BEIJING – President Xi Jinping said China has entered a new phase in its fight against the coronavirus and added that tough challenges remain.

These were his most frank public comments on the reversal of the country’s zero-Covid policy that has resulted in nationwide outbreaks and tested the health system and economy.

“Following a science-based and targeted approach, we have adapted our Covid-19 response in the light of the evolving situation, to protect the life and health of the people to the greatest extent possible,” Mr Xi said in his annual New Year’s Eve speech on Saturday.

Last Friday, Mr Xi made his first comments on the zero-Covid policy since his government took its first easing steps on Dec 7. He said the strategy was optimised to protect people’s lives and minimise economic costs.

China’s sudden exit from zero-Covid – which for almost three years had required mass testing, snap lockdowns and mostly closed borders – has sparked a surge of infections.

“With extraordinary efforts, we have prevailed over unprecedented difficulties and challenges, and it has not been an easy journey for anyone,” Mr Xi said, in what seems to be a rare acknowledgement of the hardships the Chinese people endured during the punishing lockdowns, as well as in the rapid spread of Covid-19.

The country is moving into a new phase of Covid-19 control, Mr Xi said, calling on the public to have patience. “Let’s make an extra effort to pull through, as perseverance and solidarity mean victory,” he said, adding that the “light of hope is right in front of us”.

China’s economy has “enjoyed sound development”, he added. Gross domestic product exceeded 120 trillion yuan (S$23 trillion) in 2022, according to Mr Xi, suggesting that the economy grew at least 4.4 per cent in 2022.

Analysts had forecast growth to slow to 3 per cent in 2022.

The President had hoped that 2022 would be a celebratory year for him, one that allowed him to secure a third term in power at a Communist Party congress in October.

Yet, more than a month later, his government faced the most widespread protests in decades as public anger over the stringent zero-Covid strategy boiled over.

Without referring to the protests, Mr Xi said in his speech on Saturday that it is only natural for the country’s 1.4 billion people to have different concerns and different views on some issues.

“What matters is that we build consensus through communication and consultation,” he added.

In December, Mr Xi’s government abruptly started dismantling its strict policy, leading to Covid-19 outbreaks in Beijing, Shanghai and several other major cities and provinces.

The result has been busy hospital emergency rooms and crematoriums. The nation could see as many as 25,000 deaths a day from Covid-19 in January, according to London-based research firm Airfinity. 

Mr Xi is betting that an economic rebound in 2023 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. 

Economic activity is already picking up in some big cities, data on subways, roads, airports and cinemas shows.

“December will most likely be the bottom of the economy,” Haitong Securities analysts, including Mr Liang Zhonghua, wrote in a report last Thursday.

China also faces challenges in its relationship with the United States, despite Mr Xi and President Joe Biden taking steps to ease tensions when they met on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in November in Indonesia.

Last Thursday, China’s Defence Ministry said it was up to the US to create the conditions for a resumption of military dialogue that Beijing halted in August, when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) responded with unprecedented military drills.

The PLA last week held its biggest exercises since Mrs Pelosi’s visit, sending 71 warplanes near the democratically run island, in a show of Beijing’s displeasure over US lawmakers agreeing to a US$1.7 trillion (S$2.3 trillion) spending Bill that included US$2 billion in weapons funding for Taipei.

But Mr Xi adopted a milder-than-usual tone in his speech on Saturday. 

“The people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are members of one and the same family,” he said.

“I sincerely hope that our compatriots on both sides of the strait will work together with a unity of purpose to jointly foster lasting prosperity of the Chinese nation.”

The President said he was “deeply glad to see that Hong Kong has restored order and is set to thrive again” when he visited the city in July.

He said the “one country, two systems” arrangement will make sure Hong Kong and Macau “enjoy long-term prosperity and stability”.

Hong Kong introduced a Beijing-imposed national security law in 2020 after the city was rocked by pro-democracy protests in 2019 that, at times, turned violent. BLOOMBERG