China-KSA Ink 34 Deals - Xi's Bilateral Meetings in KSA - Li Meets WB, IMF, WTO & OECD Chiefs - Xi & the 8-Point Regulations - COVID Policy Defense & Challenges
Here are the stories and pieces that I found noteworthy in the Friday, December 09, 2022, edition of the People’s Daily.
Page 1: The first few pages are all about Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia. At the top of the page is a report (English report) on the welcome ceremony for Xi.
The lead story is a report on Xi meeting with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Xinhua reports:
“China sees Saudi Arabia as an important force in the multi-polar world and attaches great importance to developing the comprehensive strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia, said Xi. China stands ready to further strengthen strategic communication and deepen cooperation across the board with Saudi Arabia to deliver for the development interests of the two countries and safeguard world peace and stability, said Xi.”
They also signed the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between the two countries and agreed to take turns to host biennial meetings between the heads of state of the two countries.
Next, there’s a long report on Xi’s talks with crown prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. The English readout of the meeting has Xi saying:
“The international and regional situation is undergoing profound and complex changes, making the strategic and overarching importance of China-Saudi Arabia relations more prominent. China takes the development of its relations with Saudi Arabia as a priority in its overall foreign relations, in particular its diplomacy in the Middle East. China will work with Saudi Arabia to achieve each other’s national rejuvenation, forge stronger synergy between development initiatives, deepen practical cooperation in all areas, increase communication and coordination in international and regional affairs, and achieve even greater progress in the China-Saudi Arabia comprehensive strategic partnership.”
He then talked about specific cooperation:
China firmly supports Saudi Arabia in upholding its sovereignty, security and stability, and supports Saudi Arabia in pursuing a development path suited to its national conditions. China supports Saudi Arabia’s major development initiatives such as Vision 2030 and the Middle East Green Initiative, and will actively participate in Saudi Arabia’s industrialization and contribute to the diversified development of its economy.
China will increase communication and coordination with Saudi Arabia on energy policy, expand the scale of crude oil trade, enhance cooperation on exploration and development, and deliver on the Sino-Saudi Gulei Ethylene Complex Project and other large-scale energy cooperation projects.
“China will deepen industrial and infrastructure cooperation with Saudi Arabia, advance the development of the China-Saudi Arabia (Jizan) Industrial Park and the construction of major infrastructure projects, level up trade, investment and financial cooperation, expand cooperation in such areas as e-commerce, digital economy, clean energy, high technology and space research and development, and enhance cooperation in law-enforcement, counter-terrorism and deradicalization.
China has decided to designate Saudi Arabia as a tourist destination for Chinese group visitors, so as to expand mutual visits and people-to-people exchange between the two sides.
President Xi pointed out that China supports Saudi Arabia in playing a bigger role in international and regional affairs, and will step up communication and coordination with Saudi Arabia at the UN, the G20 and other multilateral platforms.
Interesting to note that Xi’s messaging here did not reference bloc politics or Cold War mentality. This was all that the report says about the global situation:
“The international and regional situation is undergoing profound and complex changes, making the strategic and overarching importance of China-Saudi Arabia relations more prominent. China takes the development of its relations with Saudi Arabia as a priority in its overall foreign relations, in particular its diplomacy in the Middle East.”
The report has MBS saying:
“Xi’s visit will become an important milestone in the history of this relationship. It will help secure more achievements of bilateral cooperation in various areas, deliver more benefits to the two peoples, and facilitate the common development and prosperity of the two countries. Saudi Arabia firmly supports the one-China principle, firmly supports China in safeguarding its own sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, firmly supports China’s measures and efforts for deradicalization, and firmly rejects interference in China’s internal affairs by any external forces under the excuse of human rights or any other. Saudi Arabia will continue to actively engage in Belt and Road cooperation with China and expand trade and two-way investment. It welcomes more Chinese companies to take an active part in the industrialization process of Saudi Arabia, including the construction of major infrastructure and energy projects, and enhance cooperation in such areas as automobile industry, science and technology, chemical industry and mining. Saudi Arabia appreciates China’s support for its Middle East Green Initiative, and will work with China to strengthen cooperation on areas such as clean energy and green development and to increase mutual visits and cultural exchanges.”
