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☆ COVID wave past its peak in many parts of China - state media
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Bernard Orr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BEIJING, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Many parts of China are already past their peak of COVID-19 infections, state media reported on Tuesday, with officials further downplaying the severity of the outbreak despite international concerns about its scale and impact. One official was quoted as saying nearly 90 million people had already been infected in Henan province. On Tuesday, a Health Times compilation of reports from local government officials and health experts across the country, suggested the COVID wave may be past its peak in many regions. Yin Yong, acting mayor of Beijing, was cited as saying the capital was also past its peak. Separately in the state-run China Daily, a prominent health official said the percentage of severe cases remained unclear.

☆ Morning Bid: Goodbye to all that
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Tom Westbrook:After three years, travellers are streaming into China by air, land and sea. the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, the People's Daily, wrote on Sunday. The yuan punched through its 200-day moving average to its highest since August, and the dollar was in retreat wherever Chinese tourists are expected. The twin hopes, then, of a gentler Fed and reviving China are holding recession fears at bay. In emerging markets, focus is on the open of trade in the Brazilian real after hundreds of supporters of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro were arrested during an invasion of the country's Congress, presidential palace and Supreme Court.

[1/5] Passengers push their luggage through the international arrivals hall at Beijing Capital International Airport after China lifted the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) quarantine requirement for inbound travellers in Beijing, China January 8, 2023. China's management of COVID was technically downgraded to "Category B" on Sunday, although many curbs have been dropped for weeks. Officially, China has reported just 5,272 COVID-related deaths as of Jan.8, one of the lowest rates of death from the infection in the world. State broadcaster CCTV reported on Sunday that direct flights from South Korea to China were close to sold out. South Korea like many other countries now requires travellers from China, Macau and Hong Kong to provide negative COVID test results before departure.

Meanwhile, World Health Organization officials met Chinese scientists on Tuesday amid concerns over the accuracy of China's data on the spread and evolution of its outbreak. China reported five new COVID-19 deaths for Jan. 3, compared with three a day earlier, bringing the official death toll to 5,258, very low by global standards. British-based health data firm Airfinity has said about 9,000 people in China are probably dying each day from COVID. Bookings for international flights from China have risen by 145% year-on-year in recent days, the government-run China Daily newspaper reported, citing data from travel booking platform Trip.com. But there are signs that an increase in travel from China could further spread the virus abroad.

☆ China state media plays down COVID wave severity before WHO meet
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Bernard Orr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The World Health Organization on Friday urged China's health officials to regularly share specific and real-time information on the COVID situation. The agency has invited Chinese scientists to present detailed data on viral sequencing at a meeting of a technical advisory group scheduled for Tuesday. The European Union has offered free COVID vaccines to China to help contain the outbreak, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. China has rejected criticism of its COVID data and said any new mutations may be more infectious but less harmful. Data on Tuesday showed China's factory activity shrank at a sharper pace in December as the COVID wave disrupted production and hurt demand.

☆ China state media plays down severity of COVID wave before WHO meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Bernard Orr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The country spent big on quarantine and testing facilities over the past three years rather than bolstering hospitals and clinics and training medical staff, these people said. "There is no transition time for the medical system to prepare for this," said Zuofeng Zhang, professor of epidemiology at the University of California, Los Angeles. The failure to boost vaccination rates among the vulnerable could imperil China's health system, more than a dozen experts said. The death of a 23-year-old medical student in Chengdu on Dec. 14 fueled public ire at the strain on China's health system. Chen Jiming, a researcher at China's Foshan University, said there was every chance that China's medical system could cope now that the country has ended quarantine for asymptomatic and mild cases.

☆ Chinese capital Beijing reports first COVID deaths since policy easing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Two former Chinese state media journalists have died in the capital Beijing in recent days due to COVID-19, local media reported on Friday, among the first reported fatalities since most epidemic control policies were removed on Dec. 7. Yang Lianghua, a former People's Daily reporter, died on Dec. 15, aged 74, while Zhou Zhichun, a former China Youth Daily editor, died on Dec. 8, aged 77, according to financial magazine Caixin. China's national health authority has not reported any official COVID deaths since dismantling many of its domestic epidemic control policies on Dec. 7. The last official deaths were reported on Dec. 3, in Shandong and Sichuan provinces. Reporting by Beijing Newsroom Editing by Raissa KasolowskyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

In the central city of Wuhan, where the pandemic erupted in late 2019, there were more signs of life with some areas busy with commuters on Friday. "They've relaxed the measures but still, there’s nobody about," said a taxi driver surnamed Wang, who didn't want to give his full name. But there are signs the reassuring new message has still to convince many of the country's 1.4 billion people. China's current tally of 5,235 COVID-related deaths is a tiny fraction of its population of 1.4 billion, and extremely low by global standards. Some experts have warned that toll could rise above 1.5 million if the exit is too hasty.

