Wang Yi: Multipolarity is 'Becoming a New Reality' - China Issues Document No. 1 - Banking on Silver-Haired Economy amid Waning Demographic Dividend - China as an 'Empowering-type Major Power'
Before we get to today’s edition, let’s look at some of the reporting from the weekend.
First, late last week Foreign Minister Wang Yi was in South Africa for the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting. In his remarks at one of the sessions, Wang expressly supported the theme of “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability”. This is noteworthy given how US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had termed this as “DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] and climate change” while announcing that he will skip the G20.
At the foreign ministers’ meeting, Wang put forward the following proposals:
“First, acting as the guardians of world peace. Countries should respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and respect the development paths and social systems independently chosen by each other. Countries should persevere with dialogue and negotiation, and seek peaceful settlement to differences between countries and international and regional hotspot issues. Bloc confrontation and interference in other countries’ internal affairs must be rejected. The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence remain as relevant as ever under current circumstances.
Second, acting as the builders of universal security. Humanity is a community with a shared future. President Xi Jinping has proposed the Global Security Initiative, which advocates the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, a new path to security featuring dialogue rather than confrontation, partnership rather than alliance, and win-win rather than zero-sum, and a joint response to traditional and nontraditional security risks and challenges. China is ready for closer exchanges and cooperation with all sides in this regard.
Third, acting as the defenders of multilateralism. As the international situation becomes more complex and global challenges more acute, it is all the more important to defend the authority of the U.N. and give full play to its role. Countries need to translate the Call to Action on Global Governance Reform launched by the G20 foreign ministers into action and firmly safeguard the international system with the U.N. at its core, the international order underpinned by international law, and the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter.”
On Ukraine, Wang said that “recently the calls for peace talks are rising and the window of opportunity for peace is opening. Although the parties have different positions and it is hard to find simple solutions to complex issues, dialogue is always better than confrontation and peace talks better than fighting. China always calls for an early and peaceful settlement of the crisis and has been actively promoting peace talks in line with President Xi Jinping’s four-point observations about what must be done. China supports all efforts dedicated to peace, including the recent consensus reached between the United States and Russia. China hopes that the relevant parties can find a sustainable and lasting solution that takes into account each other's concerns. Acting on the wishes of the relevant parties and keeping in mind the concerns of the international community, especially those of the Global South, China will continue playing a constructive role in the political settlement of the crisis.”
He added that “the Gaza ceasefire agreement must be implemented in a continuous and effective manner. ‘The Palestinians governing Palestine’ is an important principle that must be upheld in the post-conflict governance of Gaza, and the two-State solution is the only viable way out. The Palestinian question should not be marginalized once again. The international community should respect the choice made by the Syrian people, and at the same time, strictly prevent extremist forces from spreading and gaining strength in Syria and deny violent terrorists any safe haven in Syria.”
Finally, he added that “China firmly supports the African people in independently resolving African problems, and opposes external interference in the internal affairs of African countries.”
In terms of bilateral meetings, the readout from Wang’s met with Russia’s Sergei Lavrov says:
“Wang Yi said, this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and the founding of the United Nations (U.N.), which is of great historic significance. During that arduous struggle, the peoples of China and Russia fought valiantly on both the Eastern and Western Fronts, enduring tremendous national sacrifices and making significant historical contributions in the effort to save their nations from the brink of destruction and strive for world peace. China and Russia, as major victorious nations of World War II and permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, jointly bear the crucial responsibility of safeguarding the victorious results of World War II and maintaining the post-war international order. No matter how the situation evolves, the foundation of China-Russia friendship remains unshakable, and both nations are duty-bound to uphold their international moral obligations as major countries. Both sides should take the opportunity of jointly commemorating the 80th anniversary to deepen China-Russia strategic coordination, actively promote the correct view on World War II, firmly defend the international system with the United Nations at its core, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Global South countries, and promote the building of an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.”
