The 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party cemented President Xi Jinping’s control over the Chinese government, electing him to an unprecedented third term. Xi also reinforced his commitment to the “Zero-Covid” policy, stressing the importance of saving lives above all else. This emphasis on reducing infections through restrictive measures has largely defined Xi’s leadership since the onset of the pandemic. However, despite his triumph at the National Congress, China’s continued insistence on zero-Covid can threaten Xi’s hold on the country.
Speculation that China would suspend zero-Covid had increased in the weeks before the National Congress. Yet recent propaganda released by state media lauding the success of the policy for reducing the risk that mass infections would inflict on a fragile medical system quickly quashed such rumors. Xi’s speech also claimed that the success of zero-Covid has increased China’s global standing, exemplifying the superiority of China’s autocratic political system in comparison to Western democratic models.
China’s lockdowns were certainly the solution to preventing mass outbreaks in Wuhan at the start of the pandemic. Chinese citizens were able to live normal lives during the years when infections ran rampant in the Western world. Yet as other countries have since turned to vaccines as the tool for returning to normalcy, China has held fast to their zero-Covid policies, even though the faster-spreading Omicron has made it exponentially harder to maintain. This has led to the implementation of draconian measures such as the use of contact tracing apps to enter public areas and monitor transmission.
Such measures have only made the lives of Chinese citizens much harder. A negative test is required to enter public spaces or to use public transportation. Other disruptions to normal life include the possibility of lockdowns at any time, as the city of Shanghai was for 2 months in the past spring. There are also more dangerous consequences of zero-Covid. During lockdowns, access to medical care can be severely restricted. Hospitals will not admit patients without a negative test, leading to the several deaths because people were not able to receive treatment.
But perhaps the greatest concern for Chinese citizens is the economy. For the past two decades, China’s economy has grown exponentially. However, the pandemic and China’s extreme measures have exacerbated a recent slackening in economic growth. While other countries have largely reopened to tourism, the mandatory quarantine and other restrictive measures in place have prevented the same from occurring in China. Domestic travel is also on the decline. Locals are staying home out of fear of being locked down and stranded, seriously affecting citizens whose livelihood depends on tourism. For multinational corporations that previously relied on Chinese factories for manufacturing, the risk of shutdowns due to Covid infections is too high to continue business there. As production shifts to other countries, the effect on the economy is clear. China’s GDP growth plummeted from 6% pre-pandemic to a dismal 0.4% while youth unemployment is currently at 18.7%. As the government refuses to relent on its goal of zero-Covid, more and more Chinese citizens are considering emigration.
Negative sentiment regarding the policies have been expressed online, but China’s omnipresent censorship machine has only increased its monitoring as a result. In response, Chinese citizens have to find increasingly creative ways to express their discontent. However, even with the socioeconomic issues that zero-Covid has exposed, this discontent has not translated into widespread action.
The rest of the world has returned to normalcy with the help of vaccines which mitigate the dangers of the coronavirus. It may be time for China to do the same. Surprisingly, despite their determination to eradicate the virus, vaccines have not been a policy concern for the government. Doctors even advising patients against receiving the shot. Ultimately, as China looks to the future during their National Congress, they will have to face the reality of Covid-19 as a manageable, but endemic virus.
