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China's four new vice premiers:Ding Xuexiang, 60, is the first-ranked vice premier who also sits in the ruling Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee, China's top echelon of power. Wang Zhigang, 65, remains minister of science and technology. Huai Jinpeng, 60, remains minister of educationPan Yue, 62, remains head of the National Ethnic Affairs CommissionWang Xiaohong, 65, remains minister of public securityChen Yixin, 63, remains minister of state security. Considered a Xi ally, he had worked with Xi when the latter was party chief of Zhejiang province from 2002-2007. Tang Dengjie, 63, remains minister of civil affairsHe Rong, 60, remains minister of justiceWang Xiaoping, 59, remains minister of human resources and social securityWang Guanghua, 59, remains minister of natural resourcesHuang Runqiu, 59, remains minister of ecology and environmentNi Hong, 60, remains minister of housing and urban-rural developmentLi Xiaopeng, 63, remains minister of transportLi Guoying, 63, remains minister of water resourcesTang Renjian, 60, remains minister of agriculture and rural affairsHu Heping, 60, remains minister of culture and tourismMa Xiaowei, 63, remains head of the National Health CommissionPei Jinjia, 59, remains minister of veterans affairsWang Xiangxi, 60, remains minister of emergency managementHou Kai, 60, remains auditor-general of the National Audit OfficeReporting by Yew Lun Tian, Ziyi Tang, additional reporting by Albee Zhang; Editing by Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Chinese pray for health in Lunar New Year as Covid death toll rises
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

People take photos of fireworks on the Chinese New Year's Eve on January 21, 2023 in Chongqing, China. One Beijing resident said she wished the year of the rabbit will bring "health to everyone". "I think this wave of the pandemic is gone," said the 57-year-old, who only gave her last name, Fang. Earlier, officials reported almost 13,000 deaths related to Covid in hospitals between January 13 and 19, adding to the nearly 60,000 in the month or so before that. Chinese health experts say the wave of infections across the country has already peaked.

☆ Thai AirAsia readies personnel as China travel resumes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A flight attendant participates in an annual aviation safety & emergency course as China reopens its borders, at Asia Aviation Academy in Bangkok, Thailand January 19, 2023. REUTERS/Chalinee ThirasupaBANGKOK, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Budget carrier Thai AirAsia (AAV.BK) is preparing its pilots and cabin crew for the return of Chinese tourists, previously its largest customer group, as the airline resumes routes across China. The airline plans to restart flights to eight Chinese cities including Chongqing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, and Wuhan, for which cabin crew are undergoing refresher training courses. "In the flight, we should have at least one cabin crew who can speak Mandarin to communicate with passengers," said cabin crew member, Sakuna Puangpipat. Reporting by Napat Wesshasartar; Writing by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Kanupriya KapoorOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ COVID-hit Chinese factories eye gradual recovery after Lunar New Year break
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( David Kirton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

But people running factories expect that the sudden U-turn will at least deliver a recovery that will be faster than what would have followed a phased withdrawal of controls. Economically, the country should finally leave behind a pandemic that suppressed domestic demand and snarled global supply chains for three years. LIMPING BACK TO NORMALLi's factories had to scramble last month, when up to a third of their workers were down with COVID at the same time. Her industry peer Li says his factories might even need to cut jobs later this year if external demand weakens. "If the U.S. economy enters a recession, then it's going to be very damaging to us," he said.

According to official statistics, there were about five medical personnel and fewer than five hospital beds per 1,000 people in China’s rural areas in 2020, compared with more than 11 medical personnel and almost nine hospital beds in urban areas. Jiao Yahui, an official at the National Health Commission, said the government’s Covid strategy for rural areas had two main focuses. The lack of facilities means those with Covid are more likely to travel elsewhere for treatment or simply recover at home to avoid further exposure in hospitals. A local resident with the last name Li said he had attended five funerals since last December, all for people who died after contracting Covid. He said he had heard that at least 300 older people died this winter in the county, not including its administered villages or towns.

