>If the elites in Beijing are locked in their apartments for months on end, and start to go hungry... idk

That's why Beijing is getting better treatment.

>A defence of Beijing’s strict border controls might stress the importance of shielding the central government from outbreaks. But that does not explain why pandemic rules inside the capital have been strikingly lenient, compared with those imposed on humbler places like Langfang. For instance, more than half a dozen covid cases were found in April in Jiuxianqiao, a district of Beijing near modern-art galleries and posh apartment blocks. A compact “high-risk zone” was drawn around that outbreak as if with a scalpel. Nearby schools, shops and restaurants stayed open.

https://www.economist.com/china/2022/04/21/chinas-harsh-and-...