Shanghai government says the lockdown did not end because there was never a lockdown - The Shanghai government keeps making messes, remarkable how incompetent the local officials have been over the last several months, it is going to take a long time for Shanghai to recover its reputation as a well-run city. The required regular testing is seeing some hitches as the lines in some places are far too long. Beijing on the other hand looks much better run, and it appears the city will be able to avoid a full Shanghai-style “don’t call it a lockdown lockdown”.

Another sign the leadership is preparing for long-term epidemic prevention? - Comments from Liu He in his remarks to a meeting with representatives of the Chinese Academy of Engineering may deserve attention, as they may shed more light on how China is both regularizing long-term anti-epidemic measures as well trying to refine the dynamic Zero-Covid policy to maximize its effectiveness while minimizing its social and economic damage…