China & Uruguay Establish 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership' - China-Japan Ties Set for Positive Turn? - Stressing Patriotism for HK & Macao Youth
Here are the key reports and articles that I found noteworthy from the People's Daily’s edition on Thursday, November 23, 2023
Page 1: The two top stories on the page are around Xi Jinping’s meetings with the visiting Uruguayan President Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou and Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin.
The report (English report) on the meeting with Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou says that the two leaders elevated ties to a “comprehensive strategic partnership.”
Xi said:
“China is ready to work with Uruguay to take the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership as a new starting point to upgrade bilateral relations and enrich the connotation of bilateral cooperation, and to make China-Uruguay relations a model for solidarity and cooperation between countries of different sizes, systems and cultures, better serve the development of the two countries, and improve the well-being of the two peoples, he said. Xi elaborated on the connotations and significance of Chinese modernization, saying that China is willing to strengthen exchanges on governance with Uruguay, enhance political mutual trust, share development opportunities, and promote the modernization of the two countries and the world. He called on the two sides to step up friendly exchanges and cooperation among legislatures, political parties and localities; take the signing of the Belt and Road cooperation plan as an opportunity to enhance the synergy of development strategies; foster new drivers of cooperation on trade in services, the digital economy and clean energy; and push China-Uruguay Belt and Road cooperation to a new stage of high-quality development.”
Xi added that China “welcomes high-quality agricultural and livestock products as well as high value-added products from Uruguay to enter the Chinese market, and encourages China enterprises to invest in Uruguay. It hopes that Uruguay will continue to provide a good business environment for Chinese enterprises. Both sides should promote cultural, sports, and other people-to-people exchanges, and create more convenient conditions for the personnel exchanges between the two countries. China is willing to provide more scholarship opportunities to Uruguay.” 欢迎更多乌拉圭优质农牧产品和高附加值产品进入中国市场，鼓励中国企业赴乌投资兴业，希望乌方继续为中国企业提供良好营商环境。双方要促进文化、体育等人文交流，为两国人员往来创造更多便利条件，中方愿向乌方提供更多奖学金名额.
Xi pointed out that China and Uruguay share similar ideas and have common interests and broad consensus on many international and regional issues. He said the two sides can strengthen their coordination within multilateral mechanisms such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization, and work together to make the world more peaceful, prosperous and just. China attaches great importance to the development of China-Latin America relations, appreciates Uruguay's active participation in overall China-Latin America cooperation, supports Mercosur (Southern Common Market) and other regional organizations in maintaining close political dialogue and economic and trade cooperation with China, and hopes that Uruguay will continue to promote China-Latin America cooperation and cooperation between China and Mercosur, Xi said.”
Lacalle hit all the right notes for Xi:
“The Uruguayan government recognizes that there is only one China in the world, and that peaceful reunification is an internal affair of China and must be decided by the Chinese people themselves.”
“Uruguay actively supports the Belt and Road Initiative; advocates for the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by President Xi.”
It “hopes to strengthen cooperation with China in the fields of the economy, trade, science and technology, sports and tourism.”
Uruguay supports the establishment of more Confucius Institutes in the country, promoting trade cooperation and building Latin America-China relations
The visit ended with a joint statement, a BRI cooperation plan, and bilateral cooperation and documents related to such fields as trade and investment, the digital economy, green development, agriculture, health, education, culture, scientific and technological innovation, and customs inspection and quarantine.
The report English report on the meeting with Volodin says:
“Xi said that China and Russia, each other’s largest neighbors and both permanent members of the UN Security Council, share extensive common interests. ‘This year, President Putin and I had face-to-face in-depth exchanges twice and reached a lot of new consensus on deepening the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination and practical cooperation in various fields,’ said Xi. Noting that next year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of China-Russia diplomatic ties, Xi said China is ready to work with Russia to deepen bilateral relations featuring permanent good-neighborly friendship, comprehensive strategic coordination and mutually beneficial cooperation to inject new impetus into the development of the two countries and contribute to the prosperity and stability of the world. Xi stressed that strengthening cooperation between legislative bodies plays an important role in ensuring the steady and long-term development of China-Russia relations. Xi expressed his hope that the Russian State Duma and the National People's Congress of China will strengthen exchanges of legislative experience and give full play to the role of special committees and friendship groups of the two legislatures to provide better legal support for bilateral cooperation. He called on the two legislatures to ensure the synergy of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union, and deepen communication and coordination in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS, G20 and other multilateral platforms.”
Moving on, there’s a report on Li Qiang’s comments at the G20 leaders’ virtual meeting. It’s noteworthy that Xi Jinping has avoided the G20 entirely this year. He did not visit Delhi in September and opted out of this meeting. He did not do that with BRICS, of course. My working theory is that this has to do with China-India ties as opposed to any underplaying of the G20 as a mechanism. The next G20 host will be Brazil. I would wager that Xi will be present whenever that meeting takes place.
