As unprecedented protests against China's zero-COVID policies escalated in November, Li Qiang, the man recently elevated to No.2 on the ruling Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee, seized the moment.
Top Chinese officials and medical experts had been quietly formulating plans over the preceding weeks to dismantle President Xi Jinping's zero-COVID strategy and gradually reopen the country towards the end of 2022, with the aim of declaring a return to normality in March, four people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Li, who is set to be named the country's new premier this month, took a more urgent view.
He abruptly drove a decision to activate the reopening plans sooner than intended, in an effort to contain the economic toll of the zero-COVID campaign and protests that had rattled the leadership, said the four people and another person with knowledge of the matter. The upshot was a chaotic reopening in December, when China suddenly ended lockdowns, mass testing and other restrictions.
Beijing has not publicly explained its decision-making process behind its U-turn on the zero-COVID approach. Xi and Li, as well as the State Council, China's cabinet, did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters submitted via the State Council Information Office (SCIO) about the discussions regarding reopening the country.
Reuters assembled this account of China's path to reopening after speaking to more than half a dozen people with knowledge of the discussions. The previously unreported details offer a rare window into deliberations among top Chinese officials and healthcare experts, including differences between Li and Xi about the pace of reopening. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the subject's sensitivity or because they weren't authorised to talk to the media.
The protests in November marked a turning point in Xi's handling of COVID management as he started to take a less hands-on approach and allowed Li, his long-time ally, to take charge, two of the people said.
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