GDI's 2nd Anniversary - Wang Yi Meets Putin - Operationalising GSI's Law-enforcement Cooperation - Decoding Whole-process People's Democracy - State Council on Industrial Upgrading
Here are the key reports and articles that I found noteworthy from the People's Daily's edition on Thursday, September 21, 2023.
Page 1: The lead article today marks the second anniversary of Xi Jinping announcing the Global Development Initiative. It says that GDI “has effectively built an international consensus on jointly promoting development, responded to the most urgent needs of the international community, and has been widely praised by the international community.”
The article adds that “On the occasion of the second anniversary of the launch of the GDI, a high-level meeting to showcase its achievements was held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on September 19th.” 在全球发展倡议提出两周年之际，全球发展倡议合作成果展示高级别会议当地时间19日在纽约联合国总部举行，新华社国家高端智库在会议期间发布了《全球发展倡议实践成就与世界贡献》智库报告，全面梳理全球发展倡议提出两年来取得的丰硕成果，系统阐述这一重大倡议的理念和原则及世界意义.
Wang Grace Xiaojun, who is the director of the Fund of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, said that the individual cases highlighted in the report showcase the benefits that GDI has brought to people in various countries; these include the construction of livable housing in Mongolia, support for school meal programs in Nepal and Cambodia, the initiation of the ‘Replace Plastic with Bamboo’ campaign in African countries, and assistance with COVID-19 vaccine distribution for Palestinian refugees. These cases vividly illustrate the comprehensiveness of cooperation under GDI.” 出席会议的联合国南南合作办公室基金主任王晓军接受新华社记者采访时说，报告展示的一个个案例表明全球发展倡议给世界各国人民带来了好处，包括在蒙古国建设宜居住房、为尼泊尔和柬埔寨学校供餐提供支持、在非洲国家发起“以竹代塑”行动、为巴勒斯坦难民提供新冠疫苗援助等。这些案例生动展现了全球发展倡议合作领域的全面性.
Wang adds that GDI has “created a new model of open and inclusive international development cooperation in terms of building global partnerships for South-South and trilateral cooperation.” 王晓军认为，全球发展倡议的理念高度契合当今世界所需，在构筑南南、三方合作全球伙伴关系等方面，开创了开放、包容的国际发展合作新模式.
We also get praise from the Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, the Slovenian President, the Nicaraguan President and so on.
Anyway, let’s look at the Xinhua Institute’s new report on GDI, which was released at the sidelines of the UNGA. Some features of GDI that it explains are:
A globally open platform, i.e., GDI links with the developmental goals and agenda of other groupings and countries. This includes the AU’s Agenda 2063, UN, G20, APEC, etc.
Implementation of “small and helpful projects that benefit people's livelihoods”
In terms of achievements, it says:
More than half of the 32 practical measures announced after the June 2022 High-level Dialogue on Global Development have been completed.
A global development promotion center and its network have been established. Over 30 counterpart departments of countries and regional organizations have officially joined.
10 of 50 initial projects announced have been completed; project pool now comprises 200 projects
China has integrated and established the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, increasing its capital to US$4 billion. China has also actively participated in the capital increase of the International Development Association and the Global Environment Facility and has officially launched the third China-FAO South-South Cooperation Trust Fund.
At present, over 100 countries and international organizations stand behind the GDI, and more than 70 countries have joined the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative. China has also signed cooperation memorandums of understanding with more than 20 countries and international organizations.
After this, there are specific case studies and stories that have been shared, and arguments on GDI’s normative underpinnings going ahead:
Embrace technological change to boost economic vitality
Improving global governance and building a just and reasonable world order
Taking collective action to build a community of shared future for human development.
