Fujian Tour, China-US Ties, Human Rights & H&M Controversy
Here are the stories and pieces from the People’s Daily’s March 26, 2021, edition that I found interesting.
Page 1: The page is dominated by coverage of Xi Jinping’s tour of Fujian province. Of course, Xinhua and other media outlets have been covering his visit every day. But today is the first day that the PD print edition has covered it. Xinhua English also has a wrap. The report basically offers a wrap of his tour. It says that the inspection trip took Xi to the cities of Nanping, Sanming and Fuzhou. The key aspects mentioned were the environment, focusing on the new development pattern, cultural confidence, and innovation. The key points that are made in the PD report are:
Xi spoke about the need to implement the Party Central Committee’s decisions.
He called on cadres to “develop concepts, build a new development pattern, deepen supply-side structural reforms, expand reform and opening up, promote scientific and technological innovation, coordinate epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development, coordinate development and security, and make greater progress in accelerating the construction of a modern economic system.”
He said: “take greater steps in exploring the new path of cross-strait integration and development.”
“Xi Jinping emphasized that our country must rely on innovation to enter the first phalanx of scientific and technological development, blindly following is not feasible, and we must speed up the pace of scientific and technological self-reliance. We must adhere to the core position of innovation in the overall modernization drive, take innovation as a national policy, and actively encourage and support innovation.”
Visiting a park in the city of Wuyishan dedicated to philosopher Zhu Xi, Xi talked about cultural confidence. Xinhua reports, Xi said that: “Special attention should be paid to tapping the essence of the 5,000-year-long Chinese civilization, promoting fine traditional culture, integrating its essence with the Marxist stance, viewpoint and methodology, and unswervingly following the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.”
Page 2: We have an update on RCEP. This comes from the State Council Information Office’s briefing yesterday. Wang Shouwen, vice minister of commerce and deputy representative for international trade negotiations, confirmed that the approval of RCEP has been completed. He added now all parties have made it clear that they will work hard to complete the approval of the agreement within this year, and the goal is that the RCEP can be officially implemented on January 1, 2022. There’s also some data on China’s economic engagement with RCEP countries.
“Last year, China’s exports to RCEP member countries reached 700.7 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 27% of China’s total exports; China’s imports from RCEP trading partners reached 777.9 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 37.8% of China's total imports; 10% of China's foreign investment comes from RCEP member countries.”
Next, PD reports that Li Zhanshu on Thursday attended a meeting of the legislative bodies of Turkey, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Russia and China. He talked about the need to “cooperate on promoting public health, green development and the high-quality joint building of the Belt and Road.” Xinhua English says that “he also called for firmly maintaining the authority of international law for a more just and reasonable international order, as well as enhancing legislative work to safeguard national security in the countries.” The theme of the meeting was Countering Terrorism and Strengthening Regional Connectivity. Li, therefore, defended Beijing’s policies in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
Page 3: Let’s begin with a Zhong Sheng commentary, pushing back against the West, particularly the US, on the issue of human rights. It says that “human rights are not the patent of a few countries, let alone a tool for exerting pressure on other countries and interfering in internal affairs. A few Western countries have assumed a condescending posture, pointing fingers at other countries in the name of so-called human rights. This is a hegemonist mentality at work, and it is also a manifestation of their inner weakness and anxiety under the circumstances of a century of change in the world.”
Here’s more: “The vast majority of developing countries oppose a few Western countries' double standards on human rights issues...The trick of pretending to be a ‘human rights teacher’ in a few Western countries has long been unsuccessful, and the hypocrisy is well known in the world. These Western countries are advised to remove their pretense, abandon the Cold War mentality of using human rights as a tool for realizing hegemony, face up to their own human rights issues, strengthen dialogue and cooperation based on the principle of mutual respect...”
