China's Autocratic Governance and the Zero-COVID Strategy

In an attempt to understand China's autocracy, the lens of its pandemic response policies is explored. This includes the strict lockdowns implemented in pursuit of the zero-COVID strategy. The Chinese Communist Party's top-down governance model seeks to prove its superiority to liberal democracies. The zero-COVID policy is a manifestation of the cadre responsibility system, where local officials are evaluated based on their fulfillment of assigned policy goals. In this system, the prevention of COVID-19 outbreaks takes precedence over other policy goals, even economic growth. Understanding China's unique power structures and incentives sheds light on the impact of its policies on citizens' lives.