Fortress China: The Pursuit and Unraveling of the Zero-Covid Regime

Fortress China: The Pursuit and Unraveling of the Zero-Covid Regime" extends the author’s research for Wuhan: How the COVID-19 Outbreak in China Spiraled Out of Control. This project dissects China's Zero-Covid policy regime and examines the interplay between China's stringent public health measures and its political governance, exploring how the Zero-Covid strategy was sustained under Xi Jinping's leadership despite mounting challenges and its eventual collapse under economic strains and public discontent.  

The methodology encompasses archival and field research, comparative analysis, and quantitative methods, offering insights into China's response mechanisms and state-society dynamics during the pandemic. The study aims to contribute significantly to the understanding of China's governance and public health strategy during the Covid-19 pandemic. By providing an in-depth analysis of the Zero-Covid regime's implementation, escalation, and unraveling, this project seeks to inform future public health policies and crisis management strategies globally. The anticipated outcomes include a book that will be valuable for health professionals, policymakers, and scholars in political science, public health, and China studies. 

Biography:

Dali L. Yang is the William Claude Reavis Professor of Political Science and Senior Advisor to the President and the Provost on Global Initiatives at the University of Chicago. He was the founding Faculty Director of the University of Chicago Center in Beijing from 2010 to 2016 and a former chair of the Department of Political Science.  

Yang’s research is on the politics of China’s development, governance, and global impact. Among his books are Calamity and Reform in China (Stanford University Press, 1996); Beyond Beijing: Liberalization and the Regions in China (Routledge, 1997); Remaking the Chinese Leviathan (Stanford University Press, 2004); China and Youth Well-being in China (Routledge, 2019; co-authored), and Wuhan: How the Covid-19 Outbreak in China Spiraled Out of Control (Oxford, 2024). He is a nonresident Senior Fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.