The Latest Breaking News from Beijing

'I don't trust it:' Vaccine hesitancy lingers even as China COVID cases surge

Headhunter Candice knows the COVID-19 infections engulfing Beijing and much of China will soon hit her home of Shenzhen city, but she would rather face it without a vaccine booster, saying she fears potential side effects more than the virus.

Reuters · Dec 19, 2022

Reports of Beijing COVID deaths fuel speculation about China covering up data

The number of COVID-positive dead arriving at Beijing’s funeral parlors and crematoriums is rising, according to media reports, despite China not reporting a fatality from the virus for two weeks.

Tribune News Service · Dec 18, 2022

TikTok's Efforts to Distance Itself From Chinese Parent Stumble Over Talent

TikTok has accelerated efforts to move workers away from China in an attempt to distance itself from its Chinese parent, but the short-video app still counts on local talent to handle some key functions and continues to recruit there.

Bangkok Post · Dec 18, 2022

Shanghai shuts schools as Covid surges

SHANGHAI: Shanghai will shut most schools again from Monday, reverting to an element of China’s old coronavirus playbook as the rapid dismantling of pandemic restrictions spurs an explosion in cases.

Bangkok Post · Dec 17, 2022

In COVID-hit Beijing, funeral homes and crematoriums are busy

Hearses bearing the dead lined the driveway to a designated COVID-19 crematorium in the Chinese capital on Saturday while workers at the city's dozen funeral homes were busier than normal, days after China reversed tight pandemic restrictions.

Reuters · Dec 17, 2022

Biden’s China tech crackdown leaves Xi with few ways to hit back

The U.S. has sharpened its assault on China’s technology industry with a flurry of export bans and stifling restrictions on companies, an escalation that leaves Beijing with few options to retaliate.

Tribune News Service · Dec 16, 2022

State Department launches 'China House' amid rivalry with Beijing

The U.S. State Department on Friday launched its long-planned "China House" unit, an internal reorganization to help expand and sharpen its policymaking toward its top geopolitical rival.

Reuters · Dec 16, 2022

COVID-Linked Deaths Seen in Beijing after Virus Rules Eased

Outside a funeral home in eastern Beijing, dozens of people were bundled up in parkas and hats against the freezing temperatures Friday evening as workers in full protective suits wheeled out coffins one by one. When an employee with a clipboard shouted the name of the dead, a relative trundled…

Asharq Al-Awsat · Dec 16, 2022

US State Department Launches ‘China House’ amid Rivalry with Beijing

The US State Department on Friday launched its long-planned "China House" unit, an internal reorganization to help expand and sharpen its policymaking toward its top geopolitical rival. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in May announced the creation of China House, calling it a department-wide, integrated team that would coordinate and…

Asharq Al-Awsat · Dec 16, 2022

COVID unleashed in Beijing shows rest of China what’s next

Beijing’s rapidly spreading COVID outbreak has turned the Chinese capital of 22 million people into a virtual ghost town as stores close and restaurants empty, underscoring the cost of President Xi Jinping’s sudden pivot away from COVID zero.

Tribune News Service · Dec 16, 2022