China-Greece Ties - New Books on Xi's Career - Wang Yi's Interview on Pacific Islands Visit - BRICS Summit Preview - The Significance of the Party's '100-year Struggle'
Here are the stories and pieces that I found noteworthy in the Monday, June 6, 2022, edition of the People’s Daily.
I am sharing below the text of my recent article in the Hindustan Times, discussing reports of pushback against Xi Jinping. Many of you had requested this, since it was paywalled. Happy to hear any feedback on the piece.
Page 1: At the top of the page is a report (English report) about Xi Jinping and Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and Premier Li Keqiang and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis exchanging congratulatory messages on the 50th anniversary of bilateral ties.
Next, there’s a report on Xi’s letter to the National Event on the Environment Day held in Shenyang. Xinhua reports:
“The ecological environment is the foundation for the survival and development of human beings, and maintaining a sound environment is the common aspiration of people of all countries, Xi said. China has attached fundamental importance to ecological progress and has carried out fundamental, pioneering and long-term work since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, Xi said, stressing that historic, transformative and comprehensive changes have been achieved. On a new journey of building a modern socialist country, China will maintain the strategic resolve on facilitating ecological progress, promote a comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development, and coordinate efforts on pollution control, ecological protection and climate-change response, Xi said. Xi called for joint and solid action from the whole of society to protect the environment and leave a beautiful homeland with a blue sky, green land and clear water for future generations.”
Han Zheng spoke at the event. He said that “China will push for carbon peaking and carbon neutrality in a prudent and orderly way and in the process, guarantee the security of energy, industrial and supply chains, and food, as well as people's normal lives.”
Next, we have a report (English report) about four books about Xi’s tenure in different regions being published. The books cover Xi’s time in Zhengding County, Hebei Province, from 1982 to 1985; Fujian from 1985 to 2002; Zhejiang from 2002 to 2007; and Shanghai from March to October 2007. Xinhua says that the four books focus on Xi’s endeavour “to drive reform and opening up, as well as modernization in local areas. The books illustrate Xi’s governance, featuring big-picture and long-term thinking, earnest concern for people’s livelihoods, a realistic and pragmatic approach, creativity and the courage to assume responsibility. They also vividly demonstrate Xi’s conviction and his concern for the people, as well as his personal character, working style and the fruitful results he achieved in local positions.”
The report adds that these books are important for deepening one’s knowledge and understanding of “the theoretical logic, historical logic and practical logic of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era.” The books have a “historical documentation value” and also are significant to guide the practice/work of cadres, since they provide examples and learning models of leading cadres at all levels, especially young cadres, to guide their work. 有利于深化对习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想理论逻辑、历史逻辑、实践逻辑的认识和理解，为各级领导干部特别是年轻干部在新时代伟大实践中更好担当作为提供了鲜活样本和学习典范，具有重要历史文献价值和现实指导意义.
Fourth, there’s a report in the series on following Xi’s footprints. This one covers Anhui. Fifth, there’s a report (English report) about the successful launch of the Shenzhou-14 spaceship with the three Chinese astronauts being stationed in the Tianhe core module. They will be there for a 6-month-long mission to complete the assembly and construction of the Tiangong space station, developing it from a single-module structure into a national space laboratory with three modules—the core module Tianhe and two lab modules Wentian and Mengtian.
Page 2: Just one report worth noting. This one is about science and technology development in Hefei, Anhui. The report talks about how the city has adhered to the instructions and desires expressed by Xi. The report begins by recounting Xi’s visit to the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei in April 2016. He had called for focussing on innovation, development and talents. The piece then talks about how the university has focussed on five key areas after Xi’s visit while seeking out the frontier and key fields of science and technology based on the major national needs.” These include:
building a first-class teaching staff
cultivating top-notch innovative talents
improving the level of scientific research
inheriting the excellent culture of innovation
making efforts to promote the transformation of achievements
The piece talks about how Yunfei Road in Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone in Hefei is well-known as a ‘quantum avenue’ because it is home to so many key enterprises that focus on quantum computing. The piece mentions the Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center as being a leading research base. It says that “last year, Anhui successfully broke the foreign monopoly in eight key manufacturing projects in key parts, key basic materials and other fields.” The piece ends by saying that technological innovation has been placed in a key position in Anhui’s plan going forward.
“Currently, there are 138 academicians and over 2 million talents of various types in Hefei. Scientific and technological innovation has become Hefei's greatest kinetic energy and potential. Hefei's GDP surpassed the 1 trillion yuan mark in 2020 and reached 1.1 trillion yuan in 2021, ranking seventh among 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta.”
