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In this edition of the Global Impact Newsletter, we looks at the changes to Beijing’s zero-Covid policy three years since the first known coronavirus case in China. Photo: AP

Economy China Economy

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

Coronavirus China

Zhuang Pinghuiin Beijing

Published: 2:00pm, 5 Dec 2022

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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.

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.

03:44

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.

There had been earlier signs that China was making preparations for reopening by tackling the biggest hurdle – a low vaccination rate among the elderly.

On Tuesday, the campaign to vaccinate the elderly, especially those aged over 80, was launched to boost vaccination levels in places like nursing homes. The waiting period between the first and second injection has been cut from six to three months, and more options for mixing and matching vaccines - seen to be better at inducing immune response - are now also being offered.

However, the campaign stopped short of introducing any mandates, which have worked well in boosting vaccination rates in other countries. Experts said China does not have the legal means, nor has it had enough public discussion, to introduce the bold measure.

Meanwhile, health officials have urged local governments to build more hospital beds, from makeshift quarantine hospitals for asymptomatic users to intensive care unit beds for severe cases.

Some local governments, such as in the southern city of Guangzhou, have relaxed restrictions despite the ongoing outbreak. Health officials in the manufacturing hub of 19 million people said lockdowns in areas that meet certain conditions should be lifted, while some close contacts can quarantine at home, and testing would be conducted only on people at risk.

The changes are in line with the 20 measures introduced by the Politburo Standing Committee last month to “optimise” controls to reduce disruptions to the economy and social life, although the implementation clearly accelerated after widespread protests against the stringent zero-Covid policy in major cities last weekend.

The protests were largely sparked by a deadly residential fire in Urumqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang region, which killed 10 and injured nine. The tragedy prompted widespread fury online as many believed restrictions prevented the victims from fleeing, a claim that local officials denied.

03:00

Protesters around the world rally behind Covid demonstrators in China

The next day, angry residents took to the streets of Urumqi, waving national flags and demanding an end to the lockdown that had been imposed for more than 100 days. The next day, the local government announced that restrictions would be lifted “in phases”.

Across the country, including in Shanghai and Beijing, residents gathered to hold small vigils and protests against the strict controls. Protests were also seen at university campuses in the likes of Beijing, Xian, Nanjing, Chongqing, Chengdu and Wuhan.

In Beijing, residents also confronted low-level authorities to ask for fewer restrictions or home quarantine over fears of being sent to quarantine centres and makeshift hospitals.

Such protests prompted China’s security chief to pledge crackdown on “hostile forces” in a meeting a day after the protests.

60 second catch-up

Cities in China roll back testing in a sign of shift in strict zero-Covid policy

China’s top Covid-19 official Sun Chunlan signals new phase of controls

China’s road to economic recovery ‘slow, costly and bumpy’ despite new phase of Covid controls

Explainer: Which Chinese Covid controls are fuelling public anger?

Coronavirus in China: amid public fury, Guangzhou districts signal easing of Covid restrictions

Video: Two massive Chinese cities ease Covid-19 curbs as protests spread

China in push to boost Covid-19 vaccination among elderly

Video: Protesters around the world rally behind Covid demonstrators in China

Opinion: China needs a timeline for ending zero-Covid to regain public trust

Deep Dives

China caught in a Covid-19 bind as winter approaches

Most of the country’s vast population lacks natural immunity to virus

People not prepared psychologically if outbreaks evade restrictions

While many countries brace for a surge in Covid-19 cases this winter as more people gather indoors, analysts said there have been no signs so far of a major uptick in deaths or serious illness.

Two months ago, many scientists began to urge governments and members of the public to be on the alert because winter is usually a bad season for respiratory diseases, but more signs are emerging that this winter in the northern hemisphere will be better than the past two.

