Prioritising Ideological & Political Education - 30th China-ASEAN Senior Officials Consultation - Xi's 'Greater Food Approach' 大食物观 - Zhong Caiwen: Overcapacity Narrative a Proxy for Protectionism
Before I get to today’s paper, there were a couple of reports from Sunday that are worth highlighting.
First, there’s a report on Xi Jinping’s instruction on the development of ideological and political courses for schools. Xi’s instructions were read out by Ding Xuexiang. Among others, Li Ganjie and Li Shulei were present.
“Since the 18th Party Congress, the Party Central Committee has always insisted on placing the construction of ideological and political courses in schools in an important position when it comes to work related to education. The Party’s leadership in the construction of ideological and political courses has been comprehensively strengthened; the direction of socialist education in schools at all levels and of all types has become clearer. Teachers of ideological and political courses are more confident in their desire to teach well and devote themselves to educating people. The ‘four self-confidences’ of the majority of young students have been significantly enhanced, their spiritual outlook has become high-spirited, and the development environment and overall ecology of ideological and political courses have undergone overall and fundamental transformation.” 中共中央总书记、国家主席、中央军委主席习近平近日对学校思政课建设作出重要指示指出,''党的十八大以来,党中央始终坚持把学校思政课建设放在教育工作的重要位置,党对思政课建设的领导全面加强,各级各类学校社会主义办学方向更加鲜明,思政课教师乐教善教、潜心育人的信心底气更足,广大青少年学生“四个自信”明显增强、精神面貌奋发昂扬,思政课发展环境和整体生态发生全局性、根本性转变.
Xi Jinping emphasized that in the new era and on the new journey, the construction of ideological and political courses faces new situations and new tasks, and therefore requires a new atmosphere and new actions. It is necessary to adhere to the guidance of the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implement the Party’s education policy, implement the fundamental mission of nurturing people through cultivating moral character/fostering virtue, persist in advancing the construction of ideological and political courses simultaneously with the Party’s innovative theoretical arming, develop a system of textbooks and curriculum with a focus on the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the core content, and integrate political education across all levels covering universities, middle schools and primary schools. 习近平强调,新时代新征程上,思政课建设面临新形势新任务,必须有新气象新作为。要坚持以新时代中国特色社会主义思想为指导,全面贯彻党的教育方针,落实立德树人根本任务,坚持思政课建设与党的创新理论武装同步推进,构建以新时代中国特色社会主义思想为核心内容的课程教材体系,深入推进大中小学思想政治教育一体化建设.
“Always adhere to the guiding position of Marxism and use the world-renowned achievements of socialism with Chinese characteristics as content support. Drawing strength from the excellent traditional Chinese culture, revolutionary culture, and advanced socialist culture, we should explain the principles thoroughly and vividly. Adhere to integrity and innovation, promote the connotative development of ideological and political course construction (Xinhua English translates this as “uphold fundamental principles and break new ground”), and continuously improve the pertinence and attractiveness of ideological and political courses. Adhering to integrity while innovating, we must ensure the connotative development of ideological and political courses, and continuously improve their pertinence and attractiveness. Efforts should be made to build a team of ideological and political course teachers who are politically strong, have deep feelings, are innovative in thought, have a broad vision, are strict in self-discipline and upright in character. 要始终坚持马克思主义指导地位,以中国特色社会主义取得的举世瞩目成就为内容支撑,以中华优秀传统文化、革命文化和社会主义先进文化为力量根基,把道理讲深讲透讲活,守正创新推动思政课建设内涵式发展,不断提高思政课的针对性和吸引力。要着力建设一支政治强、情怀深、思维新、视野广、自律严、人格正的思政课教师队伍.
Xi Jinping emphasized that Party committees (Party groups) at all levels should make the construction of ideological and political courses a priority. Schools of various types should consistently break new ground in ideological and political education in the new era, and foster talented individuals who are loyal to the Party, patriotic and dedicated, and capable of shouldering the mission of realizing national rejuvenation. 习近平强调,各级党委(党组)要把思政课建设摆上重要议程,各级各类学校要自觉担起主体责任,不断开创新时代思政教育新局面,努力培养更多让党放心、爱国奉献、担当民族复兴重任的时代新人.
