Pakistan's Sharif's Visit to China - Han Zheng in Singapore - PLA & PAP Study Congress Spirit - Guidelines on CMC's Chairman Responsibility System - China's Road Building - Li on Nuclear Cooperation
Here are the stories and pieces that I found noteworthy in the Thursday, November 3, 2022, edition of the People’s Daily.
Page 1: The top story on the page today is around the visit of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Xinhua English has a good summary of Xi’s comments.
“Noting that China and Pakistan are good friends, good partners and good brothers, Xi said amid global changes and instability in recent years, the two countries have supported each other and forged ahead, demonstrating an ironclad friendship. ‘China views its relations with Pakistan from a strategic and long-term perspective, and Pakistan has always been a high priority in China's neighborhood diplomacy,’ Xi said. China is ready to work with Pakistan to elevate the level of all-round strategic cooperation, speed up efforts to build a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era, and inject new impetus into their all-weather strategic cooperative partnership, according to Xi. Xi stressed that China commends Pakistan's firm commitment to advancing friendship and cooperation with China, and expressed appreciation for Pakistan's support on issues vital to China's core and major concerns. China will continue to firmly support Pakistan in safeguarding its sovereignty, territorial integrity, development interests and dignity, and in achieving unity, stability, development and prosperity, the Chinese president said.”
Xi then talked about the floods in Pakistan, saying that China “will provide additional emergency relief to help with post-flood reconstruction” and “supports Pakistan's efforts to revive agricultural production, and will strengthen cooperation with Pakistan on disaster prevention and relief and climate change.”
He then talked about making “CPEC an exemplar of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.” The report adds: “It is important to accelerate the construction of auxiliary infrastructure for Gwadar Port to unleash its role in driving interconnected development in the region, Xi said, hoping the two sides will work together to create conditions for the early implementation of the upgradation of the Main Line-1 (ML-1) and the Karachi Circular Railway project. ‘Pakistan is welcome to export more quality agri-products to China,’ Xi said, adding that China will work with Pakistan to expand cooperation in digital economy, e-commerce, and photovoltaic and other new-energy technologies, and take solid steps to advance cooperation concerning agriculture, science, technology and people's livelihood. He said China will continue to do its best to support Pakistan in stabilizing its financial situation. China supports its provinces with a strong industry in pairing up with Pakistani partners to advance industrial cooperation, and hopes the Pakistani side will provide a sound business environment.” — Quick take: There doesn’t seem to be any new commitment here on the financial situation; instead, it seems like Xi wants Pakistan to do more to facilitate advancement of BRI projects.
Then Xi expresses his concern about security: “I am highly concerned about the safety of the Chinese people in Pakistan, and hope that the Pakistan side will provide a reliable and safe environment for Chinese institutions and personnel working on cooperation projects there.” 我高度牵挂在巴中国人的安全问题，希望巴方为赴巴基斯坦开展合作的中国机构和人员提供可靠安全环境.
Finally, “Xi pointed out that the world, our times and history are changing in ways like never before. Facing a highly uncertain world, both sides should stand on the right side of history, keep up their strong cooperation in multilateral mechanisms, and work closely on major international and regional issues so as to uphold true multilateralism, international fairness and justice and the shared interests of developing countries, and inject certainty and positives into the world. China will work with Pakistan to advance the operationalization of the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, make the global economic governance system fairer, more equitable, inclusive and mutually beneficial, and build a community with a shared future for mankind.”
Sharif, as per Xinhua, then launched into fulsome praise for Xi and China’s assistance for Pakistan:
He praised Xi’s “dynamic leadership” for leading to the “miracle of great development achievements” for China. He said that China had “lived up to its responsibility as a major country” in “safeguarding world peace and development.” He praised Xi for his “extraordinary vision,” and said “no country has ever helped Pakistan or other developing countries with such wholehearted sincerity” as China. He reiterated Pakistan’s “firm commitment to the one-China policy and its firm support for China's position on issues concerning China's core interests including Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong.” He also backed GDI and GSI.
Important to note that Wang Yi and He Lifeng were part of the meeting. Also worth noting was the wearing of masks throughout, which is unlike what we saw in the recent visit of Vietnam’s CPV leader Trong.
