Roving Periscope: Covid-19 surge forces President Xi to admit challenges ahead
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Ahead of the scary Lunar New Year on January 22 amid a Covid-19 tsunami across the land, Chinese President Xi Jinping said tough challenges remain in the country’s fight against the pandemic and acknowledged divisions in society that led to rare spontaneous mass protests in November across the land.
After weeks of silence on the abrupt lifting of his signature Zero Covid policy, which thereafter infected hundreds of millions, killed thousands, and delivered a severe blow to economic activity, he said in a televised New Year’s address on Saturday last week that China is in a new phase of Covid control adopted with a science-based and targeted approach. The day before, he said the nation’s strategy had been “optimized” to protect people’s lives and minimize economic costs, the media reported on Monday.
On December 7, panicked with nationwide mass protests against the Communist regime, Beijing suddenly lifted its harsh, three-year-old Zero-Covid policy to contain the scourge. The measures to contain the pandemic included highly unpopular snap lockdowns, frequent mass testing, and largely closed borders. As late as mid-October, Xi had repeatedly defended the strategy despite mounting economic costs.
But on Saturday, amid worldwide concern and criticism, he addressed the hardships endured by the nation’s 1.4 billion people during strict lockdowns, as well as in the rapid spread of Covid-19 which, like a catastrophe, has since gripped the country with a huge number of infected people overwhelming hospitals and uncounted bodies piling up for cremation.
“Since Covid-19 struck, we have put the people first and put life first all along,” Xi said. “With extraordinary efforts, we have prevailed over unprecedented difficulties and challenges, and it has not been an easy journey for anyone. We have now entered a new phase of Covid response where tough challenges remain.”
The same President had touted his “achievements” in October when he stage-managed to secure a rare, five-year-long, third term in power at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party. Yet little more than a month later, his government faced the most widespread protests in decades as public anger over his Zero-Covid strategy boiled over.
Without directly referring to these widespread protests, Xi said it’s “only natural” for the country’s 1.4 billion people to have different concerns and views on some issues. “What matters is that we build consensus through communication and consultation,” he said.
On top of repeated Covid outbreaks, China’s economy in 2022 muddled through a persistent property market slump, sluggish consumer demand, and waning overseas appetite for its goods.
Xi’s televised broadcast came after data showed economic activity in December contracting the most from the previous month since February 2020. Home sales continued to slump in December, while reports due this week are forecast to show a further squeeze in the manufacturing and services sectors.
While analysts forecast growth slowed to 3 percent in 2022, Xi claimed China’s GDP exceeded 120 trillion yuan (USD 17.4 trillion) last year, suggesting the economy expanded by at least 4.4 percent.
“The Chinese economy enjoys great resilience, tremendous potential, and great vitality,” Xi said. “The fundamentals sustaining its long-term growth have remained strong.”
Currently, China reports thousands of new cases a day. But the government’s top health authority estimated 248 million people, or nearly 18 percent of the population, likely contracted the virus in the first 20 days of December. The result has overwhelmed hospital emergency rooms and crematoriums.
The nation could see as many as 25,000 deaths a day from Covid-19 in January, according to Airfinity Ltd., a London-based research firm that focuses on predictive health analytics.
“Let’s make an extra effort to pull through, as perseverance and solidarity mean victory,” Xi said on the virus battle, adding the “light of hope is right in front of us.”
He is betting an economic rebound this year will help the nation through the shock, with officials vowing at a recent meeting of the 24-member Politburo to revive consumption and support the private sector.
China’s central bank on Friday pledged to support domestic demand and maintain “effective” growth of credit. Monetary policy “will focus on stabilizing growth, employment and prices, as well as supporting the expansion of domestic demand,” the People’s Bank of China said.
It reassured to provide stronger backing to the real economy, keep prices basically stable and step up targeted stimulus for key areas and industries damaged by the pandemic. It also said it would meet the property industry’s reasonable financing needs, and push forward mergers and acquisitions in the sector.
