Tightening on Commodities - Xi & Putin on Nuclear Energy - Wang Yang & You Quan on Ethnic Work - Israel-Palestine Tensions
Here are the stories and pieces from the May 20, 2021, edition of People’s Daily that I found noteworthy.
Page 1: It’s a busy front page today. Let’s begin with the story of Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin witnessing the ground-breaking ceremony of the Tianwan nuclear power plant and Xudapu nuclear power plant. PD’s story is the same as this Xinhua English piece. Both leaders spoke at the event. Xi talked about the deepened strategic comprehensive partnership between the two sides. He talked about the significance of energy cooperation as the “most important area of practical cooperation” between China and Russia.
True to form, Xi then had a three-point proposal.
First, adhere to the principle of safety first and set a model for global nuclear energy cooperation
Second, the two countries should deepen scientific and technological cooperation on nuclear energy by sticking to the driving force of innovation
“He urged deepened cooperation on the basic research, key technology research and development, and transformation of innovative achievements in the field of nuclear energy, such as nuclear environmental protection, nuclear medicine, nuclear fuel and advanced nuclear power technology, so as to promote the deep integration of the nuclear energy industry and the new generation of digital technology, and contribute more wisdom to the innovative development of nuclear energy globally.”
Third, strategic collaboration to promote the coordinated development of the governance system of the global energy industry.
Both Xi and Putin also talked about how their nuclear energy cooperation will assist in the global fight against climate change.
Second, today’s piece on Xi’s red footprints talks about his recent visit to Guangxi, where he visited the Xiangjiang Battle Memorial Park in Caiwan in Guilin. I had covered the visit and his comments about the battle in my posts in April. This story also talks about the work done to honour the martyrs of the battle. The idea is that commemorations are to be used not just to honour them and provide closure to loved ones, I guess, but also to guide cadres through their stories. For instance, the piece talks about 84-year-old Xu Zhaoying from You'an Village, Rongjiang Town, Xing'an County who diligently visits the tombs of Red Army soldiers during the Qingming festival, treating them as her parents.
Another example is this: “In August 2017, Guanyang County started work to identify and salvage the remains of Red Army martyrs in Jiuhaijing. ‘This is not only an explanation to the survivors of martyrs who have sought their relatives for many years, but also a profound education for the majority of party members and cadres to keep their original aspirations in mind, keep their mission in mind, and take the Long March road in the new era,’ said Wen Dongbai, an expert on party history in Guanyang County.”
The piece also talks about the work put in to build the memorial site for the Battle of Xiangjiang. It says that this was done after Xi’s instructions. Sharing a paragraph here to highlight what sort of content is covered: “Since 2018, Guilin City has implemented the spirit of the important instructions of the General Secretary, visited the towns and villages that the Red Army passed through, and collected the remains of the Red Army martyrs scattered in the caves, rivers, and mountain forests in northern Guangxi...The remains were excavated, and a memorial site was built...Since 2019, 51 mass graves of Red Army martyrs have been found in Guanyang County, and 17 complete remains and 28 scattered remains, about 2,600 pieces, have been excavated. The remains of the martyrs who were once buried in the mountains were cleaned and reorganized and relocated to the main tomb of the Red Army Memorial in Jiuhaijing. No matter how difficult it is to find the remains of the Red Army martyrs, we will continue to look for them,” Wen Dongbai said.
Third, at the State Council’s executive meeting (English report) this week, the focus was on the supply and prices of commodities. The report says that “since the beginning of this year, due to multiple factors, especially the transmission of global price rise, some commodities have seen extended price rally, with the prices of some varieties hitting new records. The government must take very seriously the adverse impact caused by the price hike, and take both holistic and focused measures in light of market dynamics to exercise precision regulation, so as to ensure the supply of commodities and curb unreasonable price increases and prevent transmission to consumer prices.”
A range of steps were agreed upon in this context. So basically, China wants to cut down steel and coal imports. This is going to be done by expanding domestic capacity and dis-incentivising export. I must add that this is relevant from an Indian perspective. Ores, iron and steel, aluminum, copper and organic chemicals have been among the key Indian exports to China over the past year. The higher prices have helped reduce, however limited in amount, the trade deficit too.
