EditorialXinjiang can be a testing ground for a more flexible approach to pandemic control

Xinjiang has characteristics that set the region apart when it comes to implementing the country’s dynamic zero anti-Covid policy. What may work elsewhere has not proved as effective in the semi-autonomous region. It is for that reason that it is shaping as a testing ground for whether China is ready to adopt a more flexible approach to bringing the pandemic under control.

Regional officials are fighting an uphill battle with the national zero-tolerance approach. Evidence of that is the suspension of passenger train services out of the region to curb the spread of the virus. Officials say efforts to curb the outbreak have been hampered by their own inadequate actions. But the reality is that the social, economic and geographical diversity of the region presents unique difficulties.

The result, according to Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region vice-chairman Liu Syushi, is a major public health emergency that in speed, scope and number of cases is the “most difficult ever” in Xinjiang in terms of prevention and control.

“The [previous] outbreak that was effectively controlled by the end of August saw a rebound because people became relaxed and measures were not strictly put in place,” he said.

That self-criticism tends to discount the difficulties that have to be overcome. Outside major centres like the regional capital Urumqi, low density and highly mobile populations confound the authorities’ preferred command-and-control approach. People frequently travel extensively for work and other aspects of living. Different ethnic minorities with their own cultures and customs make it hard for the authorities to impose one set of social controls that fits all without triggering related issues. That calls for local government to be flexible and smart and amounts to a test of governance quality. This should start with a realistic attitude to border control.