Anyway, Li said that “as President Xi Jinping has pointed out, members of the G20 are all major global powers and regional powers, and they should demonstrate the responsibilities of major countries and play a leading role. China is willing to uphold the original aspiration of cooperation, respond to the call of the times, and forge ahead to create a better future for humanity.” 正如习近平主席指出，二十国集团成员都是世界和地区大国，应该体现大国担当，发挥表率作用。中方愿同各方秉持合作初心，回应时代呼唤，为开创人类共同的美好未来携手奋进.
Li said that “we should continue to prioritise development, and prioritise development cooperation; accelerate the realisation of strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth of the world economy, and oppose the politicisation and securitisation of development issues. It is necessary to take more pragmatic measures, adhere to goal orientation and problem orientation, implement the consensus reached at the New Delhi Summit, and continuously achieve practical results. It is necessary to coordinate and cooperate more closely, revitalize multilateralism, continue to strengthen macro policy cooperation, and pay more attention to the concerns of developing countries in the reform of the World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund.” 李强指出，我们要继续坚持发展优先，把发展合作置于突出位置，加快实现世界经济的强劲、可持续、平衡和包容增长，反对把发展问题泛政治化、泛安全化。要拿出更多务实举措，坚持目标导向、问题导向，落实好新德里峰会达成的共识，不断取得实际成果。要更加紧密协调配合，重振多边主义，继续加强宏观政策合作，在世界贸易组织、国际货币基金组织等改革中更多照顾发展中国家关切.
He added: “China will continue to work with all parties in an open and inclusive manner to make greater contribution to world economic recovery and global development and prosperity.”
Next, there’s a report on Zhao Leji meeting with Papali'i Li'o Taeu Masipa'u, speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Independent State of Samoa. Xinhua says:
“China is willing to strengthen political mutual trust and mutual support, expand mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, and enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples, Zhao said. Zhao said the NPC of China is ready to work with the Legislative Assembly of the Independent State of Samoa to give full play to the functions of legislative bodies, and exchange experience in legislation and supervision to contribute to jointly building the Belt and Road and expanding cooperation in various fields. China stands ready to continue strengthening cooperation with Pacific Island countries for common development, Zhao added. Papali'i said Samoa adheres firmly to the one-China principle, adding that Samoa has benefited significantly from jointly building the Belt and Road. He said the legislative assembly is willing to strengthen exchanges with the NPC of China and make unremitting efforts to promote bilateral cooperation.” (Question: Does anyone know of a good research paper that studies China’s legislative cooperation with countries? If you do, please do share.)
Next, there’s a report on Cai Qi meeting with a delegation led by Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of Japan's ruling coalition party Komeito. This comes on the heels of Xi Jinping and Fumio Kishida’s meeting in San Francisco. Let me first look at the readout from the Xi-Kishida meeting, since it was over the weekend and I didn’t cover it.
Xi had said that:
“In this world of change and volatility where risks and challenges abound, peaceful coexistence, everlasting friendship, mutually beneficial cooperation and common development of China and Japan serve the fundamental interests of the two nations. China-Japan relations are now in a crucial period of building on the past and planning for the future. The two sides should follow the trend of the times, keep to the right direction, follow the spirit of ‘drawing lessons from history and opening up the future’, maintain the common purpose that enabled the normalization of diplomatic relations, view each other’s development in an objective and rational manner, foster a positive and friendly perception of each other, and constructively manage differences and disagreements. The political consensus that the two countries should be ‘partners, not threats’ must be translated into concrete policies and actions.”
He “stressed that major issues of principle such as history and the Taiwan question are vital to the political foundation of China-Japan relations. Japan must honor its commitment and ensure that the foundation of China-Japan relations is not damaged or shaken. As the two countries’ economic interests and industrial and supply chains are deeply intertwined, attempts to build ‘a small yard, high fences’, decouple economies or disrupt supply chains will do no one any good. China is pursuing high-quality development and high-standard opening up, which will bring unprecedented opportunities to Japan and other countries in the world. The two sides should deepen cooperation and contribute to each other’s success, uphold the global free trade system, and achieve a higher level of mutual benefit and win-win results. The two countries should stand higher and embrace a broader vision, carry forward the Asian values built around peace, cooperation, inclusiveness and integration, practice true multilateralism, promote open regionalism, advance regional integration, and jointly rise to global challenges.”
On the Fukushima wastewater issue, Xi said that Japan “should take seriously the legitimate concerns in and outside Japan and properly handle the issue in a responsible and constructive manner.”
