China's challenges on Covid-19 strategy

China has started to recalibrate its Covid-19 response as it faces its most severe outbreak of the virus nationwide since 2020 with the arrival of the highly infectious Omicron subvariants. This is to prevent straining its under-resourced healthcare system and reduce the impact on its economy. But China is not changing its dynamic zero-Covid-19 strategy any time soon, as officials have made clear. This is because there are several challenges to overcome - including low vaccination rates among old folk - before it can relax restrictions or open up its borders. This is as countries around the world are beginning to do so in an attempt to live with the virus. Chinese President Xi Jinping has, instead, called for improved measures to maximise effectiveness in controlling the outbreak at the lowest cost while minimising the impact on economic and social development.

China was doing well with its dynamic zero-Covid-19 strategy, in place since last August as a transitional measure after its successful initial containment policy, but before its population built enough immunity against the risk of imported cases and new variants. It meant taking precise prevention and control measures - including locking down entire communities - to quickly find, control and treat local outbreaks, and prevent any spread to other regions. While this meant disruptions to factory and port operations, it also allowed most people to live almost normal lives and the economy to recover, faster than in other countries, at a blistering 8.1 per cent last year.