Letter from China: Anger erupts at Covid policy
The revolt against zero-Covid is significant but is unlikely to sway Beijing this winter
Large-scale protests against the zero-Covid policy erupted across China in late November, from the capital Beijing and financial hub of Shanghai to Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Xi’an and Wuhan. The sometimes-violent protests—unthinkable a month ago—underline rising anger over Chinese president Xi Jinping’s signature policy, which seeks to isolate every infection as quickly and thoroughly as possible. Xi is now in a bind: the growing fury over zero-Covid is clashing against official fears of the virus tearing through the Chinese population—especially those aged 60 and above, as nearly one-in-eight are not fully vaccinated. The protests also come amid surging outbreaks across China—with some 315,000 ca
Also in this section
25 April 2024
Some companies with assets in Israel have turned towards Egypt as tensions escalate, but others are holding firm despite rising tensions
24 April 2024
But even planned exploration activity is unlikely to reverse declining output from mature fields
23 April 2024
Cheaper Russian barrels and lower overall crude prices have helped cut key oil consumer’s import bills in election year
22 April 2024
Pursuing three different goals as part of the same package may mean achieving none of them