Li Meets CEOs - NPCSC Meeting Wrap - China & Japan High-level Political Dialogue - Xu Feihong's Wishlist for India: Ease Visas, Restart Direct Flights, Lift Investment Curbs & Let's Talk Bollywood

Here are the key reports and articles that I found noteworthy from the People’s Daily’s edition on Tuesday, November 05, 2024.

Page 1: The lead reports today are about Xi Jinping’s letter to members of a grassroots lecture program in Shanghai 老杨树宣讲汇. Xinhua explains that “the program’s primary task is to provide lectures to urban community residents on topics such as the Party's new theories and the concept of a people-oriented city. The lecturers consist of retired officials, military officers, experts, teachers, and role models.”

The report adds: Xi told them that “the initiative is a meaningful approach to recount historical events, explain the Party’s new theories, and share the positive changes in the city with residents by blending the lecture content with the lecturers' personal experiences. Underlining the principle that cities should be built by the people and for the people, Xi called on the members of the program to inspire more people to embrace and implement the concept of a people-oriented city.”

Next, there’s a report on Premier Li Qiang meeting with exhibitors and buyers at CIIE. The meeting was attended by the heads of  companies like Synopsys, Zeiss Medical, Hexagon, General Electric, SK Group, Merck, China FAW, and Xiaomi. As per the report:

“The representatives of enterprises participating in the forum said that they have personally participated in and witnessed China’s economic and social development, and appreciate the efforts made by the Chinese government in continuously relaxing market access, improving the business environment, and supporting the development of enterprises. China’s further comprehensive deepening of reform and expansion of opening up, especially the vigorous development of new quality productive forces and the promotion of high-quality development, will bring more development opportunities to all types of enterprises, including foreign enterprises in China. The representatives of foreign-funded enterprises were optimistic and said that they will continue to deepen their presence in the Chinese market, expand investment in China, accelerate innovation and integrated development, and make greater efforts to promote global sustainable development.” 参加座谈的企业代表表示，他们亲身参与并见证了中国经济社会发展，赞赏中国政府在持续放宽市场准入、改善营商环境、支持企业发展方面所作的努力。中国进一步全面深化改革、扩大开放特别是大力发展新质生产力、推进高质量发展，将为包括在华外国企业在内的各类企业带来更多发展机遇。外资企业代表表示看好并将持续深耕中国市场，扩大在华投资，加快创新和融合发展，为促进全球可持续发展作出更大努力.

After hearing them, Li Qiang said that:

The CIIE “has become a globally shared international public good and an important platform for mutual engagement, cooperation, and win-win outcomes between China and the world. Regardless of changes in the international landscape, China’s door will only open wider and wider. Against the backdrop of the current weak recovery of the world economy and insufficient growth momentum, China’s economic operation is generally stable and has made steady progress. We have the ability to promote the continued recovery of the economy and ensure the continuous expansion and improvement of the market, creating new development space for trade expansion, investment and business, and innovative applications for enterprises from all countries. The Chinese market is still one of the best choices for enterprises from all countries. China will further relax market access, promote orderly expansion of opening up in telecommunications, education, culture, medical care and other fields, and continue to optimise the business environment, respond to corporate concerns in a timely manner, help companies solve practical problems, and provide fair opportunities in terms of factor acquisition, qualification licensing, and participation in government procurement.” 李强表示，进博会已经成为全球共享的国际公共产品和促进中国与世界双向奔赴、合作共赢的重要平台。无论国际风云如何变幻，中国开放的大门只会越开越大。在当前世界经济复苏乏力、增长动能不足的背景下，中国经济运行总体平稳、稳中有进，我们有能力推动经济持续回升向好、市场不断扩容提质，为各国企业带来更加广阔的贸易拓展、投资兴业、创新应用的发展新空间，中国市场仍是各国企业的最佳选择之一。中国将进一步放宽市场准入，推动电信、教育、文化、医疗等领域有序扩大开放，同时持续优化营商环境，及时回应企业关切，帮助企业解决实际问题，在要素获取、资质许可、参与政府采购等方面提供公平机会.

