China’s President Xi battles to save face as Covid U-turn weakens his grip on power

Despite public bullishness, overflowing hospitals across the country suggest its leader may have made a huge miscalculation

China’s leader Xi Jinping told his country it stands on “the right side of history” in a new year address on Saturday, but experts have warned that the president starts 2023 diminished by his chaotic U-turn on Covid strategy.

He may struggle to deflect blame for the human and economic costs of zero-Covid’s failure, and control the national narrative, even if public signs of dissent are crushed.