As per the Chinese readout, Kishida had said that “The Japanese side has no intention to decouple from the Chinese economy or sever supply chains, and hopes to expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges and deepen practical cooperation in such areas as digital economy, green development, fiscal and financial sectors, and health and elderly care. It will stay committed to the path of peaceful development, and has not changed its position at all on handling the Taiwan question in keeping with the Japan-China Joint Statement.”
The readout added:
“The two sides spoke positively of the newly established mechanism of export control dialogue. They agreed to maintain dialogue and communication at all levels, hold a new round of meetings of the Economic High-Level Dialogue and High-Level Consultation Mechanism on People-to-People and Cultural Exchanges at an appropriate time, maintain communication and coordination on international and regional affairs, and jointly address global challenges such as climate change. The two sides agreed to work constructively to find a proper solution to the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water through consultation and negotiation.”
The Japanese readout of the Xi-Kishida meeting said:
“The two leaders went on to confirm a broad direction of building ‘constructive and stable Japan-China relations’ in order to carve out a new era in Japan-China relations. From that perspective, the two leaders welcomed the successful ministerial dialogue held this year in the areas of foreign affairs; economy, trade and industry; defense; and environment, and concurred to have close communication at all levels, including the summit level, one after another.”
The two leaders agreed to hold the Japan-China High-Level Economic Dialogue at an appropriate time in order to achieve concrete results in areas of cooperation, such as green economy, including environment and energy conservation as well as medical care, nursing care, and healthcare. The two leaders also welcomed the launch of the Japan-China Export Control Dialogue.
The two leaders agreed to further expand people-to-people exchanges in various areas, and to hold the Japan-China High-Level People-to-People and Cultural Exchange Dialogue at an appropriate time.
“Kishida reiterated his serious concerns regarding the situation in the East China Sea, including the situation surrounding the Senkaku Islands, and called for the immediate removal of the buoy installed in Japan’s EEZ. He also reiterated his serious concerns regarding the intensification of China’s military activities in areas surrounding Japan, including collaboration with Russia, and other matters.”
Kishida said that “peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is extremely important for Japan and the international community.”
With that background, let’s look at the report on Cai Qi’s meeting with the visiting Komeito delegation. Cai said that:
“General Secretary Xi Jinping recently held a meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, reaffirming the positioning of bilateral relations to comprehensively promote a strategic and mutually beneficial relationship and charting the direction of efforts for both China and Japan. The two ruling parties should implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, accurately grasp each other’s development and strategic intentions, promote positive and friendly mutual understanding, and work together to build China-Japan relations that meet the requirements of the new era. Cai Qi also clarified China's position on issues such as history, Taiwan, and the discharge of Fukushima nuclear contaminated water into the sea.” 会见日本公明党代表团时，蔡奇表示，今年是中日和平友好条约缔结45周年，习近平总书记日前同岸田文雄首相举行会晤，再次确认全面推进战略互惠关系的两国关系定位，为中日双方指明了努力方向。两国执政党要落实好两国领导人达成的重要共识，准确把握对方的发展和战略意图，推动塑造积极友善的相互认知，共同致力于构建契合新时代要求的中日关系。蔡奇还就历史、台湾、福岛核污染水排海等问题阐明中方立场.
Yamaguchi said that the Komeito Party is willing to uphold the conviction of its founder Daisaku Ikeda, who was firmly committed to the friendly relations between Japan and China, actively promote exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in various fields, give full play to the role of the exchange mechanism of the ruling parties, properly handle differences, and promote the improvement and development of bilateral relations.
In addition, do note Zichen Wang’s Pekingnology newsletter’s post, which highlights remarks by ILD chief Liu Jianchao in his meeting. He said that the Xi-Kishida meeting marked “the resumption of high-level offline exchanges between the governing parties of both countries after a gap of 4 years. This holds special significance. Currently, China-Japan relations are at a moment for improvement, and both sides need to seize this opportunity…”
Finally, Reuters’ report cites NHK as having reported that the delegation brought Xi a letter from Kishida. The report adds: “The broadcaster did not say what was in the letter. Komeito representatives and Kishida's office were not available to comment on Thursday, a public holiday in Japan. Yamaguchi and Cai also agreed to work toward a resumption of dialogue between the CPC and the coalition of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito, NHK reported. Such talks had been broken off in 2018.”
