Li @ East Asia Summit - New Party Chiefs for Beijing & Fujian - Biden-Xi Meeting - Data on China's 'Little Giants' - 仲音 Commentary on COVID Policy - He Lifeng on High-Quality Development
Here are the stories and pieces that I found noteworthy in the Monday, November 14, 2022, edition of the People’s Daily.
Page 1: The top story today is on Xi Jinping’s letter to young aviation workers and engineers of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China. Xi was replying to a letter that he had received. This report provides more context. Xinhua English has the full text of Xi’s letter.
“You said in the letter that you will thoroughly study and implement the spirit of the 20th Communist Party of China (CPC) National Congress to dedicate your youth to the building of China into a strong aviation country. That is great. To turn the grand blueprint drawn at the 20th CPC National Congress into reality, young people from all walks of life need to step forward to contribute as much as they can. I hope that you will continue to carry forward the spirit of serving the country by developing aviation, be of one mind for joint endeavor to promote self-reliance and self-improvement in aviation science and technology as well as the high-quality development of aviation industry. I hope that you will strive to be good young people of the new era who have lofty ideals, dare to shoulder responsibilities, and work hard, so as to make further contributions to building China into a modern socialist country in all respects and promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation at all fronts.”
The other story at the top of the page is a feature piece on promoting rural industries with local features in order to promote revitalisation. Tough to summarise this, but then I also didn’t find anything particularly interesting.
Third, there’s a report (English report) on Li Keqiang’s attendance of the East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh. Li made three proposals, which are outlined in his speech. The English version of the speech (Chinese version is on Page 2) is here.
“First, we need to maintain strategic dialogue and conduct constructive interactions. As a leaders-led strategic forum, the EAS has, since its inception, stressed the need to uphold the spirit of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and the ASEAN Way of accommodating each other’s comfort levels. The EAS has served as an important platform for regional countries to have exchange and cooperation on political and security affairs and economic development. In the face of inclinations toward geopolitical tensions and escalating hotspots, the EAS should serve as a platform for dialogue to encourage engagement and consultation among regional countries to increase mutual understanding and trust, and properly manage differences. It should avoid decoupling, and still less move toward confrontation. China has put forward the Global Security Initiative which advocates a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, presenting China’s solution to security challenges. China is ready to work with all other parties to create favorable conditions for broadening and deepening practical cooperation and to consolidate the foundation for lasting peace and stability in East Asia.”
Second, we need to pursue mutually beneficial cooperation and tackle risks and challenges together. Global threats and challenges call for global responses and real action is what matters most. East Asia is one of the regions that enjoy the biggest development and cooperation potential. Last year, China, Japan and the ROK and ASEAN contributed over 30 percent to global economic growth, and trade and investment within the region has sustained a momentum of fairly rapid expansion. We need to keep to the right direction of economic globalization, and continue to pursue trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and open and mutually beneficial cooperation. We need to work for sound implementation of the RCEP, keep the industrial and supply chains secure, stable and smooth, and push forward the regional economic integration process, to spur a sustainable recovery and growth in our region. In response to public health risks such as new infectious diseases, China will continue to support ASEAN in building regional vaccine production and distribution centers, and actively advance regional capacity-building on public health. To tackle energy security challenges, China believes it is imperative to pursue a balanced and orderly low-carbon transition, ensure accessible and secure energy supply to meet production and livelihood needs, and safeguard energy and food security. China welcomes the efforts by all in harnessing the mechanisms of the Clean Energy Forum and the New Energy Forum to enhance policy exchange and practical cooperation, in a joint effort to meet climate and ecological challenges, and advance sustainable development in the region. We look forward to an early renewal of the plan of action of the EAS, with greater input in practical cooperation in such areas as poverty reduction, to forge a stronger momentum for the development of the EAS and deliver on more development goals.
Third, we need to uphold ASEAN centrality and foster an inclusive regional architecture. Over the years, a multi-tiered and inter-connected architecture of regional cooperation has taken shape in East Asia, which has played an irreplaceable role in safeguarding regional peace, stability and prosperity. The key to its success is that it upholds ASEAN centrality, accommodates the interests of all parties, and conforms to the regional reality. While the architecture may be constantly refined in light of evolving situation, ASEAN centrality as its very foundation must not be undermined. All parties should support ASEAN centrality in East Asian cooperation. Only in this way can East Asian cooperation be strong and sustainable. China supports continued efforts in the ASEAN Way to facilitate a proper settlement of the Myanmar issue to uphold ASEAN unity and cooperation. The international community should foster a favorable external environment to this end.”
After this, the report discusses Li’s comments on the South China Sea. He said that:
“freedom of navigation in the South China Sea serves the interests of all parties. As the world's biggest trader of goods, China has 60 percent of its cargoes shipped through the South China Sea, Li said, adding that China advocates maintaining peace, stability and unimpeded shipping lanes in the South China Sea. In keeping with the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) that has been in place for 20 years and the principles of international law including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, China is ready to work with ASEAN countries to step up Code of Conduct (COC) consultations on the basis of consensus-building, Li added. All sides should support regional countries in making the South China Sea a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation, he said.”
