The Chinese capital has taken hesitant steps towards a reopening earlier this week, with most parts of Beijing removing restrictions on seating in restaurants and many workers returning to offices. But new eruptions of corona across the country and new closures in parts of Shanghai continue to endanger the Chinese economy.
For more than a month, Beijing health authorities have enforced strict measures on business in the city and on the movement of people in an attempt to eradicate the worst corona outbreak in the Chinese capital since the early days of the plague. City officials say these efforts have worked and the amount of daily infections has dropped to a dozen cases or less in recent days, following weeks in which tests were done for most of the city’s population, which has a population of 20 million.
By allowing restaurants, gyms and other businesses to reopen, Beijing authorities point out that they believe they have managed to take control of the latest eruption without requiring strict closures as imposed in Shanghai and elsewhere.
On Monday morning, Beijing roads were crowded with cars. Passengers again filled the subway cars on their way to work. Young Pan, 30, said he was unable to find a seat on the train for the first time in a row. He said he was pleased with the way government officials had taken control of the recent outbreak in Beijing, especially because they had managed to avoid a widespread closure.
Zhang Shangtau, operations manager at Hoda Restaurant, a well-known local institution that serves fish dishes 24 hours a day, said the last month with the restrictions was the most difficult period at the restaurant in the 12 years it has been operating. Workers had to agree to pay cuts of up to 30% and the restaurant survived only thanks to delivery packages and a pop-up store that offered takeaway dishes, Zhang said.
When Hoda employees heard that the restaurant was returning the next day, they immediately started preparing it. By 9:30 pm on Sunday, a long line had already begun to form. By midnight, when the restaurant opened its doors, there were more than 350 people queuing along the street, Zhang said. “We’ve been waiting for this moment for so long,” he said, adding that the restaurant is working to raise salaries back to their original level, now that the restrictions have been lifted.
“Zero tolerance for Corona” policy scars
Crushing the plague before it spread has become one of the most important initiatives of Chinese President Xi Jinping, this approach has depleted many state resources. Presenting the strategy as a success is especially important to Shai who seeks to secure a third term at a Communist Party meeting later this year.
For most of 2020 and 2021, China’s leaders said their “zero corona” policies served the country well. By closing actual borders and eradicating cases aggressively, China has avoided extensive disease and a high death toll as it has in the US and elsewhere.
Corona’s contagious omicron strain has challenged this approach especially in Shanghai. In the past two months, nearly every 25 million residents of the city have been stranded in their homes because of a government decision that led China’s most important city to be economically halted with a squeak of the brakes. When rumors of a Shanghai-style closure began circulating in Beijing last month, a panic erupted that led to an onslaught on food products for fear of shortages.
Shanghai has started to open up more in recent days, although many residents remain afraid that the city will restrict them to their homes again soon. Over the weekend, Jinjan Province blocked 56 residential areas after five new hotspots were found.
Meanwhile, the northeastern city of Dandong, on China’s border with North Korea, has witnessed dozens of cases that have surfaced in recent weeks and led authorities to seal entire areas of the city. North Korea is openly fighting its first corona outbreak and has asked for help from China, its closest neighbor.
The economic scars of China’s zero corona ‘policy are likely to deepen in the coming months, economists say. In the wake of growing caution about the economy among Chinese elites, Prime Minister Li Qiqiang convened an unusual video call that included tens of thousands of officials from across China at the end of last month to encourage them to work harder to save the Chinese economy. Many economists believe that China will not be able to reach its growth target for this year, 5.5%.
Restrictions were unequally enforced
Even with the tightening of restrictions in Beijing in recent weeks, some locals have said they do not believe the government will impose a full closure as imposed in Shanghai. It also appears that many of the restrictions that have indeed been implemented have been unequally enforced.
For example, the Yangma River in Beijing’s embassy district has in recent weeks become a meeting place for wealthy Chinese, Western diplomats and others. In order to prevent such encounters, the authorities erected a fence and signs prohibiting gatherings along the river. But many ignored the instructions and met anyway.
During the day, retirees set up tables and play cards with friends along the banks of the river. On a recent weekend evening, Lamborghini and other sports and luxury cars were parked on the road not far away, and there were people selling Jack Daniels whiskey and beers from the trunk.