China defends "zero-COVID" policy amid widespread protests

China's foreign ministry on Monday defended the country's "zero-COVID" policy amid the widespread outpouring of public dissent that has gone beyond social media to some of China's streets and top universities.

During the weekend, from the streets of Shanghai and Beijing to dozens of university campuses, protesters made a show of civil disobedience unprecedented since leader Xi Jinping assumed power a decade ago, overseeing the quashing of dissent and setting up an extensive high-tech social surveillance system.

The rare display of civil unrest was sparked by anger over an apartment fire late last week in the far western city of Urumqi that killed 10 people.

The backlash against COVID restrictions is a setback for China's efforts to eradicate the virus, which is infecting record numbers of people and raising concern about the economic toll of lockdowns on the world's second-largest economy.

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