He also talked about cooperation at the SCO, BRICS and G20. The two sides agreed to upgrade the China-Saudi Arabia High-level Joint Committee to the prime minister’s level.
In all, 34 investment agreements covering sectors like green energy, green hydrogen, photovoltaic energy, information technology, cloud services, transportation, logistics, medical industries, housing and construction factories have been signed. The deals are valued at $30 billion. One of these deals involves Huawei. This covers cloud computing, data centres and building high-tech complexes in Saudi cities, reports Al Jazeera.
“The two countries signed dozens of commercial agreements, initially valued at more than $29 billion, in sectors such as clean energy, technology and manufacturing. Those include setting up a Huawei cloud-computing region, building an electric-vehicle manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia and supplying green hydrogen batteries for a futuristic smart city the prince wants to build. Missing from the leaders’ public statements was any mention of the more controversial aspects of a relationship that have raised the hackles of U.S. officials—such as advanced military sales, expansion of 5G and 6G telecommunications networks and pricing some Saudi oil sales in yuan, which accelerated this year, The Wall Street Journal has reported. The talks have unfolded entirely behind closed palace doors. One of the agreements involves a top Saudi renewable energy company, Acwa Power, and the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd.—China’s largest commercial bank, which is a direct participant in CIPS, the Chinese version of SWIFT—hinting at deepening financial cooperation between the countries. SWIFT is a messaging system based in Belgium that provides a secure way for banks to transmit transfer requests to each other. The ICBC agreement portends a future where Saudi banks can join CIPS, which could accelerate the use of the yuan in Saudi-China oil trade, said Zongyuan Zoe Liu, a fellow for international political economy at the Council on Foreign Relations.”
Finally, there’s a report about Xi getting an honorary doctorate from King Saud University.
Page 2: Xi’s other bilateral meetings are covered on the page.
Meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (PD report): Xi called for “building of a China-Egypt community with a shared future in the new era.”
“Xi underscored that China firmly supports Egypt in choosing a development path that suits its national conditions and in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests. China is ready to deepen Belt and Road cooperation with Egypt, ensure the on-schedule and high-quality completion of the train project in the 10th of Ramadan City and the Central Business District (CBD) in the new administrative capital of Egypt, and make the China-Egypt Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone and other major cooperation projects a success. China is ready to import more quality products from Egypt and expand cooperation in investment and financing, joint vaccine production and aerospace. The two sides need to promote the Luban Workshops and Chinese language learning so that more people will become bridges for China-Egypt friendship, said Xi.”
He added that China “aims to strengthen communication and cooperation with Egypt in energy transition, green economic sectors and low-carbon technologies…China is ready to step up cooperation with Egypt in the United Nations and on other multilateral platforms, and jointly advocate true multilateralism, uphold the basic norms of international relations, safeguard the common interests of developing countries, and promote peace and stability in the region and beyond.”
Sisi said: “The Egyptian side firmly adheres to the one-China policy, and firmly supports China's position on Hong Kong, Xinjiang and other issues concerning China's core interests, and firmly opposes interference by any force in China's internal affairs, he said. Egypt will continue to work with China to advance Belt and Road cooperation. Egypt welcomes China's active participation in important infrastructure projects in Egypt. Its doors are wide open to Chinese companies hoping to invest and seek cooperation in Egypt. Egypt hopes to strengthen cooperation with China in vaccine research and development, he said.” — No mention of GDI or GSI in this report.
Meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (PD report): “No matter how the international and regional situation changes, China always firmly supports the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore the legitimate rights and interests of their nation, and always stands with the Palestinian people, Xi said. The international community should prioritize the Palestinian issue on the international agenda, keep to the direction of the two-state solution and the principle of ‘land for peace’, and facilitate resumption of peace talks on the basis of relevant UN resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, Xi said, adding that China will continue to work for an early, just and durable solution to the Palestinian issue.”
Xinhua adds: “Pointing out that Palestine stands firmly with China, Abbas reaffirmed Palestine's steadfast commitment to the one-China principle and firm support for China's just position on issues related to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang.” — The report mentions Palestine’s support for both GSI and GDI.