He also spoke about China’s opening up policy. This sounds more like a message for folks back home than for folks abroad:
“The Chinese premier stressed that the achievements China has made in its economic and social development in the past four decades of reform and opening-up are attributable to a peaceful external environment and a stable region, which conform to China's interests. China follows an independent foreign policy of peace and a path of peaceful development, and pursues a win-win strategy of opening-up, he added. China will continue to bring opportunities to other countries in the world with its own development, and is ready to strengthen dialogue and cooperation with all parties to together make East Asia a better place, and jointly preserve peace and prosperity of the world, Li said.”
On Ukraine, “Li pointed out that China always stands for respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, supporting all efforts to peacefully resolve the crisis, exercising rational restraint, and opposing the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons cannot be used, and nuclear wars must not be fought, he said, urging to maintain a peaceful world order.”
Anyway, from all the reporting, it seems that the East Asia Summit did not end with a joint communique, with the US and Russia differing over language related to the war in Ukraine.
Let me focus on some other developments over the weekend.
First, leaders of the US, Japan and South Korea held a trilateral meeting. They issued a statement on the Trilateral Partnership for the Indo-Pacific. It discusses North Korea, the Ukraine war, the coup in Myanmar, cooperation related to addressing concerns of Pacific Island Countries, COVID-19, IPEF, etc. It also says:
“The Leaders strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in waters of the Indo-Pacific, including through unlawful maritime claims, militarization of reclaimed features, and coercive activities. The Leaders reiterated their firm commitment to the rule of law, including the freedom of navigation and overflight, consistent with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Prime Minister Kishida, President Yoon, and President Biden emphasize that their basic positions on Taiwan remain unchanged, and reiterate the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity in the international community.”
Prime Minister Kishida, President Yoon and President Biden are pleased to launch a dialogue among the three governments on economic security. Our countries will stand together to promote and protect our technology leadership, for the benefit of the region and the world. They will continue to ensure secure and resilient supply chains, promote Data Free Flow with Trust, enhance trilateral, regional and like-minded cooperation on critical and emerging technologies, protect critical infrastructure and strengthen resilient and diverse supply chains of critical minerals to elevate environmental, social, and governance standards in the sector. The three countries will cooperate to advance innovation and deployment of emerging technologies including Artificial Intelligence, quantum information science and technology, biotechnology, and advanced communications, including use of open-RAN technology. They will coordinate implementation of their respective initiatives on semiconductor supply chain diversification, research and development, and workforce development. The three countries will stand as one against economic coercion and in favor of sustainable and transparent lending practices.” — That bit on semiconductors is interesting because the US’ recent export controls require allies and partners to work on consonance, but that’s not likely to be easy.
Second, Joe Biden is expected to meet Xi Jinping today. Here are Biden’s comments at a press gaggle on the meeting:
Q. Mr. President, do you feel stronger coming into the meeting with President Xi Jinping? Do you feel that with this result you’re coming in stronger with President Xi Jinping?
The President: I know I’m coming in stronger, but I don’t need that. I know Xi Jinping. I’ve spent more time with him than any other world leader. I know him well. He knows me. There’s no — we have very little misunderstanding. We just got to figure out where the red lines are and what we — what are the most important things to each of us going into the next two years. And his circumstance has changed, to state the obvious, at home. And so, we’re going to have a — we’re going to have a — I think — I’ve always had straightforward discussions with him. There’s never any — any miscalculation about what each of us — where each of us stand. And I think that’s critically important in our relationship.
Here’s NSA Jake Sullivan ahead of the Biden-Xi meeting:
“President Biden was clear today in the East Asia Summit meeting what he’s intending to do, which is to make clear in the meeting tomorrow that the United States is prepared for stiff competition with China but does not seek conflict, does not seek confrontation; wants to make sure that we manage that competition responsibly and that all countries, including the United States and the PRC, should operate according to a set of well-established, agreed rules, including on freedom of navigation, on a level playing field for economics, and on refraining from the use of intimidation or coercion or aggression. So, he will communicate all of that along with a genuine willingness to work together in areas where U.S. and PRC interests converge and where it’s in the interest of the broader public good as well, whether it be climate change or public health or other issues. So, he’ll have that opportunity to sit and be totally straightforward and direct and to hear President Xi be totally straightforward and direct in return and try to come out of that meeting with a better understanding and a way to responsibly manage this relationship and the competition between the U.S. and the PRC, and come out of this meeting with areas where the two countries and the two presidents and their teams can work cooperatively on substantive issues.”
Okay back to PD. There’s a report on Yin Li becoming the new Beijing Party Secretary, taking over from Cai Qi. Also, Zhou Zuyi has become the new Fujian Party Secretary, as Yin Li moves to Beijing.