Page 3: First, there’s an interview (English report) with Foreign Minister Wang Yi about his visit to Pacific Island countries. Wang talks about China’s policy towards countries in the region. He reiterates the four principles or upholdings:
equal treatment, mutual respect, win-win cooperation, and openness and inclusiveness.
Of course, there was little respect or openness to the press in the region during Wang Yi’s visit, as this post by China Digital Times shows.
Responding to a question about how he thinks China is viewed by countries in the region, Wang said:
“The visit covered all of the 10 Pacific island countries having diplomatic relations with China, and that he has, during the tour, held extensive, in-depth communication and exchanges with 17 leaders and more than 30 ministerial officials from the island countries. For years, Pacific island countries have often been easily forgotten by the international community, or even marginalised, due to their weak national strength and voice. China is also a developing country and thus can better understand the situation, needs and concerns of small and medium-sized countries. The PNG foreign minister and others appreciated China's unremitting efforts for the development and prosperity of the island countries for nearly half a century, and hoped that other major countries could learn from China. The President of Vanuatu and other leaders of the island countries believe that China is a true friend and good partner of the island countries. The President of Kiribati emphasised the right of the island countries to independently choose partners, and hoped that China would play a greater role in helping the island countries develop. They all hope to ride on the express train of China's development and contribute to their own sustainable development. Both sides hope to expand exchanges, carry forward our friendship and consolidate public support for the friendship. The Pacific Island countries also appreciate China for upholding justice and their legitimate rights and interests on the international stage and speaking out on climate change and other global matters...China will always be a reliable strategic partner of the Pacific Island countries in the process of their rejuvenation and prosperity.” 王毅：此次南太之行实现了对建交太平洋岛国的“全覆盖”。我同10个建交岛国17位领导人、30余位部长级官员广泛深入沟通交流，切身感受到太平洋岛国对发展的追求，对合作的渴望，对中国的期盼。多年来，由于太平洋岛国国力偏弱、发言权小，往往容易被国际社会所遗忘，甚至被边缘化。岛国提出他们不应沦为“世界的看客”，更不应被落在后面，而应与世界齐头并进。中国也是发展中国家，我们最能理解中小国家的处境、需求和关切。巴新外长等赞赏中国近半个世纪坚持不懈为岛国地区发展繁荣作出努力，希望其他大国也能向中国学习。瓦努阿图总统等多位岛国领导人都认为中国是岛国的真朋友、好伙伴。基里巴斯总统强调岛国有自主选择合作伙伴的权利，期盼中方在帮助岛国发展上发挥更大作用。岛国都希望搭上中国发展快车，助力自身可持续发展。都希望与中国扩大交流，传承友谊，夯实友好的民意基础。岛国也都赞赏中国在国际舞台上为维护岛国正当权益主持公道，在应对气候变化等全球性事务中仗义执言。中方愿同太平洋岛国继续增进互信、加强合作，在岛国走向振兴繁荣的进程中，中国永远是岛国可以信赖的战略伙伴.
In terms of the focus going ahead, Wang talked about four areas:
First, the two sides need to work together to address climate change, which is the most pressing challenge facing island countries.
Second, China will help Pacific island countries promote diversified development, which is the only way for them to achieve modernization.
Third, both sides need to join hands in the development of the ocean, which is the key to the sustainable development of the island countries.
Fourth, the two sides need to expand emerging industries such as digital economy, which will be the growth point of the island countries' economy in the future.
He also said that there was a lot of suspicion and “false information” spread about China’s engagement in the region. He added: “I would like to reiterate once again that China's cooperation with Pacific island countries is open, transparent and aboveboard, with no political conditions attached, nothing imposed on others, no targeting at any third party, and no pursuit of the so-called ‘sphere of influence’...” 我愿再次重申，中国同太平洋岛国的合作公开透明、光明磊落，不附加任何政治条件，不做强加于人的事情，不针对任何第三方，不谋求所谓“势力范围”，经得起时间和历史的检验.
Later in the interview, he specifically addresses a question about possible trilateral or quadrilateral partnerships with Australia and New Zealand. He says that China is not a “newcomer” to the region. Rather, it is an “old friend.”