In PD today, on Page 17, there is an article by two researchers from the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. They write that:
The Xi-Kishida meeting in San Francisco was the “second meeting between the leaders of China and Japan after a year, which is of great significance. The leaders of the two countries had an in-depth exchange of views on the strategic and directional issues of bilateral relations and reached many important consensuses. “The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to the principles and consensus outlined in the four political documents between China and Japan. They reaffirmed the orientation of bilateral relations to comprehensively promote strategic and mutually beneficial relations. Both sides committed to building a constructive and stable Sino-Japanese relationship that meets the requirements of the new era. The meeting sent an important positive signal with regard to efforts to stem the decline and stabilise Sino-Japanese relations, and provided key political guidance for the improvement and development of bilateral relations.” 这是中日两国领导人时隔一年再次举行会晤，意义重大。两国领导人围绕两国关系战略性、方向性问题深入交换意见，达成了不少重要共识。双方重申恪守中日四个政治文件的原则和共识，重新确认全面推进战略互惠关系的两国关系定位，致力于构建契合新时代要求的建设性、稳定的中日关系，对外释放了努力推动中日关系止跌促稳的重要积极信号，为两国关系改善发展提供了关键政治引领.
It adds: Both sides should follow the trend of the times, grasp the correct direction, revisit the original intention of forging a peace and friendship treaty, objectively and rationally view each other’s development, effectively manage contradictions and differences, and embody the political consensus of being ‘mutual cooperation partners and not posing a threat to each other’ in specific policies and practical actions. This will promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations along the right track.” 双方应该顺应时代潮流，把握正确方向，重温缔结和平友好条约初心，客观理性看待彼此发展，妥善管控矛盾分歧，将“互为合作伙伴、互不构成威胁”的政治共识体现到具体政策和实际行动中，推动两国关系沿着正确轨道健康稳定发展.
“The meeting achieved a series of positive results. Both sides emphasized that the development of Sino-Japanese relations should consider the overall situation and have a long-term perspective, not be confined to momentary issues or events. They agreed to carry out dialogue and communication at all levels, including high-level communication, strengthen exchanges and cooperation in various fields, constructively manage contradictions and differences, and jointly address global challenges such as climate change. President Xi Jinping emphasised that China and Japan's economic interests and industrial and supply chains are deeply intertwined, and that ‘decoupling and breaking chains’ will not benefit anyone. China is promoting high-quality development and high-level opening up, which will bring unprecedented opportunities to countries around the world, including Japan. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated that Japan has no intention of ‘decoupling’ from China and hopes to continue to promote people-to-people exchanges and cultural exchanges, and deepen practical cooperation in various fields such as digital economy, green development, finance, medical care and elderly care.” 此次会晤取得一系列积极成果。双方均强调发展中日关系应顾全大局和着眼长远，不应囿于一时一事，同意开展包括高层在内的各层级对话沟通，加强各领域交流合作，建设性管控矛盾分歧，共同应对气候变化等全球性挑战。习近平主席在会晤中强调，中日经济利益和产业链供应链深度交融，搞“小院高墙”“脱钩断链”对谁都没有好处。中国正在推进高质量发展和高水平对外开放，将给包括日本在内的世界各国带来前所未有的机遇。岸田文雄首相表示，日方无意同中国“脱钩断链”，希望继续推动民间往来和人文交流，深化数字经济、绿色发展、财政金融、医疗养老等各领域务实合作.
They add that the Chinese and Japanese economies are complementary, and then said that “In July this year, Japan implemented semiconductor export control measures. After intensive communication between the competent authorities of both sides, the Ministry of Commerce of China and the head of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan held talks during the APEC meeting and officially announced the establishment of an export control dialogue mechanism between China and Japan. Both leaders welcomed this when they met.” 今年7月，日本实施半导体出口管制措施。经双方主管部门密集沟通，此次亚太经合组织会议期间中国商务部与日本经济产业省负责人举行会谈，正式宣布中日建立出口管制对话机制，两国领导人会晤时均对此表示欢迎. (Comment: Isn’t it interesting that Chinese analysts are celebrating the establishment of export control dialogue mechanisms. It tells you a little bit about how Beijing’s goalposts have shifted to accepting the new realities of securitised globalisation and the desire to sway policies at best or ensure predictability at worst in that environment. This, in turn, tells us about the concerns in China on the economic impact of de-risking policies by developed countries.)
In the next paragraph, the authors highlight remarks in the two joint statements on Taiwan and the Fukushima wastewater issue. Then they infuse some realism into how difficult things will be and perhaps also tell us that this is a tactical experiment to see where things go. They also offer a pathway to move ahead in this experiment.
“It should be recognized that the improvement and development of China-Japan relations still face a long and challenging journey. Relevant parties in Japan need to correct their understanding of China, abandon confrontational thinking, properly manage contradictions and differences, and accumulate more favourable conditions for the stable improvement and development of bilateral relations.” 也要看到，中日关系改善发展依然任重道远。日本有关方面需要端正对华认知，摒弃对抗思维，妥善管控矛盾分歧，为两国关系稳定改善发展积累更多有利条件.
