China's new data capabilities will outlive zero-COVID

Significance

These were used to monitor the exposure risk of individuals and provide a basis to mandate quarantine or refuse access to public venues.

Impacts

• The phase-out of COVID-19 apps will differ on a regional basis, creating uncertainty and divergence in the short term.
• The apps give the government a useful case study of the way in which existing data can be reconfigured for novel purposes.
• The phase-out of the apps provides insights into the cost-benefit analyses of Chinese security services.