China fears ‘losing face’ as Japan bankrolls exodus of firms

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China’s dominance in trade and manufacturing looks likely to have been affected by the Covid-19 epidemic – and countries’ increasing concerns about their supply chains.

Japan has offered 87 companies subsidies to move their production to Japan or southeast Asia, reports the South China Morning Post. While the $653m offer, which will see 57 of the companies open production sites in Japan, will make no tangible difference to China, it looks set to be part of a wider trend.