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China to make ‘dynamic adjustments’ to zero-Covid, top envoy tells US business group
- Qin Gang, Beijing’s ambassador to Washington, says concerns about China becoming a closed country are ‘baseless’
- He admits Covid-19 rules have had ‘some impact’ on economy but defends policy for role in achieving low infection and death rate
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China will continue to make “dynamic adjustments” to its zero-Covid policy to smooth commercial exchanges with the United States, Beijing’s top envoy to Washington told the American business community on Tuesday.
Qin Gang, China’s ambassador to the US, said it was “baseless” to claim that China would regress from an open country to a closed one. The comments came amid growing concerns about a more inward-looking Chinese economy after the 20th Communist Party congress.
He also said US trade restrictions threatened to put relations between the two countries on the wrong track.
Tensions between the two nations have heightened, and China’s continued zero-Covid policy has raised concerns about the future of the country’s development and bilateral economic cooperation.
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In a rare public mention of the negative side of Beijing’s zero-Covid protocols, Qin said “there’s no denying that the policies have had some impact on the economy and people’s lives”.
Still, he defended Beijing’s zero-Covid policy as having helped the country achieve the lowest number of infections and deaths in the world.
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Protesters around the world rally behind Covid demonstrators in China
Protesters around the world rally behind Covid demonstrators in China
Qin made the comments at an event in Washington hosted by the US-China Business Council. Speaking to an audience of over 300, he argued that “China has realised a good balance between protecting the people and restoring the economy”.
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