They end by saying that going forward, both sides need to focus on the following:
First, strengthen high-level interactions to guide the development direction of bilateral relations.
Second, actively carry out dialogue and communication among diplomatic, political, parliamentary, economic, defence and other departments and at different levels to build mutual trust, dispel misunderstandings, and prevent miscalculations.
Third, deepen pragmatic cooperation, use the existing China-Japan Economic High-Level Dialogue, macroeconomic policy dialogue and other mechanisms to strengthen communication, and continue to create new highlights of China-Japan mutually beneficial cooperation.
Fourth, strengthen people-to-people exchanges by conducting extensive friendly exchanges in culture, sports, media, local affairs, and youth activities, and actively improve the sentiments between the two countries.
Fifth, strengthen coordination on regional and international affairs. As major Asian countries and the second and third largest economies in the world, the two sides should view developments from a higher perspective, uphold a broader vision, carry forward Asian values centred on peace, cooperation, inclusiveness and integration, work together to promote the process of regional integration, earnestly safeguard the global free trade system, jointly meet global challenges, and inject more stability and positive energy into today's world.
展望未来，双方需重点推进相关领域对话与合作。一是加强高层互动，引领两国关系发展方向。二是积极开展外交、政党、议会、经济、防务等各部门、各层级对话沟通，增信释疑、防止误判。三是深化务实合作，利用现有的中日经济高层对话、宏观经济政策对话等机制加强沟通，持续打造中日互利合作新亮点。四是加强人文交流，广泛开展两国文化、体育、媒体、地方、青少年等友好交流，积极改善国民感情。五是加强地区和国际事务协调。双方作为亚洲主要国家和全球第二、三大经济体，要立足更高站位、秉持更广阔视野，弘扬以和平、合作、包容、融合为核心的亚洲价值观，携手推动区域一体化进程，切实维护全球自由贸易体系，共同应对全球性挑战，为当今世界注入更多稳定性和正能量.
Also on the page is a report on Cai’s meeting with a delegation led by Dashzegve Amarbayasgalan, secretary general of the Mongolian People's Party. Xinhua reports Cai said that the “CPC stands ready to work with the Mongolian People's Party to jointly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two parties and the two states. Next year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of China-Mongolia diplomatic relations, and the 30th anniversary of the revision of the Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation between China and Mongolia. Cai said that the CPC stands ready to take this opportunity to consolidate political mutual trust, promote practical cooperation, explore people-to-people exchanges, carry forward Asian values and deepen experience exchanges on governance. He called for setting an example of shared future, win-win cooperation, people-to-people ties, and solidarity to promote bilateral relations to a higher level.”
Moving on, there’s a report on Ding Xuexiang meeting with 150 representatives of Hong Kong and Macao youth who are visiting the mainland on an exchange program. The report says:
“Ding Xuexiang stated that General Secretary Xi Jinping has deep affection and high expectations for young people from Hong Kong and Macao. He hopes that the vast number of young people from Hong Kong and Macao will cultivate a strong sense of patriotism, refine their skills, and grow into talents capable of shouldering important responsibilities at an early stage. If the youth of Hong Kong and Macao develop well, Hong Kong and Macao will prosper, and the country will thrive. It is important to have a profound understanding of the overall trends of national and global development, effectively enhance national pride and a sense of ownership, and demonstrate new responsibilities, actions, and atmosphere in the new era. Strengthen the study of the history of the country and the nation, interpret patriotism through practical actions, and let love for the country become a prevailing trend among young people in Hong Kong and Macao. Always maintain a firm stance in the face of major issues, safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests, and become a dynamic force in promoting the stable and far-reaching implementation of ‘one country, two systems’. Actively integrate into the overall development of the country, cherish the good years, chase dreams, strive hard…in the new journey of building a strong nation and national rejuvenation.” 丁薛祥表示，习近平总书记对港澳青年饱含深情、寄予厚望，希望广大港澳青年厚植家国情怀，锤炼过硬本领，早日成长为可堪大任的栋梁之才。港澳青年发展得好，香港、澳门就会发展得好，国家就会发展得好。大家要深刻认识国家和世界发展大势，切实增强民族自豪感和主人翁意识，在新时代展现出新担当、新作为、新气象。加强对国家和民族历史的学习，用实际行动诠释家国情怀，让爱国在港澳青年中蔚然成风。始终在大是大非面前做到立场坚定，维护国家主权、安全、发展利益，做推动“一国两制”行稳致远的生力军。积极融入国家发展大局，珍惜大好年华，追逐梦想，努力打拼，在强国建设、民族复兴新征程上唱响青春之歌、书写精彩人生.
