Question: Is China's "dynamic zero-COVID" policy sustainable?

Spokesperson: China's "dynamic zero-COVID" policy is not aimed at zero infection. Rather, it aims to control the spread of the virus at the lowest possible cost in the shortest possible time. China has accumulated a suite of effective prevention and control protocols and has been making adjustments in a timely manner according to the changes of the virus and the situation on the ground.

China is one of the countries that are most successful in COVID-19 response. This is a fact recognised by the international community. China has the world's lowest infection and fatality rates. According to a paper published by The Lancet in March, global estimates of excess deaths indicate 18.2 million people may have died because of the pandemic, with the excess mortality rate estimated to be 120 deaths per 100,000 people globally, 179 in the US, and 0.6 in China.

China was the only major economy that achieved positive growth in 2020. In 2021, China's GDP grew 8.1% year-on-year, with a two-year average of 5.1%, one of the highest among major economies in the world. In the first quarter of 2022, China's GDP expanded by 4.8% year-on-year. The above data show that the "dynamic zero-COVID" policy suits China's conditions and is effective in coordinating pandemic control and social and economic development.

Since March this year, China has withstood the most severe test in COVID response since the battle to defend Wuhan. We have put cluster infections in Jilin province and other places under effective control and achieved initial success in tackling the pandemic in Shanghai. The number of cases in China has been falling on the whole. Going forward, the time window provided by the "dynamic zero-COVID" policy will enable the expansion of the coverage of vaccination and acceleration of R&D of medicines and vaccines as well as allow time for preparations in terms of medical resources, isolation beds, material supplies and emergency response mechanisms. Hopefully at the same time, effective medicines can be put to wider use and there will not be new and worse mutations. With all these efforts and conditions in place, the battle against the COVID pandemic can surely be won.