President Xi Jinping offered zero ways out of China's zero-Covid policy, in his highly anticipated speech at the Communist party congress on Sunday.
The confidence of Xi's tone disguised the anxiety in China's economy, which is beset by problems ranging from a real estate crisis to youth unemployment following two-and-a-half years of Xi's unflinching coronavirus restrictions.
In his two-hour opening speech to the week-long congress – where Xi is expected to secure an unprecedented third term in power – he did not proffer any plans to put the country's economy back on track.
"Yesterday's speech confirms what many China watchers have long suspected — Xi has no intention of embracing market liberalization or relaxing China's zero-Covid policies, at least not anytime soon," said Craig Singleton, senior China fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a DC-based think tank. "Instead, he intends to double down on policies geared towards security and self-reliance at the expense of China's long-term economic growth."
As Xi told the congress that the government's adherence had "achieved significant positive results," tens of millions of people across China remain in lockdown– with many struggling to secure basic necessities.
While other countries in Asia have opened their borders, some Chinese citizens can only open the windows to their balcony and cry out in desperation at the harsh travel restrictions – as one distressing video showed.
Tensions were high in Beijing before Xi's speech, where online photos posted Thursday showed an exceptionally rare protest against Xi.
"Say no to Covid test, yes to food. No to lockdown, yes to freedom. No to lies, yes to dignity. No to cultural revolution, yes to reform. No to great leader, yes to vote. Don't be a slave, be a citizen," read one banner hung over an overpass in China's capital.
China's response was severe. Numerous accounts on Weibo and WeChat, the super-app essential for daily life in the country, have been banned after commenting on – or even alluding to – the protest.
It is a sign of the population's growing refusal to tolerate the zero-Covid policy that many chose this time of heightened security around the congress to criticize Xi's government.
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