Finally, there’s a report informing that by the end of October, the total number of 5G base stations in China reached 3.215 million, accounting for 28.1% of the total number of mobile base stations. China has 22.78 5G base stations per 10,000 people; the number of 5G mobile phone users reached 754 million, a net increase of 193.6 million over the end of last year.
There are more than 8,000 ‘5G+ Industrial Internet’ projects, more than 1,800 5G factory projects, and 5G industry applications have been integrated into 67 national economic categories, with more than 94,000 application cases. 5G is widely used in vertical industries such as industry, mining, electric power and ports, helping enterprises to improve quality, reduce costs and increase efficiency. “5G+工业互联网”项目超过8000个，5G工厂项目达1800余个，5G行业应用已融入67个国民经济大类，应用案例数超9.4万个。5G在工业、矿业、电力、港口等垂直行业应用广泛复制，助力企业提质、降本、增效.
Page 2: A few important stories to note. First, Wang Yi had a phone conversation with Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. Xinhua reports:
“The Chinese foreign minister said that under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, the China-Singapore relationship has been upgraded to an all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership, with cooperation in various fields maintaining a strong momentum. China is ready to work with Singapore to provide more favorable conditions for further resumption of their personnel exchanges, make up for the losses inflicted by the pandemic during the past three years as soon as possible, and push bilateral cooperation to a higher level, Wang said. The two sides should make good use of bilateral cooperation mechanisms, and push for more results in their cooperation, he added. Expressing congratulations on the success of the San Francisco summit between the heads of state of China and the United States, the Singaporean foreign minister said that Singapore and ASEAN countries are all happy to see the meeting take place, on which ASEAN has issued a statement. China-U.S. relations are vital to the world, and the decoupling of the two will exert a serious negative impact on the world, he added.”
It added that “Balakrishnan said that Singapore and China have close relations and in-depth cooperation, and the Singaporean side is ready to take new measures to facilitate personnel exchanges and increase flights between the two countries. Singapore, Balakrishnan added, is prepared to work with China to give full play to the role of the China-Singapore bilateral cooperation mechanism meetings and further deepen bilateral cooperation”
“Minister Balakrishnan and Director Wang looked forward to a fruitful 19th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation later this year, which will be co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong and PRC Executive Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang. Minister Balakrishnan and Director Wang also exchanged views on regional and international issues. Minister Balakrishnan welcomed the improved tenor of US-China relations, following the meeting between US President Joe Biden and PRC President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders’ Meeting the previous week. Minister Balakrishnan and Director Wang also discussed the situation in the Middle East.”
Next, there’s a report on China and South Korea holding a ceremony to transfer the remains and belongings of 25 Chinese soldiers killed in the 1950-1953 Korean War. Third, there’s a report on the Chinese foreign ministry’s statement welcoming the temporary ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Mao Ning said: “Since this round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out, China has been calling for a ceasefire and working to deescalate the situation, protect civilians and provide humanitarian assistance. We welcome the agreement and hope this will help ease the humanitarian crisis, deescalate the conflict and cool down the tensions.”
Fourth, there’s a report (English comments) on Geng Shuang’s comments at the UNSC briefing on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.
“China’s position is consistent and clear. China always stands on the side of fairness and justice, on the side of peace, and on the side of dialogue. We are committed to facilitating talks for peace and to realizing a ceasefire. We call on the parties to the conflict to respond positively to the international community’s call for peace and to gradually create and accumulate the conditions for the resumption of peace talks as soon as possible. The Ukraine crisis has been dragging on, resulting in varying degrees of damage to many large infrastructure in the conflict areas, a severe shortage of supplies, difficulties in accessing essential public services such as water, electricity, and heating, and a worrisome humanitarian situation. The parties to the conflict must strictly abide by international humanitarian law and refrain from attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure. The international community and the humanitarian agencies should on the basis of the principle of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, step up humanitarian assistance to the people affected by the crisis, speed up the repair of civilian infrastructure, provide winter supplies and heating appliances to the affected population, and ensure the basic livelihood of the displaced persons. A prolonged and complex crisis in Ukraine is not in the interest of any party. Developing countries are the most affected by the spillover effects. The imposition of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction outside international law will only disrupt the global industrial and supply chains and slow down the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We call on the international community to step up its efforts. In particular, countries with major influence should play an active role in avoiding the continued spread of the spillover effects of the crisis, creating a conducive environment for peace, and steering the situation back to the right track of political settlement at an earlier date.”
