China’s Xi defends Covid Zero, Hong Kong policies at Congress

President Xi Jinping defended his Covid Zero strategy and crackdown in Hong Kong, as he opened the Communist Party’s twice-a-decade leadership congress where he’s expected to clinch a precedent-busting third term in power.

The 69-year-old started the weeklong event in Beijing by delivering the work report, the most authoritative policy document that lays out the party’s vision for China over the next five years. It spans everything from foreign policy and party building to the economy and the military.

“We have protected the people’s lives, health and safety to the greatest extent possible,” Xi said, at the Great Hall of the People, a huge building located off the capital’s Tiananmen Square. China’s punishing Covid Zero policy has closed its borders for nearly three years, while its lockdowns and mass testing drives to eradicate the virus have weighed on economic growth.

The Chinese leader spoke without a mask at a distance from the more than 2,340 delegates, including provincial leaders, top military figures, farmers and minority representatives, who wore facial coverings, aside from a handful top leaders.