“Zero-Covid policy” has been the poster child of China’s response to the global pandemic. Until early this month, under President Xi Jinping, the country maintained the world’s strictest Covid-testing regime for nearly three years, characterized by mass virus testing and strict lockdowns designed to hunt down and isolate outbreaks.
However, commerce took a toll on the world’s second-largest economy. Amid sustained threats to lives and livelihoods, resentment snowballed into widespread civil unrest. This compelled the country’s leadership to soften its stance on Covid restrictions.