Meeting with Crown Prince of Kuwait Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah: “Xi Jinping pointed out that China supports Kuwait in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and appreciates Kuwait’s adherence to the one-China principle and support for China on issues related to China’s core interests such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and Xinjiang. China is willing to continue to be Kuwait's reliable partner and work together with Kuwait to jointly create a better future for China-Kuwait relations.” He added that China is “willing to strengthen the alignment of the development strategies of the two countries, actively participate in the construction of major projects in Kuwait, tap cooperation potential in new energy, 5G communications, digital economy and other fields, and support cultural exchanges and cooperation.”
The report adds: “the Kuwait side abides by the one-China principle and is willing to work together with China to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields and open up new prospects for the strategic relationship between the two countries.” — The report mentions Kuwait’s support for GDI, but there’s no mention of GSI.
Meeting with Chairman of Sudan's Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan: Xi said that “China supports all parties in Sudan to continue to push for steady political transition through dialogue and consultation, opposes interference by external forces in Sudan's internal affairs, and will continue to speak up for Sudanese friends on the international stage.” He also said that China would “provide assistance within its capacity for the development of Sudan, carry out cooperation in fields such as oil, agriculture, and mining, and encourage competent Chinese enterprises to participate in Sudan's construction projects to help Sudan's economic and social development.”
The report adds: “The Sudanese side firmly supports China in safeguarding its core interests and firmly supports all important initiatives put forward by the Chinese side.”
Finally, there’s a report on Xi’s letter marking the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Association of National History of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua has the English version:
“Xi hoped that staff in the ANHPRC will thoroughly study and implement the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress, adhere to the correct political orientation and historical materialism, take as the guide the latest achievements of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of our times, further unite the vast number of national history researchers, firmly grasp the main theme and mainstream nature of national history, constantly raise the level of research, innovate the way of publicity, and strengthen education and guidance. He hoped that the study of history will inspire the people to strengthen their confidence in history and their initiative in history, better pool the strength of hard work, and make new contributions to building a modern socialist country in all respects and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts.”
Xi’s letter was read out by Li Shulei at the anniversary event. He also delivered a speech at the meeting. “He said that the gist of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions must be earnestly studied and implemented, and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era must be applied as a guide for the study on the history of New China.”
Page 3: A report on the social responsibility of Chinese enterprises in Saudi Arabia. The document has been put together by Sinopec in Saudi Arabia. The only thing of value in the PD report on this is a datapoint that says that “at present, more than 100 Chinese-funded enterprises have started business in Saudi Arabia.”
There’s a report on the 4th China-France Track 2 High-Level Dialogue video conference co-organised by the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs and the France-China Foundation on December 8. Ji Bingxuan spoke at the event, saying that:
“Sino-French relations have always been at the forefront of Sino-Western relations because of their strategic, contemporary and global nature, and are a model of unity, mutual trust, win-win cooperation and people-to-people communication. China is willing to work with France to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, safeguard the political foundation of bilateral relations, promote pragmatic cooperation to achieve more results, and push Sino-French relations to a new level.” 吉炳轩表示，中法关系一直以其战略性、时代性和全球性走在中西方关系前列，是团结互信、合作共赢、民心相通的典范。中方愿同法方一道落实好两国元首重要共识，维护好双边关系政治基础，推动务实合作取得更多成果，促进中法关系不断迈上新台阶.
Page 4: Tianjin and Guizhou have new Party Secretaries, with Chen Min’er moving to the former and Xu Lin taking charge in the latter.
Also, there’s a consolidated report on Li Keqiang’s meetings with World Bank, IMF, WTO and OECD chiefs at the sidelines of the the seventh 1+6 Roundtable in the city of Huangshan.