☆ Chinese cities announce further easing of COVID curbs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Martin Quin Pollard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/David 'Dee' DelgadoBEIJING, Dec 4 (Reuters) - More Chinese cities including Urumqi in the far west announced easing of coronavirus curbs on Sunday, as China tries to make its zero-COVID policy more targeted and less onerous after extraordinary protests against restrictions last weekend. A deadly apartment fire last month in Urumqi had sparked dozens of protests against COVID curbs in over 20 cities, a show of civil disobediance unprecedented in mainland China since President Xi Jinping took power in 2012. On Saturday in Beijing, local authorities said purchasing fever, cough and sore throat medicines no longer requires real name registration. "We shouldn't shut down COVID testing stations until we get rid of the COVID test pass." GLOBAL OUTLIERXi's zero-COVID policy has made China a global outlier nearly three years into the pandemic, which started in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

☆ Wrong Covid test results in China raise concerns 'the pandemic may never end'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesBEIJING — Local frustration with Covid controls in China has increasingly targeted virus testing requirements and the big business they've fueled. The article listed several instances of allegedly forged virus test results this year across the country, including in Shanghai and Beijing. Last week, Lanzhou city health authorities blamed one of those companies for reporting some positive virus test results as negative. In the U.S., a surge of pop-up virus testing stations raised concerns of fraud as well as identity theft. In May, the central government promoted the idea that in large cities, a Covid testing station should be within 15 minutes' walking distance.

☆ Chinese papers go black in mourning for late leader Jiang Zemin
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/6] A Chinese flag is lowered to half-staff, following the death of former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, in Shanghai, China, December 1, 2022. REUTERS/Aly SongBEIJING, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Chinese newspapers turned their front pages black on Thursday and flags were put at half mast in mourning for the death of former president Jiang Zemin, whose death has prompted a wave of nostalgia for the more liberal times he oversaw. Jiang died in his home city of Shanghai just after noon on Wednesday of leukaemia and multiple organ failure. "Beloved comrade Jiang Zemin will never be forgotten," it said in its headline, above a story republishing the official announcement of his death. "Having someone educated as leader really is a good thing, RIP," wrote one user on WeChat adding a candle emoji.

☆ China police out in numbers to prevent more COVID protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Eduardo Baptista | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Epidemic-prevention workers in protective suits stand guard at a residential compound as outbreaks of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continue in Beijing, China November 28, 2022. Simmering discontent with COVID prevention policies three years into the pandemic ignited into broader protests in cities thousands of miles apart throughout the weekend. COVID in China keeps spreading despite significant sacrifices made by most of the country's 1.4 billion people to prevent its transmission, adhering to a zero-COVID policy of eradicating all outbreaks that has isolated China from the rest of the world. The lockdowns have exacerbated one of the steepest growth slowdowns China has faced in decades, disrupting global supply chains and roiling financial markets. In Hangzhou, the capital of the eastern Zhejiang province, videos on social media which Reuters could not independently verify showed hundreds of police occupying a large public square on Monday night, preventing people from congregating.

Two protesters told Reuters that callers identifying themselves as Beijing police officers asked them to report to a police station on Tuesday with written accounts of their activities on Sunday night. "We are all desperately deleting our chat history," said another person who witnessed the Beijing protest and declined to be identified. Simmering discontent with stringent COVID prevention policies three years into the pandemic ignited into protests in cities thousands of miles apart over the weekend. Officials say the COVID policy has kept the death toll in the thousands, avoiding the millions of deaths elsewhere. In an editorial that did not mention the protests, People's Daily, the Party's official newspaper, urged citizens to "unswervingly implement" COVID policies.

☆ China might not make major changes to its Covid policy any time soon, despite weekend protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A couple pass necessities over a Covid lockdown barrier in Guangzhou city on Nov. 17, 2022. Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty ImagesBEIJING — China won't likely make major changes to its Covid policy in the near future despite this weekend's protests, analysts said. Groups of people in China took to the streets over the weekend to vent their frustration, built up over nearly three years of stringent Covid controls. Separately, the People's Daily ran a front page op-ed Monday on the need to make Covid controls more targeted and effective, while removing those that should be removed. He noted how it was no longer sustainable for China's economy and society to accept continued Covid controls.

☆ Protests against Covid controls erupt across China
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Demonstrators against Covid restrictions hold blank sheets of paper during a protest in Beijing in the early hours of Monday, Nov. 28. BEIJING — Rare protests broke out across China over the weekend as groups of people vented their frustration over the zero-Covid policy. The unrest came as infections surged, prompting more local Covid controls, while a central government policy change earlier this month had raised hopes of a gradual easing. People's Daily, the Communist Party's official newspaper, ran a front page op-ed Monday on the need to make Covid controls more targeted and effective, while removing those that should be removed. On Sunday, municipal authorities said temporary controls on movement should not last more than 24 hours.

☆ Analysis: For China's COVID policy, change comes in small increments
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Tony Munroe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Authorities are making changes such as more precisely targeting lockdowns, rolling out new vaccines and adding international flights. Daily infections, though extremely low by international standards, are hitting six-month highs, while officials repeatedly reaffirm the zero-COVID policy that President Xi Jinping argues saves lives. Still, Huang does not expect fundamental change in China's COVID policy anytime soon. "COVID is not scary, it is preventable and treatable," the city's health authority told residents. China recently began rolling out what is believed to be the world's first inhalable COVID vaccine, which could help in reducing vaccine hesitancy that is especially widespread among older Chinese.

