China shows few signs of loosening its zero-covid policy
The state has neither ramped up vaccination nor prepared public opinion for ending lockdowns
Will the Communist Party congress mark a turning-point in China’s fight against covid-19? The week-long event, beginning on October 16th, will see Xi Jinping re-anointed as the party’s leader. Some hope he will use the stage to signal an end to his “zero-covid policy”, which relies on mass testing, big lockdowns and draconian restrictions to contain outbreaks. But in recent days the People’s Daily, a party mouthpiece, has dimmed those hopes. “Fighting the epidemic is a test of the spirit,” said one commentary in the paper. Another condemned “war-weariness and wishful thinking”.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Not going anywhere”
From the October 15th 2022 edition
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