Cover Story: China’s Halting Steps to Dial Back ‘Zero Covid’

As most of the world has largely returned to pre-pandemic life, China is quietly easing its stringent “zero-Covid” policies even as several major cities experience a surge in infections.

In Shijiazhuang, the capital of northern China’s Hebei province about 165 miles south of Beijing, Sun Xin said he could feel the change Nov. 12: Lockdowns of some communities were lifted, and residents didn’t need to show nucleic acid test results to enter public places.