China’s President Xi Jinping is under unprecedented pressure amid protests against the nation’s COVID-zero policy, with experts warning that continued lockdowns and a lack of transparent communication will hurt supply chains and possibly the global economy.
In rare protests over the weekend, not seen since Xi Jinping took power a decade ago, protesters chanted: “Down with the Chinese Communist Party! Down with Xi Jinping,” according to witnesses and videos posted on social media.
“We’ve not seen protests of this nature for a long time,” Dr Jennifer Hsu, the Lowy Institute’s project director, multiculturalism, identity and influence project, told The New Daily.
“Partly because of COVID lockdown, but also because of restrictions around gathering and civil society since Xi Jinping came to power.”
Fire sparks protests
The catalyst for the protest was a deadly fire in an apartment block in the far western city of Urumqi that killed 10 people.
There was speculation that COVID-19 curbs in the city, parts of which had been under lockdown for 100 days, had slowed rescue efforts, which city officials denied.
Protests have spread across the nation, including to Beijing and Shanghai, where large crowds gathered for a candlelight vigil, according to videos widely circulated – and promptly censored – on Chinese social media.
CNN reported that the crowd chanted, “Don’t want COVID test, want freedom!” and “Don’t want dictatorship, want democracy!”
Dr Hsu said protesters were angry about a number of issues.
“COVID and frustration around lockdown are definitely at the heart of the protest. But some of the other things that are driving the protests are about urban government [and] its provision of basic, public goods and services,” said Dr Hsu.
Tweet from @selinawangtv
Zero COVID
China has continued to pursue a zero-COVID policy as much of the world has lifted restrictions.
Mr Xi is in a tricky spot: Does he lift restrictions and risk losing face or crack down on protesters and risk causing more unrest?
“The government is between a rock and a hard place … Xi Jinping knows that if he opens up too early then there’s going to be widespread breakout of illness, loss and death,” said Monash University’s Dr Alice De Jonge, who is researching China’s social credit system.
Dr Hsu said China could still tell the world that it has meagre COVID death rates compared to other large nations, something Mr Xi would be reluctant to give up.
Protests in China are not rare. What *is* rare, are multiple protests over the same issue, at the same time, across the country. The protest below, apparently in central Beijing’s liangmaqiao, is astounding #China #protests pic.twitter.com/UHJCqqF1YG
— Tom Mackenzie (@TomMackenzieTV) November 27, 2022
“Zero COVID is going to be hard for the party-state to take a step back, or two steps back on, to lessen their hold on the population and lockdown measures,” she said.
China sought to make the curbs more targeted and less onerous earlier this month prompting speculation it was moving towards full reopening. However, a resurgence in cases has thwarted hopes for significant easing any time soon.
The Chinese government will be concerned about the image the protests project to the rest of the world, particularly after what was seen as a positive G20 appearance by Mr Xi.
Journalist detained
On Monday, the BBC said Chinese police assaulted and detained one of its journalists covering a protest in Shanghai before releasing him after several hours.
“The BBC is extremely concerned about the treatment of our journalist Ed Lawrence, who was arrested and handcuffed while covering the protests in Shanghai,” a BBC spokesperson said.
“He was held for several hours before being released. During his arrest, he was beaten and kicked by the police. This happened while he was working as an accredited journalist.”
Manufacturing and supply chains
Any disruption to China’s supply chain because of lockdown measures will have major global implications, worsening the global economic downturn, expert in Australia-China relations and associate professor at University of Technology Sydney, Dr Marina Zhang said.
It’s unlikely that China will let it get to that stage, she said.
“Somebody will put a brake on it. There will be a gradual return to normal, otherwise the consequences are severe for China and the global economy,” Dr Zhang said.
“If the world can open up with controlled damages and losses, China can do it too. Somebody needs to do it. The question is, when is that trigger point?”