Ding called on everyone to “thoroughly study and implement” Xi’s instructions, “firmly grasp the political, strategic, and livelihood attributes of education, and regard the construction of ideological and political courses as the top priority of the Party’s leadership in educational work.” 丁薛祥在讲话中指出,要深入学习贯彻习近平总书记重要指示精神,牢牢把握教育的政治属性、战略属性、民生属性,把思政课建设作为党领导教育工作的重中之重,以新时代党的创新理论为引领,立足新时代伟大实践,不断推动思政课改革创新,确保党的事业和社会主义现代化强国建设后继有人.
He added:
“Accelerate the construction of a curriculum and textbook system with Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the core content, and ensure that the latest achievements of the Party's innovative theories are deeply understood and internalised. Give full play to the educational and motivational role of the great achievements of the new era, enrich the teaching content of ideological and political courses, tell the stories of the new era well, and guide students to understand the practical power of the Party’s innovative theory. Expand a new pattern of comprehensive education through ‘big ideological and political courses’, integrate ideological and political classroom teachings with societal experiences in order to encourage students to better understand the national conditions and people's conditions and strengthen their ideals and beliefs…” 加快构建以习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想为核心内容的课程教材体系,推动党的创新理论最新成果入脑入心。充分发挥新时代伟大成就的教育激励作用,丰富思政课教学内容,讲好新时代故事,引导学生感悟党的创新理论的实践伟力。以“大思政课”拓展全面育人新格局,把思政小课堂和社会大课堂结合起来,推动学生更好了解国情民情,坚定理想信念.
Also on Sunday, there was a report (English report) on the State Council Executive Meeting, which studied the work on effectively lowering logistics costs in the whole society and reviewed and adopted an action plan on the digital transformation of the manufacturing sector. The meeting also deployed the implementation of full-cost insurance and income insurance for the three major cereal crops across the country, and reviewed and adopted the regulations on fair competition review.
Here are the key reports and articles that I found noteworthy from the People's Daily’s edition on Monday, May 13, 2024.
Page 1: There’s not much that’s newsworthy today on the page. But there are stories from Xi’s trip to Europe. The first report is on Xi’s trip to France. This is a full wrap of all that he did. It’s not really riveting content, but you do get some bits of intrigue. For instance, this bit below about Xi at the airport in Paris.
“Amidst the drizzling rain, President Xi Jinping stepped out of the cabin, and Prime Minister Gabriel Attal greeted the distinguished guests from afar with a simple "您好" (Hello) in Chinese. Walking along the red carpet, Prime Minister Attal shared his ‘connection with China’ with President Xi Jinping. He said that he had studied Chinese for a year and visited Beijing, Shanghai, and Yinchuan. ‘You speak very well, very standard. Welcome to visit China’, President Xi Jinping said with a smile.” 细雨霏霏中,习近平主席步出舱门,阿塔尔总理以一句中文“您好”问候远方贵宾。沿红毯边走边谈,阿塔尔总理向习近平主席讲述自己的“中国缘”:学过一年中文,还到访过北京、上海、银川。“你讲得很好,很标准。欢迎你到中国访问。”习近平主席微笑着说.
There’s a long description of the welcome and reception that Xi got, with the article saying that “Diplomatic etiquette is the ‘barometer of state relations’.” 外交礼仪,“国家关系的晴雨表”. The report also informs that the Xi-Macron meeting was scheduled for 30 minutes but went on for 100 minutes. After this, the report talks about Macron inviting Xi to the Pyrenees. The report quotes an unidentified local of Bagnères-de-Bigorre as saying:
“It is a French custom that when good friends visit, one should take them to see where one grew up. Yes, this is precisely the original intention of President Macron to invite President Xi Jinping here.” “法国人的习俗是,好朋友来了就要带他到自己长大的地方看一看。没错,这就是马克龙总统邀请习近平主席来这里的初衷!
President Xi Jinping summarized the spirit of establishing diplomatic relations between China and France in 16 characters: “independence, mutual understanding, long-term vision, and mutual benefit.” “独立自主、相互理解、高瞻远瞩、互利共赢”,习近平主席以16字概括中法建交精神.