Here are the steps being reported:
raising export tariffs on certain iron and steel products, temporarily exempting tariffs on pig iron and scrap steel, and canceling export tax rebates for some steel products, to increase supply in the domestic market.
key coal companies will be encouraged to raise production and supply while ensuring safety, and the capacity of wind, solar, hydro and nuclear power will be increased to ensure energy supply during summer peak time.
expediting the import, export and buffer reserves of commodities, facilitate customs clearance, and better leverage international and domestic markets and resources, to more effectively ensure supply and keep prices stable.
regulation on futures and spot markets will be better coordinated, and targeted measures will be taken as appropriate to screen abnormal transactions and malicious speculations
targeting instances of monopolies and price gouging
keeping the RMB exchange rate broadly stable at an adaptive, balanced level, to guide market expectations as appropriate
assistance to be provided to support small and micro businesses and those self-employed through concessional tax policies
Next, a report based on Wang Yang’s visit to northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Wang’s team was divided into three groups and “went to Yinchuan, Wuzhong and other places, went to rural areas, communities, institutions, schools, enterprises, and religious sites to conduct interviews and exchanges with cadres and masses of various ethnic groups.” He talked about “high-quality development” but this is the thrust of the story:
“Consolidating ethnic unity, promoting religious harmony, maintaining social stability and ensuring border security are the responsibilities and contributions of ethnic areas. It is necessary to build a strong sense of the Chinese nation as a community as the main line, comprehensively promote the cause of national unity and progress in the new era, guide cadres and masses of all ethnic groups to establish a correct view of country, history, nationality, culture and religion, grasp the relationship between commonality and difference, carry forward the fine tradition of common unity and struggle and common prosperity and development, and promote exchanges among all ethnic groups in the process of modernization. It is necessary to fully implement the Party’s basic principles of religious work, adhere to the direction of China’s religious sinicization, correctly grasp the influence of religion on economic and social development and spiritual civilization construction, unite and guide religious circles and the masses of religious believers, and work hard together to build a socialist modernized country in an all-round way.”
Next, a report about (English report) Li Zhanshu speaking to Madagascar parliament speaker Christine Razanamahasoa. Li spoke about BRI and added that the “two sides should enhance mutual political trust and firmly support each other on issues involving each other’s core interests and major concerns...The two sides should deepen pragmatic cooperation to benefit the two peoples, combine their respective advantages and development needs, and strengthen cooperation in agriculture, energy, and infrastructure construction.”
Finally, a report about Han Zheng’s comments during a summit seeking to boost financing in Africa initiated by France. Xinhua says that Han spoke about China’s backing of the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative, adding that Beijing will “continue to work with the international community to help ease African countries' debt burden in accordance with the principle of ‘joint action and equitable burden’, Han said China hopes that developed countries, multilateral financial institutions and commercial creditors will take concrete actions.” He also said that China will “continue to provide vaccine assistance to Africa and help promote the commercial procurement of vaccines by relevant countries in China.”
Page 2: United Front chief You Quan visited Zhengzhou and Luoyang, where he too, like Wang Yang, spoke about the idea of ethnic unity and religious policy.
PD reports that:
“You Quan emphasized that religious issues must always be dealt with well in our Party’s governance of the country. We should unify our ideological understanding with the spirit of a series of important expositions and instructions on religious work by General Secretary Xi Jinping, adhere to the direction of China’s religious sinicization, thoroughly study and solve major problems in the religious field, establish and improve a long-term mechanism to prevent the religious infiltration and spread, and take multiple measures to address both the symptoms and root causes, effectively prevent and resolve potential risks in the religious field, and safeguard national security and social stability.” 尤权强调，宗教问题始终是我们党治国理政必须处理好的重大问题，要把思想认识统一到习近平总书记关于宗教工作的一系列重要论述和重要指示精神上来，坚持我国宗教中国化方向，深入研究和解决宗教领域重大问题，建立健全防范宗教渗透蔓延的长效机制，多措并举，标本兼治，切实防范化解宗教领域的风险隐患，维护国家安全和社会稳定。
Page 3: First, a commentary on China-Russia cooperation. The piece talks about the latest work on nuclear energy and then tracks China-Russia pandemic cooperation and basically says that the partnership is growing from strength to strength.
