China sees an exodus of South Korean giants as relations wane

China's total retail sales reached 44 trillion yuan (S$9.06 trillion) in 2021. - Reuters

BEIJING (Bloomberg): China’s appeal as a gold mine for foreign businesses is waning, and while some multinationals ponder their future in the world’s biggest consumer market, one group of companies is already headed for the exit.

South Korean firms are at the vanguard of what’s threatening to be a global shift away from China, with the higher tariffs and inconveniences of the trade war now compounded by disruptions wrought by the country’s zero-tolerance approach to Covid-19.