First, Li’s meeting with the World Bank’s David Malapass. Xinhua reports:
“Li pointed out that a sound business environment is conducive to market vitality and fairness, saying China is committed to the basic state policy of opening-up. China is committed to aligning with world-class standards and commonly-practiced international economic and trade norms, steadily deepening the reform of government functions, fostering a market-oriented and law-based business environment up to international standards, and treating enterprises under all types of ownership fairly and as equals, he said… Enterprises around the world are welcome to continue expanding investment and cooperation in China…China is ready to deepen the relations with the World Bank to strengthen macro policy coordination, deepen cooperation in key areas, improve global economic governance, and jointly tackle the complex issues facing the world economy.”
It adds: “‘China will better coordinate COVID-19 response and economic and social development to protect the safety of the people and uphold the normal order of production and life,’ the premier said. Li said that given the impact of COVID-19, it is no small feat that China has achieved stable employment and prices, maintained overall economic stability, and kept major economic indicators within a proper range.”
Meeting with Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Xinhua reports Li saying that “as the largest developing country in the world, China will adhere to the principle of balancing rights and obligations at the WTO and shoulder its responsibilities consistent with the level and capacity of its economic development. Li reiterated China's commitment to multilateralism and upholding free and fair trade, and expressed China's readiness to deepen cooperation with the WTO and work with all parties to promote WTO reform in the right direction and toward balanced and development-oriented results. Li said that it is important that the outcomes of the WTO's 12th Ministerial Conference be fully and effectively delivered, so that international confidence in the multilateral trading system will be strengthened.”
Okonjo-Iweala said that “decoupling and severing supply chains is not conducive to the development of the world economy and international trade. The WTO is ready to further enhance cooperation with China to jointly uphold an open and strong multilateral trading system.”
Meeting with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva: Xinhua reports Li as saying:
“China will continue to strengthen macro-policy coordination with all parties, including the IMF, to tackle debt, climate change and other global challenges, and make greater contributions to promoting global economic recovery and sustainable development. China will implement the G20's Debt Service Suspension Initiative in all respects, Li said, adding that China will work with relevant G20 members to formulate and participate in a fair and equitable debt-restructuring plan. Pointing out that reform and opening up is an important experience of China in attaining its tremendous development achievement, Li said China will stay committed to its fundamental national policy of reform and opening up, keep to the path of peaceful development, and continue to pursue opening up at a high level. Li said China will advance the opening up of its service sector on the basis of the full opening of its manufacturing sector. He added China will keep the RMB exchange rate generally stable at an adaptive and equilibrium level, which will be conducive to maintaining the stability of international industrial and supply chains.”
Meeting with OECD Secretary General Mathias Cormann: Xinhua reports that Li said:
“Li noted that the OECD has long been committed to the research and coordination of international development policies, and has provided important public goods in the field of global governance. Its research outcomes and governance experience have also provided useful references for China's endeavor to deepen reform and expand opening up…Li underscored that the current circumstances call for greater international solidarity and cooperation, and hoped that the OECD will leverage its role as a bridge and encourage countries to focus on common interests, enhance dialogue and cooperation, work together to tackle global challenges, and pursue mutual benefits and win-win outcomes. China stays committed to its basic state policy of opening up, and stands ready to deepen cooperation with the international community including developed countries to contribute impetus to world economic recovery, and protect the stability of global industrial and supply chains…”
Page 7: The entire page is dedicated to pieces on the 10th anniversary of the eight-point central regulations and how they have transformed the Party’s relationship with the masses and “strengthened the foundation of the party's governance.” The long feature reiterates that work style is related to the life and death of the Party. The pieces also heap praise on Xi Jinping. As Bill Bishop noted in his latest Sinocism newsletter, the long feature also refers to Xi as “people’s leader” on a couple of occasions.
In the commentary on the page, there’s this praise for Xi:
“In the past 10 years of the new era, the Party Central Committee with comrade Xi Jinping at the core has taken the lead in setting a good example and taking practical actions. With the spirit of ‘being conscientious and ‘owning responsibility’, and with the determination and perseverance of leaving footprints/marks when stepping on stones and grasping iron, it has persistently implemented the spirit of the eight central regulations, worked tirelessly to correct the ‘four winds’, written a new chapter in work style construction, and left a great imprint in the historical process of comprehensive and strict Party governance.” 新时代十年来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央率先垂范、身体力行，用“讲认真”的精神、“有担当”的行动，以踏石留印、抓铁有痕的决心和毅力，坚持不懈落实中央八项规定精神、驰而不息纠正“四风”，谱写出作风建设新篇章，在全面从严治党的历史进程中留下浓墨重彩的一笔.
