Media Tip Sheet: Consequences of China Lockdown

As the intense lockdowns continue in China, one of our Syracuse University professors weighed in on possible consequences they may have on the economy. Dimitar Gueorguiev is an associate professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and director of Chinese studies at Syracuse University, where he teaches courses on Chinese politics, comparative autocracy, research methods and foreign policy. He has been featured in POLITICO, Bloomberg, and more. He also wrote the book Retrofitting Leninism: Participation without Democracy in China. Read more about his related news articles and research here. 

Below are some angles that Gueorguiev says may be worth expanding on:

1. Leaders have opted for sweeping rather than surgical controls, and it is hard to understand why. Shanghai, for instance, had managed earlier stages of the pandemic with limited restrictions, focusing on more targeted surveillance and quarantines of individuals and families, not entire communities and districts. As a result, Chinese residents are now more likely to fear the controls than the virus and their faith in the government is being tested as a result.
2. COVID-19 controls in urban centers like Shanghai and Beijing are making life extremely difficult for residents, but they are also a golden opportunity for those who can exploit the restrictions by moving scarce goods and services around without competition. When the lockdowns subside, and hopefully they will subside soon, we are likely to hear much more about corruption which will only add to the frustration residents are feeling.
3. Linkage between the party and the people is tenuous. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is an ideologically socialist party, but it is also an elite organization overseeing an economy that largely depends on labor exploitation. As such, the CCP lacks obvious ideological, institutional, or economic incentives to cater to middle-class citizens in urban centers like Shanghai and Beijing. This is a very basic political science theory, he says, but talking in more detail about it may make for an interesting story.

To learn more about his points above or to request an interview, please contact:

Vanessa Marquette
Media Relations Specialist
Syracuse University Communications
315.271.6417 | vrmarque@syr.edu