China’s capital Beijing on Tuesday dropped the requirement for people to show negative COVID tests to enter supermarkets and offices, the latest in a string of nationwide restrictions following last month’s historic protests.
“Beijing prepares itself for life again” read a headline in the state-owned China Daily newspaper, which said people were “slowly embracing” a slow return to normality.
A string of demonstrations last month followed the biggest show of public discontent in mainland China since President Xi Jinping came to power in 2012.
“This could be the first step towards reopening from this pandemic,” Hu Dongxu, a 27-year-old Beijing resident, told Reuters. ,
The change came as top officials softened their tone on the seriousness of the virus, calling China closer to other countries than it was in more than a year as they lifted restrictions and chose to live with the virus.
China could announce 10 new nationwide easing measures as early as Wednesday, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, as cities across the country lift localized lockdowns.
This has sparked optimism among investors for a broad-based reopening of the world’s second-largest economy that could boost global growth.
But despite assurances from officials, commuter traffic in major cities such as Beijing and Chongqing remains at a fraction of previous levels.
Some are wary of catching the virus, especially the elderly, many of whom remain unvaccinated, while there are also concerns about the strain it could put on China’s fragile health system.