“We have no intention of competing with anyone for influence, nor do we have any interest in engaging in geopolitical competition. China respects the various ties that have been established between the island countries and other countries, and respects the traditional ties between Australia, New Zealand and the island countries. China has carried out some tripartite cooperation with Australia and New Zealand in the island countries. The results are good, and they are also supported and welcomed by the island countries. China is willing to continue to carry out more tripartite or quadrilateral cooperation with Australia and New Zealand in the South Pacific region with an open attitude and in accordance with the wishes of the island countries, so as to give full play to their respective advantages and form greater synergy.” 我们无意同谁比拼什么影响力，也没有兴趣搞什么地缘争夺。中国尊重岛国同其他国家业已建立的各种联系，尊重澳大利亚、新西兰与岛国的传统纽带，中方已同澳、新在岛国开展了一些三方合作，效果是好的，也受到岛国的支持和欢迎。中方愿继续本着开放态度，根据岛国的意愿，同澳、新在南太地区开展更多三方或四方合作，发挥各自优势，形成更大合力。
The responses to the two questions are well summarised by Xinhua English:
“During his visit, China has signed an implementation plan on jointly building the Belt and Road with Kiribati, and achieved 52 bilateral cooperation results with Pacific island countries that have diplomatic ties with China in 15 fields including climate change, anti-pandemic fight, disaster preparedness and mitigation, green development, medical and health care, agriculture, trade, civil aviation and tourism, he added. The senior Chinese official also said that during the first China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting last year, China announced the establishment of the China-Pacific Island Countries Climate Action Cooperation Center, Poverty Reduction and Development Cooperation Center and Reserve of Emergency Supplies, which were warmly welcomed by Pacific island countries. During the second China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting, China also announced the establishment of the China-Pacific Island Countries Demonstration Center for Agricultural Cooperation, Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation Cooperation Center and Juncao Technology Demonstration Center, Wang noted, adding that once declared, the projects received warm response from Pacific island countries, who also expressed hope for active participation.”
Second, there’s a report previewing the BRICS summit later this month. It says that “as representatives of emerging markets and developing countries, BRICS countries deepen their strategic partnership, play the role of ‘stabiliser’ of the global situation and ‘accelerator’ of development, inject BRICS strength to ensure stability of global markets, and lend the BRICS’ power for international development cooperation.”
Some useful data points from the piece:
BRICS countries account for 23% of the global economy, 18% of trade in goods, and 25% of foreign investment.
In the next five years, the New Development Bank will provide $30 billion in financial support to its member countries, 40 percent of which will be used to mitigate climate change.
In November 2020, the BRICS countries formulated the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership 2025
In September last year, an innovation base for BRICS partners on the New Industrial Revolution was unveiled in Xiamen.
In May, this year was the BRICS industry ministers’ meeting, which led to a joint statement that called to “deepen industrial cooperation and expedite the recovery and growth of the industrial economy through jointly creating an open, fair, vibrant and resilient environment, while fostering a stable, secure, mutually beneficial system for cooperation on industrial and supply chains.”
This was followed by the BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting, which too led to a joint statement being issued. I covered that here.
Page 4: Much of the page is dedicated to the improving COVID-19 situation in the country. One of the stories that draws from the State Council’s press briefing informs that “the number of newly confirmed local cases and asymptomatic infections in the country continues to remain below 100, but 16 provinces have reported local epidemics in the past 7 days…” Also, with college students returning home for the summer vacations, the State Council’s Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism clarified in a circular released on Sunday that local governments should roll out targeted isolation policies and provide support for these students.
Page 8: Today, we have the 10th piece in the series excerpted from the book Face to Face with the Century-old Party. Today’s piece answers the question: “What is the historical significance of the party's century-long struggle?” I am not translating a lot of this piece, apart from the bits needed to offer a meaningful summary. But it’s worth noting that the language in this piece is very evocative – designed to have maximum emotional impact.
There are five broad points that the piece is making
First, that the past 100 years of struggle have meant that the destiny of the people has fundamentally changed. This section basically talks about the Century of Humiliation narrative and how today the Chinese people have become better off and are much more confident, self-reliant, ambitious, etc.
Second, the road to national rejuvenation has been successfully opened. This talks about the country’s achievements. It says that the Party has “led the people in unremitting efforts to forge ahead in order to blaze a right path for China and create a bright future for the Chinese nation…Without suffering, you cannot understand the meaning of rejuvenation. After many hardships and twists and turns, the dream of national rejuvenation which was hidden deep in the hearts of the Chinese people has finally broken through the clouds and soared upward, shining brightly…”
On this road to rejuvenation, China is a ‘dream factory’ - 梦工厂 - full of vitality. This basically says that the many dreams that were once far off, such as the dream of a domestic airliner, of an Olympic gold, of a well-off society, of prosperity, are now coming true.
