Jörg Wuttke, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said in an interview with CNN Business on Thursday that his latest conversations with the government had been encouraging as pressure built on Beijing to ease up on measures that have stifled economic activity and kept millions of people at home.
“They are painfully aware of the damage to the economy. They’re worried about unemployment. They’re worried about foreign companies putting money elsewhere,” he added, citing a private meeting with a Chinese ministry. He declined to name the agency.
China is the world’s last major country still adopting a “zero Covid” policy, which aims to stamp out any sign of the virus through stringent quarantine and mobility restrictions.
This week, Chinese President Xi Jinping appeared to double down on that approach.
“We must put people and lives first, prevent imported cases and domestic flare-ups, conduct a scientific,…
