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This article analyses the configuration of social ties in the context of the pandemic of covid-19 in relation to two contexts of observation and empirical inquiry: on the one hand, Chinese children living in China and, on the other, the descendants of Chinese migrants living in France. Drawing on interviews, participant observations and second-hand materials, we examine the impact of the lockdown and the lifting of the lockdown on the different types of ties in which these children, adolescents and young adults are involved: family (intergenerational, transgenerational), with peers, and with society. We also show the emerging role of the digital sector in maintaining and renewing these ties. Finally, we compare these two contexts of observation and inquiry in order to discuss the continuity and ruptures between these social ties at the local, national and transnational levels.