That said, Li Keqiang didn’t wear a mask in his meeting with Sharif. This meeting is also covered on the front page. In his remarks, Li referenced the enhanced version of the security plan to protect Chinese personnel working in Pakistan, which was agreed upon in May 2022 between Wang Yi and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
Li called on Sharif to “make every effort to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, institutions and projects in Pakistan.” He added that “China is willing to ensure the smooth operation of flights between the two countries and ensure the healthy and orderly exchanges of bilateral personnel on the premise of doing a good job in pandemic prevention.” 以商签《维护在巴中方人员、项目和机构安全加强版工作方案》为契机，全力保障中方在巴人员、机构和项目安全。中方愿在做好防疫工作前提下确保两国航班平稳运行，保障双边人员健康、有序往来.
The report adds that “the two sides also exchanged in-depth views on international and regional issues of common concern. After the talks, the two prime ministers jointly witnessed the signing of a number of intergovernmental cooperation agreements on economy and trade, e-commerce, digital economy, culture, law enforcement and security.” 双方还就共同关心的国际和地区问题深入交换了意见。会谈后，两国总理共同见证了经贸投资、电子商务、数字经济、文化、执法安全等多项政府间合作协议的签署. - One of these agreements is an MoU with the State Bank of Pakistan to establish renminbi (RMB) clearing arrangements in Pakistan.
Staying with the Sharif visit. The Pakistani PM also met with Li Zhanshu, while the visiting foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari met with Wang Yi. Xinhua reports that:
“Wang said Sharif is the first foreign head of government to visit China since the successful convening of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which fully reflects the special friendship between the two countries and the important position Pakistan holds in China's overall diplomacy. China's development is a growing force for world peace and a strong factor for global stability. In the process of this development, China-Pakistan relations will gain new impetus and will be elevated to a new stage, Wang noted. He said that China will continue to provide assistance to Pakistan in its post-disaster reconstruction work, and that China is ready to work with Pakistan to promote the high-quality development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.”
The two sides also issued a joint statement (full English text), which is covered later in the paper. Some excerpts from this document.
“The Prime Minister felicitated President Xi Jinping on his re-election as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), expressed admiration for his leadership, wisdom, vision and people-centered philosophy of development, and commended his contributions to continued growth of Pakistan-China relations. The Prime Minister welcomed President Xi to visit Pakistan. President Xi expressed that he would visit at his earliest convenience. The two leaders pledged to work together to further deepen the bilateral ties.”
“The two sides held in-depth exchange of views on the bilateral relations as well as regional situation and international political landscape. The two sides agreed on the importance of China-Pakistan All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership amidst the emerging global challenges. The meetings were marked by traditional warmth, mutual strategic trust and commonality of views.”
“Both sides reiterated their mutual support on issues concerning each other’s core interests. The Pakistani side expressed its commitment to the one-China Policy and support on issues of Taiwan, South China Sea, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet. The Chinese side reaffirmed its support for Pakistan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, security, and promoting its socio-economic development and prosperity.”
“Both sides reviewed with satisfaction the outcomes of the three sessions of the Foreign Minister’s Strategic Dialogue and agreed to hold its next meeting at the earliest possible in the first half of 2023 in Islamabad. The two sides noted the key role of various bilateral cooperation mechanisms for deepening strategic communication and welcomed the holding of the Spokespersons Dialogue and the Consultations on Arms Control and Disarmament.”
Points 14 to 19 discuss CPEC: “Recognizing that ML-1 is a project of key significance under the CPEC framework and of importance to Pakistan’s socio-economic development, the two sides agreed to build upon the leadership consensus and to advance the process of its earliest implementation. They also agreed to actively advance the Karachi Circular Railway, which was an urgent requirement for Pakistan’s biggest city. Recognizing the significance of the Gwadar port as the leading project of CPEC and an important node in cross regional connectivity, both sides expressed satisfaction on the completion of key projects and agreed to speed up progress on other related projects of the Gwadar port and free zone. In line with the leadership’s consensus to accelerate cooperation in the areas of agriculture, mining, IT, socio-economic development under CPEC, the two sides agreed to further build on the health, industry, digital and green corridors launched earlier this year and carry out relevant cooperation. The Chinese side appreciates the efforts of the Pakistani government to vigorously develop renewable energy projects including solar projects which aligns with the green, low carbon and environmental development of energy sector, and encourages participation of Chinese companies in this Pakistani endeavor. The two sides agreed to actively promote the implementation of Framework Agreement on Industrial Cooperation to support Pakistan's industrial development. Both sides expressed their strong determination to counter all threats and designs against CPEC and China-Pakistan friendship. Pakistan reaffirmed its commitment to the safety and security of all Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan. The Chinese side appreciated Pakistan’s strong determination and vigorous measures in this regard.”
