China’s Economy Is Collapsing Under It’s ‘Zero-COVID’ Policy.

After months of on-and-off COVID-19 lockdowns, which have crippled business across the country and put the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) top leadership on edge, China’s economic future is bleak. In this key political year, local authorities have been urged to revive the now-shrinking economy, as CCP leader Xi Jinping seeks a third term at the 20th National Congress this autumn. However, given the terrible underlying economic conditions, analysts believe that such an order would be difficult to carry out, and that the regime’s strict “zero-COVID” policy, which has Xi’s blessing, is unlikely to be loosened. Premier Li Keqiang, China’s second-in-command, took the extraordinary step on May 25 of holding a virtual conference with 100,000 officials from province, municipal, and county-level agencies to offer harsh economic warnings. According to a truncated version of Li’s speech broadcast by China’s official media, “the…

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