American Lawyer Quarantined For 37 Days In China Describes “Chaotic” Environment

American lawyer James Zimmerman, a partner at Perkins Coie in Beijing, has worked in China for 24 years, and thought he was well enough to return in March after having heart surgery in San Diego over the Christmas holiday.

The timing couldn’t have been worse. The four-time chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China flew into Shanghai just as the city’s stringent Covid-19 lockdowns were getting under way. They have since disrupted global supply chains and triggered an outpouring of anger on social media among its 27 million citizens with complaints ranging from food shortages to unsanitary state-run quarantine facilities.

Though given permission to travel back to his China base in Beijing from Shanghai, Zimmerman, 63, hasn’t been allowed to quarantine at home despite his medical condition. Instead, he’s been at a quarantine hotel for 11 days, where he says he’s been fed spoiling fruit and had other hardships. Zimmerman warns other businesspeople that China’s capital may follow Shanghai’s wider lockdowns.

“The State Department needs to release another advisory that warns people that they might end up in central quarantine for 37 days, like me,” Zimmerman said in an email exchange today. “It’s not just a manageable 14 days. But given the lack of transparency of China’s policies, even the U.S. government is having a challenging time predicting the unpredictable.”

So what’s ahead for foreign businesses in what Zimmerman called a “chaotic” environment? “While no one in the foreign business community wants to talk about decoupling or divestment, there clearly is a strong inclination to take a closer – and more critical look – at the business environment.”

Interview excerpts follow.

Flannery: You have some dramatic posts on Twitter today about spending 37 days in quarantine in China, testing negative for Covid, and not being allowed to quarantine at home there despite heart surgery four months ago. How is it that you ended up in that situation?

Zimmerman: I have lived and worked in Beijing for 24 years and first came to China in early 90s. I was on Christmas holiday in San Diego when I had the surgery. I have recovered very well.

As with all registered foreign lawyers, I needed to return to Beijing to renew my one-year visa by April 30. If I didn’t get it renewed, it would be months before I could obtain an invitation letter and visa to get back. I also needed to return for ongoing client matters.

I spent 22 days in central quarantine in Shanghai, but then left for Beijing on Easter Sunday after I had received “green codes” under my Beijing, Shanghai, and State Council health kit apps. I thought I was good to go!

Flannery: Where exactly are you quarantining in Beijing and what are the conditions there?

Zimmerman: Upon arrival in Beijing, everyone was rounded up and sent to central quarantine. The process was well-organized with a like-number of police and health workers to corral the 100+ passengers into buses and mini-vans to be quarantined in their residential district. There was no warning before we left from Shanghai.

I am currently at the Jade National Hotel near the Asia Games area about two miles from my home. It’s maybe a two-star hotel. At the street level, the hotel is surrounded by six-foot high blue steel corrugated fencing. The furnishings and fixtures remind me of travel in rural areas in the early ‘90s. The room is small and so it doesn’t allow me to exercise the way I should be post-op. Before leaving for China I was walking up to five miles a day and doing intense circuit training. It’s hard to keep this up in a 12’x12’ room day in and day out. Ditto for eating a heart-healthy diet. I begged the hotel for fresh fruit, and they delivered rotting apples, although they apologized after I complained. (The hotel didn’t answer the phone when called for comment.)

As I continued to vent, I finally got them to provide me with just steamed vegetables and white rice. The food has improved given the intensity of my rants. They also moved me to a room that just went through renovations but the smell of new paint and glue is bothersome. They spray the hallways all day long with a cleaning solution and there is a constant smell of chlorine.

Despite ongoing pleas, I am still disallowed to quarantine at home, and even receiving a (bilingual) letter from my cardiologist that explains my condition. The U.S. Embassy protested to the Beijing Foreign Affairs Office without making any progress.

Flannery: You’ve been a four-term chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Beijing. What do you see as the impact of all of this on U.S. companies doing business with China?

Zimmerman: The government’s reaction to the outbreak in Shanghai the past month is a textbook example of China’s clumsy policy decision-making process. When someone at the top shouted to shut down the city, that is all that the local officials needed to hear. Nobody thought to evaluate the practical consequences of such draconian measures. What did they expect when, without warning, they locked down a city of 27 million people, and then wonder why there was a rush of panic buying and no food to feed the masses? Logistics matter. And the same thing is unfolding in Beijing this week.

China has a tendency to pursue a path of big plans, grand schemes, and reactionary policies, without thinking that there may be a better way. No forecasting. No impact assessment. No analysis of the social and economic consequences. The Chinese government needs to do a better job of assessing the impact of policy decisions that affect the big picture issues.

On the overall impact for the foreign business community, my assessment is that foreign business – and that includes from the U.S. and EU – is starting to question how this government is managing the economy, the pandemic, and its geopolitical relationships. While no one in the foreign business community wants to talk about decoupling or divestment, there clearly is a strong inclination to take a closer – and more critical look – at the business environment.

Flannery: As an American citizen, what should the U.S. government be doing for Americans in Beijing and China in general at this point?

Zimmerman: The State Department needs to release another advisory that warns people that they might end up in central quarantine for 37 days, like me. It’s not just a manageable 14 days. But given the lack of transparency of China’s policies, even the U.S. government is having a challenging time predicting the unpredictable. It’s hard to anticipate next steps when Beijing is making up the rules as it goes.

I appreciate the U.S. Embassy’s support in protesting to the Chinese authorities, although it appears that no one in the Chinese government wants to take responsibility in this chaotic environment. Nobody wants to be the one to allow me to quarantine at home, especially if I end up being the guy – no matter how unlikely given that I have repeatedly tested negative – that causes a contagion in Beijing.

See related posts:

U.S. Tells Citizens “Do Not Travel” To Shanghai, Hong Kong Amid Pandemic

U.S. Tips For American Citizens Still In Shanghai

China Investment In U.S. To Remain Low Amid Pandemic — Rhodium Group

@rflannerychina