Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged all officials to work together to swiftly contain the coronavirus, adding that the outcome would directly affect China's economic and social stability, Xinhua reported.

Called for unity in all government officials

Speaking on Monday (Feb. 3) at a meeting of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) top decision-making body, the Politburo Standing Committee, Xi said the country's work in containing the virus also directly impacts the health and safety of the people, and concerns the communication of information to other countries.

All officials to follow Beijing's command

Xi also emphasised the importance of upholding unity in all officials throughout the country when it comes to battling the virus, adding that all local governments must abide by the central government's command and take their cue from Beijing.

Should any official be found to neglect his or her duty, they would be duly punished, Xi added.

"Major test" for the party

The meeting added that the coronavirus outbreak is "a major test" for the country's system and governance, and that the leadership must draw lessons from it.

In addition to admitting that the crisis this time round has revealed certain shortcomings, Xinhua said the country must raise its capacity for dealing with such emergencies and improve its mechanism for managing it.

This is not the first time that Xi has warned senior officials to protect the country's social stability.

He had previously said on Jan. 21 that officials should strengthen their work in preventing and defusing "major risks" to ensure sustained and healthy economic development and social stability, Xinhua reported.

Such meetings are rare

According to Bloomberg, the meeting was the second one held by the country's senior leaders regarding the crisis lately.

Such meetings, usually held to address urgent matters such natural disasters or public health emergencies, are a rare occurrence -- there were only 20 reported meetings from 1992 to 2013.

Since Xi took office in 2012, such meetings have reportedly been held once a year, other than 2014 when the Yunnan earthquake happened, and 2018, when the senior officials met to discuss the progress of the Xiongan smart city.

Breakdown between local governments and Beijing?

Xi's statement comes in the wake of intense criticisms towards the Chinese leadership, which can be found even on the highly-regulated platform Weibo.

On such sites, Chinese internet users often rely on creative ways to refer to Xi and other sensitive issues in order to bypass censors.

Following public anger towards the local government for failing to inform residents of the virus outbreak and doing enough to prevent its spread, Wuhan mayor Zhou Xianwang has acknowledged his failure and offered his resignation, Caixin Global reported.

Tang Zhihong, the health chief of Huanggang city -- a city to the east of Wuhan -- was sacked on Jan. 30 for her inadequate response to a question regarding the virus outbreak that was televised on state broadcaster CCTV, according to South China Morning Post.

The crisis also revealed possible schisms between the local and central governments when Zhou said rules laid out by the latter limited the information he could disclose about the virus.

Since coming to power, Xi has moved quickly to consolidate his power within the party apparatus.

Top image via Xinhua