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Why did China persist with a zero-COVID policy? A cultural interpretation of Confucianism

Xiaolong Tian et al.

Public Policy and Administration2025https://doi.org/10.1177/09520767251360124article
AJG 2ABDC B
Weight
0.37

What the paper says

From the initial outbreak in Wuhan to December 2022, China maintained a zero-COVID policy to control the pandemic. This article examines the policy persistence through a Confucian lens, focusing on three cultural indicators derived from a combination of the open public value account and Hofstede’s national culture dimensions. China’s high long-term orientation index prioritized people’s lives and health over short-term economic impacts, while its elevated power distance and strong collectivism supported paternalistic governance and societal compliance. These cultural factors suggest that Confucian values provided a degree of moral legitimacy to the strict containment measures, reinforcing the policy’s endurance. The study constructs a theoretical framework of Confucianism’s open public value account and links it to three national culture indicators, offering a foundation for comparative cross-cultural research. However, further exploration is needed into Confucianism’s modern transformation within China’s governance modernization.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/09520767251360124

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@article{xiaolong2025,
  title        = {{Why did China persist with a zero-COVID policy? A cultural interpretation of Confucianism}},
  author       = {Xiaolong Tian et al.},
  journal      = {Public Policy and Administration},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/09520767251360124},
}

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Why did China persist with a zero-COVID policy? A cultural interpretation of Confucianism

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Evidence weight

0.37

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.16 × 0.4 = 0.06
M · momentum0.53 × 0.15 = 0.08
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.