Emily
Editor, Senior Moderator
https://jamestown.org/program/chinas-dynamic-zero-covid-policy-weighs-on-a-weak-global-economy/
China’s “Dynamic Zero-COVID” Policy Weighs on a Weak Global Economy
Publication: China Brief Volume: 22 Issue: 10
By: Alicia García-Herrero
May 27, 2022 02:47 PM
Introduction
The long lockdown in Shanghai may finally be nearing an end. Stores in parts of the city have been permitted to gradually reopen, and limited public transportation has resumed (Sh.news.cn, May 23; Xinhua, May 11) Nevertheless, for much of the city the lockdown drags on, as do lockdowns in other urban centers. Furthermore, China appears unlikely to pivot away from its “dynamic Zero-COVID” policies anytime in the foreseeable future. At a Politburo Standing Committee meeting earlier this month, General Secretary Xi Jinping reaffirmed his support for the current epidemic prevention approach. He stated that “practice has proven our [epidemic] prevention and control policies can stand the test of history, and our prevention and control measures are scientific and effective. We have won the battle to defend Wuhan, and we will certainly be able to win the battle to defend Shanghai” (People’s Daily, May 6).
Images of lockdowns and empty cities in China are surely not as worrisome for Western observers as the war in Ukraine, but the negative consequences of Beijing’s continued adherence to its “dynamic Zero-COVID” policies might ultimately be more detrimental to the global economy than Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Two reasons exist for this. The first and most obvious is that the Chinese economy is about ten times larger than Russia’s economy and many more times the size of that of Ukraine. Secondly, Chinese policymakers, long renowned for their pragmatism, are increasingly obsessed with controlling the virus, to the point of prioritizing this objective above what has always been considered China’s top priority in the reform era—achieving high economic growth.
A Major Economic Hit...
China’s “Dynamic Zero-COVID” Policy Weighs on a Weak Global Economy
Publication: China Brief Volume: 22 Issue: 10
By: Alicia García-Herrero
May 27, 2022 02:47 PM
Introduction
The long lockdown in Shanghai may finally be nearing an end. Stores in parts of the city have been permitted to gradually reopen, and limited public transportation has resumed (Sh.news.cn, May 23; Xinhua, May 11) Nevertheless, for much of the city the lockdown drags on, as do lockdowns in other urban centers. Furthermore, China appears unlikely to pivot away from its “dynamic Zero-COVID” policies anytime in the foreseeable future. At a Politburo Standing Committee meeting earlier this month, General Secretary Xi Jinping reaffirmed his support for the current epidemic prevention approach. He stated that “practice has proven our [epidemic] prevention and control policies can stand the test of history, and our prevention and control measures are scientific and effective. We have won the battle to defend Wuhan, and we will certainly be able to win the battle to defend Shanghai” (People’s Daily, May 6).
Images of lockdowns and empty cities in China are surely not as worrisome for Western observers as the war in Ukraine, but the negative consequences of Beijing’s continued adherence to its “dynamic Zero-COVID” policies might ultimately be more detrimental to the global economy than Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Two reasons exist for this. The first and most obvious is that the Chinese economy is about ten times larger than Russia’s economy and many more times the size of that of Ukraine. Secondly, Chinese policymakers, long renowned for their pragmatism, are increasingly obsessed with controlling the virus, to the point of prioritizing this objective above what has always been considered China’s top priority in the reform era—achieving high economic growth.
A Major Economic Hit...