Finally, we have the third Zhong Sheng commentary on US-China ties today. This one focuses on the pillar that China and the US should jointly advance mutually beneficial cooperation. The article begins by highlighting the new US-China dialogue on AI as a key outcome of the meeting. It quotes Xi as having said that:
“The two countries have broad common interests in a wide range of areas, including traditional areas such as the economy, trade and agriculture, as well as emerging areas such as climate change and artificial intelligence (AI). Under the current circumstances, the common interests of the two countries have not decreased, but increased. This has set the tone for China and the US to jointly advance mutually beneficial cooperation. The important consensus and achievements reached during the meeting once again prove that mutual benefit and win-win cooperation are the inherent characteristics of Sino-US relations, and dialogue and cooperation are the only correct choices for both countries.” 习近平主席在旧金山会晤中指出，中美在诸多领域存在广泛共同利益，既包括经贸、农业等传统领域，也包括气候变化、人工智能等新兴领域。当前形势下，两国共同利益不是减少了，而是更多了。这为中美共同推进互利合作定下了基调。会晤取得重要共识和成果再次证明，互利共赢是中美关系的本质特征，对话合作是两国唯一正确选择.
“Sino-US relations are the most important bilateral relations in the world, and they are also very complex. To accurately grasp the relationship between these two major countries, we must not only see the phenomena and details, but also grasp the essence and overall situation, and avoid taking the part as representative of the whole and neglect fundamentals while concentrating on superficial details. In recent years, some people in the US have fallen into a misconception when defining issues related to Sino-US relations. They always mention competition, as if competition has become the biggest theme or even the sole issue in Sino-US relations. This perspective not only deviates from the fundamental reality of Sino-US relations but also poses the risk of pushing both sides towards conflict and confrontation. It is normal for China and the US to compete in some fields, but looking at the overall picture and the broader context, it is not difficult to see that competition is only a tributary and common interests are the main stream. The fundamental common interest of both China and the United States is non-conflict, non-confrontation, and peaceful coexistence. The economies of China and the United States are deeply integrated and face new development tasks. They need to benefit from each other's development, which is also a common interest. The post-pandemic recovery of the global economy, response to climate change, and resolution of regional hotspot issues also require coordination and cooperation between China and the United States, and is in their common interest.” 中美关系是世界上最重要的双边关系，也是非常复杂的双边关系。要准确把握这对大国关系，不仅要看到现象和细节，而且要把握本质和全局，避免以偏概全、舍本逐末。近年来，美国一些人在如何定义中美关系问题上陷入误区，言必提竞争，仿佛竞争已经成为中美关系的最大主题，甚至是全部议题。这种看法不仅偏离了中美关系的基本现实，也有将双方推向冲突对抗的风险。中美之间在一些领域存在竞争很正常，但从整体和全局着眼就不难看到，竞争只是支流，共同利益才是主流。中美不冲突、不对抗、和平共处，这是两国最基本的共同利益。中美两国经济深度融合，面临新的发展任务，需要从对方发展中获益，这也是共同利益。全球经济疫后复苏、应对气候变化、解决地区热点问题也离不开中美协调合作，这还是共同利益. — (Comment: I guess this is as much a message to the US as is the central leadership telling their own Cold Warriors to calm down.)
“The advancement of mutually beneficial cooperation relies on necessary conditions and a conducive atmosphere. Cooperation is a two-way street and cannot and should not be a one-way path. Both sides should respect each other, seek reciprocity and mutual benefit, and consider the bigger picture to create a positive atmosphere for cooperation. Some individuals in the United States seek unconditional cooperation from China in areas where they have demands, while simultaneously continuing to contain and suppress China, damaging China’s legitimate rights and interests. This logic is not tenable, and China cannot accept it. China advocates win-win cooperation between the two countries, but China has interests that must be safeguarded, principles that must be defended and bottom lines and red lines that must be adhered to. Only by adhering to mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit can dialogue and cooperation be stable and long-term and truly benefit the two peoples.” 推进互利合作离不开必要的条件和氛围。合作应该是双向奔赴，不能也不应该只搞单行道。双方应该相互尊重，互惠互利，着眼大局，为双方合作提供好的氛围。美国一些人想在对中方有需求的领域要求中方无条件合作，同时继续对中国进行遏制打压，损害中方正当权益。这种逻辑不可能成立，中方不可能接受。中国主张中美合作共赢，但中国有必须维护的利益、必须捍卫的原则、必须坚守的底线。唯有坚持相互尊重、平等互利，才能让对话合作行稳致远，切实造福两国人民. (Comment: This sounds like a note of caution for DC as a whole and not just the administration.)
