While recent protests in China are not a threat to Communist party rule, they could affect the personal standing of the Chinese leader, according to the US director of national intelligence.
Although China's daily Covid cases are near all-time highs, some cities are taking steps to loosen testing and quarantine rules after the negative effects of the zero- Covid policy.
Why isn't China having a zero- covid policy?
At the annual Reagan National Defense Forum in California on Saturday, Haines said that despite the social and economic impact of the virus, Xi is unwilling to take a better vaccine from the west and is instead relying on a vaccine in China that is just not nearly as effective.
The response to the protests is a way to counter the narrative that China is more effective at government than the US.
She said that it is not a threat to stability at the moment and that how it develops will be important to the standing of the leader.
Protesters clashed with police in the Chinese cities of Guangzhou and Chongqing after Covid restrictions were suddenly lifted.
The southern city of Shenzhen decided on Saturday to no longer require people to show a negative Covid test result to use public transport or enter parks.
The capital stopped requiring negative test results in order to enter places such as supermarkets.
Authorities announced plans to step up vaccinations of older people in an effort to address anger at the zero- Covid policies that sparked the protests.
Some studies have suggested that domestic Covid vaccines are not as effective as foreign ones. Experts say that easing virus prevention measures could be risky.
The White House said earlier in the week that China had not asked the US for vaccine.
There is no expectation that China will approve western vaccines at the moment, according to one US official.
It doesn't make sense that China would approve western vaccines at this time. They would have to swallow a lot of it if they went this route.
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