Xi Jinping has left his personal mark on China’s zero-covid strategy to fight pandemic.
Beijing:
Chinese President Xi Jinping has issued the strongest warning yet against anyone who questions the country’s zero-covid policy.
The move comes after many Shanghai residents took to social media to call for help, expressing anger over severe food shortages and lack of access to medical care in the past five weeks, DailyExpertNews reported.
In a meeting chaired by Xi on Thursday, the top Politburo Standing Committee of the ruling Communist Party pledged to “unshakably adhere to the general policy of ‘dynamic zero Covid’ and fight resolutely against all words and deeds the epidemic prevention policies.”
This is the first time Xi, who gave an “important speech” at the meeting according to state media, has made public comments about China’s fight against Covid since the public outcry over the harsh lockdown in Shanghai.
“Our prevention and control strategy is determined by the nature and mission of the party, our policies can stand the test of time, our measures are scientific and effective,” the seven-member committee said, according to government news agency Xinhua.
“We have won the battle to defend Wuhan, and we will certainly be able to win the battle to defend Shanghai,” it said.
However, the severe, frequent lockdowns are fueling public discontent and dealing a devastating blow to the Chinese economy.
Shanghai residents protested from their windows, banging pots and pans and screaming in frustration, others even clashed with police and health workers on the streets – a rare scene in a country where dissent is routinely suppressed.
But the latest statement from the country’s top leaders has made it clear that the Chinese government is doubling down on its approach to rely on rapid shutdowns, mass testing and quarantine to destroy the highly transmissible Omicron variant for the foreseeable future, DailyExpertNews reported.
Xi has left his personal mark on China’s zero-covid strategy, with state media often reporting that he “personally commanded and made arrangements” for the country’s fight against the pandemic.
For analysts who have long observed Chinese politics, the stern warning is a sign that there has been internal opposition from within the party to Xi’s zero-covid policy, DailyExpertNews reported.
“This language should be read as a direct critique of unspecified local CCP leaders who have questioned the center’s policies, or have failed to implement them sufficiently,” wrote David Bandurski, co-director of the Center. China Media Project.
The severe economic fallout has also raised concerns from economists and business leaders, especially given Shanghai’s role as the country’s leading financial center and a major manufacturing and shipping hub.
In April, China’s services sector, which accounts for more than half of the country’s GDP and more than 40 percent of employment, shrank at its second-strongest pace on record, while manufacturing also shrank, DailyExpertNews reported.
And as Omicron spreads in other parts of China, more local governments are imposing rapid lockdowns in response to just a handful of cases.
In Beijing, where more than 500 cases have been reported since April 20, many fear a Shanghai-style lockdown as authorities continue to impose more restrictions.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)