Finally, there’s a report with data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, informing that China has a total of 8,997 ‘little giant’ enterprises SMEs that specialise in strategic sectors, and more than 60,000 specialised and new small and medium-sized enterprises. 记者近日从工信部获悉：党的十八大以来，我国中小企业发展取得显著成效，创新能力加速提升，累计培育8997家专精特新“小巨人”企业、6万多家专精特新中小企业。
By the end of 2021, the number of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises nationwide was at 48 million, with the annual operating income of industrial SMEs above designated size exceeding 75 trillion yuan. In 2021, the profit rate of Little Giant enterprises specialising in new products was 10.6%, which was 4.4 percentage points higher than that of industrial SMEs. Among the ‘Little Giant’ enterprises focussed on specialisation and innovation, over 60% are deeply involved in basic industrial fields, and over 90% have become supporting enterprises at home and abroad, of which over 400 have become ‘complementary experts’ in sectors like aviation, aerospace and other fields. 截至2021年底，全国中小微企业数量达到4800万家，规模以上工业中小企业年营业收入超过75万亿元。调查数据显示，2021年，专精特新“小巨人”企业利润率为10.6%，较规上工业中小企业高4.4个百分点。专精特新“小巨人”企业中，超六成深耕工业基础领域，超九成为国内外知名企业配套，其中400多家成为航空、航天等领域的“配套专家”.
The piece then discusses the support system for these enterprises. It says that:
China has built 1,077 development promotion centres for small and medium-sized enterprises at or above the county level
It has built more than 3,800 public service demonstration platforms for small and medium-sized enterprises at or above the provincial level
There are more than 700 national public service demonstration platforms for small and medium-sized enterprises to provide services, such as technological innovation, listing counselling, transformation of innovation achievements, digital empowerment, application of intellectual property rights, industrial design, energy-saving diagnosis, etc. for specialised and new enterprises.
配套我国已建立完善政府公共服务、市场化服务、公益性服务协同行动的服务体系，建成1077家县级以上中小企业发展促进中心、3800多家省级以上中小企业公共服务示范平台，培育并鼓励700多家国家中小企业公共服务示范平台为专精特新企业提供技术创新、上市辅导、创新成果转化、数字化赋能、知识产权应用、工业设计、节能诊断等服务.
The final paragraph informs that during the 14th FYP period, the goal is to set up 100,000 specialised and new enterprises, 10,000 Little Giants and 1,000 single champion manufacturing enterprises.
Page 2: A couple of reports on Li Keqiang’s engagements in Cambodia. First, Li’s meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Xinhua reports:
“Li said the United Nations is the principal institution for upholding multilateralism. China attaches high importance to the UN's important role in safeguarding world peace and promoting common development. Against the backdrop of the current complex and fluid international situation, upholding multilateralism basically means safeguarding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and backing the UN's authority in handling international affairs, Li noted. Supporting the UN makes a contribution to world peace and development, the Chinese premier said, adding that China commends UN's new accomplishments made under Guterres' leadership. He pledged that China will, as always, strengthen cooperation with UN agencies, actively support and participate in all lines of efforts of the UN, and jointly safeguard the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, the norms in international law and international fairness and justice with all sides. Poverty inevitably undermines stability, and it is difficult to avoid conflict and unrest without narrowing the gap between North and South, said Li. China commends the UN for prioritizing the development issues facing developing countries and actively helping them ease debt burden, tackle the climate change, improve living standards, and pursue sustainable development, Li said. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and the largest developing country, China is ready to maintain close communication and coordination with the UN, do its best to help developing countries on climate change under the South-South cooperation framework, and play its constructive role on African countries' debt service suspension under the Group of 20 (G20), he said.”
Second, a report on Li’s meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Xinhua reports:
“Albanese said his country is willing to strengthen high-level exchanges with China and jointly promote the healthy development of bilateral relations. Li said that Chinese and Australian peoples enjoy traditional friendship, however, bilateral relations have gone through a difficult patch. ‘Taking office as the prime minister of the new Labor government, you expressed Australia's readiness to work with China to bring the bilateral relationship back on track,’ Li said. China is ready to meet Australia half way, and work with Australia to seize the opportunity of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations to promote sustained, sound and steady growth of China-Australia relations.”
Finally, a report on the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development announcing a list 24 cities chosen for a three-year smart construction pilot program. The program aims to:
accelerate technological innovation and improve the quality and efficiency of construction industry development; this covers six domains: digital design, intelligent production, intelligent construction, construction industry internet, construction robots, and intelligent supervision
build intelligent construction industrial clusters and cultivate new industries, new formats and new models
cultivate backbone construction enterprises with key core technologies and system solution capabilities, and enhance the international competitiveness of construction enterprises
据介绍，智能建造试点工作的预期目标主要包括3个方面：一是加快推进科技创新，提升建筑业发展质量和效益。重点围绕数字设计、智能生产、智能施工、建筑产业互联网、建筑机器人、智慧监管六大方面，挖掘一批典型应用场景，加强对工程项目质量、安全、进度、成本等全要素数字化管控，形成高效益、高质量、低消耗、低排放的新型建造方式。二是打造智能建造产业集群，培育新产业新业态新模式。三是培育具有关键核心技术和系统解决方案能力的骨干建筑企业，增强建筑企业国际竞争力.
Page 3: There are articles previewing the 29th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, which is to take place in Thailand. There are also interviews with Rebecca Sta Maria, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat and former Indonesian Speaker of the House of Representatives Marzuki Alie.
