The President of the European Council met the Chinese leader this Friday in Beijing, in the context of unprecedented demonstrations in China to criticize the “zero Covid” policy.
The less lethal Omicron variant of the Covid virus allows “more flexibilityin restrictions in China, President Xi Jinping explained to European Council President Charles Michel, according to remarks reported Friday, December 2 by a European official.
The protests in China are explained by the fact that “people were frustrated“After three years of epidemic, also explained Xi Jinping to Charles Michel, during an interview Thursday, according to this European official speaking on condition of anonymity.
Several Chinese cities further eased draconian anti-Covid rules on Friday, following historic protests in recent days to demand an end to restrictions and more freedoms. The anger and frustration of the Chinese with regard to the hard line health in the fight against the pandemic had overflowed in the streets last weekend, a mobilization of an unprecedented scale for decades.
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Charles Michel, who represents the 27 EU member states, was visiting Beijing on Wednesday and Thursday, where he met Chinese President Xi Jinping. He pleaded for the use of vaccines against Covid and raised the question of the severe restrictions in force in China.
“The response received from the President (Xi) was more to explain why there are protests, to complain that after three years of Covid there was a problem because people were frustrated. They were mostly students“, explained the European official.
Xi Jinping justified the relaxation of the anti-Covid policy, stressing that from now on, the variant of “Covid in China is mostly Omicron, less lethal, which paves the way for more flexibility in restrictions“, According to this official.