Over the past 10 years, General Secretary Xi Jinping has taken action as per the order, insisted on teaching by example, and has always taken the lead in strictly implementing the eight-point central regulations, setting a shining example for the entire Party.” For instance, the piece says that Xi has personally checked plans during visits across the country to ensure that the investigation site is not be cleared or closed and that the roads and parks are not closed off, so that he can have a close and cordial conversation with the broad masses of the people during the investigation. 十年来，习近平总书记以行动为号令，坚持身教为先，始终带头严格执行中央八项规定，给全党树立了光辉典范。对国内考察调研，亲自把关方案，要求考察场所不清场闭馆，不封路封园，在调研中同广大人民群众近距离亲切交谈；
For overseas visits, he has called for cost calculations to take into account the number of days the delegation will stay in a hotel. The instruction being: “save what you can, don't waste it, don't live in luxury, just ensure that it is clean and comfortable” 对出访活动，多次指示要精算代表团饭店入住天数，能省则省，不要浪费，住地不要豪华，干净舒适即可; — It’s always fascinating to watch the co-existence of the narrative of the grandeur of a rising great power with this very middle-class, saving-minded narrative. Builds the cult of the leader being wise, but still a man of the people.
Driven by the example of the CPC Central Committee with comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the whole Party and society are undergoing a radical change in atmosphere. The eight-point regulations have become a ‘golden business card’ for the Communist Party of China to promote the style construction in the new era. 在以习近平同志为核心的党中央示范带动下，全党全社会迎来一场激浊扬清的风气之变，“八项规定”成为新时代中国共产党推进作风建设的一张“金色名片”.
Page 8: There are a couple of reports on local-level meetings to publicise the spirit of the 20th Party Congress.
Page 11: This is where the COVID situation in the country gets covered.
First, there’s a report on the joint prevention and control mechanism’s press conference. NHC’s Mi Feng called for scientific and precise implementation of the COVID policy, including the 10 new optimisation measures. He also said that complaints from the masses must be promptly addressed. He added that “it is necessary to speed up the vaccination of the elderly against COVID-19, gather information on the health status of the elderly suffering from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, tumours, immune deficiency and other diseases, and provide health services based on appropriate classification.” 畅通“接诉即办”渠道，对群众反映的急难愁盼问题第一时间回应解决。要加快推进老年人新冠病毒疫苗接种，对患有心脑血管疾病、慢阻肺、糖尿病、慢性肾病、肿瘤、免疫功能缺陷等疾病的老年人进行健康情况摸底，分级分类提供健康服务.
Guo Yanhong from the NHC said that patients are being classified as follows:
Those with mild and asymptomatic symptoms and having no underlying conditions can take care of themselves at home
Patients with severe illness or risk of severe illness should be admitted to designated hospitals
In order to ensure the treatment of these patients, hospitals with strong comprehensive capacity and high treatment level should be selected as designated hospitals, and adequate medical staff should be assigned.
对于轻症和无症状感染者，没有基础性疾病或者基础性疾病处于稳定期的人群，可以进行居家自我照护；重症或者有重症风险的患者要收治到定点医院，为了确保这部分患者的救治，要求选择综合能力强、救治水平高的医院作为定点救治医院，同时配足配强医务人员。
Wang Guiqiang, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Peking University First Hospital, said that “most people infected with Covid-19 can be treated at home, and a small number of patients with severe underlying diseases may need to see a doctor in a medical institution.” He adds that one only really needs to see a doctor in case of symptoms like shortness of breath, persistent fever after drug treatment, aggravation of the original underlying diseases, etc. He added that when staying at home, one must make sure that there is a specific isolation room. He does not advocate the elderly being at home, particularly if there is not enough room or if they have underlying conditions. “大部分新冠病毒感染者可以居家治疗，少部分有严重基础病的患者可能需要到医疗机构就诊。”北京大学第一医院感染疾病科主任王贵强说，居家观察需要一定的基本条件，包括有独立的房间等。如果只有一个房间，家里又有卧床老人、有基础性疾病的老人，就不适合居家。王贵强表示，居家后要定期测体温，观察自己的各种症状，如果出现了发热、咳嗽等症状，可以对症用一些药，按药品说明书服用，也可以咨询社区医生或者通过互联网咨询医生来合理使用。若出现呼吸困难和气短，经过药物治疗以后仍然持续发烧，原有的基础病加重、用药控制不住等情况，一定要及时到医院救治.
