An influential former Chinese property executive has allegedly gone missing after calling President Xi Jinping a 'clown' over a speech he made last month about the government's efforts to battle the coronavirus.

The news comes after Xi last week visited quarantined residents in Wuhan, the centre of the epidemic, in a sign that China is preparing to declare victory over the coronavirus outbreak.

Ren Zhiqiang, 69, a member of China's ruling Communist Party and a former top executive of state-controlled property developer Huayuan Real Estate Group, has not been contactable since March 12, three of his friends told Reuters.

In a recent essay, Ren Zhiqiang (pictured in 2015) blasted Chinese President Xi as 'a clown stripped naked who insisted on continuing being emperor' over his handling of the crisis

China's President Xi is pictured delivering a speech at Wuhan's Huoshenshan Hospital, a makeshift medical facility built from scratch in 10 days, as he visits the epicentre on March 10

'Many of our friends are looking for him,' his close friend and businesswoman Wang Ying said in a statement to Reuters, describing them as being 'extremely anxious'.

'Ren Zhiqiang is a public figure and his disappearance is widely know. The institutions responsible for this need to give a reasonable and legal explanation for this as soon as possible,' she said.

Calls made by Reuters to Ren's mobile phone went unanswered.

The Beijing police did not immediately respond to requests by phone and fax for comment on Sunday. China's State Council Information Office did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment.

An essay Ren shared with people he knew in recent weeks took aim at a speech Xi made on Feburary 23, which state media reported was teleconferenced to 170,000 party officials nationwide. Copies of Ren's essay were later posted online by others.

Globally, the coronavirus has killed more than 6,510 people and infected over 170,400

A woman wearing a protective mask walks outside a mall in Manila, Philippines, on Monday

A vendor pushes his food cart down an empty street near Times Square in New York on Sunday

In the essay, which does not mention Xi by name, Ren said after studying the speech he 'saw not an emperor standing there exhibiting his "new clothes", but a clown stripped naked who insisted on continuing being emperor,' according to a version posted by China Digital Times, a US-based website.

He also said it revealed a 'crisis of governance' within the party, and that a lack of free press and speech had prevented the outbreak from being tackled sooner, causing the situation to worsen.

Ren's disappearance comes as censorship over how local media and online users discuss the epidemic has tightened in recent weeks.

The coronavirus, which emerged in China late last year, has infected nearly 81,000 people in the country, killing at least 3,213.

Globally, the coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 6,510 people and infected over 170,400.

Ren (pictured in 2015) has been billed as 'Cannon Ren' for previous critiques on social media

Ren, who gained the nickname 'Cannon Ren' for previous critiques posted on social media, was put on probation from the party for a year in 2016 as part of a punishment for publicly criticising government policy.

That year, the government ordered platforms such as the Twitter-like Weibo to shut down Ren's social media accounts, which at the time had more than 30 million online followers, saying he had been 'spreading illegal information'.

Beijing has framed the battle against coronavirus as a 'People's War' led by Xi.

While the draconian measures to fight the virus, including the lockdown of the city of Wuhan, have proven effective at containing it even as the disease spreads rapidly in other countries, China has faced criticism for suppressing information in the outbreak's early days.

Activist and journalist 'disappear' after blasting China's coronavirus battle Xu Zhiyong (pictured in 2009) was reportedly detained after publishing a series of blog posts criticising the Communist Party's response to the coronavirus outbreak Outspoken Chinese activist Xu Zhiyong is reportedly being held in secret detention for demanding President Xi step down over the health crisis. Xu, 47, openly called Xi 'not clever enough' and urged the leader to resign over 'the coronavirus catastrophe', his family and friends revealed. Human rights experts fear that Xu could be facing months of torture. Chen Qiushi, a Chinese citizen journalist reporting from Wuhan, has been missing since February 7 after he said he was going to visit a makeshift hospital, his friends said A Chinese citizen journalist who reported about the outbreak from Wuhan has also disappeared, it is said. Chen Qiushi has been forcibly put under quarantine since February 7, according to his family and a friend managing his account in his absence. The 34-year-old had been sending dispatches from Wuhan over Twitter - which is blocked in China - including images of corpses in the city's hospitals. Advertisement

The news comes as Europe is moving deeper into lockdown today with 100million people retreating to their homes, borders being sealed and bars and restaurants closing across the continent.

Travellers faced chaos at European borders yesterday after Poland and Serbia became the latest to ban new arrivals over the coronavirus outbreak which has killed more than 2,000 people in Europe.

Hundreds of people were denied entry from Germany into Poland after crossings over the Oder river were closed, with health officials testing those who are still allowed to enter.

Germany's own border checks come into effect today, with new controls springing up on the country's frontiers with France, Austria, Switzerland, Luxemburg and Denmark.

More than 2,300 people have died of the coronavirus and over 57,000 have fallen ill in Europe

An picture shows the border crossing between Poland and Ukraine in Korczowa on Sunday

A man wearing a face mask stands on the Poland-German border crossing point on Sunday

People with suitcases are seen heading to the Poland-German border crossing point yesterday

Passengers waiting in the arrivals hall at the Chopin Airport in Warsaw as flights are cancelled

Information screens at the Chopin Airport in Warsaw shows multiple cancellations on Sunday

People 'without a significant reason to travel' and those suspected of having been infected with the virus will not be allowed to cross the affected borders.

In the Balkans, the coronavirus panic infected Serbia, whose President declared a state of emergency to halt the spreading Covid-19 by shutting down public spaces and deploying the Army outside hospitals.

President Aleksandar Vucic, a populist who has ruled the tiny country since 2012, also closed Serbia's borders, as he declared the ongoing crisis a battle to 'save our elderly'.

He said: 'From tomorrow, there is no more school, no nurseries, no universities, everything closes, no training, sports... We will close down to save our lives, to save our parents, to save our elderly.'

The decree falls short of the lockdown seen in harder-hit countries like Italy and Spain, with the Government in Belgrade asking those over the age of 65 to self-isolate. So far, 48 infections have been recorded.