After more than 30 years since the end of the Cold War, humanity once again faces the risk of a ‘new Cold War’. In a world that is far from peaceful, unstable and uncertain factors continue to accumulate. At an important moment in China-EU relations and at the crossroads of human development, the leading role of China-France relations in China-EU relations and the stabilizing significance of China-EU relations in a volatile global situation are becoming increasingly prominent. During talks at the Ambassador Hall of the Elysee Palace, President Xi Jinping put forward earnest expectations: ‘Both sides should uphold independence and autonomy, jointly prevent the 'new Cold War' or bloc confrontation; uphold mutual understanding, jointly promote the harmonious coexistence of a diverse world; uphold far-sightedness, jointly promote the equal and orderly multipolarization of the world; uphold mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, jointly oppose decoupling and breaking chains’.” 走出冷战三十余载,人类又面临“新冷战”的风险。在很不太平的世界里,不稳定不确定的安全因素持续叠加。在中欧关系的重要时刻、在人类发展的十字路口,中法关系之于中欧关系的引领作用、中欧关系之于世界变局的稳定意义愈发凸显。爱丽舍宫大使厅,中法元首举行大范围会谈。习近平主席提出殷殷期许:“双方要坚持独立自主,共同防止‘新冷战’或阵营对抗;要坚持相互理解,共同促进多彩世界的和谐共处;要坚持高瞻远瞩,共同推动平等有序的世界多极化;要坚持互利共赢,共同反对‘脱钩断链’.”
The report also informs that the trilateral meeting with Macron and Ursula von der Leyen was scheduled for 40 minutes but went on for double the time.
The other report clubs the Serbia and Hungary visits together. Again, there is nothing terribly newsworthy. But some useful snippets:
When Vucic met Xi, he told him: “‘Last night, I prepared all night for your arrival’. President Xi Jinping responded, ‘There is a saying in China, 'It's hard to refuse a sincere invitation.' Mr. President, you have invited me many times, as you once told reporters. Today, I have come as promised’.” 次日,会谈时,武契奇总统发自肺腑地对习近平主席的到访表达感激与自豪,他说:“昨晚我为您的到访准备了一整夜。”习近平主席回应道:“中国有一句话叫‘盛情难却’,总统先生曾对记者说你邀请了我许多次。今天我如约而来.”
Next on the page is a report about how Fujian developed and practised the “大食物观” or Big Food Concept or Greater Food Approach. Xi had spoken about this in 2022. The report had said that “while ensuring grain supply, we must also guarantee an effective supply of various foods including meat, vegetables, fruits and aquatic products. None of them should be lacking.” Today’s report dates back the concept to 1998, when Xi was the secretary in Ningde. Along with this, there’s a ZhongYin commentary about this Greater Food Approach.
Finally, there’s a report on Li Qiang congratulating his Russian counterpart, Mikhail Mishustin, on reassuming office as prime minister. Xinhua reports:
“In his message, Li said that under the strategic guidance of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era has maintained healthy and stable development. Political mutual trust between the two countries has continuously deepened, mutually beneficial cooperation has advanced in an orderly manner, and people-to-people exchanges have become increasingly frequent, which has brought tangible benefits to the two countries and their people, Li said. Li said he is ready to continue to work with Prime Minister Mishustin to make new contributions to enriching the connotation of China-Russia relations and strengthening practical cooperation between the two countries.”
Page 2: There’s a report (English readout) informing that the 30th China-ASEAN Senior Officials Consultation was held in Jakarta on May 9 and 10. Sun Weidong attended this meeting. The report says:
Sun Weidong stressed that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. Under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and ASEAN leaders, the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two sides has gained strong momentum, and solid progress has been made in building a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable homeland. Under the new circumstances, China is ready to share opportunities and jointly meet challenges with ASEAN countries to build an anchor for regional stability, create a pacesetter for economic and trade cooperation, foster a wave of people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and push for new achievements in building a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.
