Unsustainable envelopment goals: China’s zero-covid fight

<p>The Omicron variant is destined to test the limits of a policy that has already proved costly: consumption, growth and confidence are all <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2022/01/22/the-rising-cost-of-chinas-property-and-pandemic-curbs?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">flagging</a>. The effects of Russia’s gulag did not stop when the labour camps closed: there appear to be long-term <a href="https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2021/12/04/how-regions-near-stalins-gulag-benefit-today-from-his-victims?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">benefits</a> for nearby areas. And why cycling in the Arab world is <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2022/01/13/why-more-arabs-are-embracing-pedal-power?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">on the rise</a>.</p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></p> &#10;&nbsp;<br /><hr><p style='color: grey; font - size: 0.75em; '>See <a style='color: grey; ' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>