What is China’s zero-COVID policy?

What Is China’s Zero-COVID Policy? | GZERO World with Ian Bremmer


We've all heard about there being zero COVID in China. But there's more to Beijing's pandemic containment strategy, which started immediately after the initial Wuhan outbreak.

"Through swift action, lockdowns, quarantine and contact tracing, the country was able to quickly reduce cases," says Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations.

"The success in Wuhan led to greater implementation countrywide, and ever since Beijing has kept COVID at bay." Zero COVID, by the way, "means zero — not close to zero," which explains why Shanghai Disneyland shut down and 30,000 tests were conducted after a single suspected infection.

Despite lockdowns, Huang says the policy is quite popular in China, where many people "are even proud that the country has gotten the virus under control, especially as the United States struggles."

More from GZERO Media

In a first-of-its-kind deal, Nvidia and AMD will hand 15% of revenues from AI chip sales to China over to the US government in exchange for export licenses.

Riley Callanan

In a first-of-its-kind deal, Nvidia and AMD will hand 15% of revenues from AI chip sales to China over to the US government in exchange for export licenses.

Friedrich Merz, leader of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, gives a statement after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sacked Finance Minister Christian Lindner, before a session of the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, in Berlin, Germany, November 7, 2024.
Reuters/Liesa Johannssen

Friedrich Merz’s first 100 days as chancellor of Germany have marked an assertive shift in the country’s role on the European and global stage.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with Judiciary Officials in Tehran, Iran, on July 16, 2025.
Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

Twelve days of war earlier this summer demonstrated that Iran has little capacity to defend its cities or its nuclear facilities from Israeli and US strikes. But it still likely retains some uranium supplies, so it has options.