Urban China and COVID-19: how Chinese cities responded to the pandemic

This chapter examines three major strategies used by city governments in China to contain COVID-19 lockdowns, the grid governance system, and digital surveillance. Although some of these measures have also been used in other countries, the ways in which they are implemented in China spotlight the territorial logic of urban governance in the country. The enforcement of these measures strictly trails administrative jurisdictions, and largely depends on the pre-existing territorial institutions and authorities. China’s experience offers several lessons for other countries. It demonstrates the importance of empowering municipal institutions and coordinating central-local responses, but also the consequence of disengaging citizens and encroaching upon citizen rights.