Second, a report telling us that China's UN Ambassador Zhang Jun chaired an Arria-Formula Meeting on “the Impact of Emerging Technologies on International Peace and Security” on Monday. The piece tells us that “the permanent missions of China, Egypt, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations co-hosted the meeting. Nearly 40 countries including members of the Security Council attended the meeting. This is the first time that the Security Council has discussed emerging technological issues.”
Zhang Jun said (English version):
promote innovation-driven development and improve the development and application of science and technology in all countries to narrow the digital divide
create favorable conditions to encourage healthy competition and prevent the monopoly on technology...unilateralism, protectionism and technological hegemony should be firmly opposed
strengthen global governance to better regulate the development and application of emerging technologies...jointly formulate international norms and rules on emerging technologies.
ensure that technological innovation complies with the law and universally-recognized international norms. We must ensure emerging technologies are of the people, by the people and for the people. Special attention should be paid to the use of emerging technologies in armed conflicts. We must prevent emerging technologies from falling into the hands of terrorist groups or being used to spread disinformation and hate speech.
support the central role of the UN, which should explore the establishment of a democratic, transparent, and inclusive framework for international cooperation and governance from the perspectives of peace, development and security.
Third, Wang Yi spoke at the UNSC debate (English version) on supporting Africa. He basically said that “the international community should give more help on anti-pandemic supplies, medicines, technology and funding, especially through ways including non-reimbursable assistance, preferential procurement, technology transfer, and cooperative production, so as to ensure the accessibility and affordability of vaccines in Africa.” He also called for greater support for “post-pandemic reconstruction, trade and investment, debt relief, food security, poverty reduction and alleviation, coping with climate change, as well as industrialization.”
Finally, MoFA’s comments about China’s completing “the domestic work to approve the Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean. Zhao Lijian said that “China looks forward to staying in communication with other signatories on establishing the rules for the Joint Programme of Scientific Research and Monitoring and exploratory fishing under the Agreement. We hope to jointly enhance fisheries resource management in the Arctic high seas and protect the Arctic marine ecology.”
Page 4: The two historical figures highlighted today are Ye Ting and Zuo Quan. Ye was someone who started out having joined the Kuomintang army before eventually joining the CCP. He participated in the Nanchang Uprising and the later Guangzhou Uprising before then leaving the country. He returned after the Japanese invasion and served as the commander of the New Fourth Army. The story says that “in 1941, the Southern Anhui Incident shocked China and foreign countries. Ye Ting was illegally detained during negotiations and was subsequently imprisoned in Shangrao, Guilin, and other places.” He was eventually released in March 1946 and rejoined the party before dying in a plane crash.
Zuo Quan was trained at the Whampoa Military Academy, where he helped found a secret society of pro-communist students. He was a commander in the Nationalist Army, but later went to the Soviet Union to study. Upon returning, he traveled to the Jiangxi Soviet and then participated in a number of different battles; he eventually died fighting the Japanese in 1942. He was the “highest-ranking commander of the Eighth Route Army” to die in battle against the Japanese. The piece talks about Zhou Enlai and Zhu De’s tribute to Zuo.
Page 13: On the Theory page today, we have a piece by Xie Fuzhan, President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He writes about social sciences development in China. If you recall, earlier this week, there was that detailed two-page converge of a conference in PD. Anyway, Xie also begins from Xi’s May 2016 comments about social sciences. He then talks about upholding the guiding position of Marxism.
“History and practice show us that if we do not adhere to Marxism’s guidance, philosophy and social sciences will lose their souls, lose their way, and ultimately fail to play their due role. Xi Jinping’s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is the latest achievement of the Sinicization of Marxism, contemporary Chinese Marxism, and 21st century Marxism. To uphold and develop Xi Jinping's thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era is to truly uphold and develop Marxism. In the past five years, we have continued to study Xi Jinping’s thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, consciously permeating this important thought into all aspects of philosophy and social science research and teaching...” And he basically calls for more work in this context.
