‘COVID Zero’ Was Expensive

"COVID zero" was expensive. China notched a record deficit of almost CNY9 trillion in 2022, according to government data. That exceeded the shortfall from 2020, when the world's second-largest economy was likewise hobbled by the virus. Growth suffered under Xi's draconian containment efforts which, by December of last year, were widely viewed as hopelessly anachronistic. In the end, street protests compelled the Party to change course. For the full year, the economy expanded just 3%, the se