Richard, my intuition also sees Xi's removal of covid restrictions as intended to wreak havoc on a population that dared defy him - and I bet you are right that he is calculating he will gain by sifting out the weak and the elderly in the year to come - and it won't be his fault. I would be willing to add to that that his decision to lift quarantine restrictions for visitors, while "merely" following what most other countries have done, will in fact spread resurgent waves fo covid around the world - already people are rushing to visit China again. It is as if the memory of early 2020 has been wiped from our collective minds.

We may be on the cusp of a whole new covid pandemic. Happy New Year.