On this road, China is a ‘magic house’ -魔幻屋 - that creates miracles on earth. This says: “China, as a large-scale economy, has compressed the industrialisation process of developed countries from hundreds of years to several decades, and kept all the contradictions brought about by development within the controllable range, so as to maintain long-term social stability. Many Western scholars refer to China's ‘two miracles’ as the ‘Goldbach conjecture’ of economics, which can only be attributed to the mysterious ‘Oriental magic’.” 而我国作为一个大规模经济体，把发达国家几百年的工业化历程压缩到几十年时间完成，并且把发展带来的各方面矛盾保持在可控范围内，保持社会长期稳定。很多西方学者把中国“两大奇迹”称为经济学的“哥德巴赫猜想”，百思不得其解，只能归结为神秘的“东方魔力”.
On this road, China is an ‘upgraded class/cabin/berth’ - 升级 舱 - activating the charm of its civilisation. This says that the CCP has “always been a loyal inheritor and propagator of Chinese excellent traditional culture; activating the excellent factors in traditional culture in the process of creative transformation and innovative development, the Party has giving it a new connotation of the times, and provided a stronger spiritual force for enriching the inner world of contemporary Chinese people.” 中国共产党始终做中华优秀传统文化的忠实传承者和弘扬者，在创造性转化、创新性发展中激活传统文化中的优秀因子，赋予其新的时代内涵，为丰富当代中国人的内心世界提供了更为雄厚的精神力量.
Third, the century-long struggle has provided a great manifestation of the power of Marxism. This says that: “Over the past 100 years, generations of Chinese Communists have gathered under the magnificent sunrise of Marxism, holding high the flaming torch of great ideas, and created a unique road of saving, rejuvenating, and strengthening the country…”一百年来，一代代中国共产党人汇聚在马克思主义壮丽的日出下，高擎伟大思想的熊熊火炬，在中华大地上开创了独一无二的救国、兴国、强国道路...
It adds that the “scientificity and truth” of Marxism have been fully tested. Just as Darwin discovered the law of development of the organic world, Marx discovered the law of development of human history.” 它的科学性和真理性得到充分检验。“正像达尔文发现有机界的发展规律一样，马克思发现了人类历史的发展规律”. “Just as ‘Aristotle can always be found at the root of every victory by Alexander’, the scientific and true nature of Marxism is reflected in every victory of the Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and in the sonorous steps of the Chinese nation towards rejuvenation.” 正如“在亚历山大胜利的根源里，人们总能找到亚里士多德”，马克思主义的科学性和真理性，无不体现在中国共产党领导人民的每一次胜利中，印证在中华民族走向复兴的铿锵脚步里.
Fourth, the century of struggle has also “profoundly changed the trend and pattern of global development, and made indelible contributions to promoting human progress and pursuing world harmony.” This essentially says that the formation of the PRC, or the “victory of the Chinese revolution…greatly enhanced the force of justice in the international arena and promoted the historical process of the world revolution.” It adds that later China has opened up a new pathway for development “through self-exploration.” And today, while “Western modernization is facing deep trouble, Chinese modernization is leading and influencing the world.” 当西方现代化深陷困境的时候，中国式现代化正在引领和影响着世界。It then adds that “with the common interests of the people of the world in mind, General Secretary Xi Jinping has gone beyond the boundaries of the country, nation, culture and ideology, to call for the building of a Community of Shared Future for Mankind, vigorously carrying forward the common values of all mankind, pointing out the way forward for solving major global problems, and mapping out a bright future for human development and progress.” 习近平总书记胸怀世界人民的共同利益，超越国家、民族、文化、意识形态界限，响亮提出推动构建人类命运共同体，大力弘扬全人类共同价值，为解决全球重大问题指明了前进方向，为人类发展进步擘画了一个美好未来.
Fifth, the century of struggle has forced what is today an advanced political party. This section praises the CCP’s evolution and ability to adapt amid challenges and changing circumstances. It argues that, therefore, the Party is worthy of ruling in China. It adds: “He who conquers others is strong; He who conquers himself is mighty.’ It is precisely because the party has picked up the scalpel to remove its own lesions again and again that the Party has been continuously reborn and has invincible power.” “胜人者有力，自胜者强。”正是由于党一次次拿起手术刀革除自身病灶，才使党不断获得新生，拥有无往而不胜的力量.