At the end, the report says:
“Taking collective action to build a community of shared future for human development. In today's world, if not pursuing development is the biggest insecurity, not cooperating is the greatest risk, and disunity is the biggest challenge. Economists from the International Monetary Fund have warned that a divided world may become poorer. They particularly pointed out the potential maximum damage that the rise of ‘friend-shoring’ could cause to underdeveloped markets because they are more dependent on investments from countries further afield geopolitically. The international community's strong consensus is that the development agenda’s politicization should be avoided, and geopolitical conflicts and group confrontations will lead the world in the wrong direction, which will cause immeasurable losses to the cause of global development. Development is the key and foundation for addressing all human problems, and it is a challenge faced by all countries and regions worldwide. All parties, including the United Nations, countries from the Global South and North, the poor and the wealthy, and the regional and sub-regional organizations, should unite, shoulder shared responsibilities, and take collective actions. In this regard, heads of state and government of all countries should demonstrate leadership and take seven years of accelerated, sustained, and transformative actions at the national and international levels. Member states of the United Nations should seize the opportunity of this Sustainable Development Goals Summit to build consensus on development, pool development resources, integrate the GDI more closely with the UN's 2030 Agenda, align it with the development strategies of developing countries, and coordinate with the United Nations development agencies and multilateral development organizations to jointly create a new era of global development that is inclusive, balanced, cooperative, and commonly prosperous. Looking ahead, the joint construction of a community of shared future for humanity relies on the following principles: eliminating conflicts and jointly building peace, injecting vitality and collectively promoting development, being open and inclusive, seeking common progress, uniting as one, and working together through consultation.”
Moving on, there’s a report on the State Council Executive Meeting. The report says that:
The meeting emphasised the need to thoroughly study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important exposition on promoting new industrialization, deeply analyse and grasp the changes in domestic and international situations and the characteristics of the stage of China’s industrialization. It called for concrete efforts in carrying out various key tasks to comprehensively improve the quality, efficiency and international competitiveness of industrial development. Efforts should be made to promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, foster and develop strategic emerging industries, accelerate the development of advanced manufacturing, and coordinate the advances in both industrial digitalization and the industrialization of the digital economy. It is necessary to persist in deepening reform and expanding opening-up, fully mobilize the enthusiasm of various market entities, leverage the role of the unified national market, lead industrial rational layout with main functional areas, utilize domestic and international markets and resources effectively, and effectively enhance the driving force and vitality for advancing the new type of industrialization. 会议强调，要深入学习贯彻习近平总书记关于推进新型工业化的重要论述，深刻分析把握国内外形势变化和我国新型工业化的阶段性特征，扎实做好各项重点工作，全面提高工业发展质量、效益和国际竞争力。要坚持推动传统产业改造升级和培育壮大战略性新兴产业两手抓，加快发展先进制造业，协同推进数字产业化和产业数字化，着力补齐短板、拉长长板、锻造新板。要坚持深化改革、扩大开放，充分调动各类经营主体积极性，发挥全国统一大市场支撑作用，以主体功能区战略引领产业合理布局，用好国内国际两个市场两种资源，切实增强推进新型工业化的动力活力.
The meeting also argued that solving the problem of corporate arrears is crucial to the production, operation and investment expectations of enterprises, as well as the continuous improvement of the economy. According to the meeting, provincial governments must take overall responsibility for clearing overdue payments in their respective regions and state-owned enterprises should take the lead in this regard. It added: Emphasis should be placed on substantial clearance, and efforts should be made to construct a long-term mechanism through policy support, overall coordination, and supervision and assessment, ensuring that all overdue payments are cleared. 会议指出，解决好企业账款拖欠问题，事关企业生产经营和投资预期，事关经济持续回升向好，必须高度重视。省级政府要对本地区清欠工作负总责，抓紧解决政府拖欠企业账款问题，解开企业之间相互拖欠的“连环套”，央企国企要带头偿还。要突出实质性清偿，加强政策支持、统筹调度和监督考核，努力做到应清尽清，着力构建长效机制.
The meeting also heard a report on the supervision and investigation on promoting the sustained economic recovery. China Daily’s English report captures this well:
“The meeting emphasized that issues identified in inspections and research must be highly valued by regions and departments, and efforts should be made to ensure that existing policies and measures are effectively implemented. Relevant departments should, in accordance with their respective responsibilities and in conjunction with the planning for next year's economic work, comprehensively consider, deeply research and accelerate the introduction and implementation of relevant policies, further consolidating the trend of continuous improvement in the economy, the meeting said.”
Finally, the State Council also approved draft regulations for the protection of minors on the internet.
