Portrait of Xi Jinping
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Xi Jinping on COVID-19

Zero-COVID Strong Advocate (strong)

TL;DR

Xi Jinping directed China's response, prioritizing strict, science-based containment through measures like zero-COVID until late 2022.

Key Points

  • The leader chaired many meetings and issued key instructions from January 20 to September 23, 2020, documenting the coordination of epidemic containment and development.

  • He ordered that great attention should be paid to prevention and control of the epidemic on January 20, 2020.

  • The leader called for greater international vaccine cooperation and equity, including support for the WTO intellectual property waiver, at the 2021 G20 summit.

Summary

Xi Jinping, as China's highest leader, personally directed the national response to the COVID-19 outbreak, emphasizing that the health and safety of the people must be placed before all else. His administration implemented a strategy known as zero-COVID, which aimed for the dynamic clearing of all local transmission through intense, short-term public health measures, including aggressive contact tracing, large-scale testing, and mandatory isolation for the infected. Through extraordinary efforts under the Central Committee's leadership, China secured a decisive victory over the initial outbreak in Wuhan and Hubei Province, allowing the economy to return to positive growth while other major economies contracted. This comprehensive and rigorous approach was consistently hailed by the leader as a success that withstood tests, such as the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The zero-COVID policy, however, evolved and ultimately faced sustained challenges from more transmissible variants, leading to widespread domestic protests in late 2022 against the continuing strict measures and censorship. Following this unrest, the government formally abandoned the zero-COVID policy in December 2022, pivoting away from elimination. Internationally, the leader called for greater global cooperation, supporting vaccine equity and actively sharing guidelines and medical supplies with other nations, framing China's fight as playing an important role in the global response.

Frequently Asked Questions

Xi Jinping's core strategy was the zero-COVID policy, which aimed to eliminate all domestic transmission of the virus. He personally directed the national response, emphasizing that containment efforts must be comprehensive, rigorous, and thorough to ensure the safety and health of the people.

The leader's firm adherence to the zero-COVID policy was maintained until late 2022, even as major outbreaks occurred. Following nationwide protests regarding the strictness and social costs, the government effectively ended the zero-COVID policy in December 2022.

The leader stressed the importance of international cooperation, advocating for vaccine equity among developed and developing nations. China actively shared treatment protocols and provided medical supplies and vaccines to other countries, positioning itself as a responsible major economy in the global fight.