Can China afford to stay isolated as world abandons 'zero Covid'?

Has the world abandoned the “zero COVID” mentality? In many US states and indeed at the federal level of the US, there still seems to be a significantly risk averse, mandate oriented perspective that is either resistant to the reality of an endemic COVID-19 or exploiting the same for political ends. Everyday I see a disdainful readiness to criticize or ridicule anyone who either points out the low IFR (particularly for those under 50) or likelihood of endemicity, so I don’t think the “zero COVID” mentality has been abandoned just yet - safetyism is alive and well.

As for the claims of successful management of the pandemic in China and a public sentiment in support of authoritarian solutions to the pandemic - how can anyone trust these claims? China kept the pandemic hidden from the world, prevented independent investigations into the origins, jailed journalists, created an ineffective vaccine, likely fabricated COVID related numbers, and also suppresses free speech even in normal conditions. I see many examples of great governance from Chinese leadership (for example HSR) but it’s hard to trust the specific claims in this article.

`But they are also preventing in-person diplomacy, as ‘overkill’ visa policies for dependants dissuade foreign professionals from moving to the country`

LOL, people aint' moving to China because of pay, work culture, and being on the wrong, anti-humanistic side of history.

The author appears to be a CCP mouthpiece.

Note three things not mentioned in the article:

- the Sino* vaccines are only 51% effective, so 85% vaccination rate means nothing

- Xi is a clone of Mao, who once said that 50% of the total population dying to achieve a goal was an acceptable loss.

- the CCP is has been sending BRI workers globally, spreading the coronavirus with them.