The report adds that Li “expressed the hope that foreign-funded enterprises will continue to take root in the Chinese market, bring more high-quality goods and services to China, and deepen cooperation with Chinese buyers and other enterprises, not only using China as an export destination, but also as an important investment and entrepreneurship destination…” He also “Chinese and foreign entrepreneurs will continue to firmly support economic globalisation, integrate resources, plan industry layout, and expand markets on a global scale, continuously deepening trade and investment cooperation and collaboration in the division of labour within industries, jointly promoting the stable and smooth operation of global industrial and supply chains, and safeguarding economic globalisation and free trade.” He finally called on them to “strengthen joint research and coordinated efforts to tackle key challenges, jointly promote technological advancement and industrial upgrading, and foster and expand new drivers of world economic growth.” 李强表示，希望外资企业继续扎根中国市场，把更多高品质商品和服务带到中国，同时深化和中国采购商等企业合作，不仅将中国作为出口地，也作为重要的投资地、创业地，推动中国和世界市场更好对接。希望中外企业家继续坚定支持经济全球化，在世界范围内整合资源、布局产业、拓展市场，持续深化贸易投资合作和产业分工协作，共促全球产业链供应链稳定畅通，维护经济全球化和自由贸易。希望大家顺应新一轮科技革命和产业变革大趋势，加强联合研发、协同攻关，共同推动技术进步和产业升级，培育壮大世界经济增长的新动能.

Next, there’s a report on the much-awaited NPCSC meeting, which is expected to offer clues about the next round of stimulus. Xinhua summarises the deliberations thus far by saying:

“Lawmakers reviewed a draft preschool education law, a draft revision to the Law on Protection of Cultural Relics, a draft revision to the Mineral Resources Law, a draft energy law, and a draft revision to the Anti-Money Laundering Law. They deliberated a draft amendment to the Law on Supervision by the Standing Committees of the People’s Congresses at All Levels, a draft amendment to the Law on Deputies to the National People’s Congress and to the Local People’s Congresses at Various Levels, a draft revision to the Arbitration Law, a draft revision to the Maritime Law, and a draft revision to the Law on Popularization of Science and Technology. Lawmakers also reviewed a State Council bill on raising ceilings on local government debt to replace existing hidden debts, several reports on handling proposals submitted by lawmakers, a deputy qualification report, and personnel-related bills, among others.”

Some of the specifics reported in PD are:

• Xu Hui, Vice Chairman of the NPC’s Constitution and Law Committee, shared a report on the draft preschool education law. Xu said that the current draft of the bill, i.e., the third draft of the bill, clarifies that the state will establish and improve a preschool education guarantee mechanism to reduce the cost of family childcare and education. It will further strengthen relevant safety supervision work. In addition, it will standardize the personal information processing activities involving preschool children, protecting the reputation, privacy and other legal rights of preschool children; and it will improve the relevant regulations on the management of kindergarten teachers and staff. 　　会议听取了全国人大宪法和法律委员会副主任委员徐辉作的关于学前教育法草案审议结果的报告。草案三审稿明确国家建立健全学前教育保障机制，降低家庭保育教育成本；进一步加强相关安全监管工作；增加鼓励开发和推广符合学前儿童需求的作品、产品和研究成果相关规定；规范涉及学前儿童的个人信息处理活动，保护学前儿童的名誉、隐私和其他合法权益；完善幼儿园教职工管理相关规定等.

• Xin Chunying, head of the NPC’s Constitution and Law Committee, discussed the revision to the Law on Protection of Cultural Relics.

• Wang Hongxiang, deputy director of the Constitution and Law Committee, talked about the draft revision to the Mineral Resources Law. Wang said that the changes “enrich the content of basic geological survey work; add content to promote international cooperation in the field of mineral resources; further improve the mining land system; strengthen the management of tailings ponds created due to mineral resource extraction work in order to prevent security risks; and further strengthens ecological restoration work in mining areas.” 会议听取了宪法和法律委员会副主任委员王洪祥作的关于矿产资源法修订草案审议结果的报告。草案三审稿充实基础地质调查工作的内容；增加促进矿产资源领域国际合作的内容；进一步完善矿业用地制度；对开采矿产资源形成的尾矿库加强管理，防范安全风险；进一步加强矿区生态修复工作等。

