China is looking for ways to reduce the “social costs” of its strict Covid Zero strategy, an official said on Thursday, in a sign that Beijing is looking to adjust a policy that has been criticized for isolating the world’s second biggest economy. The country should closely monitor developments with the pandemic around the world, said Guo Weimin, spokesman for the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the country’s top political advisory body, days before lawmakers convene in Beijing for an annual parliamentary session. The comment adds to indications that China is assessing the strategy with a view to easing after two years of closed borders, mass testing and lockdowns. But any shift will be slow and unlikely to occur before 2023, given the need for stability in a politically […]