Supervising Elections - Yang's Speech on US Ties - Vaccine Diplomacy
Below are the stories that I found noteworthy from the People’s Daily’s February 03, 2021, edition.
Page 1: It’s the holidays; so official news is fairly limited. On the front page today, we have a report about Li Keqiang meeting with foreign expert representatives working in China ahead of the Spring Festival. Xinhua English has all the details too. It says: “Noting that China still faces complicated and grim situations at home and abroad, and multiple challenges, Li said the country would keep its macro-policies consistent, stable, and sustainable and ensure that its economy runs within a reasonable range. As the largest developing country in the world, China has massive market potential and a long way to go for modernization, the premier said. He stressed that China would handle the relationship between the government and the market through reform and opening-up while forging a new development paradigm.”
Next, PSC member Han Zheng met with Executive Vice President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans for the first High-level Environment and Climate Dialogue between the two parties. The PD report says that Han reiterated China’s climate commitment of peaking emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. He spoke about working with the EU in this regard, and for the upcoming Biodiversity conference in Kunming.
Finally, a report on a joint notice by the CCDI, National Supervision Commission and Organisation Department. This is an interesting document, which talks about the challenges with regard to elections at the local levels. This is a process that’s expected to begin this year. So the notice basically calls for being vigilant as leadership changes are carried out. It warns that “the general election period is often prone to problems, which (we) must pay great attention to (and) further clarify the discipline requirements.” The specific problems that must be kept in mind are as follows. There’s a list of 10, but for some of them translation’s really tricky. Do please help out if you can in refining this list.
Formation of private cliques, “small circles,” “collusion,” “cronyism, cultivation of “personal power,” etc.
“Bribery,” which could be “through banquets” and “electronic red envelopes.” This is from the point of view of canvassing by candidates.
Then there’s a call to “prohibit the purchase and sale of officials.” This is in the context of dishing out ranks and promotions. “Anyone who bribes others for the purpose of seeking positions or raising the benefits of ranks...shall be suspended or removed.”
Also blackmail and other means adopted to obtain positions or get ahead shall earn you “criticism and education, organizational treatment or party discipline and political action” depending on the severity of your crime.
Lobbying and recommending candidates or irregular intervention in the selection and appointment of cadres at lower levels is also prohibited.
Finally, “it is strictly forbidden to interfere with the general election. If hostile forces at home and abroad disrupt or destroy the general election, take strict precautions and resolutely crack down;” as should be the case with “those who interfere with evil forces, family forces, and religious forces that affect the general elections, illegally accept funding from foreign institutions, organizations, or individuals...use threats, deceptions, inducements and other means to hinder others’ free behavior.”
Some of the other priorities in the notice are:
“education, warning, and prevention should be the priority, ideological and political work should be run through the change of term, and Xi Jinping’s new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics should be used to arm the mind and consolidate and deepen the theme education of ‘not forgetting the original heart and remembering the mission’.”
Strictly supervise the recommendation and nomination of new candidates.
During the general election, the higher level to send a supervisory group to supervise the general election and the meeting style and discipline on site.
And finally, “promptly investigate and deal with violations” and “establish a joint investigation and joint office and quick investigation and quick settlement mechanism to quickly investigate and strictly deal with the problems found.”
Page 2: Just one report to note. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology put out data for the robotics industry. It says that “from January to December 2020, China manufactured 237,068 units of industrial robots, an increase of 19.1% year-on-year.”
Page 3: A lot of interesting stuff on the page. First, a report on Chinese Premier Li Keqiang congratulating Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene on taking office as Mongolia's prime minister. Next, a story about foreigners talking about China’s success in poverty alleviation. The first paragraph tells you about the intent of the piece:
“In recent years, many foreign scholars and reporters have visited various parts of China to explore the ‘secrets’ behind China's poverty alleviation and rural revitalization. In their view, the vivid and vivid stories of poverty reduction that have occurred on the land of China are pioneering efforts in the history of human social development. They have contributed Chinese wisdom to the international poverty reduction cause and provided Chinese solutions.”