CHONGQING, China—A month after scrapping most of its zero-Covid restrictions, China is experiencing all at once what many other nations have been navigating for three years. Infections have skyrocketed, medical facilities are stretched to their limits and the elderly and infirm are dying, although official government numbers are seen by public-health experts as vastly underestimating Covid-related deaths.

REUTERS/Tingshu WangBEIJING, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Chinese state media defended on Wednesday the retaliatory measures against South Korea and Japan over their COVID-19 travel curbs as "reasonable", while Chinese tourists decried Seoul's "insulting" treatment on social media. South Korea, Japan, the United States and more than a dozen other countries imposed at the start of the year requirements for pre-departure negative test results from visitors from China. 'INSULTING'Chinese social media anger mainly targeted South Korea, whose border measures are the strictest among the countries that announced new rules. Global Times reserved a separate article for South Korea, saying the measures made Chinese people suspicious that Seoul was putting up a "political show." Annual spending by Chinese tourists abroad reached $250 billion before the pandemic, with South Korea and Japan among the top shopping destinations.

The holiday, known before the pandemic as the world's largest annual migration of people, comes amid an escalating diplomatic spat over COVID curbs that saw Beijing introduce transit curbs for South Korean and Japanese nationals on Wednesday. The virus is spreading unchecked in China after Beijing abruptly began dismantling its previously tight curbs in early December following historic protests. Among them, South Korea and Japan have also limited flights and require tests on arrival, with passengers showing up as positive being sent to quarantine. COUNTING DEATHSSome of the governments that announced curbs on travellers from China cited concerns over Beijing's data transparency. Annual spending by Chinese tourists abroad reached $250 billion before the pandemic, with South Korea and Japan among the top shopping destinations.

☆ 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.

Online footage showed workers protesting at a facility belonging to Zybio Inc, a Chinese pharmaceutical company, in the mega city of Chongqing in the country’s southwest. Social media users said the workers, who produced rapid antigen test kits, had either been unpaid or not paid the full amount promised by Zybio. Videos of the protests at the facility in Chongqing’s Dadukou district were censored on Chinese social media on Monday. One clip posted on Twitter on Sunday appeared to show a standoff between police and workers, who were seen shouting: “Give back my money!” In another, angry workers were seen throwing objects at police. A third video showed laborers protesting from the factory floor, hurling boxes — containing what online social media posts say were antigen test kits — to express their anger.

☆ Protesters clash with police at antigen kit maker factory in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Protesters clashed with police in central China during a demonstration on Saturday by hundreds of people at a factory producing COVID-19 antigen kits, several videos posted to social media showed. Online users said the protest was over wages and the layoff of several workers by the manufacturer, Zybio, in the central municipality of Chongqing. One video showed people throwing traffic cones, boxes and stools at police carrying riot shields. Another video, posted on social media platforms such as Twitter and Douyin, showed dozens of protesters chanting "return our money". Protests are not rare in China, which has over the years seen people demonstrate over issues such as financial scams or labour disputes.

☆ China's big cities are starting to look past Covid, while rural areas brace for infections
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Subway passenger traffic in Shanghai is quickly returning to levels seen before the latest Covid wave, according to Wind data. Subway and road data show traffic in major cities is rebounding, he pointed out, indicating the worst of the latest Covid wave has passed. "The dramatic U-turn in China's Covid policy since mid-Nov implies deeper short-term economic contraction but faster reopening and recovery," Hu said in a report Wednesday. In the last several days, the southern city of Guangzhou and the tourist destination of Sanya said they'd passed the peak of the Covid wave. watch nowChongqing was the most congested city in mainland China during Thursday morning's rush hour, according to Baidu traffic data.

☆ Baidu gets license for driverless robotaxi tests in Beijing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 30 (Reuters) - Baidu Inc (9888.HK) said on Friday it had been granted the first license to test driverless vehicles on roads in Beijing, and would add another 200 robotaxis to its network across China in the coming year. Baidu started to charge fees for its robotaxi service Apollo Go last year. Apollo Go, which operates in Wuhan and Chongqing without a safety driver, delivered a total of 1.4 million driverless rides by end of the third quarter, Baidu has said. The company said it would begin testing 10 fully autonomous vehicles in a technology park developed by the government of Beijing as a step toward offering a commercial robotaxi service in China’s capital. The push by Baidu comes as other companies outside China pull back from the bullish rollout schedule for fully autonomous vehicles predicted just a few years ago.

☆ Hospital warns of ‘tragic battle’ as Covid spreads in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

A Shanghai hospital has told its staff to prepare for a “tragic battle” with Covid-19 as it expects half of the city’s 25 million people will get infected by the end of next week, while the virus sweeps through China largely unchecked. China reported no new Covid deaths for a second consecutive day for Wednesday, even as funeral parlour workers say demand for their services has increased sharply over the past week. Authorities — who have narrowed the criteria for Covid deaths, prompting criticism from many disease experts — confirmed 389,306 cases with symptoms. A Covid patient is wheeled on a stretcher at hospital in China's southwestern city of Chongqing on Thursday. Footage from a Beijing hospital on CCTV state television showed rows of elderly patients in the intensive care unit breathing through oxygen masks.

Now, as the country rapidly relaxes restrictions, millions of people have been told to keep going to work — even if they’re infected. For three years, its stringent approach has kept Covid cases and deaths relatively low in the country. Covid control workers walk by a closed shop near a community with residents under health monitoring for Covid on December 4 in Beijing. Top leaders at the Central Economic Work Conference, a key annual meeting that ended Friday, said in a statement that stabilizing economic growth was the top priority for 2023. Officials nationwide had worked frantically to contain Covid cases ahead of the highly sensitive twice-a-decade leadership reshuffle, which saw Chinese leader Xi Jinping emerge more powerful than ever into his third term.

☆ Beijing braces for surge in severe COVID cases as world watches with concern
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Bernard Orr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/4] People wearing face masks commute in a subway station during morning rush hour, following the coronavirus disease ( COVID-19) outbreak, in Beijing, China January 20, 2021. China, which uses a narrow definition of what can be classified as COVID fatalities, reported no new COVID deaths for Dec. 20, compared with five the previous day. Severe cases rose by 53 across China on Tuesday, versus an increase of 23 the previous day. China does not provide absolute figures of severe cases. Blood clots, heart problems and sepsis - an extreme body response to infection - have caused countless deaths among COVID patients around the world.

Instead, authorities will shift the focus of work from preventing infection to health protection and preventing severe disease, it said. The abrupt U-turn is especially stunning in Chongqing, one of China’s largest cities, with 32 million residents and annual GDP of $400 billion. Jerry Cheng, who works at a state-owned construction company in the city and is currently Covid positive, voiced concerns about the announcement. Cheng’s anxiety was reflected on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, on Monday as Chongqing residents reacted to the announcement. More than a million residents were told not to leave the city unless absolutely necessary, and several rounds of daily mass testing were rolled out.

REUTERS/Thomas PeterDec 6 (Reuters) - China's capital Beijing dropped the need for people to show negative COVID tests to enter supermarkets and offices on Tuesday, the latest in an easing of curbs across the country following last month's historic protests. "Beijing readies itself for life again" read a headline in the government-owned China Daily newspaper, adding that people were "gradually embracing" the slow return to normality. That has sparked optimism among investors for a broader reopening of the world's second biggest economy that could boost global growth. This marks the first decline in Nomura's closely-watched China COVID lockdown index since the start of October, nearly two months ago. Reporting by Ryan Woo and Bernard Orr in Beijing; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China eases controls but gives no sign when ‘zero Covid’ will end
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

BEIJING — China is easing some of the world’s most stringent anti-virus controls and authorities say new variants are weaker. That spurred hopes for a quick end to “zero Covid.” But health experts and economists warn it will be mid-2023 and possibly 2024 before vaccination rates are high enough and hospitals are prepared to handle a possible rash of infections. Ahead of the protests, the Communist Party promised to make “zero Covid” less costly and disruptive but said it was sticking to the overall containment strategy. Travelers at the Chinese capital’s train stations and three airports are required to show a negative virus test within the previous 48 hours. Xi’s government has held up “zero Covid” as proof of the superiority of China’s system compared with the United States and Western countries.

