China accuses ‘some Western media’ of COVID-19 coverage bias

BEIJING (AP) — China has accused “some Western media” of bias, smears and political manipulation in their coverage of China’s ending of its strict “zero-COVID” policy. That came as part of a defense of actions taken to prepare for the change in an editorial Thursday in the ruling Communist Party’s People’s Daily. The move in December to end mass testing and quarantines led to a sharp rise in cases, with some hospitals and crematoriums overwhelmed with victims. The writer outlined what they called China’s “optimization and control measures” and blasted reports by the media outlets they didn’t identify as “completely biased hype, smear and political manipulation with ulterior motives.” Life in much of China has largely returned to normal in recent days.