☆ China says it's running on a new version of democracy that doesn't rely on elections. Experts say it's just another mind game.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

He first introduced the term "whole-process democracy" to China in a 2019 speech. However, by November that year, "whole-process democracy" was mentioned in 128 People's Daily articles, per CMP. "China's whole-process people's democracy integrates process-oriented democracy with results-oriented democracy, procedural democracy with substantive democracy, direct democracy with indirect democracy and people's democracy with the will of the state," says China's white paper on the subject, per CGTN. Semantics aside, a key point to note is that "whole-process democracy" plays down the need for elections. Even so, Chong said, whole-process democracy might still help the CCP give the impression that it cares about the average citizen.

☆ China can't win COVID battle by 'lying flat' - People's Daily
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Lying flat is not to be advised, and to win (the COVID battle) while lying flat is not possible," People's Daily wrote on Wednesday. "Only by insisting on dynamically clearing (cases as they arise) could huge losses arising from losing control of the epidemic be avoided by the full extent," People's Daily wrote. China's health authority reported on Wednesday 1,760 new local cases for Oct. 11, down from 2,089 a day earlier. The impact of China's tough COVID policies has been felt across the world. "Some countries choose to 'lie down' and adopt the policy of 'coexisting with the virus', not because they do not want to prevent and control the epidemic, but because they are unable to prevent and control the epidemic," People's Daily said.

Women with dogs chat through gaps in a barrier at a sealed area, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Shanghai, China October 11, 2022. Shanghai, a city of 25 million people, reported 28 new local cases for Oct. 10, authorities said on Tuesday, the fourth day of double-digit increases. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterNationwide, 2,089 new local infections were reported, the highest since Aug. 20. That's a step up from once a week presently, a regime imposed after the earlier lockdown was lifted. Checks on people travelling to Shanghai and places such as hotels, should also be strengthened, municipal authorities said.

☆ Hu Chunhua: From rural roots to candidate for China premiership
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Dominique Patton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"For his policy record, I would pick Hu," said Yu Jie, senior research fellow on China at Chatham House. Hu is depicted in state media as a man of action, sometimes shown checking on planting progress in far-flung provinces. YOUTH LEAGUE ROOTS, POVERTY FIGHTERHu got his start in the party training ground of the Communist Youth League. Despite his Youth League roots - the faction was seen to be a rival to Xi's - Hu has proved his loyalty to Xi, promoting many of his initiatives in rural areas, including the campaign to eradicate poverty. Hu also wrote a paean to Xi's "historic achievements" on rural issues published in the party's official People's Daily in July.

☆ China urges 'patience' as COVID cases rebound ahead of key congress
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Ryan Woo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

People line up to get tested for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a nucleic acid testing site, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Shanghai, China, October 10, 2022. REUTERS/Aly SongSummary Local COVID cases in China rise to highest since Aug. 20Covid epicentre in northern region of Inner MongoliaParts of Shanghai close leisure, entertainment venuesBEIJING, Oct 10 (Reuters) - China called for "patience" with its tough COVID policies and warned against any "war-weariness" as local cases soared to their highest since August, days ahead of a pivotal Communist Party congress. A few days into the Golden Week, the western region of Xinjiang also barred people from leaving as cases ticked higher. Tourists stranded in Xinjiang could seek temporary work as electricians, cooks and wood craftsmen, advised authorities in its capital Urumqi. Shanghai, which locked down its entire population of 25 million in April and May, reported 34 local cases on Oct. 9, the most in almost three months.

☆ China alleges U.S. spy agency hacked key infrastructure and sent user data back to headquarters
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

But more recently, it has accused the U.S.'s National Security Agency of hacking specific targets. China accused a top U.S. spy agency of stealing Chinese user data and infiltrating the country's telecommunications infrastructure, according to a report published Tuesday, which lays out details of the alleged cyberattack method. Chinese state media last week first reported on an alleged attack by the U.S. National Security Agency on China's government funded Northwestern Polytechnical University and promised that more details would follow. Tuesday's report from China's National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center and cybersecurity company 360, lays out the specific ways the alleged attack was carried out. The NSA was able to get into the university's network, get the credentials of people who worked there, which allowed the U.S. agency to further penetrate the systems, the report alleged.

The cruise ship is the biggest cluster of infected people outside China, with some 285 confirmed cases out of 3,500 passengers and crew. 6:00 pm: First coronavirus death confirmed in Europe, French health minister saysAn 80-year-old Chinese tourist has died of the new coronavirus in a hospital in France, French Health Minister Agnes Buzyn said Saturday, confirming the first fatality from the fast-spreading respiratory virus in Europe. watch nowThe cruise ship is the biggest cluster of infected people outside China, with some 285 confirmed cases out of 3,500 passengers and crew. — Feuer1:21 pm: CDC concerned with report of infected health workers in ChinaA U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official said the notice from China's National Health Commission about 1,716 health workers infected with the coronavirus was "concerning." Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters during a press briefing that there are currently no U.S. health workers infected with the virus.

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