“Russia is willing to work with China to follow this guidance to strengthen high-level exchanges, deepen practical cooperation in various fields such as economy, trade, finance and people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and promote greater development of the Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination. Russia is also willing to work with China to hold a series of events to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory of World War II. Noting that both Russia and China uphold multipolarity and serve as stabilizing forces in a complex and turbulent world, he said that Russia highly recognizes the global initiatives put forward by China, highly values the high-level mutual trust between the two countries, and is willing to continue to strengthen communication and coordination with China within the BRICS mechanism, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the United Nations, the G20, and other frameworks. Sergei Lavrov introduced the latest developments in the Ukraine crisis and Russia’s consideration, saying that Russia focuses on solving the root causes of the crisis and is committed to seeking a fair and sustainable plan for peace in line with the U.N. Charter. Russia attaches importance to China's objective and just position and the ‘Friends for Peace’ group China initiated with Brazil and other countries, and is willing to maintain communication with China and strengthen cooperation with the countries of the South. Wang Yi elaborated on China's consistent position, saying that China will continue to play a constructive role in promoting peace talks and political settlement of the crisis.”
The Russian readout said:
“An in-depth discussion was held on global and regional problems, such as Eurasian security, developments in the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific Region, relations with the US, and Ukrainian crisis. The foreign ministers discussed the two countries’ cooperation within the UN and other international organisations and in various multilateral formats. Wang Yi stressed that, while promoting initiatives for a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, Beijing believes it necessary to eradicate its root causes in accordance with the corresponding principles of the UN Charter, above all unconditional respect for human rights.”
Lavrov’s remarks at the G20 are also worth reading. Here’s a key excerpt:
“The West’s attempts to contain the objective process of consolidation of new powerful centres of growth in the hope of preserving its domination clash with the multipolar realities, destabilise the geopolitical situation, and divert huge resources that otherwise could be used to address the tasks of sustainable development and those involved in overcoming socioeconomic imbalances and inequality. To fight rivals, they use a broad range of ‘hybrid-war’ methods, including illegal sanctions, protectionism, theft of sovereign assets, destruction of critical infrastructure, market and pricing machinations, abuse of reserve currencies, and more. They are attempting to justify their violations of international law, including interference in the internal affairs of states, by references to a ‘rules-based order’. The Western minority holds a dialogue with the Global South in the same old way, from the position of ‘White supremacy’. Despite the UN-sponsored resolutions, colonialism has not been eradicated to this day, for there are still 17 non-self-governing territories across the world. Neocolonial practices are flourishing in politics, the economy, the social area, and culture. The former mother countries would like to continue draining off natural riches wherever possible, while containing the industrial and technological development of countries that own these resources. Seats of tension are multiplying, while the settlement of lingering conflicts is deliberately hampered. The unresolved Palestinian problem has generated a new spiral of violence not only in Gaza but also in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. Over the past eighteen months, 47,000 Palestinian civilians fell victim to the escalating Arab-Israeli conflict. This is a record number of civilian casualties since World War II. We want to stress the following: the final settlement of this confrontation is only possible on the basis of the two-state formula and the creation of an independent Palestine coexisting with Israel in peace and security. Yet another knot of confrontation is being tied in the Asia Pacific Region. The ultimate goal of the ‘Indo-Pacific strategies’ that erode the universal ASEAN-centric formats is to promote NATO’s interests in this part of the world and “contain” independent players. In Europe, the thoughtless expansion of NATO has resulted in the Ukraine crisis. What prevents the conflict from being ended is the uncontrolled financial support and the funneling of arms into the openly racist Kiev regime by its patrons.”
“Nevertheless, there is a growing awareness of the fact that a solution can only be found on the path of removing the prime causes of the crisis in Ukraine, including through compliance with the obligations on respecting human rights, such as the right to language and religion, and adherence to the principle of indivisible security in Europe. A detailed discussion of this topic took place during the Russian-US talks in Riyadh on February 18 of this year.