He Qinghua, from the National Administration of Disease Control and Prevention, said that people who take public transportation, travel between regions and enter places that don't have vulnerable people no longer need to present a negative nucleic acid test result. He added that a negative result is still needed to enter nursing homes, welfare homes, medical institutions, childcare institutions and primary and secondary schools. He also said that there will no longer be the need to check nucleic acid test certificates or health codes for workers moving between regions and neither does one need to test at port of arrival for these individuals. Antigen tests can be done as needed. Individuals in high-risk positions are required to carry out nucleic acid testing in accordance with the relevant provisions of the 20 optimisation measures, and the scope of nucleic acid testing shall not be expanded. 十条优化措施提出，进一步优化核酸检测。国家疾控局传染病防控司一级巡视员贺青华说，主要从以下几个方面缩小核酸检测的范围和频次：一是不按行政区域开展全员核酸检测。二是除养老院、福利院、医疗机构、托幼机构、中小学等特殊场所外，不要求提供核酸检测阴性证明。三是不再对跨地区流动人员查验核酸检测阴性证明或健康码，不再开展落地检。四是根据防疫工作需要，可开展抗原检测。此外，还要求对高风险岗位从业人员按照二十条优化措施有关规定开展核酸检测，不得扩大核酸检测范围.
He later lashes out at the so-called “hard quarantine” measures such as locking of doors and blocking of fire exits, etc. He says that these are “not targeted prevention and control, but lazy governance and examples of neglect of the safety of people's lives and property; this must be resolutely stopped.” He calls for treating those isolated with care instead. 贺青华表示，采取“硬隔离”、一封了之的做法不是精准防控，而是懒政怠政、置群众生命财产安全于不顾，要坚决制止。对于确定需要封控的区域，一定要做到底数清、情况明、服务到位，对隔离人员要用心用情、关心关爱，封控的同时要加强上门服务，做好生活和正常医疗保障.
Second, there’s a 仲音 commentary. It says that implementing the 10 new measures is “conducive to continuously improving the scientific and precise level of prevention and control, maximising the protection of people's lives and health, and minimising the impact of the epidemic on the production and lives of the masses and economic and social development.” 落实好这十条针对性措施，有利于持续提高防控的科学精准水平，最大程度保护人民群众生命安全和身体健康，最大限度减少疫情对群众生产生活秩序和经济社会发展的影响.
It defends the COVID policy as “correct, scientific, and effective.” No mention of the dangers of opening up’ no mention of the four earlys; no mention of the inferiority of lying flat – just praise for China’s positive results and accumulation of experience and optimisation of its “scientific and precise” policies.
“After nearly three years of anti-epidemic, China's medical and disease control system has withstood the test, with effective diagnosis and treatment technology and drugs, especially traditional Chinese medicine. The complete vaccination rate of the whole population is over 90%, the health awareness and literacy of the masses have been improved, and the pathogenicity of Omicron virus is weakening, which creates conditions for further optimisation and improvement of prevention and control measures. China's epidemic prevention and control is facing new situations and new tasks.” 经过近三年的抗疫，我国医疗卫生和疾控体系经受住了考验，拥有有效的诊疗技术和药物特别是中药，全人群疫苗完全接种率超过90%，群众的健康意识和素养得到提升，加上奥密克戎病毒致病力在减弱，为进一步优化完善防控措施创造了条件，我国疫情防控面临新形势新任务.
