China COVID-19 reopening

The pandemic left an indelible but mixed imprint on everything from patterns of socio-economic development to China’s state apparatus and foreign relations.

While not as dramatic as China’s abandonment of the zero-COVID policy in late 2022, the underlying reasons for the surprising turn in economic policy are quite similar. 

China’s economy rebounded at the start of 2023, but after a good first quarter, factory output and consumer spending are weakening.

After three years, foreign managers are now returning to China – only to find that their businesses are no longer run according to the founding principles and practices.

The pandemic exposed notable deficiencies in rural healthcare – starting with the village clinic, the first level of healthcare for rural Chinese.

Amid great power competition, life in the China-Russia borderlands reveals the paradoxes underpinning the Beijing-Moscow friendship.

There is a palpable sense of relief in China now that the days of zero COVID are over.

Bali and Chiang Mai are the busiest they have been since the pandemic struck three years ago, but they're still relatively quiet.

Center-local dynamics are incentivizing a cover-up of China’s COVID-19 statistics well before they reach the public.

Those numbers may still underestimate the toll, though the government said the "emergency peak" of its latest surge appears to have passed.

China's move appeared to be retaliation for “discriminatory entry measures” against Chinese travelers amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.