“There are persisting threats of international terrorism that have acquired a new dimension following NATO’s military ventures in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and Syria. Terrorist groups across the world are getting Western weapons that flow away from Ukraine. True to its tradition of double standards, the West divides militants into ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys’. In Europe, this short-sighted policy has led to the terrorist attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines. They are supporting radical nationalist and even openly neo-Nazi movements as yet another tool of confrontation with Russia…Security can only be indivisible and equal for all. There is no place for hegemony or hostile bloc policies in a multipolar environment. It is high time the West accepted the new balance of forces and started building a relationship with the Global Majority countries based on mutual respect. We also discussed this with our US colleagues in Riyadh and reached agreement on the main point: International relations must be based on an understanding that each country has its own national interests.”
This seems like the perfect moment to pitch the next episode of my podcast The Great Power Show, which will air on March 1, 2025. I talk to Paul Poast, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, about whether the US under Donald Trump is retreating from the world stage or is it trying to create a new ideological balance of power?
You can subscribe for new episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcast or Substack.
‘‘Next, let’s look at the readout from Wang’s meeting with Indian FM S. Jaishankar. It says:
“Wang Yi said, President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a successful meeting in Kazan last year, which set the general direction for the improvement and development of bilateral relations. The two sides agreed that China and India, as two ancient civilizations and neighboring countries, should trust and support each other and help each other succeed. Exchanges at all levels between the two countries have resumed in an orderly manner, while the special representatives on the boundary question have reached common understandings on properly handling specific differences. Restoring mutual trust and achieving win-win cooperation between China and India align with the common expectations of the two peoples. Both sides should take the common understandings reached between the leaders of the two countries as fundamental guidance to ensure that bilateral relations remain on the right track. China is ready to work with India to plan commemorative activities for the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, to inject new impetus into the development of bilateral relations.”
The Hindu reports:
“MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the two leaders ‘reviewed developments in a bilateral relationship since their last meeting in November’ on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Brazil. They specifically discussed the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage, trans-border river talks, flight connectivity, and facilitation of travel.”
Next, the readout from Wang’s meeting with Australian FM Penny Wong says:
“Wang Yi said that under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, China-Australia relations have stabilized, which has been welcomed by all sectors of both countries. The return of bilateral relations to the track of sound and stable development serves the common interests of both sides and conforms to the shared aspirations of the two peoples. China is ready to work with Australia to build a more mature, stable and fruitful China-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership. China appreciates Australia’s repeated commitment to the one-China principle, and hopes that Australia will continue to respect China's core interests and major concerns, safeguard the political foundation of bilateral relations, and properly manage differences. In the face of the current complex and volatile international situation, China holds that all countries should practice true multilateralism, and major countries, in particular, should demonstrate exemplary responsibility in firmly opposing ‘turning back the wheel of history’ and returning to the ‘law of the jungle’. China is ready to work with Australia and other members of the international community to defend the victorious outcomes of World War II and uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core.”
In the same readout, Wong talks about Australia’s adherence to the “one-China policy” as opposed to principle.
The readout from Wang’s meeting with Saudi FM Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud says:
Said said that “Saudi Arabia attaches great importance to China’s role as a major country and its important influence, and hopes to find more feasible political solutions to hotspot issues with China's support. Saudi Arabia opposes the forcible displacement of the Palestinian people in Gaza, highly appreciates China’s adherence to principles and upholding justice on the Palestinian-Israeli issue, and hopes and believes that China will continue to play a positive role in achieving peace in the Middle East.”
Wang said that “China is ready to maintain exchanges at all levels and expand cooperation with Saudi Arabia in various fields such as economy, trade, investment, new energy industry, digital economy, information and telecommunications, and high-end manufacturing, so as to take China-Saudi Arabia relations to a higher level. Wang Yi said that China appreciates Saudi Arabia’s active mediation of hotspot issues and is pleased to see Saudi Arabia play a constructive role in regional peace and stability. Noting that the Palestinian question is the core of the Middle East issue, he said China will continue to stand firmly with Arab brothers and make efforts to redress historical injustice thoroughly and restore lasting peace in the region at an early date. The two sides also had an exchange of views on China’s relations with Arab and Persian Gulf states, and expressed that both sides will strengthen communication and coordination to achieve more outcomes in China-Arab and China-GCC practical cooperation.”
