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Hong Kong (CNN) --
China's top leader, Xi Jinping, has issued the strongest warning yet against anyone who questions the country's zero-Covid policy, as strict and frequent lockdowns fuel public discontent and mean a devastating blow to the Chinese economy.
At a meeting chaired by Xi on Thursday, the ruling Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee pledged to "unswervingly adhere to the overall policy of 'dynamic zero-covid', and resolutely fight against any word and act that distorts, doubts or negate our country's epidemic prevention policies."
This is the first time that Xi, who according to state media gave an "important speech" at the meeting, has made public comments on China's battle against covid-19 since public furor over Shanghai's harsh lockdown erupted. .
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"Our prevention and control strategy is determined by the nature and mission of the party, our policies can withstand the test of history, our measures are scientific and effective," the seven-member committee said, according to the government news agency Xinhua. .
"We have won the battle to defend Wuhan, and we can certainly win the battle to defend Shanghai," he said.
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The Standing Committee also required cadres to have a "deep, comprehensive and comprehensive understanding" of the policies set by the party's central leadership.
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"We must resolutely overcome the problems of inadequate conscience, inadequate preparation and insufficient work, and resolutely overcome contempt, indifference and self-righteousness in our thinking," he said.
For analysts who have long watched Chinese politics, the stern warning is a sign that there has been an internal pushback against Xi's zero-covid policy from within the party.
"This language should be read as direct criticism of unspecified local CCP leaders who have questioned the center's policies, or who have not been sufficiently successful in enforcing them," wrote David Bandurski, co-director of the China Media Project.
"And it's hard not to hear in this phrase about 'self-justification' the condemnation of Shanghai leaders in particular," Bandurski added.
Discontent grows in Shanghai over measures against covid-19
Over the past five weeks, many Shanghainese have taken to social media to ask for help and vent their anger over severe food shortages and lack of access to healthcare.
Some protested from their windows, banging pots and pans and screaming in frustration, others even clashed with police and health workers in the streets, a rare scene in a country where dissent is routinely cracked down.
The dire economic fallout has also raised concerns among economists and businessmen, especially considering Shanghai's role as the country's main financial center and 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% of employment, shrank at the second-strongest pace on record, while the manufacturing sector also shrank.
Nearly 15 million people have died from the covid-19 pandemic, according to the WHO, nearly three times as many as reported
And as omicron spreads in other parts of China, more local governments are imposing swift lockdowns in response to just a handful of cases.
In Beijing, where more than 500 cases have been recorded since April 20, many fear a Shanghai-like lockdown as authorities tighten restrictions.
But the latest statement from the country's top leaders has made it clear that the Chinese government is doubling down on rapid lockdowns, mass testing and quarantine to crush the highly transmissible omicron variant for the foreseeable future.
Wu Qiang, a political analyst in Beijing, said that since April, the question of how the government should deal with the country's worst outbreak since Wuhan has become a "road fight" within the party.
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"First of all, it's a fight over whether to choose 'zero-covid dynamics' or a more flexible approach to fighting covid; and secondly, it's also a fight over whether to do covid control or economic growth the priority," Wu said.
"And with the latest statement, it is clear that Xi has chosen first in both 'fights,' according to Wu.
Xi has put his personal stamp on China's strategy against Covid-19, with state media often reporting that he has "personally commanded and arranged" the country's fight against the pandemic.
"In this sense, the 'zero-COVID' strategy has become an unquestionable and indisputable policy that is closely tied to its political authority, and thus there will be no flexibility in applying it," Wu said.
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