Hong Kong CNN — China’s economy grew at least 4.4% in 2022, according to leader Xi Jinping, a figure much stronger than many economists had expected. But the current Covid wave may hobble growth in the months ahead. China’s annual GDP is expected to have exceeded 120 trillion yuan ($17.4 trillion) last year, Xi said … Read more
New York CNN — China will drop quarantine requirements for all passengers arriving from outside of the country’s borders starting on January 8, 2023, its top health authority announced Monday. The country will also scrap all other restrictive Covid measures for travelers, including quarantines for positive patients and contact tracing. Authorities said the new policy … Read more
New Delhi CNN — India’s health minister has advised the public to take precautions against Covid-19, including getting vaccinated and wearing masks, as the country remains on alert for potential new variants that could emerge from the wave of infections sweeping neighboring China. Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday told Parliament that India would begin … Read more
Hong Kong CNN — The sprawling Chinese metropolis of Chongqing announced Sunday that public sector employees testing positive for Covid-19 can go to work “as normal,” a remarkable turnaround for a city that only weeks ago had been in the throes of a mass lockdown. The move comes as China continues to quickly unravel its … Read more
Editor’s Note: Editor’s Note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Meanwhile in China newsletter, a three-times-a-week update exploring what you need to know about the country’s rise and how it impacts the world. Sign up here. Hong Kong CNN — China’s zero-Covid policy, which stalled the world’s second-largest economy and sparked a wave … Read more
CNN — Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that the Biden administration supports the zero-COVID protesters in China, explaining that he will address the topic when he visits the country early next year. “Of course, we do,” Blinken told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” when asked about the US support for … Read more
Beijing CNN — China has moved quickly to suppress demonstrations that erupted across the country over the weekend, deploying police forces at key protest sites and tightening online censorship. The protests were sparked by anger over the country’s increasingly costly zero-Covid policy, but as numbers swelled at demonstrations in multiple major cities, so too have … Read more
Beijing CNN — Protests erupted across China throughout the weekend, including at universities and in Shanghai where hundreds chanted “Step down, Xi Jinping! Step down, Communist Party!” in an unprecedented show of defiance against the country’s stringent and increasingly costly zero-Covid policy. A deadly fire at an apartment block in Urumqi, the capital of the … Read more
Hong Kong CNN — China has reported its first deaths of Covid-19 patients in nearly six months as the country struggles to contain a surge in cases across multiple cities that’s testing the limits of its tough zero-Covid strategy. On Monday, China’s National Health Commission reported two deaths of Covid-19 patients in Beijing for Sunday, … Read more
Editor’s Note: Matthew Bossons is managing editor of the Shanghai-based online publication Radii. He has lived in China since 2014. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN. Shanghai CNN — In the lead-up to China’s Communist Party Congress last month, watercooler chatter in many offices here focused on … Read more