Third, a short report on Yang Jiechi’s speech (full text here) to the National Committee on US-China Relations. The report doesn’t touch on the prickly details from the speech, but just talks about the need for better cooperation. But, here’s a breakdown of the speech.
First, Yang placed the blame for deterioration in ties at the door of the Trump administration. “For the past few years, the Trump administration adopted misguided policies against China, plunging the relationship into its most difficult period since the establishment of diplomatic ties. Some in the United States, sticking to Cold War thinking, perceived China as a threat. Their rhetoric and actions have interfered in China's internal affairs, undermined China's interests, and disrupted exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides. There have also been attempts to seek ‘decoupling’ and a so-called ‘new Cold War’. Such moves, going against the trend of the times, have seriously damaged China-U.S. relations as well as the fundamental interests of the two peoples.” Also note this: “The previous administration has pursued some misguided policies towards China. The root cause, I would say, is a strategic misjudgment by some in the United States - they view China as a major strategic competitor, even an adversary.”
This is what Yang’s end goal is: “China calls for establishing a new type of international relations characterized by mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation, and for building a community with a shared future for mankind.” To do this, he says “A strong case is made for cooperation instead of confrontation between China and the United States. Such voices of reason, in stark contrast with the noise and disruption from China hawks, are most valuable for upholding overall stability of China-U.S. relations.”
He also offered economic carrots, talking about China’s opening up. This, he said, speaks “volumes about China's strong commitment to achieving common prosperity with the rest of the world. As China's economy grows, the Chinese people naturally want to lead a better life. This will mean more demand for a greater variety of quality products, technologies and services from other countries. In the coming decade, total import into China is expected to top 22 trillion dollars.”
From Biden, he wants: “The Chinese government takes a stable and consistent policy toward the United States. China is prepared to work with the United States to move the relationship forward along the track of no conflict, no confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation for the well-being of both countries and peoples. In the meantime, we will continue to stand firm as we defend our sovereignty, security and development interests. We hope the new administration will respond to the will of both peoples and follow the trend of history. By focusing on cooperation and managing differences together...”
His prescription for steps ahead is:
Don’t see China as an adversary.
Restore normal interaction.
Properly manage differences: “Both sides need to respect each other's histories, cultures and traditions, respect each other's core interests and major concerns, and respect each other's choices of political system and development path...The United States should stop interference in the affairs of Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang, which all matter to China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and stop attempts to hold back China's development by meddling in China's internal affairs.”
Work on mutually beneficial cooperation: “COVID response, economic recovery and climate change,” etc.
“Trade issues should not be politicized, and the concept of ‘national security’ should not be abused.”
“Closer exchanges and cooperation between our militaries and in law enforcement, drug control and cyber security, and more communication and coordination on regional hotspot issues and on major global challenges such as poverty reduction through development, counterterrorism and nonproliferation.”
Finally a report based on MoFA’s comments on vaccine diplomacy. Here’s what China has done so far: “in addition to Pakistan, China is also providing vaccine assistance to 13 developing countries including Brunei, Nepal, the Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Palestine, Belarus, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, and Equatorial Guinea. The next step is to provide vaccines to other 38 developing countries in need.” In addition, he said that China “has exported vaccines from Sinopharm and Kexing to clinical trial countries such as the UAE, Morocco, Indonesia, Turkey, Brazil, and Chile.”
Page 4: A few reports to note. First, Hu Chang (profile) is now deputy governor and acting governor of Heilongjiang. Also, Huang Qiang (profile) is now the governor of Sichuan Province. Finally, there was a meeting of the National Anti-terrorism Work Leading Group ahead of the 100th anniversary celebrations. Zhao Kezhi said that “doing a good job in anti-terrorism work and ensuring national political security and social stability is of special significance.” What he wants is to “adhere to the leadership of the party, take the people as the center, coordinate development and security, implement the overall national security concept, and maintain the tough fight and high pressure situation.”
Finally, on the international page, we have the following stories:
