Tokyo | Xi Jinping’s top advisers have warned they will not tolerate any criticism of the government’s zero COVID-19 policies as they double down on the fight against omicron despite growing concern about the economic fallout from lockdowns in a quarter of its cities.

The Chinese Politburo’s standing committee defended Mr Xi’s zero case strategy, which it said was effective and based on science, as it vowed to win the battle to “defend” Shanghai, which has been locked down for six weeks.