by Eduardo Baptista and David Stanway
BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – The daily rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in Beijing has sparked fears among residents who fear further restrictions, with Chinese authorities threatening to take action against opponents of their “zero COVID” policy. “.
China, which suffers a high economic cost and faces public criticism on the internet, which is tightly controlled in the country, stands out from other states which are lifting restrictions and relying on vaccines to protect their populations.
Internationally, industry organizations are complaining about the global economic impact of Chinese restrictions.
Beijing is trying to avoid an outbreak of cases like the one seen in Shanghai, which has forced the city into near total confinement for more than a month, resulting in a heavy financial and psychological cost for its inhabitants.
Following a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Politburo, the political bureau of the Communist Party of China, state media reported that Beijing would retaliate to any comments or actions that misrepresent, question or dismiss its anti-COVID policy. -19.
The official organ of the Communist Party of China, the People’s Daily, on Friday attacked accusations that China’s policies are disrupting the global economy and trade.
“Certain American politicians have frequently attacked and denigrated China’s epidemic prevention and control measures and attempted to blame China for the said disruption of global supply chains,” the editorial reads. of the newspaper, which does not identify anyone.
The Chinese yuan fell to its lowest level against the dollar since November 2020. Chinese stock markets also fell sharply.
In Shanghai, where the epidemic is under control, according to the authorities, most of the 25 million inhabitants are still either strictly confined to their homes or authorized to move in a limited way.
The Asian Games, which were to take place in September in the city of Hangzhou, southwest of Shanghai, have been postponed to 2023.
In the past 24 hours, Beijing has reported 66 new COVID-19 infections and a total of 610 cases since April 22.
In order to prevent future outbreaks, Chinese authorities have also set up permanent testing centers to carry out PCR tests and try to “normalize” checks in the future.
(Reporting Eduardo Baptista and David Stanway, written by Marius Zaharia; French version Dagmarah Mackos, editing by Kate Entringer)