• Zhou Guangquan, Vice Chairman of the NPC’s Constitution and Law Committee, talked about the draft energy law. Zhou said that “the third draft includes new provisions for the state to promote the establishment of a new standard system in the energy sector and actively promote market-based energy-saving services like contract energy management. It also stipulates that energy users should actively participate in ‘energy demand response’ and includes additional provisions to guide energy users in promoting energy conservation and improving energy efficiency.” 会议听取了宪法和法律委员会副主任委员周光权作的关于能源法草案审议结果的报告。草案三审稿增加国家推动能源领域新型标准体系建设，积极推广合同能源管理等市场化节约能源服务的规定；规定能源用户应当积极参与“能源需求响应”，增加规定引导能源用户促进节约能源和提高能源利用效率等. Xinhua English’s report has more details: “To ensure energy security and green and low-carbon transition, the latest version adds a provision that says the country shall establish and improve an energy standard system to ensure energy security and green and low-carbon transition, and promote the development of new energy technologies, industries and business forms… (the current draft stipulates that) China will accelerate building a new type of power system and improve the grid’s ability to accept, allocate and regulate clean energy. Some lawmakers proposed that clean energy includes renewable energy and nuclear energy. Nuclear energy generation is more stable and different from renewable energy generation such as wind and solar energy. They proposed to modify ‘clean energy’ to ‘renewable energy’. The latest version covers more detailed provisions on the responsibilities of energy enterprises to secure adequate supply and adds a provision that energy enterprises ‘shall not collect fees illegally’. It adds a provision that the energy regulatory authority of the State Council, together with other departments of the State Council, shall strengthen guidance and coordination on energy emergency work across provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities.”

• Huang Ming, deputy director of the NPC’s Constitution and Law Committee, discussed the draft revision to the Anti-Money Laundering Law. Huang said that “the third draft further clarifies the conditions for financial institutions to adopt anti-money laundering risk management measures; adds provisions stating that sharing anti-money laundering information should comply with laws on information protection; and stipulates that if money laundering risk management measures involve basic and necessary financial services for customers, financial institutions should handle them in a timely manner.” 会议听取了宪法和法律委员会副主任委员黄明作的关于反洗钱法修订草案审议结果的报告。草案三审稿进一步明确金融机构采取洗钱风险管理措施的条件；增加规定共享反洗钱信息应当符合有关信息保护的法律规定；增加规定洗钱风险管理措施涉及客户基本的、必需的金融服务的，金融机构应当及时处理等.

• Shen Chunyao, deputy director of the NPC’s Constitution and Law Committee, discussed the changes to the Law on Supervision by the Standing Committees of the People’s Congresses at All Levels. Shen said that “the second draft of the bill improves the relevant provisions of the annual supervision work plan; adds annual hearing and review of reports on environmental conditions and the completion of environmental protection goals and reports on government debt management; clarifies good practices in law enforcement inspections in the law; and adds relevant provisions for strengthening the connection and coordination of filing and review. 会议听取了宪法和法律委员会副主任委员沈春耀作的关于监督法修正草案审议结果的报告。草案二审稿完善年度监督工作计划的相关规定；增加每年听取和审议关于环境状况和环境保护目标完成情况的报告、政府债务管理情况的报告等内容；将执法检查中好的实践做法在法律中予以明确；增加备案审查衔接联动机制的相关规定等.

• The State Council submitted the draft revisions to the Arbitration Law, draft revision to the Maritime Law and draft revision of the Science and Technology Popularization Law for review.

• The meeting reviewed the State Council’s motion to increase the local government debt limit to replace implicit outstanding debt. Lan Fo’an, Minister of Finance, provided an explanation on behalf of the State Council. Xu Hongcai, Deputy Chairman of the NPC Financial and Economic Affairs Committee, provided a report on the review results of the motion. 会议审议了国务院关于提请审议增加地方政府债务限额置换存量隐性债务的议案。受国务院委托，财政部部长蓝佛安作了说明。全国人大财政经济委员会副主任委员许宏才作了关于该议案的审查结果报告.

Next, there’s a report on Vice President Han Zheng meeting with a delegation of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, or Keizai Doyukai, in Beijing on Monday. 

Han said that last month, President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to Shigeru Ishiba on his election as Prime Minister of Japan, and pointed out that he hoped that Japan would work with China to meet each other halfway, abide by the principles and consensus of the four political documents between China and Japan, comprehensively promote the strategic and mutually beneficial relationship between the two countries, and strive to build a constructive and stable China-Japan relationship that meets the requirements of the new era.” 韩正表示，上个月，习近平主席致电祝贺石破茂当选日本首相，指出希望日方同中方相向而行，恪守中日四个政治文件的原则和共识，全面推进两国战略互惠关系，致力于构建契合新时代要求的建设性、稳定的中日关系.

