China COVID-19

As one of the few top-level meetings held since China’s COVID U-turn, the CEWC’s messaging is especially important this year.

Ending “zero COVID” is Beijing’s best option, but it comes at the worst possible time.

The National Health Commission scrapped many of China's most stringent anti-pandemic regulations, including routine, mandatory PCR testing.

The recent unrest in several Chinese cities is “a big deal,” Ai acknowledges. But he calls for “realistic thinking” about the protests.

Guangzhou, Shijiazhuang, Chengdu, and other major cities announced they were easing testing requirements and controls on movement.

Will a post-COVID China still be committed to a policy of opening to the world?

“In China, everyone is one step from becoming a dissident” – and zero COVID has pushed many to make that final step.

"You cannot compare it to any other country," one protester said. "We have to find a way out."

New workers at a Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou are protesting that the company changed the terms of their work agreements.

Changes in China's anti-virus controls may be a step toward lifting controls, but "zero COVID" might stay in place until as late as the second half of next year.

Recent outbreaks are testing China’s attempt to bring a more targeted approach to its zero-COVID policies.

To bolster their standing during the pandemic, local cadres are putting a new twist on the concept of performative governance.