Macroscope | China’s zero-Covid strategy is a problem for the world as supply chain disruptions, inflation stall recovery
- Recent citywide shutdowns and the return of strict social distancing measures suggest China’s self-imposed isolation will not end soon
- While shifting from pandemic to endemic has its own challenges as the West well knows, the economic impacts of ‘zero-Covid’ are making global recovery harder
The combination of doubts over the efficacy of China’s vaccines as community transmitted cases of the Omicron variant trigger citywide shutdowns, and fears about the severity of the downturn, has reinforced a perception that the country is caught in a vicious circle. Ever more frequent lockdowns are taking a bigger toll on the economy while failing to contain infections, prompting tougher growth-sapping restrictions.
Yet, while most attention has focused on the sustainability of Beijing’s draconian response, the global impact has been just as far-reaching, if not more. China’s zero-Covid policy continues to have a profound effect on the post-pandemic world.
First, although Beijing has come in for severe criticism for pursuing such an extreme policy, its zero-tolerance strategy is the alternative to the “learning to live with Covid” approach pursued by Western countries. As such, it is an important frame of reference for determining whether the decision to live with the virus in some form is the best way forward.