Beijing’s shipments to Ghana plunged by nearly 50 percent in March, sending the West African nation of 31 million scrambling for backups. Core to the mission is shrinking the flow of West African commodities to richer nations that end up reaping the bulk of the profit. Virtually no country can make everything it needs, but the pandemic dealt a blow to decades of confidence about the benefits of international commerce. The minimum wage is also lower than in China, Vietnam and Bangladesh. Though that movement took off during the U.S.-China trade war, analysts say the pandemic has encouraged a wider reassessment of global supply-chain risks.

Source: Washington Post December 23, 2020 15:56 UTC