90% Fatality Rate: China-Russia Plague Fears Grow as Lab Worker Dies Mysteriously

Summary

Tony Fiddis marks the seventh anniversary of China Update, thanking viewers and noting that the channel has received more than 50 million views. He then discusses three developments.

Suspected plague case in Russia

A 28-year-old employee at a plague research institute in Russia’s Irkutsk region died after developing severe pneumonia. Nearly 200 contacts are reportedly being monitored, but no plague infection has been confirmed.

Russian authorities say their investigation found no evidence of a laboratory accident or work-related pathogen. The illness has been described as pneumonia of unknown origin. China says it is coordinating with Russia on infectious-disease prevention, and the WHO has requested more information.

Fiddis notes that pneumonic plague can be highly dangerous if untreated, but says the available evidence does not establish that the worker had plague or that an outbreak is underway.

Chinese markets and growth outlook

Chinese stocks fell after the National Day holiday, with the technology-heavy STAR 50 particularly weak. Fiddis attributes the sell-off partly to signs of subdued Golden Week spending and doubts that recent targeted stimulus will revive domestic demand. Rising global bond yields and oil prices also weighed on investors.

The Peterson Institute for International Economics forecasts that China’s growth will slow to 4.6% in 2026 and 4.3% in 2027, citing weakness in the property sector, industrial overcapacity, and potential export headwinds from trade barriers. The central challenge, Fiddis says, is whether policymakers can strengthen household consumption enough to offset those pressures.

EU–China trade tensions

The EU is considering restrictions on Chinese hybrid-car imports as Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis meets Chinese officials. Brussels hopes for concessions to address trade imbalances, while China has reportedly rejected an initial proposal to cap its share of the EU hybrid market and opposes voluntary export limits. Possible EU measures include tariff quotas.

The talks also concern broader market-access and trade issues. Failure to reach an agreement could prompt wider restrictions and retaliation. Fiddis cites analyst Bill Bishop’s suggestion that Beijing may see the EU as divided and expect it to back down, but cautions that this could prove a miscalculation.

Presenters and cited contributors

• Tony Fiddis — Presenter
• Karen Dynan — Peterson Institute researcher cited on China’s economic outlook
• Bill Bishop — China analyst quoted on EU–China negotiations
• Geng Shuang — Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson quoted on the suspected plague case