In China, Xi Jinping’s “Zero Covid” strategy has disrupted the economy

China – Very mixed results for Xi Jinping and his inflexible “Zero Covid” model against the tide of the rest of the world. The conference begins this Sunday, October 16 Chinese Communist PartyAn event in which the President An unprecedented third term in office As General Secretary of CBC. This is an opportunity to get involved about politics” Zero covid » Launched by Beijing almost three years ago. The country has been facing a nationwide spike in cases since early September.

While France and most of the West have learned to live with Covid, China continues to apply, tackling subsequent pandemics as much as possible without confinement. Strict restrictions on its population.

According to the newspaper of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Beijing’s policy will not change People’s Daily. Wednesday, October 12, he said “Flexibility” Face the virus “No Future” And a relaxation of measures could overwhelm China’s medical system and lead to further mutations of the virus.

However, has this move really worked and is it as good a way as Beijing claims? ” It all depends on the criteria you use. Mark Julian, head of China operations at Ifri, responds. Because if the health aspect leads to debate, the economic aspect is subject to consensus: policy ” Zero covid had a disastrous effect.

Chinese economy sacrificed on the altar of Covid

Placement of people who test positive in quarantine, targeted prisons, generalized and mandatory PCR tests, travel restrictions… to date, 100 million Chinese Still locked upemphasizes that HuffPost Anne Sénéquier, physician and researcher in iris.

In the question of So, is it worth it? ? The expert recalled that China, the world’s largest population with more than one billion four hundred million people, has officially announced 27,000 deaths in almost three years of the Covid infection, most of them due to Omicron in this year 2022. “ We are a long way from the 152,000 deaths in France, although it is actually a bit more. So comparing the number of deaths to other countries, we can say that yes, this policy worked. “, she explains to us.

But at what cost? By wanting to avoid increasing pollution altogether, China has It sacrificed its economy At the altar of Covid. Thousands of businesses have unexpectedly closed, tourism is at half-mast, ports and factories have shut down or slowed down, production chains are in disarray, unemployment is rising… all this has been happening for months. The Chinese economy is certainly not positive, but it is suffering.

” This model, which worked at first glance, was not economically viable in the long run. » Anne Senequier, Doctor and Researcher in Iris

A good example: In March 2022 the Chinese Premier announced a GDP growth target of 5.5%. ” But in September, the World Bank forecast Chinese growth this year at just 2.8%. A country like this with developmental disparities knows it, which is very small “, asserts Marc Julien. The goal set by Beijing is still a long way off.

Nevertheless, China is the only country with positive GDP in 2020. At the beginning of the pandemic, mail order sales exploded to prevent contamination. ” This model, which worked at first sight, was not economically viable in the long run, not to mention the fact that it would fail in the face of a highly transmissible virus like Omicron. “, assesses Anne Senequier, author of the work Just geopolitics (Published by Eyrolles).

A breathless model, but a legitimate one to protect

These mandatory restrictions will not only affect the economy. Impact on the lives of Chinese people are also important. In the spring, it was filmed in the Shanghai district, where one can see Restrained residents scream out their windows, had traveled all over the world. ” This policy is also a failure in social acceptance “, notes the expert, who believes that in recent months, the trust and support of the people of Shanghai, in particular, has seriously eroded.

” Shanghai, China. A dystopian hell. Residents scream from their apartment windows after a week of confinement. And yet, there are still those who support this type of dictatorship.Health and safety””.

On September 18, a bus carrying 47 people to the prison, 260 kilometers from their home, crashed. Evaluation: 27 people died.

Asphyxiation model for Omicron and its attendant variations, deadly to the country’s economy and undermining people’s confidence… One wonders why Xi Jinping is so keen to maintain it. Marc Julien inspires the possible” Willingness to further strengthen surveillance of Chinese people “Recalls the ideological stakes of strategy, especially just before Congress” Zero covid From Beijing. Because China has been extolling the virtues of this model since the beginning of the crisis, against Western policies it sees as declining. Therefore, admitting one’s mistakes and changing tactics is tantamount to admitting defeat.

” Internationally, Xi Jinping cannot lose face Anne Sénéquier says. From a national point of view, he could not prove himself wrong when he imposed these sacrifices on his country before Congress. And the expert summarizes as follows: There is political justification here that refuses to question whatever happens. “.

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