Third, there’s a report on the China Enterprise Confederation and the China Enterprise Directors Association releasing a list of top 500 Chinese enterprises for 2023. Xinhua reports that 264 of these companies are from the manufacturing sector. The report adds:
“The entry threshold in terms of revenue for the top 500 enterprises in China stood at 46.998 billion yuan (about 6.55 billion U.S. dollars), registering an increase of 2.37 billion yuan compared to the previous year. According to the list, State Grid Corporation of China, China National Petroleum Corporation, and China Petrochemical Corporation occupy the top three spots, respectively. The number of companies whose revenues exceeded 100 billion yuan rose to 254, with 16 of them reporting revenues of over 1 trillion yuan…Their R&D input amounted to 1.58 trillion yuan, up 9.07 percent, while the R&D intensity ratio reached 1.85 percent, up 0.04 percentage points from a year earlier.”
Page 2: There’s a report (English report) on Wang Yi’s meeting with Vladimir Putin.
“Putin asked Wang Yi to convey his sincere greetings to President Xi Jinping, saying that President Xi Jinping's epoch-making visit to Russia in March this year was a complete success, which reflected the high level of Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination. Since then, the important consensus reached by the two sides is being implemented one by one, and exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in various fields such as economy, trade, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and sports have achieved positive results. Since the beginning of this year, Russia has overcome the impact of unilateral sanctions by the United States and the West, its economy has begun to resume growth, and various functions are operating normally. We look forward to strengthening planning and deepening pragmatic cooperation with China. Russia highly appreciates and actively supports BRI, opposes distortion and smearing of the initiative, and is willing to strengthen the connection between the Eurasian Economic Union and BRI in order to promote the regional integration process. Putin stated that the evolution of the current international situation fully validates President Xi's strategic assessment that the world is undergoing major changes unseen in a century. Through the collective efforts of Russia, China and other parties, the BRICS successfully expanded membership this year, taking BRICS cooperation to a new level. Russia is willing to maintain close coordination with China within multilateral frameworks such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the BRICS mechanism, to resist unipolar hegemony and bloc confrontation, and to safeguard international fairness and justice.”
The report adds:
“Wang, for his part, said the heads of state of the two countries had a successful meeting this year, jointly outlining a new blueprint for the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination in the new era. This has provided a clear direction and injected strong momentum for the further development of bilateral relations. Wang noted that during his current visit, he had comprehensive discussions with Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia's Security Council, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on cooperation in various fields between the two countries. Wang said China is willing to work together with Russia, taking the important consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries as the fundamental guideline, to enhance strategic mutual trust, deepen practical cooperation, and further consolidate the public opinion and social foundation of friendship between China and Russia. He said that faced with a complex international situation, the world is rapidly moving toward multipolarity, economic globalization is progressing against headwinds, unilateral actions are unsustainable, and hegemonism is not popular. As permanent members of the UN Security Council, China and Russia bear important responsibilities for promoting global development and progress. Both sides need to strengthen their multilateral strategic cooperation, protect their legitimate rights and interests, and make new efforts to promote the international order toward fairness and justice.”
“The two sides also exchanged views on the current international and regional situation. On the Ukraine issue, Putin reiterated Russia's willingness to resolve it through dialogue and negotiation.”
The Russian readout of the meeting has Putin saying:
“To begin this meeting, I would like to say right away that the last time we saw each other was, I think, in February 2023. You came to Russia to prepare the visit of President of China Xi Jinping, who is a very good, important and cherished friend of ours. Indeed, his visit was a great success. I would even say that it marked a major milestone, especially considering that it took place immediately after Comrade Xi Jinping’s election as President of the People’s Republic of China. This was an important sign of trust and an affirmation of the high level of relations between us, and we understand this very well. I must say that the visit was a success, as demonstrated by the performance we have achieved in our relations. It served as a positive impetus for promoting our bilateral ties. This relates to international affairs where we our positions coincide regarding the emergence of a multipolar world instead of some kind of rules-based order. No one has seen these rules and they keep changing every day depending on momentary considerations and to benefit those who came up with this absurd formula. This is the first thing I wanted to say. Second, this visit gave a positive impetus to the expansion of our trade, economic and humanitarian ties. Speaking of trade and economic ties, we recently took stock of these developments during the meeting with Vice Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China [Zhang Guoqing] on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. Our trade exceeded $120 billion in the first months of this year. We have every reason to believe that we will at least come close to $200 billion. As far as I know, according to Chinese statistics, trade even surpassed $120 billion in the first seven months. The year of cooperation in physical fitness and sport was a great success. Next year will also be special in terms of our humanitarian cooperation. Of course, I gladly accepted the invitation from the President of the People’s Republic of China to visit China this October as part of a major event to promote the Belt and Road Initiative – President Xi Jinping’s idea which has already become an international brand. This fully meets and coincides with our interests. In fact, we believe in merging our vision of creating a Greater Eurasian space with the idea of our Chinese friends as part of the Belt and Road Initiative, and we have been quite good at synchronising our efforts. I am very glad to see you and strongly believe that we will have a very useful conversation to share information and exchange our views on the current situation.”