Next, there’s a report (English report) informing that Zhao Shitong, vice minister of the International Department, led a CPC delegation on a visit to Laos from May 9 to 12.
Page 3: I am not breaking it down, but there is an article on policies and measures to build China’s “Blue Granary”, i.e., the use of marine resources to enhance food supply and security.
Next, there is a Zhong Caiwen commentary on the overcapacity issue. This one is clearly in response to reports of the Biden administration readying to impose tariffs on a new set of Chinese imports. Reuters reports:
“U.S. President Joe Biden is set to announce new China tariffs as soon as next week targeting strategic sectors, including a major hike in levies on electric vehicles (EVs), according to three people familiar with the matter. The full announcement, expected Tuesday, will maintain existing tariffs on many Chinese goods set by former President Donald Trump, according to one of the people. But it will also add new tariffs to semiconductors and solar equipment, according to one of the people, as well as hiking EV tariffs. Chinese-made medical supplies like syringes and personal protective equipment also face additional tariffs, sources told Reuters. In revising the so-called "Section 301 tariffs," the Biden administration has zeroed in on industries that it says are of strategic competitive and national security areas, one of the people said. The long-awaited tariff update comes after a number of lawmakers have called for massive hikes on Chinese vehicle tariffs. There are relatively few Chinese-made light duty vehicles being imported now. Tariffs on Chinese EVs will roughly quadruple under the new Biden plan, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown wants the Biden administration to ban Chinese EVs outright, over concerns they pose risks to Americans' personal data.”
This PD commentary is blunt in response. It states that the purpose of American politicians pushing the overcapacity narrative is “to protect local industries and smear and suppress the Chinese economy. Its essence is protectionism and the consequences will be to undermine the order of global trade and industrial division of labour and harm the well-being of all mankind.” 其目的是维护本土产业,抹黑打压中国经济,本质是保护主义,后果是破坏全球贸易和产业分工秩序,损害全人类福祉.
The first point that the article makes is that the US is protecting its low-end production capacity through protectionist measures. But, as we all know, protectionism does not work to create competitive industries.
“Using overcapacity as an excuse to overprotect the market often protects industries and companies with backward production technology and lack of competitiveness. The result is a large excess of low-end production capacity, making it difficult to achieve product updates and industrial upgrades. History has repeatedly proved that the ‘breeding ground’ of protectionism cannot cultivate truly competitive industries and enterprises. A recent article by Bloomberg pointed out that despite major protectionist measures for the domestic steel industry, the United States failed to prevent a decrease in employment opportunities and a decline in competitiveness and market share. If the United States applies protectionist policies to industries such as new energy, it will not only weaken its ability to address climate change but also seriously hinder the development of industries such as automobiles and energy.” 而以产能过剩为借口,对市场进行过度保护,往往是保护了那些生产技术落后、缺乏竞争力的行业和企业,结果恰恰导致低端产能大量过剩,产品更新和产业升级难以实现。历史反复证明,保护主义的“温床”培育不出真正有竞争力的行业和企业。彭博社近日的一篇文章指出,美国曾对本土钢铁行业大行保护主义措施,也未能阻止其就业岗位减少、竞争力与市场份额下降的事实。如果美国将保护主义政策再应用到新能源等产业,不仅会削弱其应对气候变化的能力,也会严重阻碍其汽车、能源等产业走向新生.
The second point is that protectionism objectively exacerbates global overcapacity and costs.
