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If there were doubts about China’s commitment to a zero-tolerance Covid-19 policy, leader Xi Jinping was keen to respond. Traveling to Wuhan on Wednesday, he said the country “cannot afford to pursue herd immunity and live with the virus”, given the size of the population and the possibility of “a catastrophic scenario”.
He also demonstrated that he is willing to sacrifice economic growth in the name of controlling the pandemic and defended that the measures taken so far have helped to save people’s lives and health. He also said:
- “Even if there are some temporary impacts on the economy, we will not put people’s lives and health at risk and we must protect the elderly and children in particular”;
- “If we make an overall assessment, our coronavirus response measures are the most cost-effective and effective.”
According to the official Xinhua news agency, Xi said he was confident that China would be able to maintain its Covid-zero policy “until victory is assured”.
On Tuesday (28), the head of the National Health Commission of China, Ma Xiaowei, told the US Ambassador, Nicholas Burns, that the country would continue to implement the zero Covid policy and establish measures to control and prevent the pandemic in a way ” scientific and directed”.
The position of the Chinese officials and leader is in line with what the press had been reporting.
- The Japanese-British newspaper Financial Times, for example, reported in April that Xi was proud of the initial control over the circulation of the coronavirus and refused to adapt the strategy after the emergence of more contagious variants.
- The South China Morning Post reinforced that case control is seen internally as a political success for the Chinese CP and Xi himself, which is why there is no defined path to easing restrictions.
why it matters: The Chinese system is complex and bureaucratic, but few things provoke such an immediate reaction as a direct request from the national leader (especially in the Xi era).
Officials with less hierarchical power had been making decisions that relaxed the Covid zero policy to the limit. After Xi’s request, many of them will feel discouraged to continue down this path or even urged to reverse some measures that have lifted restrictions.
what also matters
G7 leaders will allocate US$ 600 billion for investments in public and private infrastructure to developing countries. The project is seen as a response to the Belt and Road Initiative, promoted by China mainly in Asia and Africa.
Named the “Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment”, the initiative is expected to be financed through multilateral banks and development finance institutions, sovereign wealth funds and direct contributions. The US will contribute around US$200 billion, and Europe expects to mobilize US$300 billion.
Present at the meeting held in Germany, President Joe Biden was keen to emphasize that the money “is not aid or charity”, but an investment that allows the recipient countries “to see the concrete benefits of partnership with democracies”.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also commented on the plan, saying she hopes to offer a “sustainable alternative” to Xi Jinping’s proposal.
Responding to Chinese advances in the Pacific region, Australia has announced that it will establish a “defense school” to train military personnel from neighboring islands. The announcement of the idea, which tries to dissuade island countries from approaching China, comes just weeks before the Pacific Islands Forum.
The event, in Fiji, in July, will bring together leaders from ten countries and discuss the trade and security agreement offered by Beijing last month. Chinese diplomats will participate by videoconference and hope to close a multilateral pact by the 14th (last day of the forum).
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijan told a news conference that “China and the Pacific island nations enjoy close exchanges and cooperation.” He said he expected the countries to remain in “close contact” in the coming months.
keep an eye
China’s National Health Commission has announced that it will cut the number of days in closed quarantine for foreign visitors and Chinese residents who have been in risk areas from 14 to 7. The period of home medical observation dropped from 7 to 3 days.
The decision follows a round of easing announced earlier this month, such as the return of international students stranded outside China since 2020 and the relaxation of rules for granting work visas.
why it matters: after the long lockdown in Shanghai and severe movement restrictions in several other major cities, the country has seen a large exodus of foreign talent. While it still cannot afford to fully reopen the country, given the low effectiveness of household vaccines and the high number of unvaccinated elderly people, the measures indicate an attempt to balance Covid control and concerns about the economy.
to go deep
- Iran applied last Monday (27) to become a member of the BRICS. on the blog at SheetI tell how Chinese diplomacy reacted to the matter (porous paywall, in Portuguese)
- Radii China brings an incredible story of a Sino-Brazilian woman who embarked on a journey in search of her roots in China and found 15 cousins ​​in the Hunan province, south-central China. (free, in English)
- ​Chinese literature podcast BiYiNiao do Livro discusses a series of poems written by the legendary Lu Xun, translated and narrated in Portuguese by the linguist Calebe Guerra. (free, in Portuguese)
