China Looking to Reduce Social Cost of Covid Zero, Official Says
- Signs growing that Beijing is mulling exit plan from strategy
- Shift unlikely to occur before 2023, people familiar say
Members of the public wait in line to receive a Covid-19 PCR test in Beijing, on Jan. 24.
Photographer: Andrea Verdelli/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
China is looking for ways to reduce the “social costs” of its strict Covid Zero strategy, an official said on Thursday, in a sign that Beijing is looking to adjust a policy that has been criticized for isolating the world’s second biggest economy.
The country should closely monitor developments with the pandemic around the world, said Guo Weimin, spokesman for the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the country’s top political advisory body, days before lawmakers convene in Beijing for an annual parliamentary session.