By: Ahmed Salam
An expert of Chinese affair
On June 10, 2020, I wrote an article titled ((China, America and the Corona Virus)) in which it said.. “If there are mistakes that have occurred in China, as in every country, in the initial response to the Corona virus, but China’s comprehensive response – with testimony The countries of the world and its organizations – were more effective than most countries, with the application of quarantine on travelers between their cities and the imposition of wearing masks on a large scale in the country, and the adoption of the examination and tracking system and the collection of a huge amount of data, which made it succeed to a large extent in controlling the disease by reaching Zero injuries and deaths.
I remembered what I wrote in my aforementioned article while following the news that indicated last March and April the re-emergence of the Corona virus in some major Chinese provinces and cities, especially Jilin Province and Shanghai, next to the capital, Beijing, in light of the high daily infection rates with the virus. This represented a challenge to China’s policy in dealing with the epidemic, which is based on (zero Covid injuries).
In the face of the re-emergence of the Covid-19 virus, the People’s Republic of China announced, last April, a state of maximum alert to confront the Corona virus, as government authorities imposed closures with tightening restrictions on movement in some cities, with the aim of implementing China’s strategy to achieve “zero” Covid injuries. Through strict border closures, prolonged quarantine measures, rapid and large-scale testing, and targeted closures. Perhaps the most important cities in which the government began imposing restrictions and applying precautionary measures was the city of Shanghai (the capital of money and economy), and the measures also included a complete or partial re-closure in about 22 Chinese cities.
The most severe and strictest measures have been seen in Shanghai and Beijing, with more than sixty quarantine sites in sports stadiums, hotels and exhibitions being prepared, nearly 40,000 temporary medical hospitals set up, and more than 50 million people receiving a swab (BC). R) during the months of April and May 2022.
The city of Beijing has carried out large-scale examinations of its residents almost every day since the number of infections rose. Millions of residents in the capital, Beijing, were directed to work remotely through the use of social media, transportation and transportation services were suspended, and the government took it upon itself to provide goods and food and deliver them to residents in their places of residence, amid fears of a repeat of the chaos caused by the closure in Shanghai.
In light of the effective control of COVID-19 in Shanghai, the city’s local authorities have announced the relaxation of the measures to control the Corona virus, by easing restrictions on entering or leaving apartment complexes, resuming public transportation services, and relaxing rules imposed on private cars on the roads, This is as of the first of June.
In fact, there are no indications that China intends to abandon its fight to maintain zero cases of Covid, as the “zero Covid” approach is the best option for the country to achieve a balance between pandemic control and economic development, which requires the need to continue to use this approach. This is despite the significant repercussions and impacts of the Chinese government’s implementation of the aforementioned closure measures on the economic and social conditions in China, to counter the re-emergence of Covid-19. And confirmed by local and international statistics and figures. Figures from China’s National Bureau of Statistics indicate that a strict closure in Shanghai alone can reduce China’s real GDP by 4% if the closure continues for several months, and the contraction rises to 12% if the closure includes the cities of Beijing, Quanzhou, Tianjin.
Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings lowered its forecast for China’s economic growth for the whole of 2022 from 4.8% to 4.3%, far from the Chinese government’s official target of 5.5%. In a sign that China’s economy is in recession, the main indicator of service sector activity fell to 36.2 points last April, reaching its second lowest level ever.
In fact, most countries of the world have given priority in their measures to the economy, unlike what China has resorted to, which has made combating the epidemic and maintaining the health and safety of its citizens a top priority, and this means different policies in combating the epidemic between countries and some of them, but in the end we are We live in a small global village and we are all affected by any epidemic or pandemic.. I do not mean here that every country follows the same policy as China. Each country has its own circumstances, but China chose what corresponds to its population of one billion and four hundred million people. It fits with it, and undoubtedly, I imagine that China has a special strategy in combating many epidemics such as monkeypox, which has begun to appear recently, as well as combating hepatitis and many others. It is very important for all countries of the world to benefit from China’s experience in combating epidemics and benefiting from what it has reached from The results on the ground and the economic and social losses incurred in this context – on behalf of the countries of the world that are still suffering from Covid-19 and its consequences – and in order to preserve the Chinese citizen and even work to benefit the world with the results of this experience. Difficult.
There is no doubt that in the face of the constantly mutating Covid virus, China is learning from the past and improving its preventive measures, to stop the spread of infection in the shortest possible time with the least impact on economic development.. I repeat that all countries of the world should benefit from China’s successful experiences.