“The two sides agreed to fully leverage overland trade and exchanges by upgrading facilities at Khunjerab border port and strengthening cooperation on epidemic containment and customs clearance in border areas. They also agreed to work together to further strengthen the implementation of the Quadrilateral Traffic in Transit Agreement (QTTA), which is an important pillar of regional connectivity.”
“The two sides agreed to further strengthen cooperation on online payment systems, logistics, warehousing and customs facilitation, and enhance collaboration between start-ups and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. The two sides noted that the first meeting of the China-Pakistan Joint Working Group on Trade, Investment and E-commerce and the China-Pakistan Poverty Reduction and Social Development Forum were held this year, and exchanges and docking activities in the pharmaceutical, agricultural and shoe-making industries as well as capacity building courses on poverty reduction were organized. China is willing to continue relevant practical cooperation with Pakistan to contribute to poverty reduction and socioeconomic development in Pakistan.”
“Noting the gradual resumption of flight operation between the two countries, the two sides agreed to further increase the frequency of direct flights including between Islamabad and Beijing in due course.” – No urgency here, clearly.
On terrorism, Kashmir and Afghanistan: The two sides condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and expressed opposition to the politicization of the issue of counter terrorism. China recognized Pakistan’s contributions and sacrifices in the fight against terrorism. The two sides agreed to further enhance counter terrorism cooperation to promote international peace and security. The two sides reiterated that a peaceful and prosperous South Asia is in the common interest of all parties. They emphasized the importance of resolving all outstanding disputes through sincere dialogue. The Pakistani side briefed the Chinese side on the situation in Jammu & Kashmir. The Chinese side reiterated that the Kashmir issue was a dispute left from history that should be properly and peacefully resolved based on the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements. On Afghanistan, the two sides agreed that a peaceful, prosperous, interconnected and stable Afghanistan is fundamental to regional prosperity and progress. They expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the three Foreign Ministers’ meetings of the six neighbouring countries of Afghanistan and looked forward to the next meeting to be held in Uzbekistan.”
Pakistan backed GDI and GSI in the statement, and then on human rights, this is the formulation. “The two sides reiterated their commitment to advancing and protecting human rights for all in accordance with applicable international obligations and national circumstances. They stressed that bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the area of human rights should be guided by the principles of the UN Charter including respect for political independence, sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of States.”
Back to the front page, the other top story is the release of new guidelines on the implementation of the Chairman Responsibility System of the CMC. The report says that as per the guidelines, since the 18th Party Congress, the CPC Central Committee and the CMC have made a series of political plans and institutional arrangements, which have led our military to strengthen the four consciousnesses and four self-confidences, and achieve the two safeguards, implement the Chairman Responsibility System of the CMC, clean up the political discipline, strengthen the political foundation, and achieve significant theoretical, practical and institutional achievements, which have provided fundamental institutional guarantee for our military to achieve great changes; obeying the command of Chairman Xi, being responsible to Chairman Xi and reassuring Chairman Xi have become the distinctive characteristics of the people's army in the new era.” 《意见》指出，党的十八大以来，党中央和中央军委作出一系列政治设计和制度安排，引领我军增强“四个意识”、坚定“四个自信”、做到“两个维护”，贯彻军委主席负责制，整肃政治纲纪，强固政治根基，取得重大理论成果、实践成果、制度成果，为我军实现伟大变革提供了根本制度保障，听习主席指挥、对习主席负责、让习主席放心成为新时代人民军队鲜明特质.
The guidelines require the “whole army to deeply understand the decisive significance of the Two Establishments, resolutely achieve two safeguards, further strengthen the political consciousness of implementing the Chairman Responsibility System of the CMC, implement the decision-making arrangements of Chairman Xi and the CMC, and accomplish all tasks entrusted by the Party and the people.” 《意见》分析了实现建军一百年奋斗目标、开创国防和军队现代化新局面的形势任务，要求全军深刻领悟“两个确立”的决定性意义，坚决做到“两个维护”，进一步强化贯彻军委主席负责制的政治自觉，把习主席和军委决策部署落到实处，完成好党和人民赋予的各项任务.
The guidelines also outline specific requirements for the implementation of the Chairman Responsibility System of the CMC at all levels, especially for high-level party committees and senior cadres. 《意见》还对全军各级特别是高层党委、高级干部深化军委主席负责制贯彻落实提出了具体要求.