China has launched a new Covid vaccination drive, but there’s no mandate

Low uptake, particularly among the elderly, has been a major hurdle for reopening

Previous attempts to introduce mandates have met with strong public opposition

China’s low Covid-19 vaccination rate – especially among the elderly – has been a big hurdle for the country’s reopening, but authorities have refrained from introducing a mandate in a new drive to get more shots in arms.

A plan unveiled by health officials on Tuesday calls for a stronger push to get the older population inoculated by targeting places such as nursing homes and by making it easier for people to access vaccinations.

US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell says China’s strict ‘zero-Covid’ policy hinders global supply chain

The top US central banker also says smaller interest rate increases are likely and could start as soon as the Federal Reserve’s meeting in December

Prices of goods manufactured or assembled in China are affected when it has shutdowns in regions deeply connected to the world economy, Powell says

China’s stringent “zero-Covid” restrictions have affected the American economy by dragging on global supply chains, the top central banker of the United States said on Wednesday.

When China has shutdowns in regions that are deeply connected to the world economy, supply chains are “less efficient, less effective” and the prices of goods manufactured or assembled in the country are affected, said US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell.

China’s security chief vows crackdown on ‘hostile forces’ after protests against Covid restrictions

State media calls on Chinese public to ‘build a barrier of epidemic prevention and control’

Days after 10 died in Urumqi fire, security forces are urged to prevent and contain major accidents to protect lives and property

The Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily on Wednesday called on the Chinese public to “build a barrier of epidemic prevention and control” as Beijing’s top security chief pledged to crack down on “hostile forces” following a weekend of rare protests against China’s zero-Covid strategy.

People’s Daily said the pandemic situation in China remained complex, with cluster cases in some regions and the number of local cases rising, particularly because of the short incubation period and more rapid spread of the Omicron variant. It said under these circumstances, negligence in any link or any careless behaviour might cause a rebound in the virus.

China GDP: what can be expected from December’s economic work conference?

The closed-door work conference is widely viewed as an opportunity to get a glimpse of thinking among new economic officials

A growing chorus of policy advisers is calling for a bigger dose of stimulus and the need to set an explicit GDP growth target

The Communist Party is expected to convene its annual central economic work conference in mid-December, an event that will be closely watched by investors who are eager to see solutions offered up for some of China’s most pressing economic risks, including coronavirus disruptions and a property downturn.

China’s new leadership is facing economic challenges unseen in the past two decades, with growth slowing far slower than expected and external headwinds mounting.

‘I’d rather stay home’: Beijing residents push back at Covid rules as cases mount

Infections are on the rise – along with concerns about being sent to unsanitary isolation centres

Footage appears online of people questioning district-wide lockdowns

Residents in the Chinese capital have appealed for better-targeted Covid-19 responses as spiralling infections raise fears of tougher restrictions and worries about quarantine centres.

The city reported 4,307 new local infections on Sunday morning, including 3,560 people without symptoms. The total was 65 per cent higher than a day earlier and more than double the case count reported on Friday.

Is China underestimating its Covid-19 numbers in its latest outbreak?

Public health experts believe scale of latest surge could be obscured by non-reporting of positive rapid test results and other factors

China’s large number of unvaccinated elderly people would also usually be accompanied by a higher death rate, they said

As China’s surging Covid-19 infections hit a new record on Friday – with more than 32,000 local infections reported – overseas public health experts flagged that the numbers may not be a true reflection of cases.

Several factors could be contributing to an underestimation of the extent of the outbreak, they warned.

Inspired by rare protests on mainland, Chinese students in North America organise and speak out

‘So many of our compatriots can do such a courageous thing, why can’t we?’ says Ava, who attends the University of Toronto

Events have taken place or are planned at more than 50 universities in the US and Canada – top destinations for Chinese students

By Monday at 6.40pm a crowd of over 100 had gathered at George Washington University’s Kogan Plaza. They had come to honour victims of a deadly fire in Xinjiang the week before – deaths that many blame on China’s “zero-Covid” lockdowns.

The plaza was adorned with candles, flowers and protest signs, but there was no event programme and no clear leader.

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.