As I see it

Don’t expect China’s zero-Covid policy to change just yet

Name: How ordinary people in China view the country’s ‘dynamic zero-Covid’ policy
Uploaded: 2022-10-18T10:16:19.000Z
Duration: 3 min 8 s
Description: How ordinary people in China view the country’s ‘dynamic zero-Covid’ policy

Delivering his ‘work report’ at the opening of the party congress, Xi Jinping made just two references to the pandemic

Beijing will want to ensure stability before the NPC session in March, but there may be a gradual easing of restrictions after that

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Residents wait in line to get routine coronavirus tests in Beijing on Monday. President Xi Jinping has given no indication of a possible change to strict zero-Covid rules. Photo: AP

Josephine Ma

Josephine Ma is China news editor and has covered China news for the Post for more than 20 years.

Published: 6:16pm, 18 Oct 2022

Beijing has been busy defending its tough zero-Covid policy.

The defence came via Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily, in articles published over three days last week ahead of a key political gathering.

It also came from Liang Wannian, who heads an expert panel on the Covid-19 response. He told the BBC that China was waiting for better vaccines and medicines, and a higher booster rate among its most vulnerable, before it eased the restrictions.

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How ordinary people in China view the country’s ‘dynamic zero-Covid’ policy

But when President Xi Jinping delivered his “work report” on Sunday, at the opening of the party congress, there were just two brief references to the Covid-19 policy.

That is not surprising since the purpose of the work report is to provide direction for the party in years to come, rather than discussing policy specifics. And the pandemic is not something Beijing would want to treat as a long-term problem.

So what did the work report say about the virus? That China has launched a “people’s war” on the pandemic with its “dynamic” zero-Covid policy and protected lives while balancing the needs of economic development.

Xi also said that China’s global cooperation efforts to fight the pandemic had earned the country “widespread praise internationally” and “immensely enhanced China’s influence and charisma”.