The strict COVID management policy initiated by Xi Jinping in 2020 has become one of the world’s most impressive success stories: Not only has China successfully contained the outbreak in Wuhan, it has also managed to achieve positive annual economic growth. In the face of global chaos, Beijing has effectively exploited all of this success for propaganda purposes, shaping the positive attitude of domestic and foreign audiences towards China’s containment strategy. However, the spread of a highly contagious but less dangerous strain this year poses a serious challenge to Beijing’s efforts to maintain the strict COVID policy unchanged since 2020. The coronavirus outbreak in China, with Shanghai as its epicentre, is a very serious test for Beijing, with economic, social, and political consequences.
Associate Expert of RESC China Research Program, PhD student at VU Institute of International Relations and Political Science and policy analyst at STRATA. Raigirdas holds a bachelor’s degree in Asian and Pacific Studies (Chinese Studies) from Lancashire Central University (UK). After studying, he went to China, where he spent five years studying and working. Raigirdas completed a year-long intensive Chinese language and culture course at the Sichuan University (Confucius Institute Scholarship). In 2020, he graduated from Sichuan University (China) with a Master’s degree in International Relations in Chinese. Raigirdas interests: sinology, Chinese foreign and domestic policy, history of the PRC, relations and conflicts between East Asian countries.
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