Chinese Ambassador Claims Harsh Covid-Zero Policy Is Doing ‘Great’

C hina’s ambassador to the United States, Qin Gang, claimed that Beijing’s draconian anti-Covid measures have been a major success, during a press briefing with mainstream outlets Tuesday morning. Throughout the whopper-filled session, Beijing’s man in Washington peddled a series of falsehoods about the Chinese Communist Party’s saber-rattling around Taiwan, in addition to its espionage operations on U.S. soil.

“Given China’s size and population, our work on Covid has been successful and great,” he told a group of about a dozen reporters, according to a transcript posted to the Chinese embassy’s website.

You’re seeing the number of deaths and infections, which are pretty small, and seeing that China’s economy coming back, experiencing very strong recovery. This is because China puts people in the center of its governance, and the Communist Party of China implements its mission, which is to serve the people wholeheartedly during their efforts to confront Covid.

In fact, Beijing’s zero-Covid policy has received skeptical reviews across the world. Although the dystopian citywide lockdowns that generated alarm earlier this year have eased, viral videos have recently shown crowds of people abruptly dispersed after one person received notification of a positive test; those near an infected person could be quarantined for weeks. In one such scene, an entire Ikea store in Shanghai was locked down after a six-year-old boy learned of a positive test result.

In addition, recently released Chinese-government data indicated a profound economic slowdown, despite the declining rate of Covid cases. Productivity slowed significantly in July, and the People’s Bank of China cut interest rates.

While Qin addressed other topics, the apparent focus of Tuesday’s Q&A with journalists was Beijing’s message on its military activities around Taiwan. He repeatedly stressed to the group that the U.S. is to blame for the heightened tensions, in light of House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent trip to the island country — which Beijing claims as its own.

Phelim Kine of Politico described the gathering as “part of a saturation campaign to attempt to dominate the U.S. narrative on Taiwan.” In recent weeks, Qin has addressed a series of high-profile conferences, solidifying his reputation as a prominent part of official Washington’s speaking circuit.

But Qin has faced extremely skeptical audiences, given his and the Chinese government’s repeated lies about everything from its human-rights record to the Taiwan crisis. “The effort is falling flat because Beijing’s diplomats are pushing talking points based on claims that simply don’t match reality,” wrote Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin, another attendee of Tuesday’s session.

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Chinese Communist Party lies about Taiwan are commonplace and have become especially prominent after news of Pelosi’s intended visit leaked. Qin wrote an August 4 opinion essay for the Washington Post claiming that Beijing’s claim of sovereignty over Taiwan — called the One China principle — “is part of the postwar international order and has become a general international consensus.” The Chinese Communist Party often tries to confuse foreign audiences about the differences between its own policy and Washington’s policy, which only acknowledges — but does not recognize — that China claims Taiwan.

In his column on Qin’s remarks, Rogin singled out a related falsehood: Qin had said that it was not true that Taiwanese people don’t want to be ruled by Beijing, despite polling results indicating the contrary.

The ambassador also claimed, falsely, that China does not spy on the United States, responding to a question about FBI director Christopher Wray’s recent assertion that there are Chinese espionage operations in all 50 states.

“This is a typical presentation of the fear of China. Espionage activities of China in 50 states — do you believe it? Do you have any evidence or proofs?” asked Qin. Such an allegation “scares people, scares Chinese people, young people,” he said. “It scares Chinese communities, and also scares American people doing business and having people-to-people exchanges.”

Interestingly, Qin said he was unaware of another Chinese diplomat’s previous vows that the Chinese Communist Party would implement “reeducation” of Taiwan, were Taiwan to come under CCP jurisdiction. That word has a particularly jarring meaning to English-speaking audiences.

Qin suggested that he agreed with the broader sentiment invoked by his colleague’s “reeducation” comments, saying that “people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are Chinese, and the mainland and Taiwan belong to one and the same China.”

Having arrived in Washington just over a year ago, Qin is relatively new to the job. Soon after beginning his ambassadorship, he demanded that the Biden administration “please shut up” about its objections to Beijing’s policies. Since then, he has peddled false claims about the atrocities against Uyghurs.

On Tuesday, toward the end of the Q&A, Qin asked the journalists to accept that he was telling the truth: “What I said to you, actually, is heartful. I’m not telling lies, not spreading disinformation, or scaring people. I just tell you the truth and facts.”