At a meeting chaired by the C on Thursday, the ruling Communist Party’s Politburo High Committee vowed to “stick to the common policy of ‘dynamic zero Covid’ ‘and resolutely fight against any words and actions that distort, doubt or deny the opinion of our country. epidemic prevention policies. “
This is the first time Xi, who, according to state media, delivered an “important speech” at the meeting, has made public remarks about China’s battle against Covid since the public outcry over the brutal blockade in Shanghai.
“Our strategy for prevention and control is determined by the nature and mission of the party, our policies can stand the test of history, our measures are scientific and effective,” the seven-member commission said, according to the Xinhua government news agency.
“We have won the battle to defend Wuhan and we will certainly be able to win the battle to defend Shanghai,” the statement said.
The Standing Committee also requested that the staff have a “thorough, complete and comprehensive understanding” of the policies set by the party’s central leadership.
“We must resolutely overcome the problems of inadequate information, inadequate preparation and insufficient work, and resolutely overcome the contempt, indifference and self-confidence in our thinking,” it said.
For analysts who have long watched Chinese policy, the stern warning is a sign that there has been an internal repulse against Xi’s zero-Covid policy from within the party.
“This language should be interpreted as a direct critique of unspecified local CCP leaders who question policies at the center or who have been unsuccessful in implementing them,” wrote David Bandurski, co-director of China’s Media Project.
“And it’s hard not to hear in this phrase about ‘self-righteousness’ condemnation of leaders in Shanghai in particular,” Bandurski added.
In the past five weeks, many Shanghai residents have turned to social media to call for help and vent their anger over severe food shortages and lack of access to medical care. Some protested from their windows, banging pots and pans and screaming in frustration, while others clashed with police and street health workers, a rare scene in a country where dissent is routinely suppressed. Serious economic consequences have also raised concerns among economists and business executives, especially given Shanghai’s role as the country’s leading financial center and major manufacturing and transportation hub. In April, China’s services sector, which accounts for more than half of the country’s GDP and more than 40% of its employment, contracted at the second-fastest pace in history, while the manufacturing sector also contracted. And as Omicron spreads to other parts of China, more and more local authorities are imposing rapid blockades in response to just a few cases. In Beijing, where more than 500 cases have been reported since April 20, many fear a Shanghai-style blockade as authorities impose more and more restrictions.
But a recent statement from the country’s top leaders made it clear that the Chinese government has redoubled its approach to relying on rapid blockades, mass tests and quarantine to crack down on the highly addictive Omicron in the foreseeable future.
Wu Qiang, a political analyst in Beijing, said in April that the question of how the government should deal with the country’s worst outbreak since Wuhan had become a “fight on the road” within the party.
“First, it’s a struggle over whether to choose ‘dynamic zero Covid’ or a more flexible approach to fighting Covid; and second, it’s also a struggle over whether to make control of Covid or economic growth a priority, “Wu said.
And with the last statement it becomes clear that Xi chose the first in both “fights”, according to Wu.
He has put his personal stamp on China’s Zero Covid strategy, with state media often reporting that he “personally commanded and took action” in the country’s fight against the pandemic.
“In this sense, Zero Covid has become an indisputable, indisputable policy that is closely linked to his political authority – and therefore there will be no flexibility when it comes to its implementation,” Wu said.
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