The readout from Wang’s meeting with Turkish FM Hakan Fidan said:
“Wang Yi said that both China and Türkiye are part of the Global South and are accelerating the advancement of the industrialization process. There is huge potential for practical cooperation between the two countries. China attaches great importance to its relations with Türkiye and places bilateral relations at an important position in its Middle East diplomacy. China is ready to strengthen communication and coordination with Türkiye, deepen the synergy of development strategies, expand cooperation areas, and bring benefits to the two countries and other countries in the region. Wang Yi thanked Türkiye for its assistance in the recent safe evacuation of Chinese citizens from Syria. Resolutely countering terrorism in all forms serves the common interests of both China and Türkiye, and is also a strong consensus of the international community. China is ready to strengthen counter-terrorism cooperation with Türkiye and jointly safeguard regional and world peace and tranquility.”
Fidan also said that “Türkiye appreciates China's just position on issues such as the Ukraine crisis and the Palestinian question, supports the six-point consensus jointly proposed by China and Brazil, agrees that the two-State solution must be adhered to, and welcomes China's efforts to enhance contact with regional countries.”
Wang also met with Algerian FM Ahmed Attaf; Angolan FM Téte António; WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; and South African FM Ronald Lamola.
On Page 3 today, there’s an interview with Wang Yi, capturing the highlights of his visit to Germany, UK, Ireland and South Africa. In response to the question around the Munich Security Conference, Wang said:
“A multipolar world is both a historical inevitability and is becoming a new reality. Promoting the construction of an equal and orderly multipolar world is an important proposition put forward by President Xi Jinping, and is our sincere expectation for a multipolar world. China will be a factor of certainty in the multipolar system and will firmly be a constructive force in a changing world. We advocate treating each other as equals, adhering to equality of rights, equality of opportunity, and equality of rules. Countries big and small are all equal. We should enhance the representation and voice of developing countries in the international system, ensuring all countries can find their place in the multipolar system. We insist on respecting the rule of law, especially following the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. Major powers should take the lead in being trustworthy and upholding the rule of law, resolutely abandon zero-sum games, should not return to jungle law, and cannot practice double standards in complying with international law. We call for practicing multilateralism, advocating a global governance perspective of joint consultation, joint construction and sharing, maintaining the UN’s authority and status, strengthening unity and sharing responsibility in governing global problems and responding to global challenges. We support open and win-win cooperation. Protectionism is not the way out, ‘decoupling and breaking chains’ cuts off opportunities, ‘small yards with high walls’ only closes oneself off. We must support equal and orderly world multipolarity with inclusive economic globalisation.” 王毅：尽管世界面临复杂挑战，但和平、发展、合作、共赢的时代潮流不可阻挡，世界多极化和经济全球化的历史大势不可逆转。多极化的世界既是历史的必然，也正在成为新的现实。推动构建平等有序的世界多极化是习近平主席提出的重要主张，是我们对多极世界的真诚期许。中国将是多极体系中的确定性因素，将坚定做变革世界中的建设性力量。我们倡导平等相待，坚持权利平等、机会平等、规则平等，大小国家一律平等，提升发展中国家在国际体系中的代表性和发言权，确保各国都能在多极体系中找到自己的位置。我们坚持尊重法治，尤其要遵守联合国宪章的宗旨和原则。大国要带头讲诚信，讲法治，坚决摒弃零和博弈，不应重拾丛林法则，在遵守国际法上不能搞双重标准。我们呼吁践行多边主义，倡导共商共建共享的全球治理观，维护联合国的权威和地位，在治理全球难题、应对全球性挑战中加强团结、共担责任。我们支持开放共赢，保护主义不是出路，“脱钩断链”断的是机遇，“小院高墙”封的是自己，要以普惠包容的经济全球化支撑平等有序的世界多极化.
