WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is treading lightly in response to demonstrations in China by citizens angry over the country’s harsh COVID-19 restrictions, drawing criticism from Republicans and democracy advocates who say the White House should act more forcefully.
The protests, which broke out across China over the weekend, were triggered by the deaths of 10 people in an apartment building fire in the country’s far west last week. Residents blamed China’s strict “zero-COVID” strategy, which includes shutdowns of entire cities and towns when coronavirus cases are detected, for trapping people in their rooms and slowing the ability of firefighters to respond.
Public protests are extremely rare in China and have excited human rights and democracy advocates searching for any signs that President Xi Jinping is losing his grip on power. But so far, most outside analysts and foreign policy experts have cautioned that Xi will probably be able to contain the demonstrations in short order.
