough so China faces a double-whammy.
In terms of trading, there isn't much to think about: Chinese stocks are cheap and the market can look through whatever near-term pain in order to get to a fully post-covid world. That has positive knockons for domestic stocks but also into AUD, NZD and commodities, which is something we've already started to see.