It quotes Wang Yi as having said: “Mr President, tectonic shifts are underway in today’s world with the emergence of a multipolar world gaining momentum in the face of the ever-changing international environment with its turbulence. Still, we are witnessing an anti-globalisation trend. As permanent members of the UN Security Council, China and Russia are committed to peace and development, and carry a huge burden on their shoulders. Yesterday, Mr Patrushev [Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev] and I held a new round of China-Russia consultations on strategic security. Two days ago, I discussed our bilateral relations with Minister Lavrov [Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov]. We talked about ways to carry out the important agreements you reached with President Xi Jinping. We also explored ways of working together to counter anti-globalisation trends. Accordingly, we reached several important agreements. I believe Mr Patrushev has already reported to you on this topic. I would like to point out that regardless of any changes in the international environment and momentary considerations, China stands ready to continue strengthening mutual trust in the spirit of your agreements with President Xi Jinping and uphold our unwavering commitment to expanding our business cooperation, as well as to promote people-to-people ties and better coordinate our international efforts while working together to defend our shared interests, advocating international justice as a way to contribute to effective global governance so it can take a rational development path.”
Next, there’s a report on Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong’s comments at the 2023 Conference of Global Public Security Cooperation Forum in Lianyungang. More than 500 senior law enforcement officials, experts, and scholars from over 50 countries, regions, and international organizations attended the forum.
Wang said that:
“against the backdrop of accelerating once-in-a-century changes in the world, the international community is facing rare and multiple risks and challenges. China is willing to work with all parties to actively implement President Xi Jinping’s GSI, adhere to a security concept that is common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable, uphold the banner of cooperation, innovation, rule of law, and win-win, and jointly build a public security cooperation network with a shared mission of creating a community of shared responsibility. China seeks to share the fruits of public security cooperation with the value of building a community of interests. With the vision of building a community of destiny as the goal, we will discuss public security cooperation plans, deepen exchanges and cooperation in the field of public safety, and promote the global public security governance system to a more fair, reasonable and efficient direction. 王小洪指出，在百年变局加速演进大背景下，国际社会正在经历罕见的多重风险挑战。中方愿同各方一道，积极践行主席提出的全球安全倡议，坚持共同、综合、合作、可持续的安全观，高举合作、创新、法治、共赢旗帜，以打造责任共同体的使命担当共建公共安全合作网络，以打造利益共同体的价值追求共享公共安全合作成果，以打造命运共同体为愿景目标共商公共安全合作大计，深化公共安全领域交流合作，推动全球公共安全治理体系向更加公平、合理、高效的方向发展.
He added that “China is willing to share its experience in public security governance with countries around the world, support the everyday work of the forum, establish a global law enforcement training system, conduct regional and global actions to prevent and combat various forms of transnational crimes, support the establishment of international think tanks, and conduct research and release a global public security index at an appropriate time. China is committed to contributing wisdom and strength to deepen global public security governance and to work together towards a future of lasting peace and universal security.” 王小洪表示，中方愿与世界各国分享公共安全治理经验，支持论坛日常建设、建立全球执法培训体系、开展预防和打击各类跨国犯罪的区域和全球行动，支持论坛建设国际化智库，适时研究发布全球公共安全指数，为深化全球公共安全治理贡献智慧和力量，共同迈向持久和平、普遍安全的美好明天。
The report adds that Wang also met with the following:
Interpol President Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi
Pakistani Minister of Interior Sarfraz Bugti
Director General of the National Police of Nicaragua Francisco Javier Díaz Madriz
Ethiopian Federal Police Director
Myanmar Minister of Immigration and Population
Former Argentine Federal Police chief
Page 3: There’s a report on the new guidelines issued jointly by the Propaganda and Organisation departments of the Central Committee on improving the learning quality of the theory learning centres of Party Committees.
