China steps up virus vigilance as key political summit looms

BEIJING • China is enforcing lockdown curbs in areas around the capital Beijing more intensively, and will mass test the nearby port city of Tianjin, stepping up its quest to wipe out Covid-19 ahead of a key meeting of the Communist Party's top leaders.

The moves come even as China's latest Covid-19 wave shows signs of easing, with 1,556 new cases nationwide reported for Sunday, down from more than 3,000 less than two weeks ago.

Despite the high cost to the economy, China remains focused on eliminating transmission of a virus that most of the world has now accepted as endemic.

Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei province bordering Beijing, confined residents of four major downtown districts to their homes for three days from Sunday afternoon, saying a mass testing exercise will be undertaken. The city of some 11 million also suspended subway services and halted non-essential business operations in the locked-down districts.

The province, home to many workers who commute to the Chinese capital, reported 45 Covid-19 cases for Sunday. The partial lockdown of Shijiazhuang follows the imposition of restrictions elsewhere in Hebei last week.

Zhuozhou city bordering Beijing has been in lockdown since last Tuesday, while Xianghe county issued a stay-at-home order for its 384,000 residents from last Friday after finding just one unconfirmed case, going beyond the guidelines stipulated in China's recently reviewed Covid-19 playbook.

Hebei's response suggests a higher level of sensitivity around the capital, as Beijing prepares to host the party congress, a once-in-five-years meeting where President Xi Jinping is due to secure a precedent-breaking third term.

Mr Xi has made the zero-tolerance coronavirus policy a key tenet of his rule, saying the nation has avoided the massive death tolls of places like the United States, despite the disruption caused.

Still, concern about the restrictions in Shijiazhuang are growing on Chinese social media, where several users posted information saying the city will use patrol officers and drones to ensure people are abiding by the lockdown orders and that those who do not will be detained.

An outbreak in Tianjin, some 30 minutes by high-speed train from Beijing, saw the authorities order a city-wide mass test, according to state television. The port hub had reported 31 local cases for Sunday. Beijing itself reported one case.

The southern technology hub of Shenzhen locked down at least six neighbourhoods in two major districts for four days, asking people to stay home and companies to remain closed, after a dozen infections were found among those quarantined last Saturday.

Another 11 local cases were detected for Sunday and two dozen metro stations were closed.

The shutdown includes the Huaqiangbei neighbourhood that hosts the world's largest electronics wholesale market. While its significance has gradually faded amid soaring online shopping, a fair number of wholesalers are located in the area where products including phone components, cables and electric toys are still being sold.

Daqing city, an oil town in north-eastern Heilongjiang province, announced a seven-day lockdown in some areas from late Sunday after finding 29 local infections.

Chinese state media has defended the country's zero-tolerance approach, saying last week that "lying flat" against the virus would be disastrous, using a disparaging term for relaxed vigilance often used by Mr Xi.

Border restrictions remain in place, as well, with quarantine still required on entry and strict parameters for airlines flying into the country.

BLOOMBERG