It's nice to read a counterperspective to the typical view of China's response to the COVID pandemic. 5% of the total dealth rate compared to America's is crazy! And the fact that the economy has expanded by 10.5% compared to 2.4% in American (and 0.4% "in advanced economies generally") is a testament to something working. People will argue that they would prefer to have a higher death rate and have the freedom granted by America for example, but these numbers make it seems like many in China may believe the reverse. As cases rise now, I think that would apply a stress test to their policies.

A great article about the early stages of the pandemic in China is Peter Hessler's "Manufacturing Diplomacy" from The New Yorker. As an American living and reporting in China, he grants a really unique perspective to the policies that cut through propaganda nicely.