How Soccer 2022 became turning point that led China to lift zero Covid policy

China's Li Qiang took the decision to lift the zero Covid policy.

China had last month declared a "decisive victory" against Covid -19 after abruptly ending its draconian zero Covid policy.

"With continuous efforts to optimise Covid -19 prevention and control measures since November 2022, China's Covid -19 response has made a smooth transition in a relatively short time," Reuters quoted China's Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) as saying in a meeting. "A major decisive victory in epidemic prevention and control has been achieved," it said.

The Impact of Soccer on China Lifting Zero Covid Policy

However, China, which had been adamant on its Covid curbs, lifted the Zero Covid policy in December and this decision took many by a surprise. It was reported then that the government bowed down to the rare protests where people asked President XI to step down while chanting anti-government slogans.

However, it has now been revealed that the turning point was the 2022 Soccer World Cup. Millions of Chinese, who watched the tournament held in Qatar, started attacking the government on social media platforms after seeing the packed stadiums, according to a report in Reuters. This is the turning point, according to the report published by the news agency.

While the whole world had eased Covid restrictions, China where the coronavirus originated had continued to impose a stringent zero Covid policy, which affected its citizens. What sparked the public anger or the final trigger for the reopening was a deadly fire in an apartment block in China's Xinjiang region. This incident made people hit the streets and vent their frustration against the government.

The Man Who Took Tough Decision to Lift Covid Curbs

However, not president Xi Jinping, but the new premiere and second in command Li Qiang on on the ruling Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee, took the tough call to end the draconian zero Covid policy, four people and another person with knowledge of the matter have informed Reuters.

Two sources of the news agency told that the top leaders agreed for reopening to calm down the situation as the dissenters posed a threat to the government's stability.

China finally ended its zero covid policy on December 7 following which the country witnessed a massive spike in Covid-19 cases.