Xinhua English summarises the rest: “Han noted that the economic and trade cooperation between China and Japan has a sound foundation, large space and strong complementarity, calling on the two sides to tap the potential of cooperation and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results at a higher level. China's door to the outside world will open even wider, Han said, expressing the hope that the Keizai Doyukai will give full play to its own advantages and encourage Japanese companies to have a comprehensive and accurate understanding of China and seize China's development opportunities.”

There’s also a long article on the page discussing the “high-quality development of social work in the new era”. I am not covering this.

Page 2: There’s a report on Wang Yi and Takeo Akiba, special adviser to the Japanese cabinet and secretary general of Japan’s National Security Secretariat, holding consultations under the China-Japan high-level political dialogue mechanism in Beijing on Monday. Xinhua reports:

Wang said that “China-Japan relations are at a critical stage of improvement”. He added that “the two sides should follow the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, stick to the right direction of improving and developing bilateral relations, and build a constructive and stable China-Japan relationship that meets the requirements of the new era. Wang said the Japanese side should establish an objective and rational understanding of China, honor its political commitment on the Taiwan question and earnestly safeguard the political foundation of China-Japan relations, urging the Japanese side to take concrete actions to implement the important consensus of ‘being each other's cooperation partners rather than threats’, and promote the steady and long-term development of bilateral ties.”

• The two sides reiterated that they will abide by the principles and consensus set out in the four political documents between China and Japan and commit to comprehensively advancing the strategic relationship of mutual benefit between the two sides, reaching agreement to maintain high-level intercourse, dialogue and exchanges in various fields, and send more positive signals to the outside world.

• The two sides believed that China and Japan, as two important neighbours with development closely linked to each other and highly complementary economies, should not and will not decouple, pledging to jointly promote the healthy development of economic and trade cooperation and the stable and smooth production and supply chain.

• The two sides discussed the issue of the discharge of Fukushima nuclear contaminated water into the sea and agreed to accelerate the follow-up and implementation of the bilateral political consensus.

• The two sides also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern. Wang Yi stressed that China is firmly committed to the path of peaceful development, pursues a national defence policy that is defensive in nature, and is a major country with the best record of peace and security. China will continue to uphold fairness and justice to prevent war and chaos in the region. It is hoped that all parties will jointly resist non-regional forces inciting confrontation in the area and take concrete actions to safeguard regional peace and stability.

Next, there’s a combined report on Li Qiang’s meetings with the Prime Ministers of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan at the sidelines of the CIIE. 

Xinhua’s report on Li’s meeting with Kazakh PM Olzhas Bektenov reports Li saying that:

“China is ready to work with Kazakhstan to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, deepen political mutual trust, firmly support each other on issues concerning each other’s core interests, continue to expand mutually beneficial cooperation and bring more benefits to the two peoples. Li pointed out that China is willing to strengthen the docking of development strategies with Kazakhstan, take high-quality Belt and Road cooperation as the guide, continue to expand bilateral trade, consolidate production capacity and investment cooperation, create highlights in energy and mineral cooperation, enhance the level of connectivity and push for more practical results. He called on the two countries to jointly work for the success of the Year of Chinese Tourism in Kazakhstan next year, strengthen cooperation in culture, education, sub-national and other fields, and enhance mutual understanding and amity between the two peoples. China stands ready to coordinate closely with Kazakhstan within multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the China-Central Asia mechanism, actively implement the three global initiatives, practice genuine multilateralism, safeguard economic globalization and free trade, and promote the development of global governance toward a more just and equitable direction, Li said.”

Xinhua’s report on the meeting with Uzbek PM Abdulla Aripov says that:

“China will work with Uzbekistan to transform those common understandings into concrete actions and cooperation results so as to bring more benefits to the people of the two countries, Li said. China and Uzbekistan should always view their relations from a strategic, long-term perspective, provide firm mutual support on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns, and be trustworthy friends and partners, Li said. The two countries should further align their development strategies, expand economic and trade cooperation, strengthen connectivity infrastructure construction, and build the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway into a flagship project of the Belt and Road cooperation, he said. Li also stressed tapping into cooperation potential in emerging industries such as new energy, the digital economy, artificial intelligence, cross-border e-commerce, 5G and green mining. China stands ready to strengthen cooperation with Uzbekistan in areas such as culture, education, tourism and poverty reduction, and to facilitate the people-to-people exchange, Li said. The two countries should continue to strengthen their coordination and cooperation within multilateral mechanisms such as the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the China-Central Asia Mechanism, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the two countries and all other developing countries, he added.”

