The Economist April 30th 2022 49
ChinaThepandemicCovid hits the capital
I
f china’s public-healthpolicies were
decided by the people of Shanghai, the
country would abandon its “zerocovid”
strategy, which uses mass testing and strict
lockdowns to crush the virus. The city’s
25m residents, among whom are some of
China’s richest and most influential peo
ple, have complained loudly about the
grim weeks of lockdown they have en
dured (see Chaguan). But Beijing is where
China’s covid strategy is devised. For now,
the mood is rather different in the capital.
Beijing’s 22m residents responded with
wary resignation to news that the Omicron
variant had been spreading stealthily in
the capital for days. On April 27th mass
testing revealed more than 150 infections.
The next day many schools went online.
Some neighbourhoods were sealed off. But
after an initial flurry of panicbuying,
shops quickly restocked. Pensioners could
be seen in parks, enjoying the smoggy
spring sunshine. Local pride, and a sense
of privilege born of proximity to power,
help to explain why some Beijingers soundconfident that they will escape the harsh,
chaotic lockdowns imposed on Shanghai.
Many of Beijing’s residents have a mea
sure of disdain for Shanghai, the country’s
more Westernoriented commercial hub.
The Shanghainese are “unreasonable trou
blemakers”; their officials deserve blame
for not locking down fast enough, says a
typical resident of the capital. Censorship
and propaganda have helped shape such
feelings. Shanghai’s suffering is glossed
over in news reports. Angry outbursts by
the city’s residents on social media are
quickly erased by state censors.
Officials in Beijing seem to regard
Shanghai as a rare exception to their zerocovid success story—China has had a lower
death rate from the virus than any big
country and stronger economic growth. It
is certainly not taken as a lesson that the
policy needs to change. Rather, officials in
Shanghai are chided for being too loose
and moving too slowly. The central govern
ment has pushed for more testing and
stricter lockdowns. Many residents recent
ly found green fences outside their com
pounds, to seal them in.
Officials elsewhere are taking note.
Those in Baotou, a mining hub in Inner
Mongolia, recently locked down the entire
city after finding just two cases.
Other countries, including some of Chi
na’s neighbours, pursued a similar ap
proach to the virus initially. But most of
them have abandoned the zerocovid strat
egy, conceding that the highly transmissi
ble Omicron variant rendered it impracti
cal. They have instead focused resources
on getting vulnerable people vaccinated
and caring for the sick. Some of China’s
leading doctors and scientists have urged
their country to do the same.
The single biggest barrier to a Chinese
exit strategy from the zerocovid policy is
the large number of over60s who have not
received two doses and a booster. That is
the minimum level of inoculation needed
to provide a high degree of protection
against serious illness or death when using
Chinesemade vaccines, which are the on
ly shots approved by party chiefs. But BeiB EIJING
The government sees Beijing, not Shanghai, as the true test of its covid policy→Alsointhissection
50 Theunresponsivestate
50 Savingfurrylives
51 A planforprivatepensions
52 Chaguan: What public anger means