He also talks about supporting South Africa in hosting the G20. On Europe, Wang said:
China has always viewed China-EU relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective, regarding Europe as an important direction of major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics and a key partner in achieving Chinese-style modernization. China-EU relations are not targeted at, dependent on, or subject to any third party. During this European trip, I felt that under the strategic guidance of head-of-state diplomacy, Europe’s policy towards China is becoming more rational and pragmatic. Europe hopes to understand China’s thoughts and actions, is willing to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with China, handle differences through dialogue, and is happy to work with China to maintain and strengthen multilateralism and promote global governance. This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the EU, and the development of China-EU relations has reached an important juncture that builds on the past and opens up the future. No matter how the international situation changes, China will work with Europe to summarize the successful experiences of bilateral relations development, anchor the correct positioning of partnership, adhere to the main theme of mutually beneficial cooperation, handle differences and disparities through dialogue and consultation, and continue to be strategic partners that respect each other, trust each other, and maintain long-term stability. We believe that with joint efforts from both sides, China-EU relations can initiate a new round of ‘mutual advancement’ and jointly open up a brighter and friendlier next 50 years.” 中国始终从战略高度和长远角度看待中欧关系，将欧洲作为中国特色大国外交的重要方向和实现中国式现代化的关键伙伴。中欧关系不针对、不依附、也不受制于第三方。此次欧洲之行感受到，在元首外交战略引领下，欧洲对华政策趋于理性务实，希望了解中国所思所行，愿同中国加强交流合作，通过对话妥处分歧，乐于同中国共同维护和加强多边主义，推进全球治理。今年是中国欧盟建交50周年，中欧关系发展迎来继往开来的重要节点。无论国际形势如何变化，中方都将同欧方一道，总结双方关系发展成功经验，锚定伙伴正确定位，坚持互利合作主基调，通过对话协商处理好分歧和差异，继续作彼此尊重、相互信任、长期稳定的战略伙伴。相信在双方共同努力下，中欧关系能够开启新一轮“双向奔赴”，共同开辟更加光明友好的下一个50年.
On Ukraine and Gaza, he doesn’t say anything different from what I have covered above anyway. The final question is interesting, where Wang talked about three prominent impressions that he has carried with himself after his meetings.
First, peace and stability are the common pursuit of the international community, with the vast majority of countries hoping for the cessation of warfare, expecting hot spots to cool down, worrying about division and confrontation, and opposing the resort to force at every turn.
Second, development and prosperity are the urgent expectations of all countries, with Global South countries having an even more urgent desire for development and revitalisation, particularly emphasising sustainable development and green transformation. Trade wars are unpopular, and unilateral sanctions will inevitably backfire.
Third, expecting China to play a role is a universal call. More and more countries realize that China is a stable anchor in a turbulent world, hoping that China will play a role and make contributions in responding to various global challenges, and we increasingly feel this weighty responsibility.
在百年变局加速演进、世界更加动荡不安的背景下，通过同各方交流，有三点突出感受。首先，和平稳定是国际社会的共同追求，绝大多数国家都希望战火平息，期待热点降温，担忧分裂对抗，反对动辄诉诸武力。第二，发展繁荣是各国的迫切期待，全球南方国家追求发展振兴的愿望更加迫切，尤其重视可持续发展和绿色转型。打贸易战不得人心，搞单边制裁必将反噬自身。第三，期待中国发挥作用是普遍呼声。越来越多国家意识到，中国是动荡世界中的稳定锚，希望中国为应对各种全球性挑战发挥作用、作出贡献，我们愈感这份沉甸甸的责任。
Moving on, the State Council executive meeting on Friday covered three areas.
It studied the work related to trade in services and consumption of services
A new action plan to improve the recycling system for used NEV power batteries being approved.
