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Global Impact: is this the beginning of the end for China’s zero-Covid policy?
- Global Impact is a fortnightly curated newsletter featuring a news topic originating in China with a significant macro impact for our newsreaders around the world
- In this edition, we looks at the changes to Beijing’s zero-Covid policy
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Zhuang Pinghuiin Beijing
After three years of China’s strict zero-Covid controls that often see entire cities placed under lockdown for days or even months, there is finally hope for a shift away from the controversial response.
Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan, China’s face for tough control measures, who has been travelling around the country to supervise containment, said on Wednesday that the country is facing “a new phase and new tasks”.
Sun, though, did not mention the rhetoric of “dynamic zero”, representing a first from a top official in charge of China’s Covid-19 response.
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Instead, she said the Omicron variant has become less pathogenic, stopping short of the usual caveat that it could still lead to more deaths because of China’s large population – an argument that has previously been used to justify the country’s strong controls to avoid crushing the healthcare system and causing deaths.
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Beijing closes some Covid testing booths as China enters new phase of pandemic controls
Beijing closes some Covid testing booths as China enters new phase of pandemic controls
The pledge to constant “optimisation” of the response, a euphemism for more relaxed control, at a time when the country is combating the most severe Covid-19 wave in three years, showcases the leadership’s increasing tolerance for a surge in cases.
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There had been earlier signs that China was making preparations for reopening by tackling the biggest hurdle – a low vaccination rate among the elderly.
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