Next, there’s a piece on MoFA’s comments (English version) on the H&M boycott that’s underway, owing to the firm’s position on cotton procurement from Xinjiang. Hua Chunying defended Xinjiang cotton and called charges of “forced labour” as “malicious lies concocted by a few anti-China forces in an attempt to smear China, undermine security and stability in Xinjiang, and frustrate China's development.” When asked about the public reaction and boycotts, she said that while Chinese people are “friendly” and “open-minded,” “nothing will prevail over the will of the Chinese people. Anyone who offends the Chinese people should prepare to pay the price.”
In a follow-up question on the issue during her presser, Hua went further. “The Chinese people wouldn't allow foreigners to reap benefits in China on the one hand and smear China on the other. China is open and we welcome foreign enterprises and people to do business, live and work in China. And we reject any malicious attack on China and even attempts to undermine China's interests on the basis of rumors and lies,” she said.
Finally, there’s a report about Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s Saudi Arabia visit. Wang met Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday. He said that Saudi Arabia is an important strategic partner of China in the Middle East, and developing relations with Saudi Arabia is a priority. He added that China opposes any force using any excuses to dictate Saudi Arabia’s internal affairs; firmly supports Saudi Arabia in actively exploring development paths suitable for national conditions.
Here’s more: Wang thanked Saudi Arabia for its strong support to China on issues related to Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Under the current situation, China and Saudi Arabia should further strengthen solidarity and cooperation, maintain the international system with the United Nations as the core and the international order based on international law, oppose unilateral bullying and interference in other countries’ internal affairs, and defend the common interests of developing countries.”
MBS, meanwhile, as per PD, promised cooperation in terms of crude oil trade, petrochemicals, and nuclear energy and areas like 5G, digital, and telecommunications, while also committing to strengthen anti-terrorism and security cooperation. PD also says this: “Saudi Arabia firmly supports China's legitimate position on issues related to Xinjiang and Hong Kong, opposes interference in China's internal affairs under any pretext, and opposes individual forces to instigate relations between China and the Islamic world.”
Page 16: Finally on the international page today, there’s a piece under the byline 梅齐楚, Mei Qichu. The person is referred to as an observer of international affairs. The author talks about the Anchorage dialogue, saying that the following points about this conversation were noteworthy:
“The US Secretary of State and National Security Advisor jointly conducted a "2+2" dialogue with the main persons in charge of foreign affairs on the Chinese side. This is unprecedented for both China and the United States and in the history of Sino-US exchanges. The two sides held three dialogues on domestic policy, foreign policy, and bilateral relations, covering a wide range of bilateral, regional, and global issues, lasting nearly 9 hours. The above highlights the breadth and depth of Sino-US relations, and also reflect the importance and complexity of current Sino-US relations.”
“Facing the malicious provocation by the US, Director Yang Jiechi, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi sternly clarified China's position, made impromptu speeches, refuted the US slander, detailed the US's crimes, and hit the US side by surprise...The two rounds of confrontation were broadcast live in front of the whole world, which severely hit the arrogance of the US. The U.S. originally wanted to teach China a lesson, but unexpectedly, China turned its back on defense and showed the world a textbook-style diplomatic counterattack lesson. China’s statement has aroused enthusiastic repercussions at home, and has also aroused strong resonance in the international community, especially in countries that have been bullied by the United States for a long time.”
“It is hoped that the United States will truly realize China's determination and will, change its course, rather than intensify it, and go further and further down the wrong path. China will continue to listen to what it says and watch what it does.”
“Judging from the briefings and related press releases after the meeting, although both sides acknowledged that the two countries have major differences, they also mentioned the need for cooperation...The Sino-US interaction in the new era will never go back to the unhealthy pattern of the US unilaterally leading the way, cooperating if it wants to cooperate, and stopping if it wants to stop. China will not engage in dialogue for the sake of dialogue, nor will it accept dialogue that presupposes the resolution of US unilateral concerns. The dialogue must not be a unilateral draw by the US, but a balanced resolution of the concerns of both sides. These are all powerful messages that China has conveyed to the US through this dialogue.”