It discussed a report on the work of the State Council departments in handling the suggestions of NPC deputies and the CPPCC NC’s proposals in 2024
The meeting pointed out that the development of trade in services and consumption of services is an important means to stabilise foreign trade and expand domestic demand. It is necessary to focus on innovation and enhance trade in services, fully implement the negative list of cross-border trade in services, actively connect with international high-standard economic and trade rules, and study and launch a number of new opening-up measures in the fields of telecommunications, education, culture, medical care, finance, etc. Actively promote the export of services and enhance the international market development and international service capabilities of China’s service enterprises. Create a number of comprehensive reform and opening-up platforms for trade in services, and expand multilateral and regional cooperation in trade in services and digital trade. It is necessary to promote high-quality development of service consumption, implement actions to improve service quality for people's benefit, support innovation in service consumption scenarios, integration of business formats, and industrial clustering, and improve standards in areas such as cultural tourism, food and accommodation, elderly care and childcare, digital consumption, and others. Through methods of ‘opening up to the outside’ and ‘opening up internally’, comprehensively utilizing fiscal, tax, financial and other policies, fully leveraging market forces, further increase the supply of quality services, to better meet the diverse service consumption needs of the masses.” 会议指出，发展服务贸易和服务消费是稳外贸、扩内需的重要抓手。要着力创新提升服务贸易，全面实施跨境服务贸易负面清单，主动对接国际高标准经贸规则，在电信、教育、文化、医疗、金融等领域研究推出一批新的开放举措。积极促进服务出口，提升我国服务企业国际市场开拓和国际化服务能力。打造一批服务贸易综合改革开放平台，拓展服务贸易、数字贸易多双边和区域合作。要推动服务消费高质量发展，实施服务消费提质惠民行动，支持服务消费场景创新、业态融合、产业集聚，完善文化旅游、餐饮住宿、养老托育、数字消费等领域标准。通过“对外开放”、“对内放开”的办法，综合运用财政、税收、金融等政策，充分利用市场力量，进一步增加优质服务供给，更好满足群众多样化服务消费需求.
The report adds:
“The meeting pointed out that China’s new energy vehicle power batteries have now entered a phase of large-scale retirement, and it is particularly important to comprehensively improve the capacity and level of power battery recycling and utilisation. We must strengthen whole-chain management, focus on clearing bottlenecks and blockages, construct a standardised, safe, and efficient recycling and utilisation system, use digital technology to strengthen monitoring of power battery whole-lifecycle flow, and achieve full traceability throughout production, sales, dismantling, and utilisation. We must use legal means to standardise recycling and utilisation, formulate and improve relevant administrative regulations, and strengthen supervision and management. We must accelerate the formulation and revision of relevant standards such as power battery green design and product carbon footprint accounting, using standards to lead and drive recycling and utilisation.” 会议指出，当前我国新能源汽车动力电池已进入规模化退役阶段，全面提升动力电池回收利用能力水平尤为重要。要强化全链条管理，着力打通堵点卡点，构建规范、安全、高效的回收利用体系，运用数字化技术加强动力电池全生命周期流向监测，实现生产、销售、拆解、利用全程可追溯。要用法治化手段规范回收利用，制定完善相关行政法规，加强监督管理。要加快制定修订动力电池绿色设计、产品碳足迹核算等相关标准，以标准引领带动回收利用.
Finally, over the weekend, after a period of seven years, the CMC approved three regulations pertaining to the PLA. These are the Regulations on Internal Affairs of the Chinese PLA (中国人民解放军内务条令), Regulations on Discipline of the PLA (中国人民解放军纪律条令), and Regulations on Military Formations (or ‘Drills’) of the PLA – together known as ‘Common Regulations’. These regulations, to be promulgated through an executive order signed by CMC Chairman Xi Jinping, and expected to come into force starting April 1, 2025, have been revised for the first time since April 2018. Then too, the Regulations were in the trial stage of their implementation. My colleague Anushka Saxena offered a breakdown of the reporting around this in the Eye on China newsletter.
