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Herald Correspondent 

The just-ended Spring Festival in China, the traditional Chinese Lunar New Year, has proved that the country’s dynamic “zero-Covid” policy has been a success.

For the first time in two years, Chinese people were free to travel, meet families and enjoy without strict restrictions that had been imposed to contain the virus.

As China entered a new phase of low infection, the authorities made significant changes in December characterised by limited restrictions and the encouragement of travel and tourism for both locals and foreigners.

What immediately struck was how China’s measures received massive home support as well as the support of progressive nations and neighbours, while exciting jealously and hypocrisy of detractors, such as Western countries.

This article aims to objectively unpack the new measures and their implications and how the world can pick vital lessons from China on how to tackle pandemics.

The depth and dynamism of China’s knowledge and management of the disease is naturally a good thing for global health. 

Countries in Africa, including Zimbabwe, may learn key lessons from the principled approach China took, from safeguarding people’s health as a priority to employing practical, science-based interventions to stem the pandemic.

What are the new measures?  

These can be bifurcated into two: domestic and external.

According to information from official accounts, domestically, there are three major changes. 

First, identification of sources of infection; second, management of sources of infection; and third, optimisation of response measures at community level. 

Epidemic prevention and control at community level will mainly target at key locations, institutions and groups of people. Restrictions on other locations and other people’s movement will be reduced or even removed to minimise impacts on people’s life and work.  

A number of measures have been effected since January 8. 

First of all, policies on frontier health and quarantine were adjusted. Inbound travellers only need to show a negative nucleic acid test taken within 48 hours prior to departure, without the need to apply for a health code from Chinese embassies or consulates. 

This measure removed quarantine requirements.  

Since January, China has begun admitting foreign national into the country for such purposes as resumption of work, business, education, visiting relatives and family reunion and provide corresponding visa facilitation. These had been halted in the strict regime that previously obtained.

China has begun to allow outbound tourism for Chinese citizens, and has moved to lift limits on numbers and destinations of international flights.

Additionally, China has begun implementing measures to guarantee freight transport at ports and will gradually resume entry and exit of passengers by land and water on the basis of comprehensive assessment, among other considerations.

Major shift in 

low infection stage

China has since started managing COVID-19 based on a new classification “Class B infectious diseases”, instead of “Class A infectious diseases”. 

In this regard, China renamed the Chinese term for COVID-19 from “novel coronavirus pneumonia” to “novel coronavirus infection” and this implies a downgrade management of the disease from Class A to Class B in accordance with the country’s law on prevention and treatment of infectious disease, and remove it from quarantinable infectious disease management carried out in accordance with the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law of the People’s Republic of China.

This essentially means that China recognised – based on science – that the country had entered into a low-infection stage, hence the need to relax the strict measures.

Latest statistics by the National Health Commission (NHC) on the disease show low infection with new cases steadily declining, highlighting the effectiveness of prevention work after the country downgraded the management of COVID-19 from Class A to B.

According to Global Times, during a press conference by the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council, the NHC provided statistics that were consistent with China’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (China’s CDC) findings which showed the recent wave of the epidemic peaked in late December 2022 and by late January 2023, the overall nationwide spread of the virus had decreased to a lower level, relieving pressure on the country’s medical system. 

China, however, remains vigilant, with the prevention work in rural areas remaining the top priority.

Economic performance: Good indication that China is on the right path China’s optimisation of the Covid measures will be successful.

This is backed by the latest data from global organisations.

On Monday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected that China’s economy would grow by 5.2 percent in 2023, 0,8 percentage points higher than October 2022 forecast.

“Growth is expected to pick up in China with the full reopening in 2023,” the IMF said in the newly released update to its World Economic Outlook report, cited by Xinhua.

Global growth is projected to fall from an estimated 3,4 percent in 2022 to 2,9 percent in 2023, then rise to 3,1 percent in 2024, the IMF said, noting that the historical average growth rate between 2000 and 2019 is 3.8 percent.

This is good news for China and the world at large.

Zimbabwe, for example, is a major beneficiary of a strong and resilient China.

Last year, trade between Zimbabwe and China surged 29.2 percent year-on-year to a record high of US$2,43 billion in 2022, according to the Chinese Embassy in Harare.

Zimbabwe exported US$1,3 billion worth of goods to China and imported US$1,13 billion worth of goods from China.

China mainly imports from Zimbabwe tobacco leaf, processed tobacco, ferroalloys and chromium ore.

Over the past year, China has made major investments in Zimbabwe’s infrastructure and mining projects, as the two countries continue to boost economic and trade ties, according to the China International Import Expo (CIIE).

The good economic news, shows that China is on a good trajectory and that the new measures will enhance China’s economic performance rather than harm it. 

Even in the so-called “worst performance” according to some Western media, China in 2022 managed to grow its economy.

It is also incredible that even during the previous management, China still recorded growth of its economy, meaning that Covid-19 could not hold it down. 

Lessons for Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe and China’s realities and the way they were affected by the disease may differ significantly, but there are some key take-aways that could be useful for Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe battles its own diseases and epidemics such as cholera, typhoid, measles, from time-to-time.

China’s battle was inspired first of all by protecting the lives of the people. This was done expeditiously, effectively and scientifically. 

Interestingly, there was convergence between the Government and the ruling party, Communist Party of China, with the latter taking a visible role and exercising thought leadership.

The general support by ordinary people demonstrated that solidarity and cooperation are the most powerful weapons to overcome COVID-19 either you look at it from through domestic or international lenses.

In the face of challenges such as the Covid-19, measures must be resolute. If the measures are informed by science, why not?

Exposing hypocrisy

However, the major shifts outlined above attracted a number of negative comments from Western media and hawks who sought to besmirch China’s policy.

This of course, was done in the most hypocritical of ways.

First, Western countries and the media criticised China of being heavy-handed in its application of the dynamic zero Covid policy, only to turn against China for relaxing the rules!

The courage and principled nature of Chinese leaders is admirable. 

China’s intervention clearly showed that the country is on top of the situation and confident about the future, having successfully restricted the disease from wreaking havoc in the manner it did elsewhere in richer nations. 

Now, the just-ended Spring Festival shows China has been right: the three-year battle against the disease which the country fought within its domestic and foreign frontiers where it helped countries with vaccines and medical assistance, has been won. 

The situation of the disease will not go away so easily, but the world is much more informed and better equipped thanks to China’s scientific approach and holistic manner in which it has handled the situation.