Next, there’s a report on Xi’s congratulatory letter (English report) to the 31st Arab League Summit. Also on the page is a report on Vice Premier Han Zheng’s visit to Singapore. Xinhua reports:
“Noting the 20th CPC National Congress has made it clear that the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts should be advanced through a Chinese path to modernization, Han said development is the CPC's top priority in governing and rejuvenating the country, and China is committed to achieving high-quality development and high-level opening-up. The two countries share a lot of common ground on modernization, he said, calling on the two sides to follow through the important consensus reached by the leaders of both countries, in order to further promote bilateral ties. He also called for promoting the transformation and upgrading of cooperation projects to set a benchmark for high-quality cooperation, and deepening economic globalization and regional integration to maintain regional prosperity and stability. China welcomes Singapore's positive response to the Global Development Initiative and expects the two sides to translate the consensus into actions and inject strong impetus into regional development, Han added.”
The visit yielded 19 agreements in areas such as green development and green finance, e-commerce, public health, innovation cooperation and tourism exchanges. CNA reports that:
“The green-related agreements included initiatives to expand cooperation in green finance and deepen connectivity between both countries’ capital markets. For one, a green finance taskforce will be set up by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the People’s Bank of China. This will explore options for collaboration in areas such as green and transition financing solutions, data and technology enablers to catalyse green financing flows, and enhance green investment opportunities in China and the region. A low-carbon index family will also be jointly launched by the stock exchanges of both countries by the year-end. This aims to serve as a benchmark for fund managers to launch new green funds focused on China, ASEAN and other countries in Asia. In addition, a separate MOU was signed by Enterprise Singapore and the Suzhou Industrial Park’s administrative committee to deepen green development cooperation.”
Next is a report of the closing of the ongoing CPPCC NC standing committee meeting. Wang Yang said at the meeting that “we must deeply grasp the milestone significance of 10 years of great changes in the new era, fully understand that the decisive significance of the Two Establishments, which reflect the choice of history, the voice of the people, and provide the greatest certainty in dealing with all uncertainties on the new journey; we must and resolutely safeguard General Secretary Xi Jinping's position as the core of the Central Committee and the whole party and resolutely safeguard the authority and centralised and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee, and unswervingly use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to cast the soul. 要深刻把握新时代10年伟大变革的里程碑意义，充分认识“两个确立”是历史的选择、人民的心声，是新征程上应对一切不确定性的最大确定性，坚决维护习近平总书记中共中央的核心、全党的核心地位，坚决维护中共中央权威和集中统一领导，坚定不移用习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想凝心铸魂.
He then talked about understanding and pursuing Chinese-style modernisation, and “adhering to the organic combination of CCP leadership, the united front, and consultative democracy.”
Finally, there’s a report (English report) informing that from January to September, China began construction on 299 new expressway and national and provincial highway projects with a total length of 9,645 km and 882 billion yuan ($121 billion) in investment. Gu Zhifeng, deputy chief of the highway bureau of the Ministry of Transport, said that ‘the ministry will continue to expand investment in road construction, with the key to improving the connectivity of the road network’. He noted the implementation of major highway projects will facilitate economic stability, boost the construction of the modern transport system and support high-quality development. The report also informs that: From January to August, investment in transportation-related fixed assets amounted to 2.34 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.6 percent. Among them, 176 billion yuan was invested in building highways, a year-on-year increase of 9.5 percent.
Page 2: A report on Li Keqiang’s letter to the 23rd Pacific Basin Nuclear Conference being held in Beijing and Chengdu. Xinhua reports:
“Nuclear power is safe, stable and efficient clean energy, Li noted in the letter. The peaceful development and utilization of nuclear power not only injects fresh impetus into human development but also plays a significant role in ensuring energy security, addressing climate change, promoting green and low-carbon energy transformation, and advancing the development of high-end equipment manufacturing, Li said. The Chinese government firmly supports the active and orderly development of nuclear power and vigorously promoting technological advances and industrial development in this field on the premise of ensuring absolute security, Li said. He stressed that China is willing to work with other countries to deepen international exchanges and cooperation in nuclear power on the basis of equality and mutual benefits to facilitate the transformation of economic and social development and deliver more benefits to people of all countries.”
He also mentioned the need to “uphold the international nuclear non-proliferation system with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as its cornerstone.”
Page 3: A report on PLA and PAP cadres studying the spirit of the 20th Party Congress. Basically, this is about reiterating the political significance of the Two Establishments, Xi’s leadership and the need to arm the mind with Xi’s thought.
