Adhering to dynamic clearing policy rational decision

With pandemic fatigue settling in among the public and economic activities in some regions suffering, continuing to insist on the dynamic clearing policy was not a decision made lightly.

The government wants to do a good job in ensuring the economy performs well, and it would no doubt like to save the money it has been paying for the regular nucleic acid tests carried out nationwide. So for it, a lifting or easing of the prevention and control measures would seem to be the more appealing option.

Yet it will continue to adhere to the policy to control and contain the novel coronavirus, when most other countries have chosen to give up the fight. That is because the Chinese government always puts people's life and health first.

Plus, it should be borne in mind that the causes of the current economic headwinds are not just the domestic epidemic situation, but also the influence of the global economic recession, the Ukraine conflict and the tensions in Sino-US relations.

It is being overly optimistic to suggest that everything will be rosy for the economy as soon as the country opens up, and it is being unreasonable to attribute all economic downward pressure to the virus control measures.

There might be a rebound but the degree would be limited, as the economic performances of the United Kingdom, the US and India indicate. And how long the rebound would last is another question.

The virus is still mutating with new variants appearing continuously elsewhere in the world, and more importantly it still kills. Even looking at this year only, the Omicron death rate ranges from 1.4 per 10,000 in Singapore to 7 per 10,000 in the United States and Italy among the developed countries. Given China's huge population, it would likely result in a huge number of deaths in a short time if the country chooses to open up.

Moreover, a large number of infections would soon overwhelm the national public medical care system that still lags behind those of the developed countries and has already been running at full capacity, especially in the big cities, in recent years.

In other words, opening-up will by no means be plain sailing. It will create new risks and uncertainties for the national economy and social life that the country might not be able to bring under control in a short time.

Adherence to the dynamic clearing policy grants China more initiative and space to act as the epidemic situation evolves. China is one of the few countries that still holds the initiative in the fight against the virus. It can choose a more rational juncture to adjust its virus control measures.