"A surge in COVID cases and subsequent lockdown in March had an outsized effect on the retail market, with Shanghai’s retail sales falling 10.7% YoY in the first three quarters of 2022, with wholesale and retail sales down 9.4% YoY, and accommodation and F&B sales down 24.8% YoY After the lockdown was eased in June, consumption began to recover with consumer spending skewed towards food, though there was also a pickup in some discretionary expenditure in Q3/2022, such as NEVs (New Energy Vehicles), smartphones, jewellery and cosmetics growing by 39.8%, 6.6%, 4.9% and 1.3%, respectively."

"Total retail sales declined 4.5% YoY to RMB1,021.95 billion in the first nine months of 2022. General retail sales fell 3.9% YoY to RMB946.71 billion whilst F&B sales also fell 11.6% YoY to RMB75.24 billion."

"China plans to maintain its manufacturing edge through the modernisation of its industrial sector and taking a leading role in new economy fields. This in combination with increasing investments into foundational basic sciences that will underpin long-term demand for business and science parks."

"Several renowned retail brands have increasingly set foot or expanded in Shenzhen in the last two years as the city has continued to leverage its economic resilience and strong demographics. However, the retail property leasing market has demonstrated a growing concern for the recurrent covid cases and more fundamentally, the related prevention and control measures with negative consequences for the retail operations across the board."

"Beijing Grade A office market kicked off with a weak start, as absorptions declined and the vacancy rate increased in Q1/2022. Besides, rents in major prime and sub-prime markets may rebound slightly in the short term, but rental growth in the long run is still expected to remain subdued."