China eases Covid curbs to streamline supply chains

China said on Saturday that it would stop carrying out Covid-19 checks on lorry drivers and ship crew transporting goods domestically, removing a key bottleneck from its supply chain network as the country eases its zero-Covid policy.

The country has started to reopen its economy, loosening key parts of its Covid policy in a shift that has been welcomed by the public, but also raised concerns of a surge in infections. With Beijing requiring less testing and allowing those with mild or no symptoms to isolate at home, the focus has shifted to ensuring there are adequate provisions of medicine and shoring up the country's health care system.

Three years after the coronavirus pandemic began, Chinese citizens were eager for Beijing to start to align with the rest of the world, which has largely opened up in an effort to live with Covid.

After widespread protests, the authorities have changed course.

This year, amid mass lockdowns, much of China's supply chain network was hit by requirements for those involved in goods transportation to show negative Covid test results or health codes at check points.

The decision to remove those curbs is aimed at ensuring the smooth supply of medicine and healthcare supplies such as antigen kits, the authorities said.

"No efforts should be spared to ensure smooth delivery of medical supplies," China's Transport Ministry said in a notice.

Long queues have formed at pharmacies in many Chinese cities as people buy cough medicine, flu drugs and masks.

The state market regulator at the weekend warned against price gouging in anti-Covid products. The State Administration for Market Regulation published guidelines to regulate the online sale of drugs, masks, antigen-testing reagents and food.

Internet companies, in particular, should not "profiteer from the pandemic", the administration said.

In another shift, China agreed to let Germany provide BioNTech's Covid vaccine to German citizens in the country, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Beijing had until now insisted on only administering domestically produced vaccines. China's easing of Covid restrictions has unnerved companies, many of which had been frustrated by the policy but adapted to the inconveniences.