Pandemic: On the virus timeline, “China has a two month lead.”

It’s always difficult to know what’s happening inside China. In this episode of Business Class, we hear first-hand information and analysis on China’s Covid-19 response from Shanghai resident, Jim McGregor, the Chairman of Greater China, APCO Worldwide.

In an interview with USC’s Dick Drobnick, Jim notes that “China’s exports have fallen off a cliff.” They explore if: having a two month head start with the virus is affecting the country’s recovery strategy, how China is opening up and they dig into the “poisonous” U.S. / China relationship. In one of the biggest shifts the virus has triggered, Jim describes how companies are beginning to rethink their manufacturing strategy. They are considering manufacturing goods inside China for that market, while manufacturing goods outside China for the rest of the world. Jim explains that this potentially dramatic shift in supply chain strategy reflects that, “There's been such a risk by having too much in China. This is going to be a new paradigm.”

Interview conducted on April 15th 2020

To maintain social distancing this interview was recorded over the web.