China’s zero-Covid approach has economists concerned about falling too far behind US, Europe
- Domestic Omicron spread and the upcoming Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics are also said to be testing the limits of Beijing’s zero-tolerance approach
- A gradual easing of restrictions in certain areas of China could help it learn to live with the virus, but economists say this is unlikely until after ‘two sessions’ in March
Prominent Chinese economists are looking for a way out of China’s zero-tolerance approach to the pandemic, at least in select regions of the country, and perhaps not until after a national legislative gathering in March.
They warn that, as coronavirus-control strategies between China and Western countries continue to diverge, China could find itself at a comparative disadvantage, socially and economically.
That divergence in policies is likely to become “unprecedentedly” great, resulting in “extreme pressure” on China this year, warned Liu Yuanchun, an economist and the vice-president of Renmin University in Beijing, at a virtual forum on Monday.
“Compared with the unexpected impact brought by the pandemic in 2021, the shock felt in 2022 is likely to be stronger,” he said.
Liu’s take came after the former head of the finance ministry research institute, Jia Kang, said last week that the relatively low severity of the Omicron variant, compared with the Delta variant, could lesson the impact on the United States and Europe and give them an advantage in reopening while Beijing sticks with its zero-Covid approach.