Xi Jinping confirmed that he has no intention of deviating from China’s zero commitment to Covid, in a long speech to the country’s top officials, who also warned against any criticism or doubt in politics.
Addressing the seven-member standing committee of the Politburo, China’s highest decision-making body, particularly on the Shanghai outbreak, the president said China’s response was “scientific and effective.” He told employees to “stick to a common policy of dynamic zero Covid”.
“We have won the battle to defend Wuhan and we will certainly be able to win the battle to defend Shanghai,” he said, according to a translation by Bill Bishop of Sinocism.
China is the last major economy still committed to a policy of limiting and eliminating the virus, despite the increased transmissibility of the Omicron variant, which surpassed other previous jurisdictions with zero Covid. He largely adheres to the measures taken during the pandemic – blocking, mass tests and restrictions on movement based on health codes.
But a week-long blockade in Shanghai has caused a serious crisis with food shortages and supply difficulties for its 25 million people, with major business and economic repercussions. It has also sparked an unusual outpouring of criticism and protests, including on the merits of continuing with zero Covid against Omicron.
In his address on Thursday, He seems to have sent a message to those who are hesitant to resolutely oppose all distortions, doubts and denials.
“We will fight resolutely against all words and deeds that distort, doubt and deny our policies to prevent the epidemic.
Si’s address also called for “problems with inadequate understanding, inadequate preparation and inadequate work [and] resolutely overcoming the ideas of contempt, indifference and self-justice ”.
An analysis of the Chinese Media Project’s speech said that the language should be seen as “a direct critique of unspecified local CCP leaders who question policies at the center or who have been unsuccessful in implementing them.”
“And it’s hard not to hear in this phrase about ‘self-righteousness’ condemnation of leaders in Shanghai in particular,” it said.
Health experts agree with Chinese authorities that vaccination and booster levels are too low and health resources are too unfair in different regions for the country to risk opening up. However, analysts say Zero Covid’s policy is now so ingrained in the political legitimacy of the Chinese Community and China Party that even when conditions change, there is no way out except for a major and potentially damaging retreat.
On Friday, China reported 4,696 cases, including 4,269 in Shanghai and 70 in Beijing. Henan Province, where the capital Zhengzhou has just entered a blockade, registered 79. Economists predict a deterioration in the economy if the Shanghai-style blockade continues. An analyst this week predicts that this will cost $ 257 billion, or 1.5% of China’s GDP by 2021, by the end of the year if each Level 1 city uses the current three-week testing regime. in Beijing and elsewhere.
The five-day Labor Day holiday, which ended on Thursday, saw a 43% reduction in tourism spending on an annual basis. Train travel has decreased by more than 70%.
In the capital, Beijing, authorities opposed the blockade throughout the city, instead imposing restrictions on traffic and transportation, suspending activities and venues, and blocking individual housing estates. He ordered people from some areas to work from home and reopened mass quarantine centers to accommodate mild and asymptomatic cases.
Additional reports from Xiaoqian Zhu
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