Centenary Celebrations, History & Technology, Sanctions & China-Russia talk Global Governance
Here’s the stories and pieces from the March 24, 2021, People’s Daily edition that I found interesting.
Page 1: Let’s begin with a report on Li Keqiang meeting with “overseas representatives” at the China Development Forum. This includes “heads of Fortune 500 companies, experts and scholars from internationally renowned academic research institutions, and representatives of major international organizations,” reports PD.
The report mentions some names, such as Apple’s Tim Cook and BMW’s Oliver Zipse among others who attended and asked Li questions. The piece then has comments from Li. These are very similar to what he said about the growth target, employment pressure and environment after the NPC session. But here’s something to note:
“We need to balance the relationship between stabilizing growth, ensuring employment, increasing income, and stabilizing prices, let alone exchange high energy consumption and high pollution for economic growth. At the same time, we must strive to increase the activity and efficiency of market players, continue to promote the process of urbanization, release the huge potential of domestic demand, and enhance the driving effect of consumption on economic growth.”
The report then says that “opening up is the only way for China’s development.”
Next, the press conference (Xinhua English has the details) that kicked off the 100-day countdown to the centenary celebrations. There’s a bunch of events planned for the day, which includes the ongoing Party-wide campaign on CPC history learning and education. Xinhua says a “grand gathering” will be held, and Xi will present medals and certificates to Party members who have made remarkable contributions.
The report adds that “Major theme exhibitions will be held to showcase the CPC's journey in the past century, as well as its achievements and experience. A major theatrical performance will be hosted. Seminars and symposiums on theoretical study will also be organized. Documentaries, special programs, TV dramas, music, dances and films will be created and promoted. Major publications, including a book on the CPC's 100-year history, will be compiled and released. Party-themed publicity and education activities will be carried out for the public nationwide. Various celebrations have been scheduled across China, especially at places of great significance in the history of the CPC.”
But there will be no military parade on the occasion.
Finally, two reports about Xi. First, here’s one about his congratulatory message to Thongloun Sisoulith, general secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee, on his election as the country's president. Second, here he is extending condolences to the new Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan over the passing of the African country's former President John Magufuli.
Page 2: Just one piece to note. Politburo member Wang Chen presided over a meeting of presidents of the Chinese Law Society, emphasising the need to follow Xi Thought on Rule of Law. He wants in-depth study, research, publicity and implementation of Xi thought. He wants them to “adhere to the correct political direction, improve political judgment, political understanding, and political execution, (and) strictly implement the ideological work responsibility system.” And he wants them to work to “provide legal support for grasping the new development stage.”
Also this: “It is necessary to strengthen the construction of foreign-related rule of law, actively participate in foreign-related legal struggles, enrich the ‘toolbox’ of foreign-related laws, comprehensively use legislation, law enforcement, and judicial methods to firmly safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests.”
Page 3: Once again, here is where things get interesting from a foreign policy perspective. First, let’s look at Wang Yi and Russia’s Sergei Lavrov’s meeting in Guilin. Xinhua English reports that the two sides reached a “strategic consensus” after their talks. Here’s what Wang said:
“No matter how the international situation changes, the comprehensive strategic coordination between the two countries will only strengthen and expand, rather than weakening or shrinking.”
“The two sides should strengthen strategic coordination, firmly fight back against false information regarding China and Russia, beef up cooperation on information security, support each other in maintaining the security of their own governments and systems, and safeguard their legitimate rights and common interests, as well as maintaining stability in the areas around the two countries.”
Wang also proposed possible mutual health code recognition, deepening vaccine cooperation, and partnerships in “5G, big data, the green economy, the internet, climate change, environmental protection and the health industry, working towards the goal of 200 billion U.S. dollars in trade volume.”
They also signed a joint statement on global governance. This is a short but interesting document, which is available in People’s Daily. The document discusses human rights, democracy, international order and multilateralism, and calls for “an urgent need to hold a summit of permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.” Here are the other key points:
It starts with “the global governance system has further become unbalanced, the economic development process has been impacted, new global threats and challenges have emerged one after another, and the world has entered a period of turbulent change.”
The first point talks about human rights. It says that “sustainable development is the foundation” of people to enjoy human rights. It adds that countries should “protect and practice human rights” as per their “national conditions.”
It also calls on all countries to “oppose the politicization of human rights issues, abandon the use of human rights issues to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs and engage in double standards…”
Second point is on democracy, which it says is “one of the achievements of human development.” But adds that “there is no uniform standard for the democratic model. The legitimate right of sovereign countries to independently choose their development path should be respected.”
Point 3 is on international order. It says “Without exception, all countries should firmly maintain the international system with the United Nations as the core and the international order based on international law.”
Here’s more: “We call on the world’s major powers, especially the permanent members of the UN Security Council, to strengthen mutual trust and take the lead in safeguarding international law and the international order based on international law.”
Finally, it calls for countries to “adhere to the principles of open, equal, and non-ideological multilateralism.”
Next, we focus on China’s increasing tensions with the West, after the trading of sanctions. So there’s a short report about Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Qin Gang summoning EU delegation chief in Beijing, Nicolas Chapuis, to protest the EU’s sanctions over Xinjiang and inform him about countermeasures. Here’s what Qin said according to PD: “EU's sanctions against China based on Xinjiang-related lies and false information are inconsistent with reality, lawless and unreasonable. The European side is not qualified to call itself a human rights ‘instructor.’ China urges the EU to recognize the seriousness of the error, correct it, and stop confrontation, so as not to cause more damage to China-EU relations.” Qin also summoned the British ambassador to China, Caroline Wilson, to send a similar message.
