To understand the unprecedented challenges facing China’s coronavirus-stricken economy, take a look at the struggles of a merchant on Alibaba’s online marketplace.  

Li Jiabin, a former mechanic in northeastern China’s rust belt city of Anshan, sells jade jewelry on Alibaba’s Taobao, China’s biggest shopping app. The coronavirus has hurt his business by forcing factories and wholesalers to shut down. But Li’s bigger concern is that, even after the supply problems get fixed, consumers will cut back on purchases—especially now that the pandemic is causing a global crisis.