China’s foreign ministry has defended the Communist party’s zero-Covid policy amid rare protests within the country.
The foreign ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, paused for a long time when asked by a reporter if China would reconsider the policy given people’s widespread ‘anger and frustration’. He eventually asked for the question to be repeated and then said it ‘did not reflect what actually happened’. He said China had been following a ‘dynamic zero-Covid policy’