Hua Chunying’s comments on the issue are covered next. She was rather blunt too. She condemned the US, UK, EU and Canada’s coordinated sanctions. She adds that these countries had taken “so-called ‘evidence’ maliciously fabricated by some anti-China politicians and scholars” to justify their actions. “They have even taken out of context and distorted Chinese official documents and data. All this proves that it’s never human rights and truth that they care about. They just do not want to see China's success, development and better livelihood. That's why they have been using human rights issues as a pretext for interfering in China's internal affairs and frustrate China's development.”
She then lashed out at the West’s “ignoble record on human rights.” This went from slave trade to Black Lives Matter; German colonists killing indigenous Namibian tribes to the Holocoust; from French colonialism in Alegeria to the war in Afghanistan; from the 1870s violence against the indegenous people in Canada to wars in Syria and Libya.
Then she said: “These countries show no repentance over the turmoil they created in other countries, and even go further to impose unilateral sanctions on others in the name of human rights, severely jeopardizing the rights to life, health and development of people in relevant countries. In the face of the epidemic, these above-mentioned most developed countries have turned a blind eye to their people's rights to life and health, leading to losses of tens of hundreds of lives. In pursuit of ‘vaccine nationalism’, they've hoarded vaccines far in excess of their population's needs, leaving developing countries struggling with insufficient vaccines. We can't help but ask: how could people have any right if they lost their lives? The United States and the West have been trumpeting protecting human rights, but who and what right on earth are they protecting? In what way are they respecting and protecting human rights? Shouldn't they feel ashamed?”
Next, we have the Chinese embassy in Australia, criticising the Australian Foreign Minister’s joint statement with New Zealand on Xinjiang. The embassy said that Marise Payne’s comments “once again fully expose the deep-seated ideological prejudices and the despicable tactic of smearing China on the Australian side.” The embassy added: “We call on Australia to reflect upon and address its own problems, in particular the killings of innocent civilians by Australian overseas military personnel, the worsening situation of racial discrimination, the long-standing insufficiency in the protection of the rights of aboriginal peoples as well as the inhumane treatment of detainees in the off-shore detention centers.”
My Take: This is becoming a bit of a pattern. Beijing seems to be pulling out everything that it can conceive of to lash out at others. These comments along with the focus on disinformation and human rights in the conversation between Wang and Lavrov tell us that there’s going to be intense contestation going ahead. This contestation is not merely about rhetorical point-scoring; this is about swaying domestic and international opinion, while reordering international norms and conventions.
Page 4: Politburo member and propaganda chief Huang Kunming traveled to Hunan for an inspection tour “to investigate the situation of party history learning and education in communities, rural areas and propaganda and cultural units, and discussed with grassroots party members and cadres to listen to opinions and suggestions.” During the trip, he invoked Mao Zedong, calling Hunan “the red sacred land, and the cradle of revolution.”
He added that “red resources should be used as a vivid teaching material for party history learning and education, and the functions of propaganda and education for the relics of the revolution, memorial venues, etc., should be put into full play, and the stories of the party, revolution, and heroes should be told well, and the original mission should be strengthened and the spiritual pedigree should be continued. See people and things, thoughts, spirits, and actions.”
He wants a blending of poverty alleviation as part of the history study campaign; he wants to focus on youth publicity; he wants to create “red tourism boutiques, and launch a batch of party history-themed literature and art products and integrated media products.”
Page 9: On the theory page today, we have a couple of interesting pieces. First, Qu Qingshan, Dean of the Central Party History and Literature Research Institute, writes about the learning history campaign. He begins by praising the new book of Xi’s works, which is to be used as teaching material. He essentially draws from Xi’s comments and adds some thoughts. He says that the learning history coursework is compulsory for Party members and must be completed. He adds that “centralizing the study and education of party history throughout the party is an inevitable requirement to keep in mind the original mission and to promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.”
He wants party members and cadres to be able to “understand how Marxism was chosen and accepted by the Chinese people, how Marxism is integrated with China’s reality, and Marxism and Marxism was localized in China...In particular, we must combine the historical achievements and historical changes that have been made in the cause of the party and the country since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, deeply study and comprehend Xi Jinping’s thoughts on socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, and persistently use the latest achievements of the party’s innovative theories to arm our minds Guide practice and promote work.”
And there’s a warning: “Party members and cadres must study the history of the party by summing up historical experience and lessons, focusing on solving the practical problems of party building, continuously improving the party's leadership and governance, and strengthening the ability to resist corruption, prevent degeneration, and resist risks.” Finally, he wants people to learn history to improve “political judgment, political understanding, and political execution ability, and consciously ideological and politically acting with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core of the Party Central Committee.”
Next, Cheng Zhiqiang writes about the goal of technological self-reliance. Cheng writes that there are some key steps to be taken. He begins with giving full play to the role of the government; then he talks about enterprises and the importance of international cooperation. There’s focus on basic research, national laboratories, core technologies and cultivating research talents. Next, he talks about enterprises.
“it is necessary to focus on cultivating a group of innovative state-owned backbone leading enterprises and support them to become the main body of innovation decision-making, R&D investment, scientific research organization, and achievement transformation. Encourage leading companies to take the lead or jointly with other scientific research institutes to undertake national key research and development projects, national major scientific and technological projects, technological innovation guidance special projects (funds), national natural science foundation major projects and other scientific research projects, and support them to lead the formation of major innovation consortia Integrate the scientific and technological achievements of universities and scientific research institutes, participate in the construction of the national technological innovation center, and support the construction of major national projects.”
Page 16: Finally, on the international page, we have stories about the recent shooting in the US, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressing concern about violence against Asians and people of Asian descent, how China’s trade is stimulating global recovery; and on vaccines.