China sticks to zero Covid, managing outbreak one local city at a
A worker wearing personal protective equipment disinfects a truck entering JD.com’s logistics park in Shanghai, China, on Wednesday, March 9, 2022.
Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images
BEIJING — As some parts of China reopen, others are imposing new Covid-related restrictions, reflecting the challenge government officials face in controlling the worst outbreak since early 2020.
Chinese authorities are trying to maintain their zero-Covid strategy that used swift lockdowns to help the economy grow in 2020. Beijing has increasingly emphasized how the strategy needs to be “dynamic.”
But local officials now face multiple challenges at once: Keeping their jobs whose performance hinges on controlling Covid outbreaks, limiting the spread of a highly transmissible variant and supporting enough growth to achieve the national GDP target of around 5.5% set by Beijing.
“Officials at all levels must give top priority to epidemic response,” according to a readout Friday of a top-level government meeting chaired by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“Anyone who fails to perform their duties and responsibilities and thus leads to a drastic escalation will be investigated and held to account right away in accordance with discipline and regulations,” the readout said.
Dozens of local Chinese officials have lost their jobs or received punishments after failing to prevent the latest spike of cases.
Mainland China’s new daily Covid cases remained well above 1,000 over the weekend, with hundreds of asymptomatic ones.
The northern province of Jilin reported Friday the first two deaths in the latest Covid wave, which stems primarily from the highly transmissible omicron variant. The number of new cases and deaths is still low compared with other major countries.
Testing, road controls cause delays
On the economic front, regions are affected by business disruptions and uncertainty, even if stricter Covid controls don’t necessarily halt production outright.
China’s steel-making hub of Tangshan city ordered that as of Sunday, all non-emergency vehicles are banned from local roads, except for those that obtain special approval. Several districts ordered residents to stay home and told businesses such as gyms to close.
There was no specific order for steel mills. But Chinese financial news outlet Cailian reported, citing locals, that Tangshan’s steel trade and logistics businesses had stopped work, while some producers had retained a few workers for basic production.
Tangshan reported nine confirmed Covid cases this weekend.
In southern China, the tech and manufacturing city of Shenzhen has kept ports open despite orders last week to halt other business activity and factory production.
Shipping giant Maersk said late last week Covid testing requirements for truck drivers and stricter road control between Shenzhen and nearby cities means trucking services in the area will likely “be severely impacted by 40%.” That’s up from the company’s assessment a few days earlier of a 30%…
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