SHANGHAI — China’s largest city, Shanghai, began returning to normalcy amid the easing of a strict two-month COVID-19 lockdown that has drawn unusual protests over its heavy-handed implementation.

Shanghai’s Communist Party committee issued a letter online proclaiming the lockdown’s success and thanking citizens for their “support and contributions.” The move came amid a steady rollback in compulsory measures that have upended daily life for millions while severely disrupting the economy and global supply chains.

While defending President and Communist Party Chief Xi Jinping’s hardline “zero-COVID” policy, the country’s leadership appears to be acknowledging the public backlash against measures seen as trampling already severely limited rights to privacy and participation in the workings of government.

The government says all restrictions will be gradually lifted, but local neighborhood committees still wield considerable power to implement sometimes conflicting and arbitrary policies. The country’s borders also remain largely closed and the government has upped requirements for the issuance of passports and permission to travel abroad.