Opinion | Zero-Covid at all costs is exposing the flaws in China’s top-down approach

China’s uncertainty over the consequences of relaxing pandemic rules is driving its dogged approach, with local governments forced to take drastic measures to meet objectives

Yet such policy inflexibility, amid much greater public awareness of the virus and at the expense of livelihoods, is fuelling discontent

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People queue for coronavirus tests in Beijing’s Dongcheng district on April 26. Authroities announced mass testing of the city’s 21 million residents as fears of a Shanghai-style lockdown sparked stockpiling of food. Photo: AP

Published: 9:15am, 3 May 2022

With President Xi Jinping focused on maintaining stability as he seeks to secure an unprecedented third term this autumn, China has remained steadfast to zero-Covid policy adherence.

Authorities moved quickly to contain an outbreak in Beijing after Covid-19 cases rose over the weekend, having seen the effects of a delayed response in Shanghai. From Thursday, the end of a five-day Labour Day holiday, residents will have to provide proof of a negative PCR test result taken in the last seven days to use public transport and enter office buildings, entertainment venues and sports facilities.

Still, there are other elements of China’s policy implementation that should provide lessons for the future – and will create challenges for Xi in the present.

First, the inflexibility of Covid-19 policy implementation at a local level has narrowed the central authority’s breadth of governance.

Although the Shanghai government assured residents of its efforts to minimise the impact of the pandemic on the economy and society, and that medical and basic living demands would be met, the gap left by food supply disruptions and inadequate government support has been filled by bulk-buying and bartering.

People with serious diseases have been denied timely and often life-saving hospital treatment due to strict Covid-19 testing rules. Taking policy implementation to such extreme lengths can hardly guarantee minimal economic and social impact. Indeed, fears of food shortages like those in Shanghai have given rise to panic buying in Beijing.