Here are the reports on articles that I found worth reading in the People’s Daily on Monday, February 24, 2025.
Page 1: Much of the front page today is dedicated to the No. 1 central document, which provides guidelines with regard to the priorities to deepen rural reforms further and solid steps to advance all-around rural revitalisation. The full document is available in the paper. Xinhua reports:
“The document consists of six parts covering six areas: ensuring the supply of grain and other important agricultural products, consolidating the achievements of poverty elimination, developing local industries, advancing rural construction, improving the rural governance system, and optimizing the rural resource allocation system. The document calls for enhanced efforts in work related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers in 2025 and beyond, and sets the goals of advancing all-around rural revitalization and consolidating the country's agricultural foundations further.”
On specific items, the document calls to:
“Increase efforts to implement the new round of the task to raise grain production capacity by 100 billion jin. Take multiple measures to consolidate the achievements of soybean expansion, tap the potential for expanding the cultivation of rapeseed and peanuts, and support the development of oil tea and other woody oil crops. Promote stable production and quality improvement of cotton, sugar crops, and natural rubber.” 加力落实新一轮千亿斤粮食产能提升任务。多措并举巩固大豆扩种成果，挖掘油菜、花生扩种潜力，支持发展油茶等木本油料。推动棉花、糖料、天然橡胶等稳产提质.
These are summarised points and not direct translations: Ensure breakthroughs in key core technologies related to agriculture, promote the industrialisation of biological breeding, promote the high-quality development of agricultural machinery and equipment, and support the development of smart agriculture and expand the application scenarios of artificial intelligence, data, low-altitude and other technologies. 推进农业科技力量协同攻关。以科技创新引领先进生产要素集聚，因地制宜发展农业新质生产力。瞄准加快突破关键核心技术，强化农业科研资源力量统筹，培育农业科技领军企业。深入实施种业振兴行动，发挥“南繁硅谷”等重大农业科研平台作用，加快攻克一批突破性品种。继续推进生物育种产业化。推动农机装备高质量发展，加快国产先进适用农机装备等研发应用，推进老旧农机报废更新。支持发展智慧农业，拓展人工智能、数据、低空等技术应用场景.
The document calls for action to prevent people from relapsing into poverty, rural infrastructure and public services development, improving rural governance and customs, etc.
The one interesting bit is about financing. The document says:
“Increase support from central budget investment, ultra-long-term special treasury bonds and local government special bonds for major project construction in agriculture and rural areas. Use monetary policy tools such as re-lending, rediscounting, and differentiated reserve requirement ratios to promote financial institutions to increase funding to rural revitalisation areas. Support financial institutions to issue special ‘agriculture, rural areas, and farmers’ financial bonds. Encourage qualified enterprises to issue rural revitalisation bonds. Deeply advance the construction of rural credit systems, strengthen the collection and sharing of agriculture-related credit information. Promote mortgage financing loans for livestock and poultry as living assets and agricultural facilities. Adhere to rural small and medium-sized banks' positioning of supporting agriculture and small businesses, accelerate rural credit cooperative reform with "one province, one policy" approach, steadily and orderly promote village and township bank reform and restructuring. Improve the multi-level agricultural insurance system, support the development of specialty agricultural product insurance. Severely crack down on various illegal financial activities in rural areas. Strengthen whole-process supervision of agriculture-related fund projects, focus on rectifying problems such as fraudulent obtaining, interception and misappropriation of funds benefiting farmers.” 创新乡村振兴投融资机制。优先保障农业农村领域一般公共预算投入，强化绩效管理激励约束。加大中央预算内投资、超长期特别国债和地方政府专项债券对农业农村领域重大项目建设的支持力度。运用再贷款、再贴现、差别化存款准备金率等货币政策工具，推动金融机构加大对乡村振兴领域资金投放。支持金融机构发行“三农”专项金融债券。鼓励符合条件的企业发行乡村振兴债券。深入推进农村信用体系建设，加强涉农信用信息归集共享。推广畜禽活体、农业设施等抵押融资贷款。坚持农村中小银行支农支小定位，“一省一策”加快农村信用社改革，稳妥有序推进村镇银行改革重组。健全多层次农业保险体系，支持发展特色农产品保险。严厉打击农村各类非法金融活动。加强涉农资金项目全过程监管，着力整治骗取套取、截留挪用惠农资金等问题.
