SINGAPORE – Chinas full relaxation of Covid-19 curbs will be the most welcome event of 2023 for Asias export-driven economies, including Singapore.

But if Chinese consumers, armed with excess savings accumulated over the past three years, go on a shopping spree to satisfy their pent-up demand for goods and services, they could light a fire under global inflation, which has begun to show signs of peaking only in recent months.

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