Page 3: There’s a report on the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology holding an event to discuss the pilot program to expand opening-up in value-added telecom services in four designated areas in Beijing, Shanghai, Hainan and Shenzhen. This was announced in late October. Xinhua had then reported that “the pilot program allows foreign investors to operate wholly-owned businesses such as internet data centers and engage in online data processing and transaction processing in the designated areas. They will also have greater access to China’s cloud computing service and computing power service markets”.

Page 6: There’s a report on the CMC’s Political Work Department beginning work to recruit university graduates. The report says that the direct selection and recruitment targets are mainly selected from among fresh science and engineering graduates engaged in ‘Double First-Class’ universities and disciplines. For specialties urgently needed and in shortage, candidates can also be selected in appropriate numbers from non-‘Double First-Class’ universities and disciplines, but must be from undergraduate programs that were admitted in the first batch of enrollment. At present, the goal is to have over 800 military (police) officer positions for open recruitment. 

Other Stories:

First, Xinhua reports that China on Monday appealed to the WTO against the EU’s final ruling of countervailing measures on Chinese electric vehicles. China firmly opposes the final measures of the EU to impose high countervailing duties on Chinese-made EVs, despite a barrage of objections raised by relevant parties, including the governments of EU member states, the industry and the public, said the Ministry of Commerce. To safeguard the development interests of the EV industry and global cooperation on green transformation, China decided to make the appeal to the WTO dispute settlement mechanism. The complaint followed China's previous appeal to the organization against the EU’s initial anti-subsidy measures for Chinese EVs, according to the ministry. China believes that the EU’s ruling, lacking factual and legal basis while violating WTO rules, is an abuse of trade remedy measures and a practice of trade protectionism in the name of countervailing, the ministry’s spokesperson noted. China has urged the EU to face up to its own mistakes, immediately correct its illegal practices, and jointly safeguard the stability of the global EV industrial chain and supply chain as well as the overall China-EU economic and trade cooperation, the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, the EU’s incoming trade chief Maros Sefcovic believes that China is the bloc’s “most challenging trade partner”. 

Second, SCMP reports that “a historical drama about Chinese President Xi Jinping’s late father, Xi Zhongxun, will be shown on state television from Tuesday – the first time his story has been dramatised for TV. The first episode of Time in the Northwest will make its debut during prime time on CCTV’s main channel, according to a trailer aired on Sunday. The series spans 25 years of Xi Zhongxun’s life – from 1927 to 1952 – across 40 episodes as he rises from the son of poor farmers in rural Shaanxi province to lead the Communist Party revolution in China’s northwest, news website The Paper reported on Sunday. It said the series highlighted Xi Zhongxun’s efforts to mobilise support for a revolutionary base in Yanan, Shaanxi, to address ethnic and religious issues in the region, and to drive economic development. The series is set against the backdrop of the failed First United Front – an alliance between the party and the Kuomintang – and the building of the party’s revolutionary bases in Shaanxi and Gansu provinces.”

Third, China’s ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, delivered an interesting speech at the Merchants' Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MCCI) event in Kolkata recently. Some useful points from that are:

• Xu’s summary of the Modi-Xi meeting: “The two sides reached a series of common understandings, including strengthening communication and cooperation, enhancing strategic mutual trust; holding talks between our foreign ministers and officials at various levels to bring the relationship back to sound and steady development at an early date; making good use of the Special Representatives mechanism on the China-India boundary question, ensure peace and tranquility in the border areas, and find a fair and reasonable settlement; strengthening communication and cooperation in multilateral fora to safeguard the common interests of developing countries.”

• “This year, the Chinese Embassy and Consulates in India have issued over two hundred and forty thousand visas (240,000 visas), 80% of which were business visas. This shows the vitality of economic and trade exchanges between the two countries.”

• “Chinese companies have made important contributions to local development and exports. Facts show that China-India commercial exchanges are inseparable. Indian media reported that some electronic, chemical, and renewable energy products still need to be imported from China. Imposing tariffs and restrictions on Chinese products is not conducive to the development of downstream industries and the interests of consumers in India. Indian companies need highly skilled workers from China to install equipment and carry out repairs. The Chief Economic Advisor of the Indian Government also called for more investment from China in the new ‘Economic Survey’.”

