There are signs that China is preparing for life without a zero-COVID policy, with a number of mainland experts this week hinting that the nation of 1.4 billion people will soon learn to live with the virus.
Zeng Guang, the former head of China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said this week that the zero-COVID policy “can’t remain unchanged forever” and that “it is the long-term goal of humanity to co-exist with the virus”.
Although he insisted China should still refrain from opening up while COVID-19 continues to peak in parts of the world, he also recognized the efforts of Western nations in learning to live with the virus and said China should “observe and learn”.
Zeng is one of the first leading Chinese officials to make such comments publicly, but he has not been alone this week either.
Liang Wannian, head of the expert group of the National Health and Medical Commission, also said this week that China’s “dynamic clearing” method of shutting down COVID-19 outbreaks via isolated lockdowns and mass testing would not “remain unchanged forever”.
Instead, he claimed China would develop its own roadmap towards coexisting with the virus when the time is right.
China, alongside its two SARs of Macau and Hong Kong, remain amongst the world’s last holdouts when it comes to maintaining a zero-COVID policy.