First, the interview with Rebecca Sta Maria basically talks about how excited she is about Xi Jinping’s attendance. There are few direct quotes. But she is reported to have said that “China is the major trading partner of more than 140 countries and regions, and has ranked first in the world for five consecutive years when it comes to total volume of goods trade. China's position and role in the global value chain supply chain are obvious to all. The future of China will be even more impressive.” She also says that “we should focus on cooperation rather than confrontation, so that cooperation can bring more opportunities and more positive energy,” and talks about the importance of promoting “high-standard digital economic and trade rules.”
The interview with Marzuki Alie has him saying that China had “effectively coordinated epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development”; he also hopes that “China will continue to actively promote the strengthening of macroeconomic policy coordination among all parties and promote the inclusive recovery and growth of the world economy.” 马祖基说，新冠肺炎疫情对全球物资流动造成的负面影响仍未消除。“中国高效统筹疫情防控和经济社会发展，疫情防控取得积极成效，经济社会发展取得新成绩。希望中国继续积极推动各方加强宏观经济政策协调，推动世界经济包容性复苏和增长.”
He talks about Xi’s October 3, 2013, speech at the Indonesian Parliament, which launched the Maritime Silk Road. He adds: “The joint construction of BRI is a vivid manifestation of China’s wisdom and responsibility. China adheres to the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and has set an example for promoting the common development of all countries.” 马祖基认为：“共建‘一带一路’倡议是中国智慧、中国担当的生动体现。中国坚持共商共建共享原则，为推动各国共同发展作出了典范.”
Next, there’s an essay by Lu Kang, China’s ambassador to Indonesia. These essays are always useful. They, in part, offer an assessment of what Chinese perspectives are on other countries. But they are never really negative in tone, because which ambassador would like to report back that he or she is not doing a bang-up job. So take them with a bucket of salt, but they do offer data on trade and investment, what China believes are the highlights of bilateral engagement and, of course, a comparison across essays might be helpful to notice what’s not being said and what that implies for the bilateral relationship.
He writes that after the 20th Party Congress, “Indonesian President Joko and leaders of all major Indonesian political parties congratulated China and sincerely praised China’s development achievements.” 党的二十大胜利召开后，印尼总统佐科和印尼所有主要政党领导人纷纷向中方致贺，由衷赞叹中国取得的发展成就.
He talks up the positive equation between Xi Jinping and Joko Widodo. He says that the Indonesian leader was the first head of state to visit China after the February Winter Olympics. Joko Widodo visited in July this year. He writes that “the bilateral relationship has demonstrated strong resilience and vitality and is a model of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation,” praising the “strategic guidance of the two heads of state”. 今年7月，佐科总统成功访华，成为北京冬奥会后中方接待的首位外国元首，充分体现了双方对发展中印尼关系的高度重视。两国元首确立了共建命运共同体这一大方向，两国政治、经济、人文、海上合作“四轮驱动”合作格局不断深化，双边关系彰显强劲韧性和活力，树立了发展中大国联合自强、互利共赢的典范。两国元首的战略引领，必将为构建中印尼命运共同体持续注入新动力，为世界经济复苏发展注入正能量，为促进全球公平正义作出新贡献.
In terms of economic cooperation, Lu mentions BRI, specifically work to complete the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway; he also mentions RCEP and the Two Countries, Twin Parks initiative. “China is Indonesia's largest trading partner and main source of investment, and the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has maintained a strong growth momentum. The two sides are speeding up the formulation of a new five-year action plan for the development of bilateral relations, promoting the all-round, multi-level and high-level cooperation between the two countries to develop in a broader and deeper direction, and jointly improve the well-being of the two peoples.” 中国是印尼最大贸易伙伴和主要投资来源地，两国经贸合作保持强劲增长势头。双方正加快制定双边关系发展新的五年行动计划，推动两国全方位、多层次、高水平合作向更广阔领域和更纵深方向发展，共同提升两国人民福祉水平.
He later says: “Indonesia attaches great importance to China’s important leading role in responding to global challenges. President Joko Widodo personally invited President Xi Jinping to attend the summit during his visit to China. China has always fully supported Indonesia’s work as the chair of the G20 this year, and has been closely coordinating and cooperating with Indonesia to promote the G20 to eliminate political interference and actively carry out international cooperation on issues such as food, energy, health, and climate, ensure the contribution of Asian strength in the ‘Asian moment’ of global governance, demonstrating the great strategic significance and far-reaching global influence of China-Indonesia relations.” 印尼高度重视中方在应对全球性挑战中的重要引领作用，佐科总统访华期间亲自邀请习近平主席出席峰会。中国始终全力支持印尼作为今年二十国集团主席国的工作，一直同印尼密切协调配合，推动二十国集团排除政治因素干扰，聚焦在粮食、能源、卫生、气候等问题上积极开展国际合作，合力应对事关世界经济增长前景的重大问题，在全球治理的“亚洲时刻”发挥亚洲作用、贡献亚洲力量，展现中印尼关系的重大战略意义和深远全球影响.
