Chinese government response to COVID-19
During the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, the government of China under CCP general secretary Xi Jinping's administration pursued a zero-COVID strategy to prevent the domestic spread of COVID-19[1] until December 7, 2022.[2] Aspects of the response have been controversial, with the zero-COVID approach being praised[3][4] and the government's lack of transparency,[5][6] censorship,[7][8] and spread of misinformation[9] being criticized. The government abandoned its zero-COVID policy on 7 December 2022.[10]
After discovery of a cluster of patients with pneumonia of unknown etiology in Wuhan, Hubei Province, a public notice on the outbreak was distributed on 31 December 2019.[11] Three days earlier on 28 December 2019, Chinese researchers in Beijing uploaded a fully mapped sequence of COVID-19's structure to the NIH GenBank, but the report was never publicly accessible due to it missing technical, non-scientific information required for submission despite NIH attempts to communicate with the report author.[12] On 8 January 2020, a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) was announced by Chinese scientists as the cause of the new disease;[13] and on 10 January a nearly identical virus to the 28 December upload was sequenced and its genome made available online.[14] On 17 January 2024, The Wall Street Journal released a report about the former 28 December upload that officially contradicted the Chinese government's claim that knowledge of the cause of the outbreak in the early weeks of January 2020 was unknown, and that information was shared as soon as it was available.[12]
On 23 January 2020, the Chinese government banned travel to and from Wuhan, enforced strict quarantines in affected regions and initiated a national response.[11] The epidemic in Hubei province peaked on 4 February 2020.[11] Large temporary hospitals were built in Wuhan to isolate patients with mild-to-moderate symptoms, with the first opening on 5 February 2020.[3] The epidemic was heavily concentrated within Hubei province and Wuhan. Through 22 March 2020, over 80% of the recorded cases in China were in Hubei province, with over 60% of cases nationwide occurring in Wuhan alone.[15]
By the summer of 2020, China had largely brought the outbreak under control, ending widespread community transmission.[16] After the initial outbreak, lockdowns and other restrictive measures were eased throughout China.[17] The lockdown in Wuhan was lifted on 8 April 2020.[17] It is estimated that the epidemic control measures held the death toll due to COVID-19 in Wuhan to under 5,000 from January to March 2020.[18]
China was one of a small number of countries that pursued an elimination strategy, sustaining zero or low case numbers over the long term.[17] Until late 2022, most cases in China were imported from abroad, and several new outbreaks were quickly controlled through intense short-term public health measures, including large-scale testing, contact tracking technology, and mandatory isolation of infected individuals.[17] In the 18 months following containment of the initial outbreak in Wuhan, two COVID-19 deaths were recorded.[19][20] In December 2022, the Chinese government ended its zero-COVID policy and mass testing following protests across the country.[2]
In 2020 and 2021, China was the largest exporter of COVID-19 critical medical products.[21][22] China was the world's largest exporter of face masks, increasing exports by around 600% in the first half of 2020.[22] A number of COVID-19 vaccines have been developed in China, which have been used in its vaccination programme and international vaccine diplomacy. Through November 2021, China was the world's largest exporter of COVID-19 vaccines, with a cumulative share of around 40% of worldwide exports (totalling around 1.5 billion doses), according to the World Trade Organization.[23]
China's response to the initial Wuhan COVID-19 outbreak has been both praised and criticised. In October 2020, The Lancet Infectious Diseases reported: "While the world is struggling to control COVID-19, China has managed to control the pandemic rapidly and effectively."[3] The Chinese government has been criticized for censorship, which observers have attributed to a culture of institutional censorship affecting the country's press and Internet. The government censored whistleblowers, journalists, and social media posts about the outbreak. During the beginning of the pandemic, the Chinese government made efforts to clamp down on discussion and hide reporting about it, as such information was seen as unfavorable for local officials. Efforts to fund and control research into the virus's origins have continued up to the present.[24]
Food security[edit]
During the initial outbreak in Wuhan, the government took steps to ensure adequate food supplies in the city, including issuing permits for trucks to go to other cities to get food despite the lockdown.[109]
In May 2022, premier Li Keqiang advised local officials not to allow COVID-19 control measures to affect the harvest, saying that "even if an outbreak is found during the harvest...reaping must go on".[110]
Analyst Darin Friedrichs said that COVID-19 restrictions have caused problems for planting crops in the Northeast, amid "a delicate balancing act" between food security and zero-COVID.[110]
International aid[edit]
China has sent tests, equipment, experts, and vaccines to other countries to help fight the pandemic.[164][165][166] European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič expressed gratitude and praised collaboration between the EU and China.[167] Chinese aid has also been well received in parts of Latin America and Africa.[168][169] Chinese-Americans also marshalled networks in China to obtain medical supplies.[170]
On 13 March, China sent medical supplies, including masks and respirators to Italy, together with a team of Chinese medical staff.[171][172] While the head of the Italian Red Cross, Francesco Rocca said these medical supplies were donated by the Chinese Red Cross,[173] there were other sources that said that these were paid products and services.[174][165] Chinese billionaire and Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma also donated 500,000 masks and other medical supplies, which landed at Liege Airport in Belgium on 13 March and then sent to Italy.[172][175] Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte thanked China for its support and assistance.[176] A former Mexican ambassador Jorge Guajardo said that masks sent to China in January and February were being sold back to Mexico at 20 to 30 times the price.[177]
A U.S. congressional report released in April concluded that "the Chinese government may selectively release some medical supplies for overseas delivery, with designated countries selected, according to political calculations."[177]
On 18 May 2020, the Chinese government pledged US$2 billion to help other countries fight COVID-19 and to aid economic and social development "especially [in] developing countries".[178]
China has also provided vaccines to other countries. In November 2021, the Chinese government pledged to provide 1 billion vaccine doses to African countries, including 600 million donated doses and 400 million other doses, in addition to the 200 million doses it had already provided. In the same announcement, Xi pledged additional investment in Africa and promised to send 1,500 public health experts.[179]