Other Stories:
On the international page, there’s an article criticising the US for double standards when it comes to “digital human rights.”
My piece from the Hindustan Times last week:
The past two months have seen intense speculation about the political churn within China. There have been reports of unhappiness and factional contestation around Xi Jinping’s policies on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Covid-19 containment, and the direction of economic policy. This has fuelled rumours of a deeper pushback against Xi, heading into the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC). While there is evidence of policy contestation and frustration, there is little to suggest that Xi’s political authority is diminished.
The day before Russia invaded Ukraine, a commentary in the People’s Daily made an emphatic pitch for Xi’s continued rule. It argued that Xi was a “blessing to the party and the country” and had “won the heartfelt love of the whole party, armed forces and all ethnic groups in China.” The invasion, however, showed the limits of the leader’s foresight. The war came soon after the unprecedented joint statement of Xi and Vladimir Putin on February 4. It left Beijing in an awkward position of balancing competing economic and political interests amid western suspicion of China’s complicity with the Russian decision to wage war. Scholarly articles questioning China’s pro-Russian neutrality in the aftermath of the war indicated elite disaffection.
March also witnessed fresh Covid-19 outbreaks across major Chinese cities. This led to intense policy debates. There was evidence of pushback against the central leadership’s dynamic zero-Covid-19 policy, which entailed strict lockdowns. With the economic costs of this policy rising, many voices called for adopting an approach of coexisting with the virus. Xi’s reported comments at Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) meetings in late-March and early-May acknowledged this pushback, as he stressed the need to persevere and demanded alignment with the decisions and plans of the CPC central committee. Commentaries in official media framed this as a test of cadres’ political quality. “Lying flat”, a euphemism for the policy of coexisting with the virus, was termed a helpless choice.
At the same time, on economic policy, there has been evidence of a shift away from the narrative of common prosperity, which Xi has championed, towards greater stability. After December's Central Economic Work Conference, stability was the buzzword for economic policy. In addition, Li Keqiang’s annual Government Work Report in March merely had one reference to shared prosperity.
Reports have also suggested tremendous back and forth over economic policy. For instance, The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Li has been influential in easing tough regulatory measures. However, while Li and vice premier Liu He have signalled greater support for enterprises, the property market, and the platform economy, others like Han Zheng, a PSC member, and Hu Chunhua reportedly want to maintain pressure on developers. Another example of the policy push and pull was the publication of an article by Xi in the most recent edition of the party journal, Qiushi. The article reiterated the goal of common prosperity and regulating the “savage growth” and “disorderly expansion” of capital.
Despite all this, Xi continues to enjoy unparalleled authority and remains on track to retain his position at the helm of Chinese politics after the 20th Party Congress.
There are three broad factors for this.
First, over the past 10 years, Xi has structurally concentrated power. This has been done through the anti-corruption campaign, by taking charge of key policy groups, having key party and State institutions personally report to him annually and revising inner-party regulations. At least, 70% of the current effective central party regulations have been issued during Xi’s reign. This is a measure of the expansion of the central leadership’s authority over the past decade. More critically, it is worth noting that these revisions have taken place within the framework of the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, which emerged as the party’s guiding ideology following the 19th party Congress in 2017. The “Two Establishments” outlined in the resolution adopted at the 6th Plenum in November 2021 further underscored this. It is imperative to not underestimate the significance of this ideological shift as mere rhetoric. Ideology comprises programmatic and epistemological elements, which inform governance at all levels. Outright challenges to the party’s guiding ideology, therefore, can be a recipe for systemic instability.
Second, in Leninist parties, control over the security, propaganda and organization systems are key to power. In this regard, Xi remains in command. Also, since October last year, there have been many leadership changes at the provincial levels. A significant number of the new provincial party chiefs are reported to either have ties with Xi or are known Xi allies. Statements of public support by provincial leaders for Xi following the adoption of the history resolution in November are also indicative of his political authority.
Third, local officials have largely complied despite grumblings over the zero-Covid-19 policy and its adverse economic impact. This demonstrates either the lack of broad political will to push back against Xi or that the political cost of such pushback is believed to be extremely high and, therefore, unviable. In such an environment, it is perhaps much more useful to think of reports of factional contestation as political jostling for crucial party positions and influence over policy direction instead of a political backlash against Xi’s continued rule.