Two other stories to note. First, Chen Zhu, vice chairman of the NPCSC, delivered a keynote speech during a high-level dialogue of the Paris Peace Forum on Friday. The report doesn’t say anything of note with regard to his comments. But he met with First Vice President of the French Senate Roger Karoutchi, Vice President of the French National Assembly Naima Moutchou, former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin and former President of the French National Assembly Richard Ferrand.
Second, Wang Yi attended the inauguration ceremony of the Global Development Promotion Center, saying that China will build the center into an important platform to promote the GDI. Xinhua reports:
“Wang said the establishment and unveiling of the center marks new progress for China in implementing the GDI and is a new move in the effort to deepen international development cooperation. He said since the GDI was proposed, China has actively worked with the international community, pushed forward 32 important measures, and achieved important early gains, with the project pool expanding, cooperative platforms increasing, participants becoming more diverse, and interactions more frequent among them. Wang said that the Chinese modernization offers a new option for humanity to realize modernization, and that China will provide new opportunities to the world with its continued development. He said in line with the principles of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith and with commitment to the greater good and shared interests, China will increase input in international development cooperation, and make the Global Development Promotion Center an important platform for promoting the GDI, so as to inject new impetus into the realization of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
Page 4: There is a 仲音 commentary on the zero-COVID policy. The piece talks about the new 20 measures that have been announced to “further optimise the prevention and control work.” If you haven’t got the details yet, Zichen’s Pekingnology newsletter has a full translation and analysis of the measures. There’s no mention of dynamic clearing in the article.
The commentary calls on “all localities and departments to conscientiously implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee.” 各地各部门认真贯彻落实党中央决策部署. The piece adds that since the pandemic began, the Central Committee with Xi at its core has always “adhered to the principle of putting people first and life first”; it has also worked to “improve the level of precise prevention and control in different regions and at different levels, quickly and effectively dealt with local clusters of outbreaks, and achieved major positive results in coordinating epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development. This fully reflects China’s solid strength and strong ability to prevent and control the epidemic, and fully demonstrates the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and the significant advantages of the socialist system.” 不断提升分区分级差异化精准防控水平，快速有效处置局部地区聚集性疫情，统筹疫情防控和经济社会发展取得重大积极成果，充分体现了我国防控疫情的坚实实力和强大能力，充分彰显了中国共产党领导和我国社会主义制度的显著优势.
“Facts have fully proved that the general strategy of ‘preventing foreign imports and defending against an internal rebound’ has been effective, conforms to China’s national conditions and has been tested by practice.” 事实充分证明，“外防输入、内防反弹”的总策略，是符合我国国情、经过实践检验的有效举措，路子是对的，效果是好的，是我国防控疫情的制胜法宝.
According to the latest WHO data, there are over 630 million confirmed COVID-19 cases around the world and 6.58 million deaths. At present, the epidemic continues to spread all over the world, and there is still great uncertainty about its final direction. China still faces the double risk of imported cases and the spread of local outbreaks. Especially since the beginning of this year, the frequency of local outbreaks in China has increased significantly, and outbreaks have spread to wider areas. The pressure with regard to preventing foreign imports and defending against an internal rebound has been increasing, and the prevention and control situation is severe and complex. This situation calls for maintaining strategic strength, confidence in victory, and resolutely doing a good job in preventing foreign import and internal rebounding of cases. This requires more precise measures and a more solid style of work to cut off the source of infection as far as possible, control the spread of the epidemic, and resolutely prevent new outbreaks.” 世界卫生组织公布的最新数据显示，全球累计新冠确诊病例超6.3亿例，死亡病例超658万例。当前，疫情仍然在世界范围内持续流行，最终走向还存在很大不确定性，我国仍然面临境外疫情输入和本土疫情传播扩散的双重风险。特别是今年以来，全国本土疫情发生的频次明显增多，疫情波及的地区和范围比较广，我国外防输入、内防反弹的压力不断加大，防控形势仍然严峻复杂。越是在这个时候，越是要保持头脑清醒、保持战略定力、保持必胜信心，坚决抓好外防输入、内防反弹工作，举措更精准、作风更扎实，尽最大可能切断传染源、控制疫情波及范围，坚决防止疫情新燃点.
The next paragraph says that:
The spread of the infection is closely related to the movement of people who are considered risky. The greater the flow of risky personnel, the faster the spread of the infection and the larger the scope of the area that will experience clusters. To prevent imported cases, we need to closely track and analyse the trend of the global situation, strengthen port health quarantine, optimise entry procedures, implement the requirements for people, objects and the environment, quickly and accurately identify and control sources and points of risk, and implement whole-chain prevention and control from overseas to the country and from the country to homes, so as to resolutely build a solid defence line to deal with the risk of imported cases. To prevent domestic rebound, we need to improve the regular prevention and control mechanism featuring timely detection, rapid response, precise control, and effective treatment, strictly implement the requirements of early detection, early reporting, early quarantine, and early treatment, enhance our capacity to respond to local clusters of outbreaks, and keep a tight rein on epidemic prevention and control to ensure that the epidemic does not rebound. 传染病的蔓延扩散，与风险人员的流动关系密切。风险人员的流动量越大、流动的速度越快、流动的频率越高，传染病传播扩散的速度就越快；风险人员的流动距离越远，疫情传播的地域范围就越大。坚持外防输入，就是要密切跟踪和分析全球疫情走势，加强口岸卫生检疫，优化入境流程，把人、物、环境同防要求贯彻到位，快速精准识别和管控风险源、风险点，做好从境外到国门、从国门到家门的全链条防控，坚决筑起应对境外疫情输入风险的坚固防线。坚持内防反弹，就是要健全完善及时发现、快速处置、精准管控、有效救治的常态化防控机制，严格落实早发现、早报告、早隔离、早治疗要求，提升本土聚集性疫情应急处置能力，始终绷紧疫情防控这根弦，确保疫情不出现反弹.”