It adds that “President Xi Jinping pointed out that the two sides should make full use of the mechanisms that have been restored and established in the fields of diplomacy, economy, finance, commerce, agriculture and other fields to carry out cooperation in areas such as narcotics control, law enforcement, artificial intelligence, science and technology. This fully demonstrates China’s sincere desire and stance of responsibility to promote mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries and promote the improvement of Sino-US relations. In recent years, due to well-known reasons, China-US relations have encountered serious difficulties, and some dialogue and cooperation channels established by the two sides over decades have been disrupted. This is not in the fundamental interests of the two countries and is not in line with the true wishes of the two peoples. The San Francisco meeting between the two heads of state reached important consensus on promoting dialogue and cooperation. The two sides decided to strengthen high-level exchanges and promote institutional consultations in various fields such as commerce, economy, finance, export controls, Asia-Pacific affairs, maritime issues, arms control and non-proliferation, diplomatic policy planning, joint working groups, and disability issues. The two sides agreed to initiate negotiations on renewing the China-US Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement and restart the China-US Joint Committee on Agriculture. Both sides should make good use of these channels and mechanisms to enable them to effectively play their role in promoting mutually beneficial cooperation.” 推进互利合作离不开必要的渠道和机制。习近平主席指出，双方要充分用好在外交、经济、金融、商务、农业等领域恢复或建立的机制，开展禁毒、司法执法、人工智能、科技等领域合作。这充分展现了中方致力于推进中美互利合作、推动中美关系改善的真诚愿望和负责任立场。近年来，由于众所周知的原因，中美关系遭遇严峻困难，双方几十年来建立的一些对话合作渠道中断，这不符合两国根本利益，也不符合两国人民的真实意愿。中美元首旧金山会晤在推进对话合作上达成重要共识。双方决定加强高层交往，推进在商业、经济、金融、出口管制、亚太事务、海洋、军控和防扩散、外交政策规划、联合工作组、残疾人等各领域的机制性磋商。双方同意启动续签《中美科技合作协定》磋商，重启中美农业联委会。双方要用好这些渠道和机制，使其切实发挥推进互利合作的作用.
The final paragraph says that this year, more than 200 American enterprises participated in the CIIE, which underscores that they see opportunities in China and hope to continue mutually beneficial cooperation with China. It also adds that there is “infinite space for cooperation between the two sides” and that China-US cooperation is a “must-have option” to address “common challenges and enhancing the interests of the two peoples.”
Page 3: There is a report on Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing’s visit to Xinjiang.
He said that “it is necessary to thoroughly implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech and important instructions on Xinjiang work; completely, accurately and comprehensively implement the Party’s strategy for governing Xinjiang in the new era; act in accordance with the deployment of the 9th National Conference on Counterpart Support for Xinjiang; use greater efforts, more practical measures, and higher quality to do a good job in the work of central enterprises in aiding Xinjiang in the new era and on the new journey, help Xinjiang better serve and integrate into the new development pattern, and make new and greater contributions to the realisation of social stability and long-term peace and order in Xinjiang.” 他强调，要深入贯彻落实习近平总书记关于新疆工作重要讲话和重要指示批示精神，完整准确全面贯彻新时代党的治疆方略，按照第九次全国对口支援新疆工作会议部署，以更大力度、更实举措、更高质量做好新时代新征程央企援疆工作，助力新疆更好服务和融入新发展格局，为实现新疆社会稳定和长治久安作出新的更大贡献.
Visiting central enterprises operating in the region, he said the following as per Xinhua English.
“He said the central enterprises' work in assisting Xinjiang's development has achieved remarkable results in recent years, adding that central enterprises should combine their own advantages with the reality of Xinjiang, and help Xinjiang develop characteristic and advantageous industries and emerging industries. He encouraged central enterprises to carry out all-round, multi-field and in-depth cooperation with Xinjiang's enterprises and promote the deep integration of Xinjiang's enterprises into the industrial and supply chains. Central enterprises should make efforts to help improve local infrastructure and public services and create job opportunities through specific projects, Zhang said.”
Page 17: This bit from yesterday’s MoFA conference is covered on the page:
China News Service: The DPRK announced in the early morning today that it had successfully launched a reconnaissance satellite last night. Countries including the US, Japan and the ROK said the launch involved the use of ballistic missile technology and is a violation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions. They said they would respond with strong measures. What’s your comment?
Mao Ning: We’ve noticed the DPRK’s announcement of the satellite launch and the response of relevant parties. The Korean Peninsula is in today’s situation for a reason. A peaceful and stable Peninsula and a political settlement serves the interests of all countries in the region. We hope all parties will exercise calm and restraint, stick to the direction of seeking political settlement, follow the dual-track approach and the principle of phased and synchronized steps, engage in meaningful dialogue and address each other’s legitimate concerns in a balanced way. China will continue to play a constructive role in promoting a political settlement.
Also covered is the establishment of the China-Belarus University Alliance. This brings together 40 Chinese universities and 41 universities from Belarus.