Tony Blair recently described the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s zero-Covid policy as ‘completely irrational’. He is completely wrong. Within the context of the CCP’s interests, it makes sense. ‘Completely political’ would have been nearer the mark, but not a bull’s eye.
When Covid first appeared, the CCP got it right. Lockdowns and restrictions meant the China largely escaped deaths and serious illness. Later the mistakes – or rather the inevitabilities of the system – kicked in.
China’s home-produced vaccines were insufficiently effective, but the CCP refused to use foreign vaccines, even though they had been licensed for use within China. Partly, this was misplaced nationalistic pride. But ever wary of dependency on ‘hostile foreign forces’, the CCP prioritised two Xi shibboleths: self-reliance and national security. Politics always comes before the people.
Predicting revolution is never easy.
Worse, the early success of the CCP’s Covid policy was portrayed as stemming from the wisdom of Xi Jinping.
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