Towards the end, the article warns: “We must fully, accurately and comprehensively implement the decision-making arrangements of the CPC Central Committee, resolutely overcome problems such as insufficient understanding, inadequate preparation and insufficient work, resolutely overcome the thoughts of contempt (轻视), indifference (无所谓) and self-righteousness (自以为是), and further enhance the scientificity and precision of prevention and control, so as to ensure that the epidemic situation should be prevented, the economy should be stabilised and the development should be secured.” 要完整、准确、全面贯彻落实党中央决策部署，坚决克服认识不足、准备不足、工作不足等问题，坚决克服轻视、无所谓、自以为是等思想，进一步提升防控的科学性、精准性，确保疫情要防住、经济要稳住、发展要安全.
There’s a warning in the article from Xi Jinping: “A hole as big as the tip of a needle can leak through a whole lot of wind.” 针尖大的窟窿能漏过斗大的风.
Page 6: There’s a long article by He Lifeng arguing that high-quality development is the primary task of building a modern socialist country in all respects.
He begins by telling us that in the 20th Party Congress report, Xi Jinping said that “‘high-quality development is the primary task of building a modern socialist country in an all-round way. Development is the Party’s top priority in governing and rejuvenating the country. Without a solid material and technological foundation, it is impossible to build a powerful modern socialist country in all respects’… promoting high-quality development is an inevitable requirement in following the laws of economic development, maintain sustained and healthy economic development; it is an inevitable requirement to adapt to the changes in the principal contradiction of our society, to solve the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development, to effectively prevent and resolve various major risks and challenges, and to comprehensively promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese-style modernisation. 习近平总书记在党的二十大报告中强调，“高质量发展是全面建设社会主义现代化国家的首要任务。发展是党执政兴国的第一要务。没有坚实的物质技术基础，就不可能全面建成社会主义现代化强国.”...推动高质量发展是遵循经济发展规律、保持经济持续健康发展的必然要求，是适应我国社会主要矛盾变化、解决发展不平衡不充分问题的必然要求，是有效防范化解各种重大风险挑战、以中国式现代化全面推进中华民族伟大复兴的必然要求.
In the first section of the article, He makes 7 points, highlighting what has been achieved so far:
First, China has “achieved a substantial leap in economic strength”. In 2021, China’s GDP was 114.4 trillion yuan, accounting for 18.5% of the world economy, up from 11.3% in 2013. Per capita GDP equivalent in US dollars has gone from $6,301 in 2013 to $12,556. Price levels have generally been stable, more than 130 million new urban jobs have been created in the decade, and the balance of payments has remained basically balanced.
Second, China has focussed on innovation-driven development. R&D expenses as a percentage of GDP have gone up 1.91% in 2012 to 2.44% in 2021. Global Innovation index has gone up from 34 in 2012 to 11th in 2022. He points to China’s space programme, focus on green technologies, establishment of science and technology clusters and he adds: “Strategic emerging industries such as information technology, biotechnology, high-end equipment, and green development and environmental protection have grown stronger, and digital technologies such as cloud computing, big data, blockchain, and artificial intelligence have been deeply integrated with traditional industries.” 新一代信息技术、生物技术、高端装备、绿色环保等战略性新兴产业发展壮大，云计算、大数据、区块链、人工智能等数字技术与传统产业深度融合.
Third, the pace of industrial transformation and upgrading has been accelerated.
Fourth, reform and opening up have been comprehensively deepened. “The basic institutional frameworks in various fields have been basically established, and many fields have achieved historic changes, systematic reshaping, and overall reconstruction. The construction of a high-standard market system has been steadily advanced, and positive progress has been made in property rights protection and factor market system construction. We continued to deepen reforms to streamline administration, delegate power, improve regulation, and provide better services. We accelerated the formation of a market-oriented and law-based international business environment, and accelerated the development of a large, unified national market.” 全面深化改革开放，发展动力活力竞相迸发、充分涌流。各领域基础性制度框架基本确立，许多领域实现了历史性变革、系统性重塑、整体性重构。高标准市场体系建设稳步推进，产权保护和要素市场制度建设取得积极进展。持续深化简政放权、放管结合、优化服务改革，市场化法治化国际化营商环境加快形成，全国统一大市场建设加快推进. He also talks about BRI, free trade zones and RCEP in this regard.