He then talks about “people-centered” work and then “the construction of discipline systems, academic systems, and discourse systems.” Basically, the idea here is to build social sciences with Chinese characteristics, i.e., have a unique imprint in terms of disciplines, academic processes and structures and discourse.
Xie laments that:
“China is a big country in the fields of philosophy and social sciences, but the current level of competence in academic propositions, academic ideas, academic views, academic standards and academic discourse is not commensurate with our comprehensive national power and international status.”
And therefore, he calls for strengthening subject consciousness and grasping the “key to originality” and contribute Chinese experiences to ensure that theories can capture them appropriately. In this process, he also calls for learning from and engaging with foreigners. The aim is to create Chinese theories, Chinese ideas and Chinese academia that can tell the story of China’s development.
He finally talks about social sciences addressing the theoretical and practical needs of the country, given the prevailing domestic and international environment.
“China has entered a new stage of development, begun a new journey of building a socialist modernized country in an all-round way, and this presents a series of new major theoretical and practical problems, which urgently need in-depth study and convincing scientific answers...The issues of our times are a powerful driving force for theoretical innovation, and the great practice of China's reform and development is an inexhaustible source of theoretical innovation in philosophy and social sciences.We must strengthen our awareness of problems, focus on the ‘国之大者’, and constantly discover, analyze and solve problems focussing on the big picture, issues of high importance, major events and major plans of the country.”
Of course, he ends this with emphasising the importance of the Party’s leadership over social sciences work.
Page 18: On the International page, we have a Zhong Sheng commentary about tensions in the Middle East. It calls the Palestine issue the “root cause of turmoil” in the region and says that:
“The recent deterioration of the Palestinian-Israeli situation once again shows that only a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue can achieve the peaceful coexistence of two States, Palestine and Israel, and the common development of the two peoples, which is also in the common interest of the international community…Both Palestine and Israel should immediately stop all military and hostile actions, including air strikes, ground attacks, rocket launches, etc., earnestly abide by relevant UN resolutions, avoid taking measures that may lead to further escalation of the situation, avoid harming civilians, and jointly promote the easing and cooling of tensions.”
The piece repeats China’s view on pushing ahead with the “two-state solution” with the establishment of a “sovereign and independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 border, with East Jerusalem as its capital.” Next up is criticism of the US for its UNSC stand.
“The overwhelming majority of the UN Security Council members have voiced a common just voice over the current Palestine-Israel situation. However, the United States has exclusively blocked the Council’s voice several times and stood on the opposite side of the international community. At this critical moment, the United States should shoulder its due responsibilities, adopt a fair stand, and work with most members of the international community to support the Security Council in playing its due role in alleviating the situation, rebuilding trust, and political settlement.”
The piece also talks about China’s invitation to both sides for dialogue and welcomes bilateral dialogue between them too.
Of course, while PD is saying this, CGTN probably did tremendous disservice to Chinese diplomacy, with a clearly problematic video about the Israel-Palestine issue. The video was targeting the US, but the anchor’s comments on Jews dominating media, internet and finance in the US, thereby potentially influencing American policies in the region, led to charges of anti-Semitism by the Israeli embassy in China.
The fact that the video has been taken down from Twitter since tells us that the pushback was not something that the Party appreciated. Anyway, here are some screengrabs that some people saved as part of this Twitter chatter.
Finally, note this story about the new EU legislation that compels online platforms to remove or block access to online content deemed “terrorist” in nature. PD reports that member states must incorporate the regulations into domestic laws within 20 days of its official publication, and it will take full effect one year later.
The report adds that content like “spreading extremist ideas; inciting, instigating or facilitating terrorist crimes; encouraging people to join terrorist groups; and instructing how to manufacture and use explosives and guns for the purpose of terrorism, etc” are covered by the law. “The penalties faced by offenders are to be formulated by each member state, depending on the nature of the violation and the scale of the online platform. Online platforms that repeatedly violate the regulations will face heavy fines, and the maximum fine could be around 4% of annual turnover.”