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The concept of having China in solid and optimal shape when thousands of delegates gather in Beijing to usher in a historic third term in place for Xi Jinping.
However, the coronavirus is playing well.
In recent weeks, tens of millions of people have returned to their homes in 60 towns and cities, putting political pressure on the guy who has the toughest Chinese figure since the first communist-era leader, Mao Zedong.
The government’s existing “Dynamic zero-Covid” strategy is inextricably connected to Mr. Xi. His good fortune is his good fortune. Well, it would be a brave user who would take a look to blame him.
Elsewhere, vaccine launches have meant learning to live with the virus, but this primary economy is isolated, clinging to a reaction designed to quell each and every outbreak.
Strict lockdowns, mass testing, constant research into fitness codes and restrictions have prevented Chinese hospitals from being overwhelmed. But it comes at a cost: official youth unemployment is 18. 7%. Earlier this year, it increased by 20%.
However, even in the face of significant economic and social pressure, the government has not resorted to the only thing that could drive the way out of the crisis. While he was keen to impose strict enforcement in all other Covid policy spaces, he did not push vaccination with the same enthusiasm.
There is no legal obligation to get vaccinated. There is hardly a public campaign.
And it has stubbornly limited vaccination to locally developed vaccines only when studies show they are not as effective as those produced internationally. It sounds like national pride trumping science.
To some extent, this superpower is doing well. Almost one-fifth of Earth’s population lives, in one form or another, inside a giant bubble. But they do so while people’s livelihoods are being destroyed.
This week, trains from Xinjiang were suspended and many parts of the western region, including its capital, Urumqi, were blocked as officials admitted they had been unable to prevent the spread of the virus.
China’s tighter blockades have noted reports of others being unable to obtain food and medicine; However, zero covid is also affecting other people’s daily lives in many other ways.
Three years after the start of the crisis, this is exhausting the population.
On the outskirts of Beijing, low-income staff live in a community called Yanjiao because rent is cheaper. It is across a river, right next to Hebei Province.
Normally, this wouldn’t matter, but in the pandemic, it would possibly mean having to run the gauntlet of roadblocks from where you live to your workplace.
In June this year, in one cluster of cases, others living in Yanjiao were prevented from entering the capital, leading to clashes between police enforcing the border closure and workers seeking to go to work.
Since then, citizens have been paddling in the water in inflatable boats to enter the city.
At the time of writing, the border is open, but anyone entering Beijing will need to show ID similar to fitness code apps.
Every morning in Yanjiao, buses can be seen plugged, warning before crossing, so that the police can board and check that everyone is okay.
The delays have made Yanjiao’s workers unreliable in the eyes of employers.
“A lot of other people who live in this community have been laid off because of their business,” said a woman in line at the bus. “And, if they find a new job, they may be treated unfairly again. “
We do an exercise from Beijing to Xi’an. Upon arrival, there is a massive traffic jam at the station, as thousands of travelers download the local fitness app after descending the stairs from the platform. Then, everyone will have to do a new PCR test before leaving the station.
Xi’an has been a driving force in China’s economy since the years when it ushered in the ancient Silk Road that stretched through Central Asia to the Middle East and Europe. tourist attractions.
We caught up with Addison Sun, a consultant specializing in English excursions and asked him what the pandemic has been like for his industry.
“Oops! For one hundred percent foreign tourism,” he says. Because no one can come to China, no one can come to Xi’an. “
The number of domestic tourists willing to travel is also decreasing. If you make a stopover somewhere and some coronavirus cases emerge, the city may go into lockdown. But even if that’s not the case, your own city may suddenly not set up for you if you’ve been somewhere with infections. You are stranded, infrequently for a long time, and you have to pay for your housing and other necessities.
There have been several house closures in Xi’an, and one kept thirteen million people indoors for a month. Therefore, the space sites of the outstanding terracotta warriors were empty.
When she stopped painting, Addison Sun says she sank into depression.
“No income. That’s my lowest point,” he said. And, as a man, I couldn’t do anything. I asked my wife, ‘Hello, honey, can you give me a hundred or two hundred [yuan]?'”
He once got out of the quagmire by hunting his eight-year-old son: “I have to get up because I’m the role model. I am my daughter’s hero,” and began posting virtual tours of Xi’one online. Now he also teaches English, but looks forward to the day when foreign tourists return.
The city’s Muslim quarter, which historians say dates back to the Tang Dynasty, is expected to be packed with visitors. Merchants still line the streets shouting, advertising the kebabs and chocolates they have, but their restaurants have very few customers. Along the narrow alleys, tarpaulins blow in the wind where they have been closed.
“I paid two years’ rent the day before closing,” says Zhang Min, who runs a small shop that promotes the belts and bags she makes. “We come from the countryside. We were just looking to do anything on our own. “
She breaks down as she describes how she hoped to give her mother a better life.
When do you think things will return to normal?”It’s hard to know,” he says. Epidemics come back again and again. “
For decades, China’s economic transformation has been driven by exports, but the absence of Covid means some foreign buyers stock up for fear of disruption to Chinese supply chains.
Dieshiqiao, in Jiangsu province, north of Shanghai, is a hub for the garment industry.
In a small factory, they are bent over their sewing machines, furiously recovering an entire season of production lost as a result of a shutdown.
The bosses had started their recent demanding situations when a guy came in and started secretly filming us with his phone. Then you will contact the owners: maintenance is over.
“I’m sorry. We just can’t do it,” says one of the company’s owners.
While other people here have the legal right to be interviewed, who would challenge the Communist Party in this way?
Five Reasons China’s Economy Is Struggling
Before the pandemic, China’s expansion was around 6%. Its most recent GDP is 0. 4%. The local government knows that Covid-0 is weighing on the economy and does not need anyone to tell it.
In a small shop that promotes bedding, he tells us that his sales have been cut in half.
Then another woman appears in the store, posing as a customer. “Hey, what are you talking about?” She asks in an effort to appear genuinely curious.
After we leave, she comes and questions the merchants.
One of the architects of what has prevented the coronavirus from spreading through China is Professor Liang Wannian, head of the government’s Covid Expert Group.
When we reach out to him, he acknowledges that Chinese vaccines aren’t as effective at preventing infections as expected, but he says they prevent serious illness and death.
When do you think zero covid can end?” It’s hard to say,” he replies.
“Because one thing I’m sure of is that we’re going to kill the virus in the short term. We look forward to more effective drugs and vaccines. “
A major barrier to reopening is the large number of other people who don’t believe it’s for vaccination.
The Chinese government is willing to separate elderly grandparents and young people from their families and force them to stay in quarantine centers or close entire cities for months, but vaccination appears to be a priority.
Some Chinese doctors have even told their patients that they deserve not to get vaccinated. As a result, many analysts do not believe that official statistics reflect the true point of vaccination.
Professor Liang knows that there is one in this area.
“Many other older people have underlying diseases. They feel they don’t need to get vaccinated. But in reality, it’s safe. We want to get that message across,” he said. This is a significant admission.
“China is working, there is a lot of room for improvement,” he added.
Could zero covid be lifted after the Communist Party congress in mid-October?”It’s hard for me,” she said with an embarrassed laugh. “I’m just a scholar. “
China has tried to downplay the influence of the virus, and if it reopened tomorrow, the disease would spread like wildfire.
But, for the moment, it feels like the government is just kicking the street. Staying isolated from the outside world comes at a cost.
There are no simple options, but China will stay that way forever.