Chinese President Xi Jinping acknowledged the existence of frustration in his country due to Beijing’s uncompromising strategy in the fight against Covid-19, a European Union official who wished to remain anonymous told CNN today.
This is Xi’s first known statement regarding the protests that have erupted in China in recent days, according to CNN.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, is visiting Beijing, and according to an unnamed EU official, Xi told him that the protesters were “mostly students” who were frustrated after three years of fighting against Covid-19, and pointed to a potential relaxation of preventive measures. anti-covid measures in China.
“Xi also said that the omicron (variant of the virus) is less lethal than the delta, which makes the Chinese government more open to further relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions,” said the official, who did not want to be named because of European practice norms. .
However, the official could not confirm that Xi had spoken the word “protest” in Mandarin, or say what vocabulary the Chinese leader used to describe the recent unrest over the restrictions.
Demonstrations are very rare in China, and this one has shaken it, as the country approaches the end of its third year of severe controls on civilian life.
The latest wave of demonstrations is unprecedented since the pro-democracy uprising in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Since Xi came to power in 2012, the Chinese Communist Party has tightened control over all aspects of life in the country, cracked down on expressions of discontent with the government, and built a state that relies on high-tech surveillance of its citizens.
Xi’s statement comes as there are signs in some parts of China that some of the Covid-19 restrictions will be eased, including the end of lockdowns and the release of some people with Covid-19 into home quarantine after protests across the country.
From next Monday, public transport operators in Beijing will no longer ban the transport of passengers who have not tested negative for Covid-19 in the last 48 hours, the local government of the Chinese capital announced today.