Asia's factory activity slid last month as China's strict zero-Covid approach and cost pressures hit businesses hard

The world's second-biggest economy is set to slow again in the third quarter as Covid lockdowns across the country hit production

Officials in Chengdu, in the southwest, and Shenzhen, the tech hub in the southeast, have ramped up efforts to contain Covid as cases continued to rise on Thursday.

Officials in the southern city have clamped down to smother a potential outbreak after five local infections were reported on Tuesday. Some 41 cities now have restrictions imposed.

Covid restrictions and the worst heatwaves in decades weighed on China's factory activity, which continued to fall in August, according to data released by the statistics bureau on Wednesday.

Analysts say ramping up curbs in major trade centres like Shenzhen, Dalian and Chengdu in the southwest could have far more serious impacts than lockdowns in smaller cities.

Huaqiangbei market in Shenzhen, which houses thousands of shops selling key components like microchips and telephone parts to manufacturers, will be shuttered until Sept 2

The gross payout was the most since data began in 2013 and a 257% increase from a year earlier, according Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security data.

Production hubs in China have seen output hit by Covid-related lockdowns in Shanghai. There is also deep concern about the impact of growing tensions between the US and China.

The proportion of people in the region facing extreme poverty – living on less than $1.90 a day – could have eased to 2.9% in 2020 instead of rising to 5% because of the pandemic, it said.

Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said that from Sept 7 visitors to Japan will no longer need to undergo pre-departure Covid tests

Vice Commerce Minister Sheng Qiuping says SMES face greater pressure to survive amid Covid restrictions on mobility and risks of declining external demand.