Protests against draconian Covid restrictions have rocked several Chinese cities since the death of 10 persons in an apartment building fire in Urumqi on November 24. These protests come a month after Communist party strongman Xi Jinping took office for an unprecedented third term as the country’s president. Embarrassing as it is for the Chinese leadership, the protests appear to reflect popular anger at the party’s “zero covid” policy at a time when the rest of the world has moved on from the pandemic. So, what do these protests signal? Can we expect a massive crackdown on the protesters? Do the protests point to the failings of an increasingly centralized party leadership that doesn’t listen to the people at large?