WASHINGTON – China will continue to relax its strict Covid-19 measures and will welcome more international travellers in the “near future,” the country’s ambassador to the US said Monday, in the latest sign from senior Chinese officials that the country is emerging from its zero-Covid isolation.
“We know people’s concerns,” Ambassador Qin Gang told a Semafor event on China-Africa relations. “Now, the measures are being relaxed and in the near future I believe that measures will be further relaxed and the international travel will become easier.”
Mr Qin was answering a question about whether the Chinese government felt pressure to respond to widespread protests against coronavirus controls in China.
Though he didn’t directly mention the protests, his remarks amounted to a rare – albeit oblique – acknowledgment of the protesters’ grievances.
Chinese officials, including Mr Qin, have previously defended China’ strict policies as necessary to prevent widespread deaths. They’ve also criticised Western nations including the US for what they called a lax approach.
The ambassador has recently made the point that China is set on gradually opening up, saying at an event on Saturday that “China is adjusting and optimising its response to the coronavirus epidemic, including international travel”.
The number of flights in and out of China dropped drastically after country-wide Covid-19 lockdowns began, and incoming passengers were subject to lengthy quarantine.
In further evidence that controls are loosening, two US officials visited China in recent days to help prepare for a visit in the coming weeks by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The top US diplomat’s trip will mark the highest level visit by a US official since Covid-19 hit.
In his comments on Monday, Mr Qin used the term “dynamic readjustment”, a play on the “dynamic Zero Covid” policy of lockdowns, mandatory quarantines and isolation of close contacts that has been in place throughout mainland China.
He also addressed concern that the measures had hit China’s economy, adding that the Chinese government recognises the “coordination of Covid response and economic growth”.
“The government is taking a very responsible attitude to protect people’s lives facing the threat of Covid,” Mr Qin said. “And our response policy in these matters has always been dynamic, not rigid – you know, just lockdown and asking people to confine to their homes – that’s not true.” BLOOMBERG