“The 10 targeted measures are proactive optimisation steps rather than passive ones; they are based on the characteristics of the variants of the COVID-19 virus and the nature of the outbreak in China at present, derived based on scientific research and assessment of the epidemic situation, evaluation of the effectiveness of the current prevention and control measures, especially summarising the beneficial experience and existing problems in the local areas after the implementation of the 20 optimisation measures, and other factors. It is necessary for all localities to carry out the implementation in a comprehensive and integrated way, further improve the scientificity and precision of epidemic prevention and control, make more efficient use of prevention and control resources, and ensure that all measures are implemented…” 十条针对性措施是主动的优化而不是被动的，是针对当前我国主要流行的病毒变异株特点、疫情流行特征，通过对疫情形势动态的科学研判，对现行防控措施的成效评价，特别是对二十条实施以后地方的有益经验和存在的问题进行梳理总结等因素，综合考虑所作出的。'各地要一揽子、一体化统筹推进实施，进一步提高疫情防控的科学性和精准性，更高效地利用防控资源，确保各项措施落实、落地、落到位.
It also adds that “continuous policy optimisation is the focus of epidemic prevention and control, and the key to implementing the policy is scientific precision.” 持续优化政策是做好疫情防控工作的重点，执行好政策关键是科学精准. — This can be read as a commitment to open up regardless of the costs; or it can be read as being flexible in tightening or loosening depending on the costs. So, this is smartly crafted to leave room for manoeuvrability.
The article also calls for “further strengthening publicity and advocacy to the people, increase the popularisation of health knowledge, carry out patriotic health campaigns;” calls for resolutely avoiding 层层加码 - adding layers of control measures, and minimise the impact of the epidemic on economic and social development; and attach great importance to addressing the urgent needs of the general public…” 要进一步面向群众加强宣传倡导，加大健康知识的普及，开展爱国卫生运动，打造健康环境，建设健康家园。要坚决避免层层加码，最大限度地减少疫情对经济社会发展的影响。要高度重视解决广大群众的急难愁盼问题，特别是帮助有就医需求的重症感染人群能够及时得到有效诊治，让有限的医疗资源发挥出关键作用，让各项防控工作做得更精准、更有温度，切实保障好人民健康安全和经济社会发展。
Finally, there’s a Q&A on the 10 measures with epidemiologist Liang Wannian. In this, in response to a question about whether the 10 measures imply lying flat, he basically says that it isn’t.
“The introduction of the new 20 measures is not a relaxation of prevention and control, still less a complete relaxation or lying flat. Rather, it is a major decision made based on an assessment of the epidemic trend, an evaluation of the effectiveness of prevention and control measures, and a comprehensive consideration of various factors. It is an improvement and optimisation of epidemic prevention and control measures. The optimised prevention and control measures will better adapt to the new situation of epidemic prevention and control and the new characteristics of the novel coronavirus variant.” 答：新十条出台，不是放松防控，更不是完全放开或者“躺平”，而是根据对疫情趋势的研判、对防控措施的成效评价、综合考虑各方因素作出的重大决策，是对疫情防控措施的完善和优化。优化后的防控措施将更好地适应疫情防控的新形势和新冠病毒变异株的新特点.
He says that these measures are a proactive rather than passive step taken by the leadership. “By strengthening scientific research, combining domestic and foreign experience in prevention and control, and considering factors such as population immunity barrier, medical treatment capacity and medical supplies reserves, we are trying to find the best balance. In the future, we will continue to pay attention to the characteristics of the virus’ mutation and continue to optimise and adjust the prevention and control measures.” 答：是积极主动的，不是被动的。我们通过加强科学研究，综合国内外的防控经验，同时考虑人群免疫屏障、医疗救治能力、医疗物资储备等因素，努力找到最佳的平衡点。今后，我们还将持续关注病毒变异特征，不断优化调整防控措施.
On the question of what will it take to return to normalcy, he says that four conditions need to be met:
The virulence of the virus must decline; presently Omicron has high transmissibility but its virulence has decreased significantly, and the proportion of severe illness and death caused by it has also decreased significantly.