Fifth, “ecological and environmental protection have undergone historic, transformative, and overall changes.” 努力建设美丽中国，生态环境保护发生历史性、转折性、全局性变化. “The energy consumption intensity per unit of GDP has dropped by 26.2%.”
Sixth, people’s livelihood and well-being have been continuously improved. In this, He talks about poverty alleviation, COVID-19 containment, improving equality of access to public services, etc. He writes that “the growth rate of per capita disposable income of residents is basically in sync with economic growth, with the size of the middle-income group exceeding 400 million people.” “In 2021, the retention rate of nine-year compulsory education reached 95.4%, an increase of 3.6 percentage points over 2012…” 基本公共服务均等化水平不断提高，2021年九年义务教育巩固率达到95.4%，比2012年提高了3.6个百分点，高等教育进入普及化阶段. He adds: “China has built the world's largest social safety net. The number of people covered by basic old-age insurance increased from 790 million to 1.04 billion, and the number of people covered by basic medical insurance increased from 540 million to 1.36 billion. More than 80 million government-subsidised housing units of various types have been built, and more than 200 million poor people's housing conditions have been improved.” 建成世界上最大的社会保障网，基本养老保险参保人数由7.9亿增加到10.4亿，基本医疗保险参保人数由5.4亿增加到13.6亿。累计建设各类保障性住房和棚改安置房8000多万套，2亿多困难群众住房条件得到改善。
Seventh, development and safety have been coordinated. In this he talks about food security, energy security and the enhancement “independent controllability” of industrial and supply chain security.
The second section focuses on the experiences gained over the past decade.
First, “we must uphold the Party's overall leadership over economic work.” In this, he emphasises: “Since the 18th Party Congress, the most fundamental reason why China has been able to overcome one risk and after another, promote the overall improvement of the quality and efficiency of economic development, and continue to ensure the ‘two miracles’ of economic development and social stability has been that guidance and steering of the Party Central Committee with comrade Xi Jinping as the core and the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. China's economy is like a giant ship. The greater the volume, the bigger the storm, the more important it is to steer the ship. The more complex the situation and the more arduous the tasks, the more we must give full play to the role of the Party's leadership as a ‘anchor’/定海神针. On the new journey, we must resolutely defend the Two Establishments, resolutely implement the Two Safeguards, and ensure that the Party Central Committee's strategic decisions are implemented without deviation/erroneous tendencies, compromises or distortions and that all the goals and tasks for promoting high-quality development are fulfilled in a firm and effective manner. 党的十八大以来，我国之所以能克服一个又一个风险挑战，推动经济发展质量和效益全面提升，续写经济快速发展和社会长期稳定“两大奇迹”，最根本的原因是有以习近平同志为核心的党中央领航掌舵，有习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想科学指引。中国经济像一艘巨轮，体量越大、风浪越大，领航掌舵越重要；越是形势复杂、任务艰巨，越要发挥党的领导这一“定海神针”作用。新征程上，必须坚决捍卫“两个确立”，坚决做到“两个维护”，确保执行党中央战略决策不偏向、不变通、不走样，不折不扣，坚定有力地完成好推动高质量发展各项目标任务.
Second, insist on putting people at the centre. “On the new journey, we must firmly grasp what the people are most concerned about their most direct and practical interests, make efforts to fill the shortcomings with regard to people's livelihood, do a good job in enhancing people's livelihood, and ensure that the achievements of development benefit the people in a fair and equitable manner.” 新征程上，必须紧紧抓住人民最关心最直接最现实的利益问题，着力补齐民生短板、办好民生实事，让发展成果更多更公平惠及全体人民.
Third, “we must adhere to the complete, accurate and comprehensive implementation of the new development concept.” Here, He praises Xi for making “timely adjustments to China’s development concept and thinking” and “putting forward a new development concept of innovation, coordination, green, openness and sharing.” He also calls for this to be adhered to.
Fourth, “on the new journey, we must adhere to development being the top priority, firmly grasp the problem of unbalanced and insufficient development, and focus on making up for shortcomings, strengthening our weaknesses…” 新征程上，必须坚持发展第一要务，紧紧抓住解决不平衡不充分的发展问题，着力在补短板、强弱项、固底板、扬优势上下功夫，努力实现各项目标任务.
Fifth, reform and opening up has been the key to determine the future and destiny of contemporary China, and innovation is the primary driving force for development…On the new journey, we must persist in pioneering and innovating, adhere to the direction of socialist market economy reform, adhere to a high level of opening-up, correctly handle the relationship between domestic circulation and international circulation, self-reliance and open cooperation, and constantly emancipate and develop social productive forces, so as to achieve a new leap from big to strong economy.” 改革开放是决定当代中国前途命运的关键一招，创新是引领发展的第一动力...新征程上，必须坚持开拓创新，坚持社会主义市场经济改革方向，坚持高水平开放，正确处理国内循环与国际循环、自立自强与开放合作等关系，不断解放和发展社会生产力，实现经济由大到强的新跨越.
