Crypto News: China’s Covid unrest

Xi Jinping has faced many tricky moments in his decade in power, but he was probably feeling pretty good of late.

China's president had secured another five year term, he'd installed his key people in the major roles at home, and abroad he was moving to take some of the frost out of ties with the US, Europe and Australia.

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And yet he's already back in the trouble zone, and once again it's his dogged adherence to strict policies on Covid that's the culprit.

Xi has repeatedly tied himself in knots over Covid Zero as the rest of the world reopens. That's causing pent-up anger and sparking protests across multiple centers in China.

The groups are relatively small, if vocal. They are largely students and the middle class. But tellingly they're channeling their anger directly at Xi, with some even calling for him to step aside.

Pictures of Xi enjoying himself at recent summits in Asia sans-mask, mixing and mingling, may have contributed to that disquiet. Plus footage of stadiums in Qatar crammed with football fans, also without masks.

The recent loosening of some Covid rules in China have been haphazard. Better and more consistent implementation would help.

Xi may also need to allow the protests to run a bit, to let people vent. But for how long?

Either way, it may not accelerate the lifting of virus restrictions, or a full exit from Covid Zero. If anything, it could make the leadership more cautious about next steps.

Xi has secured his place in power. The risk for now of an outright challenge is low.

But given the unending narrative that he is the core of the Communist Party, it also makes him a lightning rod for unrest. And that will only become more acute from here. — Rosalind Mathieson

People protesting on a street yesterday in Shanghai. Photographer: Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images

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