Having an immunity barrier through high vaccination rate
Availability of sufficient effective drugs
Significant improvement in prevention, control and treatment capabilities of the health system
He adds that China still needs to “step up vaccination; drug research and development, production and stockpiling; it must pay attention to the mutation of the virus, optimise and improve medical treatment plans, strengthen community-level capacity building, strengthen protection of key populations, and strengthen publicity and communication.” 答：恢复到正常的生活状态，至少需要具备以下条件：一是病毒致病力下降，目前奥密克戎的传播力增强了，但致病力明显下降，其所导致的重症和死亡比例也明显下降。二是建立人群免疫屏障，具备较高的疫苗接种率。三是提供充足的有效药物，保障供给，方便使用。四是卫生系统的防控、救治能力明显提升。尽管我们已经做好了准备，但还需要加强包括加强疫苗接种，加强药物研发、生产、储备，关注病毒变异，优化完善医疗救治方案，强化基层能力建设，加强重点人群保护，加强宣传沟通等在内的多种措施.
On why China remains relatively closed to foreign travellers compared to other countries, he says that in these countries “people have acquired natural immunity in the early waves of infection, while the government has strengthened vaccination and has better medical treatment conditions.” Of course, he adds that these countries have also “paid a heavy price in life and health.” There’s, however, no clarity in the answer on when China will likely ease international travel further. But then, I guess this is not his remit anyway.
Some other useful reports on the COVID situation in China:
“In the letter to Chinese leaders, Foxconn Technology Group founder Terry Gou warned that strict Covid controls would threaten China’s central position in global supply chains and demanded more transparency into restrictions on the company’s workers, the people said. Mr. Gou sent the letter a little more than a month ago as Foxconn’s factory in the city of Zhengzhou was rocked by turmoil over Covid restrictions. Chinese health officials and government advisers seized on Mr. Gou’s letter to bolster the case that the government needed to speed up its efforts to ease its tough Covid-19 controls, people familiar with the matter said. The eruption weeks later of nationwide protests gave policy advisers further ammunition to press the case for relaxing measures, two of the people said. Officials and advisers pushing for softer measures argued the zero-tolerance approach had been successful in protecting public health but the Omicron variant required a shift in tactics, the people said. Omicron is less deadly, those officials and advisers argued, but its highly contagious nature would lead to more lockdowns, at a time the public was growing weary of them, and disruptions to businesses, threatening the country’s status as the world’s factory floor.”
“About 60% of the Chinese population might be infected when the first wave of large-scale infections reaches its peak, before the infection rate gradually plateaus, said Feng Zijian, former deputy director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, at a forum Monday, citing computer-modeling forecasts, according to an article by the state-run newspaper China Youth Daily. Eventually between 80% and 90% of China’s population of 1.4 billion will be infected, Mr. Feng, a member of the central government’s advisory panel for Covid control, was quoted as saying. To public-health officials and experts trying to forecast what the loosening of restrictions means, the example of Hong Kong looms as a cautionary tale. An Omicron outbreak in the former British colony at the start of the year caused nearly 6,000 deaths, with a Covid-19 death rate of 37.7 per million population in the first three months of 2022, among the highest anywhere. The vaccination rate among the elderly in Hong Kong at the time was worse than in mainland China, where currently more than 20% of people over 80 are completely unvaccinated and only 40% have had the three shots deemed necessary for robust protection. But Hong Kong’s hospitals were better equipped to handle serious cases. The mainland had 3.6 critical-care beds per 100,000 people compared with 7.1 in Hong Kong in 2020, according to a study published in the journal Critical Care Medicine. Using Hong Kong as a proxy, London-based health analytics firm Airfinity estimated in late November that a lifting of zero-Covid measures in China could lead to anywhere between 1.3 million and 2.1 million deaths. Overwhelmed hospitals and high numbers of deaths in the coming weeks could cause further distrust and anger in the population, which in turn could spur local governments to hide or underreport Covid deaths, said Donald Low, a public policy expert with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.”
Global Times’ report: Omicron is not scary, as about 99 percent of those infected with Omicron can fully recover within seven to 10 days, and the focus should be put on preventing severe illness caused by the virus, China's top respiratory disease expert Zhong Nanshan said at a national academic video conference of respiratory diseases held on Friday.