Sixth, persist in coordinating development and security. “On the new journey, the great changes in the world unseen in a century are accelerating, and the environment facing China’s development is becoming more complex and severe. We must adhere to the bottom-line thinking, promote the modernisation of the national security system and capabilities, effectively prevent and resolve various risks and challenges, achieve a positive interaction between high-quality development and high-level security, and ensure the smooth progress of building a modern socialist country in all respects.” 新征程上，世界百年未有之大变局加速演进，我国发展面临的环境更加复杂严峻，必须坚持底线思维，推进国家安全体系和能力现代化建设，有效防范化解各类风险挑战，实现高质量发展和高水平安全的良性互动，确保全面建设社会主义现代化国家顺利推进.
The third section talks about the tasks to be carried out going forward:
First, focus on building a new development pattern. In this, he talks about the strategy of expanding domestic demand with the deepening of supply-side structural reforms.
Second, focus on improving total factor productivity. In this, he calls for “in-depth implementation of the strategy of rejuvenating the country through science and education, the strategy of strengthening the country through talents, and the strategy of innovation-driven development…further strengthening basic research, applied research and the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, and resolutely winning the tough battle of key core technologies.” 深入实施科教兴国战略、人才强国战略、创新驱动发展战略，推动教育优先发展、科技自立自强、人才引领驱动。'进一步加强基础研究、应用研究和科技成果转化，坚决打赢关键核心技术攻坚战.
Third, focus on improving the resilience and security level of the industrial and supply chains. The goal is to build independent, controllable, secure and reliable industrial and supply chains. He calls for “accelerating the development of advanced manufacturing clusters, expanding strategic emerging industries such as intelligent manufacturing, life and health, and new materials, making the digital economy bigger, stronger, and better, and further promoting the digital transformation of traditional industries and the innovative development of digital industries.” He also calls for implementing the strictest farmland protection system, adhering to the self-reliance of agricultural science and technology, consolidating the foundation of stable and increased grain production, and ensuring national food security. Constantly improving and developing new production, supply, storage and marketing systems for oil, natural gas, coal, electricity and other energy sources, and ensuring the security of energy and strategic mineral resources.” 加快发展先进制造业集群，壮大智能制造、生命健康、新材料等战略性新兴产业，做大做强做优数字经济，深入推进传统产业数字化转型和数字产业创新发展。落实最严格的耕地保护制度，坚持农业科技自立自强，夯实粮食稳产增产基础，保障国家粮食安全。不断健全和发展石油、天然气、煤炭、电力等能源新型的产供储销体系，保障能源和战略性矿产资源安全.
Fourth, focus on integrated development of urban and rural areas and coordinated regional development.
Fifth, focus on building a high-level socialist market economic system and adhere to the two unwavering. In this, he calls for advancing “market-oriented reform of competitive links in the energy, railway, telecommunications, public utilities and other industries” and setting up “traffic lights for capital, strengthening effective supervision over capital in accordance with the law, and regulating and guiding the sound development of capital in accordance with the law.” 推进能源、铁路、电信、公用事业等行业竞争性环节市场化改革。为资本设置“红绿灯”，依法加强对资本的有效监管，依法规范和引导资本健康发展。
Sixth, focus on promoting high-level opening up.
Seventh, focus on green and low-carbon development.
Eighth, focus on improving people's quality of life.
Other Stories:
Finally, outside of PD, this story on easing of restrictions for the property sector is worth noting. The Guardian reports:
“Chinese authorities have unveiled sweeping measures to rescue the struggling property sector, as regulators seek to offset years of harsh pandemic curbs and a real estate crackdown that have stalled the world’s No 2 economy. The banking regulator and central bank issued a 16-point set of internal directives to promote the “stable and healthy development” of the industry. The measures include credit support for debt-laden housing developers, financial support to ensure completion and handover of projects to homeowners, and assistance for deferred-payment loans for homebuyers.”
The report adds: “The new measures emphasised “guaranteeing the handover of buildings”, and ordered development banks to provide “special loans” for the purpose, according to a copy circulating online. The document ordered financial institutions to treat state-owned and private real estate enterprises equally and told them to “actively [cooperate] with distressed real estate enterprises in risk management”. The measures also included extending real estate loans for distressed developers.”
WSJ’s report on this has some interesting comments:
“These property measures, on top of announcements of Covid loosening, are a clear indication that Beijing’s efforts to support growth are intensifying,” said Michael Hirson, head of China Research at 22V Research, a New York-based firm focused on investment strategy.
The new measures are “massive in scale” and amount to “targeted credit easing for the property industry,” said Dan Wang, chief economist at Hang Seng Bank China, who drew a contrast with previous rounds of incremental support measures. As developers face looming loan repayment deadlines, regulators are eager to avoid any systemic risks in the financial sector triggered by a wave of potential defaults, Ms. Wang said. Even so, she added, “demand for home purchase remains weak,” with any reversal in housing-market sentiment likely to depend on the longer-term outlook for the economy.
“Regulators are making all-round efforts to target a soft landing for the property sector,” said Bruce Pang, chief China economist at Jones Lang LaSalle. Still, with the measures’ heavy skew toward improving liquidity for cash-strapped developers, he said, “these measures likely aren’t enough to avert the slowdown in the physical market.”