China Rejects US Smear Campaign Against Shanghai Lockdown

On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian expressed his "strong opposition" to the U.S. decision to evacuate non-essential personnel from its consulate in Shanghai, a city in which authorities have tightened actions to control the pandemic.

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"The United States should immediately stop attacking China's prevention policy and using the pandemic for political manipulation," Zhao said, adding that his country filed a formal complaint for such attitude since China's epidemiological policy is "scientific and effective."

Besides recalling that local governments have offered assistance to foreign diplomatic personnel, he expressed confidence that Shanghai will overcome the outbreak very soon.

On April 8, the U.S. State Department authorized the voluntary evacuation of consulate workers and advised to "reconsider" any trip to China due to "the arbitrary execution of local laws" and the current restrictions to contain the pandemic.

In late March, Shanghai went into a lockdown, which has caused food supply problems in some neighborhoods and restrictions on medical care in hospitals. The Chinese "zero COVID" strategy has implied strong restrictions on mobility and the closure of borders. This has caused some concern about the possible effects on the global industrial and supply chains.

However, while major overseas ports witnessed congestion and a shortage of containers, the Shanghai port maintained smooth operation, ensuring the stability and connectivity of supply chains in the Yangtze River Delta region and unimpeded ties with the rest of the globe.

On Saturday, for example, the deepwater dock Yangshan handled 26 international vessels and 42 domestic container ships, basically at the usual level.