“The ‘Opinions’ propose that, from the strategic perspective of advancing the new great cause of the Party and the new great project of Party building, it is necessary to fully recognize the significance of Party Committee Theory Group Learning activities, focus on improving their quality, effectively promote the whole Party's learning, comprehensively enhance governance capabilities, and better shoulder the mission and tasks of the Party in the new era and on the new journey.” 《意见》提出，必须从深入推进党的新的伟大事业和党的建设新的伟大工程的战略高度，充分认识党委中心组学习的重要意义，着力提高党委中心组学习质量，有效带动全党大学习，全面提高执政本领，更好肩负起新时代新征程党的使命任务.
“The Opinions emphasize the political, theoretical, and practical nature of Party Committee Theory Group Learning. They call for taking the study and implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the top priority. They urge ensuring that the whole Party be better armed with the Party's innovative theories, deeply understand the decisive significance of the Two Establishments, strengthen the four consciousnesses and four self-confidences, and achieve Two Safeguards, thereby providing a strong political guarantee and strong spiritual motivation for the construction of a strong country and national rejuvenation.” 《意见》强调，突出党委中心组学习的政治性、理论性、实效性，把学习贯彻习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想作为首要任务，推动全党更好用党的创新理论武装起来，深刻领悟“两个确立”的决定性意义，增强“四个意识”、坚定“四个自信”、做到“两个维护”，为强国建设、民族复兴提供坚强政治保证和强大精神动力.
They added that “problem-solving through research should be the starting point and focus of learning, and effectively translate scientific theories should be better transformed into ideas and measures to promote high-quality development, enhance people's livelihood and well-being, prevent and resolve risks, and into practical actions to comprehensively and strictly govern the Party and promote self-revolution.” 要把研究解决问题作为学习的出发点和落脚点，更好把科学理论转化为推动高质量发展、增进民生福祉、防范化解风险的思路举措，转化为全面从严治党、推进自我革命的实际行动.
Next, there’s a report on the press conference by officials on the Chinese economy. Their basic argument by NDRC’s Cong Liang is that the Chinese economy has “continued to recover in August, with most indicators improving marginally and positive factors accumulating and increasing”. The officials cite a bunch of data in the report. I covered this when I covered the August economic data. SCMP has some interesting quotes from officials:
“We hear noises both internally and externally that talk down on China,” he said. “This kind of rhetoric has never been successful and will not succeed, now or in the future.” While admitting China’s economy is facing “a number of challenges and difficulties”, Cong said there is “every reason” to maintain confidence … Zou Lan, head of the monetary policy department at the People’s Bank of China, said while the yuan has depreciated against the US dollar, the Chinese currency has “maintained its strength against other non-dollar currencies”, a point which he said illustrates a more “all-rounded view” in assessing the yuan. The central bank, Zou added, still has “ample policy room to react to challenges” and will “avoid overshooting risks in the exchange rate.”
While on the economy, do check out FT’s story on FDI into China.
“Foreign investors have dumped a further Rmb23bn ($3.15bn) of Chinese equities so far this month following record outflows in August, despite tentative signs of an improvement in the world’s second-largest economy. Selling through China’s Stock Connect schemes, which allow foreign investors to trade onshore equities, has been at a slower pace so far than during the previous month when $12bn worth of stocks were sold through them. Yet Chinese equity markets are still on track for one of their biggest net monthly outflows this year. China’s CSI 300 index of top stocks has remained flat this week, despite better than expected figures for retail sales and industrial production being reported on Friday last week, and a moderate improvement in the official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) released late last month. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng China Enterprises index has shed 2 per cent this week.”
Page 7: Today’s story from the Face to Face with Chinese-style Modernisation book is about understanding people’s democracy. This is available for paid subscribers below.