China delays key economic meeting amid COVID surge

Chinese leaders have reportedly delayed a key economic policy meeting amid growing signs that COVID-19 infections are surging nearly a week after Beijing jettisoned some of the world‍‍`s toughest restrictions, reports Reuters. 

President Xi Jinping and other Politburo members and senior government figures had been expected to attend the closed-door Central Economic Work Conference, most likely this week, to chart a policy course for the embattled Chinese economy in 2023.

A Bloomberg News report on Tuesday night, citing people familiar with the matter, said the meeting had been delayed and there was no timetable for rescheduling.

The delay comes as authorities continue to overturn the previously resolute "zero-COVID" policy championed by Xi.

Long queues are appearing outside fever clinics in a worrying sign that a wave of infections is building, even though official tallies of new cases have dropped in recent weeks as authorities reduce testing.

And companies in China, from e-commerce giant JD.com to cosmetics brand Sephora, are rushing to minimise the impact of surging infections - doling out test kits, encouraging more work from home and, in some cases, procuring truckloads of medicine.

The signs come as China attempts to swiftly align with a world that has largely reopened, following unprecedented protests last month in China three years into the pandemic.

The protests were the strongest show of public defiance during Xi‍‍`s decade-old presidency and come amid growth figures for China‍‍`s $17 trillion economy that were some of the worst in 50 years.

Despite rising infections, people in China cheered the withdrawal on Tuesday of a state-mandated app used to track whether they had travelled to COVID-stricken areas.

As authorities deactivated the "itinerary code" app at midnight on Monday, China‍‍`s four telecoms firms said they would delete users‍‍` data associated with the app.

"Goodbye itinerary code, I hope to never see you again," said a post on social media platform Weibo, where people cheered the demise of an app that critics feared could be used for mass surveillance.

"The hand that stretched out to exert power during the epidemic should now be pulled back," wrote another user.

And in a further sign of policy easing, Chinese healthcare company 111.inc has started selling Pfizer‍‍`s Paxlovid for COVID-19 treatment in China via its app - medicine previously only available in some hospitals.

It sold out just over half an hour after the listing was reported by local media, according to the platform‍‍`s customer service.

For all the relief over last week‍‍`s decision to begin overturning the government‍‍`s zero-COVID policy, there are fears that China may now pay a price.