“Zero Covid” policy in China: the Council of State prohibits nine measures deemed “arbitrary”

A Chinese worker passes disinfectant spray through a queue at a testing center in Beijing on June 2, 2022. AP - Andy Wong

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

Is this the end of “Zero Covid” in China?

Probably not, but it is in any case an important change in the Chinese epidemic strategy.

The Council of State announced the prohibition of nine measures described as “ 

 ” and posing a “

” on the economy. 

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With our correspondent in Beijing,

This is not the first time that Chinese officials have mentioned an easing of health measures in China.

ten days ago about the weight that the Chinese strategy of absolute non-tolerance with the virus has on growth.

This time the directive comes from the Council of State itself - in other words from the Chinese government.

Nine restrictive measures attributed to local authorities are described as “

” and therefore now “

”.

For example, it will no longer be possible to extend travel restrictions beyond areas classified as medium or high Covid risk.

As for residents of areas classified as low risk, they will no longer have to undergo quarantine or risk being forcibly returned when they travel to the country.

The objective is to avoid a suffocation of the second largest economy in the world, which risks not achieving its growth objectives this year.

Problem: this list of measures not to be taken "

" as the central authorities write today, has the defect of leaving a blur in what is considered arbitrary or not precisely.

However, since the start of the pandemic, the so-called “Zero Covid” strategy has been marked by the arbitrariness of local authorities.

Sanctioned each time an infectious outbreak spreads, the latter are pushed to excess of zeal.

It is therefore not certain that the “prohibitions” of the Council of State will be heard immediately.

At least semantically, some observers see in it an implicit recognition of an overflow of anti-epidemic measures in the face of Omicron, considered less virulent than the previous variants.

At the end of May, Shanghai decided to remove the “

” restrictions imposed on companies.

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• China

• Coronavirus