• “China is advancing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization. India has also put forward the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’. The two countries have the same development goals and broad prospects for cooperation. China wants to develop well for itself, and hopes India will develop well too. No country understands better than China what a great cause it is to enable more than 1.4 billion Indians to live a good life, and how much effort it requires. We would like to work with India to help each other succeed, achieve common development and revitalization, promote the unity and cooperation of the Global South, and join hands to build a community with a shared future for mankind.”

• “This September, I met with Chairmen of some of India’s leading companies during my visit to Gujarat and Maharashtra. These entrepreneurs have studied the policies proposed by the Third Plenary Session, and are even familiar with important concepts such as ‘new quality productive forces’. I believe that these entrepreneurs pay close attention to the latest developments in China because they think that China’s policies will bring new development opportunities to all countries, including India.”

Xu then made three proposals:

• First, he called for closer commercial ties. “India’s high-quality products will have broad business opportunities in China. In fact, in Fiscal Year 2024, some products that the Indian industry promoted, such as pepper, iron ore, and cotton yarn have achieved an increase of more than 17%, 160%, and 240% in exports to China. China welcomes more Indian companies to make full use of platforms such as the China International Import Expo to help more Indian high-quality products to be exported to China and share China’s development dividends.” (Note: It is worth highlighting that there is no comment from Xu on non-tariff barriers that the Indian side has complained about for a while.)

• Second, he talked about FDI. “Actively attracting FDI and effectively protecting the rights and interests of foreign enterprises are the reasons behind China’s rapid development…By maintaining the stability and continuity of FDI policies, China continues to consolidate the confidence of foreign companies in China. The Third Plenary Session proposed that all restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing industry be removed comprehensively, and foreign companies are encouraged to participate in the Chinese upstream and downstream supply chains. Indian companies can enhance ‘Make in India’ by ‘investing in China’. At the same time, the industrial structures of China and India are highly complementary. India has a competitive edge in IT, software and biomedicine, while China is seeing rapid expansion in electronic manufacturing and emerging industries. India is in a major drive to improve infrastructure, an area where China has rich experience. Companies of both countries, if connected, will produce an effect of ‘1+1=11’. Such cooperation will help to sustain economic growth in both countries and inject new dynamism into the global economy. The business community hopes that India will lift its restrictions on investment and government procurement against neighboring countries, so as to promote common development of industries and benefit the people of the two nations.” (Note: This is a direct demand from the Chinese side for India to take back the investment scrutiny that began with Press Note 3 in April 2020.)

• Third, people-to-people engagement. Xu said that “as two large ancient civilizations with a population of over 1.4 billion, relaxing visa restrictions and restarting direct flights will have great significance. It will enhance people-to-people exchanges and bring the relationship between the two nations back to sound and steady development at an early date. In 2024, the number of Chinese outbound tourists is expected to reach one hundred and thirty million. India should not miss this opportunity. Furthermore, China and India can strengthen cooperation in the movie industry. During my visit to Mumbai last month, I passed many Bollywood filming locations such as Bandra Fort and ‘Queen’s Necklace’. The well-developed film industry in India left a deep impression on me. Indian films, including ‘Dangal’ or Wrestling Competition, and ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ are very popular in China. China and India can strengthen cooperation in the movie sector and promote mutual understanding between the two peoples.” (Note: I support this recommendation. Easing visas and restarting direct flights is a no-brainer to me. When it comes to movies and entertainment, I think this is for Beijing to act upon, and I hope Xu will make the case at home. China imposes artificial barriers to limit foreign entertainment content; a lot of this is protectionism in the garb of political control. I agree with Amb. Xu, Beijing must allow for Indian movies, television, music, etc, greater access to the Chinese market.)

In the meantime, if you are interested in how the patrolling agreement is shaping up, Rajat Pandit reports for the Times of India that the Indian “Army ‘successfully’ undertook a full-fledged patrol to one of the five patrolling points (PPs) in the Depsang Plains in eastern Ladakh on Monday, after conducting similar patrols in Demchok last week.” With the first one done, the Indian side will be sending patrols to the four other PPs in the area now. The report adds that the “Army now has ‘unrestricted access’ to the five PPs in Depsang and and two in Demchok, which was earlier blocked by Chinese soldiers.” The report adds: “The PLA, too, is conducting similar patrols with advance information to India to prevent the possibility of any clash.”