“Since the end of the Cold War, economic globalisation has been fully developed, tariff and non-tariff barriers have been significantly reduced, and protectionism has been greatly suppressed. As a result, it facilitated international division of labour, promoted free flow of factors, smooth trade integration, and orderly transfer of capacity, forming a complete and efficient global industrial chain supply chain, greatly promoting global economic growth. However, in recent years, due to geopolitical competition and other factors, protectionism has resurfaced, and anti-globalization measures have become popular. On the one hand, the US has divided the global market and aggravated the ‘fragmentation’ of the global economy by imposing tariffs, trade controls and technological blockades. On the other hand, under the guise of ‘maintaining national security’, it is pushing for the restructuring of industrial and supply chains, leading to redundant construction of capacity in some domains and countries, resulting in global overcapacity and enormous economic and social costs. According to model predictions by the WTO, if the world falls into the worst-case scenario of comprehensive geopolitical competition, average global income will fall by 5% and average trade volume will fall by 13%. At a critical moment when the world is switching between old and new growth drivers, adopting protectionist measures targeting emerging industries, such as new energy, will cause greater damage.” 保护主义客观上加剧了全球产能过剩并带来巨大成本损失。冷战结束后,经济全球化得到充分发展,关税和非关税壁垒大幅削减,保护主义被极大压制,结果促进了各国分工合作,推动了要素自由流动、贸易顺畅对接、产能有序转移,形成完整高效的全球产业链供应链,极大促进了全球经济增长。但近年来,受地缘政治竞争等因素影响,保护主义重新抬头,逆全球化举措大行其道。美国一方面通过加征关税、贸易管控、技术封锁等举措,割裂全球市场,加重全球经济“碎片化”;另一方面打着“维护国家安全”的幌子推动产业链供应链再造,导致一些领域、一些国家产能重复建设,形成全球产能过剩,进而带来巨大的经济社会成本损失。根据世界贸易组织(WTO)的模型预测,如果全球陷入全面地缘政治竞争的最坏情况,全球平均收入将下降5%,平均贸易额将下降13%。在全球新旧增长动能转换的关键时刻,对新能源等新兴产业采取保护主义措施,会带来更大的损害.
“American protectionism harms the well-being of all mankind, including the American people.” This paragraph argues that free trade “maximizes the welfare of all trading parties by expanding types of products available, lowering commodity prices, increasing employment and income, and improving consumption capacity. Protectionism, on the other hand, is completely counterproductive and often leads to consequences like high inflation, rising production and living costs, losses in production efficiency and consumer welfare, and the ones who suffer the most are often domestic consumers.” 美国的保护主义损害了包括美国人民在内的全人类福祉。建立在专业化分工基础上的自由贸易,可以充分发挥各国的比较优势,实现各贸易方的福利最大化,诸如:增加商品种类、降低商品价格、增加就业和收入、提高消费能力等。而保护主义完全是相向而行,往往导致包括通胀高企、生产和生活成本上涨、生产效率与消费者福利损失等后果,而且受损失最大的往往是本国的消费者.
“Research by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that the trade war with China has caused the average American household an additional $831 per year. The Cato Institute’s report also shows that the breakdown of trade ties will have a more adverse impact on less affluent consumers in low-income countries and developed countries. Currently, China’s ‘three new products’, i.e., new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products, are highly sought after by the global market. The escalation of protectionism will prevent the public from obtaining cost-effective Chinese new energy products, which will be a ‘protectionist disaster’ for American consumers.” 美国纽约联储的研究发现,对华贸易战导致美国家庭平均每年要额外支出约831美元。美国卡托研究所的报告还表明,贸易联系的瓦解,对低收入国家和发达国家中不太富裕的消费者将产生更加不利的影响。当前,以新能源汽车、锂电池、光伏产品为代表的中国“新三样”在全球市场备受青睐,保护主义升级将阻碍公众获得高性价比的中国新能源产品,这对美国的消费者来说将是一场“保护主义灾难”.
The final point is that protectionism will lead to a “lose-lose” outcome. The article cites an IMF report saying that “trade fragmentation and technological decoupling will lead to a contraction in global economic output, with some countries experiencing a contraction of up to 12%.”
The article warns: “If deglobalization measures such as decoupling, disconnection, outsourcing to friendly shores, and nearshoring are implemented in emerging industries like new energy and digital economy, it will ultimately lead to wasted global resources and efficiency losses, impacting the sustainable growth of the global economy, and shrinking or even strangling the space for incremental growth.” 国际货币基金组织(IMF)的报告指出,贸易碎片化、技术脱钩将导致全球经济产出萎缩,一些国家萎缩幅度可能高达12%...如果在新能源、数字经济等新兴产业大搞脱钩断链、友岸外包、近岸外包等逆全球化举措,最终会导致全球资源浪费和效率损失,影响全球经济的可持续增长,缩小甚至扼杀增量空间。