Readings and Current Events
China Zero-COVID
Fear and Panic Grips Chinese City Rumored to Be Exiting Covid Zero (Bloomberg)
On Monday, a rumor took hold that Shijiazhuang, a city 160 miles from Beijing, was to become a test case for China’s reopening, dismantling key parts of the Covid Zero regime.
But rather than jubilation that the policy’s incessant testing and disruptive lockdowns would be over, the speculation was met with fear by many in the city of 11 million. Parents kept their children home from school, shoppers stocked up on traditional Chinese medicine and people on the subway were few and far between.
In southern China, residents revolt against COVID-19 controls (NPR)
Frustrated residents in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou smashed temporary barriers and marched through streets in revolt earlier this week against strict COVID-19 controls, according to online videos and reports.
The violence comes just weeks before next month's third anniversary of the emergence of COVID-19 — and as China continues to follow a hardline policy that has kept its borders largely closed and led to mass lockdowns and travel restrictions affecting hundreds of millions of people around the country.
Last week the central government announced measures to begin to ease its so-called "dynamic zero COVID" policy, which has damaged the economy and taken a toll on public patience and faith in policymaking.
US-China Relations
Biden and China's Xi met for three hours. Here's what they talked about (NPR)
President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping took a small but significant step toward stabilizing what has become an increasingly fraught relationship when they met for over three hours of talks on Monday.
The two leaders "were very blunt with one another" on a range of topics where they do not see eye to eye, Biden told reporters after the meeting. But he said the they had agreed to further discussions among key officials, and to a visit to China by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, set to take place sometime early next year.
US-China Technology Competition
Engineers From Taiwan Bolstered China’s Chip Industry. Now They’re Leaving. (New York Times)
For many, the strict pandemic measures have been tiresome. Geopolitics has made the job even more fraught, with China increasingly vocal about staking its claim on Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy. The Taiwanese government has begun to discourage local engineers from going to China, concerned that they were taking proprietary information with them.
“Some who went to work in China were villains who exchanged secrets for money,” said Mr. Li, 40. “Some wanted to be free from the work pressures in Taiwan. And there were those who seriously wanted to explore new areas.”
Photo by Lucas Kapla on Unsplash