☆ Global investors cheer on China reopening hopes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Hong Kong CNN Business —Global traders are increasingly feeling more bullish on China, as they bet the country will gradually unwind Covid restrictions following widespread protests. Starting Monday, Shanghai residents will no longer require a negative Covid test result to enter outdoor venues including parks and scenic attractions. “Multiple positive developments alongside a clear path set towards reopening warrant an upgrade and index target increases for China,” its analysts said in a research note on Monday. MSCI China, an index tracking major Chinese stocks available to global investors, will hit the 70 level by the end of 2023, according to Morgan Stanley. The offshore yuan, a key gauge of how international investors think about China, strengthened sharply against the US dollar on Monday.

☆ Morgan Stanley upgrades China stocks as global investors cheer on Covid reopening hopes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

[1/5] Pandemic prevention workers in protective suits walk in a street as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreaks continue in Beijing, December 4, 2022. Daily tallies of new COVID infections have also dropped in some regions as authorities row back on testing. CHANGING MESSAGEAlongside the easing of local curbs, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, who oversees COVID efforts, said last week the ability of the virus to cause disease was weakening. That change in messaging aligns with the position adopted by many health authorities around the world for more than a year. The eastern province of Zhejiang said it planned to largely end mass testing, while the metropolis of Nanjing dropped COVID tests for use of public transport.

☆ China reports 34,980 new COVID cases for Dec 1 vs 36,061 a day earlier
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

That is compared with 36,061 new cases a day earlier – 4,150 symptomatic and 31,911 asymptomatic infections, which China counts separately. Excluding imported infections, China reported 34,772 new local cases, of which 4,233 were symptomatic and 30,539 were asymptomatic, down from 35,800 a day earlier. read moreChina's capital Beijing reported 942 symptomatic and 3,026 asymptomatic cases, compared with 1,023 symptomatic and 4,020 asymptomatic cases the previous day, local government data showed. Financial hub Shanghai reported 26 symptomatic cases and 209 asymptomatic cases, compared with 23 symptomatic cases and 174 asymptomatic cases a day before, the local health authority reported. Chongqing reported 189 new symptomatic locally transmitted COVID-19 infections and 6,347 asymptomatic cases, compared with 206 symptomatic and 6,433 asymptomatic cases the previous day, local government authorities said.

☆ US intelligence thinks China's protests will likely fizzle out because they are disorganized and leaderless: Politico
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

US officials think the protests in China are unlikely to gain momentum, Politico reported. Politico saw government communications on how the protests have been leaderless and disorganized. That's according to government communications from Tuesday seen by Politico that described the movements as disorganized and mostly leaderless. Some protesters in Shanghai described being pulled from the crowd indiscriminately, and being beaten and hung upside down by police officers. Protests in Shanghai and Beijing have largely died down, though there were still clashes between protesters and police in Guangzhou on Tuesday night.

☆ Debt woes and zero-Covid: China's cities are running out of cash to pay huge bills
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

They spent 11.8 trillion yuan ($1.65 trillion) more than they raised in revenue between January and October, borrowing heavily to do so, according to data from China’s Ministry of Finance. Andy Wong/AP‘Widest in history’For nearly three years, local governments have borne the brunt of enforcing pandemic controls. The weak fiscal position of local governments has been a drag on the country’s overall financial standing. Kevin Frayer/Getty ImagesLow income, high costsWhy are local governments in this parlous state? In May, Beijing told local governments that they had to bear the costs for regular Covid testing in their regions.

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