It reiterates that “practice has fully proved that the most fundamental reasons for the historic achievements and historic changes in the cause of the Party and the country in the new era are the fact that General Secretary Xi Jinping has been at the helm as the core of the Party Central Committee and the core of the whole party, and the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. 实践充分证明，新时代党和国家事业取得历史性成就、发生历史性变革，最根本的原因在于有习近平总书记作为党中央的核心、全党的核心掌舵领航，在于有习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想科学指引。
It says that “we must resolutely be loyal to, support, safeguard and defend the core.” 必须坚决做到忠诚核心、拥戴核心、维护核心、捍卫核心. It adds that:
“In their study work, the cadres of the units directly under the Military Commission have realised that it is necessary to comprehensively strengthen the Party building in the military, unswervingly uphold the Party's absolute leadership over the People's Army, and more consciously safeguard Comrade Xi Jinping's position as the core of the Party Central Committee and the core of the entire Party, more consciously safeguard the authority and centralised and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core, unswervingly maintain a high degree of consistency with the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core in thought, politics and action, and be absolutely loyal, absolutely pure, and absolutely reliable in order to ensure that the barrel of the gun always obeys the Party’s command. 军委各直属单位机关干部在学习中认识到，要全面加强人民军队党的建设，毫不动摇坚持党对人民军队的绝对领导，更加自觉维护习近平同志党中央的核心、全党的核心地位，更加自觉维护以习近平同志为核心的党中央权威和集中统一领导，坚定不移在思想上政治上行动上同以习近平同志为核心的党中央保持高度一致，做到绝对忠诚、绝对纯洁、绝对可靠，确保枪杆子永远听党指挥.
Page 4: A consolidated report of different activities to study the 20th Party Congress spirit in different parts of the country. This includes Huang Kunming’s comments at a meeting in Guangzhou and from Party Secretary of Sichuan Wang Xiaohui, among others.
Page 5: Today is the start of a new series of commentaries on Chinese-style modernisation. The first article in the series says that rejuvenation requires one to pursue a “path that suits their own reality.”
“Whether a country’s path is feasible depends on whether it conforms to its own national conditions, conforms to the development trend of the times, can bring about economic development, social progress, improvement of people’s livelihood and social stability, can win public support, and can contribute to the cause of human progress.” 一个国家走的道路行不行，关键要看是否符合本国国情，是否顺应时代发展潮流，能否带来经济发展、社会进步、民生改善、社会稳定，能否得到人民支持和拥护，能否为人类进步事业作出贡献. With this premise, we get a bunch of points – such as GDP growth and improvements in health, education and social security systems - to tell us that China’s success underscores that the path that it is on is correct.
The next paragraph distinguishes Chinese-style modernisation from “western modernisation”, i.e., that it is not capital-centred, materialistic, polarised or based on expansion and plunder. Instead, it is the coordinated development of material, political, spiritual, social, and ecological civilisation. Then the article warns:
“It should be noted that a large developing country with a vast land area, a huge population and wide regional differences must bear all kinds of pressures and severe challenges that other countries have never encountered before. Therefore, ‘our modernisation is both the most difficult and the greatest’. China’s development has entered a period wherein strategic opportunities, risks and challenges will co-exist, and uncertainties and unpredictability will increase. All kinds of ‘black swan’ and ‘grey rhino’ incidents may happen at any time.” 应该看到，一个国土面积广袤、人口规模巨大、地区差异悬殊的发展中大国实现现代化，必然要承受其他国家都不曾遇到的各种压力和严峻挑战，因此，“我们的现代化既是最难的，也是最伟大的”. 新征程前途光明，任重道远，我国发展进入战略机遇和风险挑战并存、不确定难预料因素增多的时期，各种“黑天鹅”“灰犀牛”事件随时可能发生.
Outlining this challenge, the piece calls for being “more determined to stick to the Chinese-style modernisation” while never taking the old closed and rigid path, nor to take the evil road of changing the banner,” “insisting on pursuing the development of the country and the nation on the basis of our own strength, and to firmly hold the fate of China's development and progress in our own hands.” 越是在这样的时候，越要有道不改、志不变的决心，坚持以中国式现代化全面推进中华民族伟大复兴，既不走封闭僵化的老路，也不走改旗易帜的邪路，坚持把国家和民族发展放在自己力量的基点上、把中国发展进步的命运牢牢掌握在自己手中.
Page 6: There’s a long piece by Wang Chen on whole-process democracy, for anyone interested.
Page 13: The entire page carries brief excerpts from the speeches made by members of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC NC during their recent meeting.