Also on the page is an editorial and feature piece on this document, if you are interested.
Moving on, today’s netizen’s question-based article is on aging and China’s demographic dividend. It says that:
At present, China’s population development exhibits trend characteristics such as declining birth rates and aging. The elderly population aged 60 and above accounts for more than 20%. On one hand, we are moving toward common prosperity; on the other, we are experiencing ‘aging before getting rich’. This is the reality before us. Does ‘aging before getting rich’ mean the disappearance of the demographic dividend? Can population development still support us in improving people's well-being and achieving Chinese-style modernisation? To seek answers, we might first focus on two key concepts and clarify the dialectical relationship between population and dividends, as well as between ‘wealth’ and ‘aging’. 当前，我国人口发展呈现少子化、老龄化等趋势性特征，60岁及以上老年人口占比超两成。一边迈向共同富裕，一边经历“未富先老”，这是摆在面前的现实。“未富先老”，是否意味着人口红利消失？人口发展，还能支撑我们增进民生福祉、实现中国式现代化吗？寻求答案，不妨先着眼其中的两组关键词，厘清人口与红利、“富”与“老”的辩证关系.
Decades of rapid development and ‘two miracles’ were undoubtedly due to the abundance of labor. At the same time, the institutional dividends of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the policy dividends of reform and opening up were the fundamental reasons. Population is not the whole of the development dividend; even if the labor force decreases, there are still factors such as policies, technology, and capital that can compensate and serve as a safety net to counterbalance the impact. Furthermore, the meaning of the demographic dividend is also evolving with the times. Population development is not only about quantity but also about quality. As education levels and national quality have significantly improved, the demographic dividend has not disappeared but has instead opened up new growth space for a talent dividend. Unlocking the talent dividend to drive technological innovation and industrial upgrading is precisely an integral part of ‘supporting Chinese-style modernisation through high-quality population development’.
Population and dividends are not a simple arithmetic problem of addition and subtraction but more like a complex function incorporating multiple variables and algorithms, requiring a higher-level perspective for thorough analysis. Similarly, the demographic dividend should be considered in terms of both increments and stock; it is not only about the ‘new generation’ but also about the increasingly empowered ‘older generation’. In the past, people worried that the elderly would struggle to keep up with the digital age. In the blink of an eye, many seniors have embraced short videos, fallen in love with online shopping, and even become internet influencers and e-commerce entrepreneurs, breaking barriers and gaining widespread popularity. China’s 170 million elderly internet users have injected new vitality into the internet, demonstrating the continuing effects of the demographic dividend, which should not be underestimated. 数十年的快速发展、“两大奇迹”，无疑得益于劳动力丰富。同时，中国特色社会主义的制度红利、改革开放的政策红利，更是根本原因。人口，并非发展红利的全部；即便劳动力减少，尚有政策、技术、资本等要素补位、兜底，对冲单方面影响。再说人口红利，其内涵也在与时俱进。人口发展，既看数量，也看质量。随着教育水平、国民素质显著提升，人口红利非但没有消失，反倒为人才红利打开了增长空间。释放人才红利，助推科技创新、产业升级，正是“以人口高质量发展支撑中国式现代化”的题中之义。人口与红利，不是一道简单的加减题，更像囊括若干变量和算法的多元函数，通过高阶视角，才能透彻解析。同理，人口红利不仅要看增量，还要看存量；不仅在于“新生代”，也在于愈发给力的“老一辈”。曾经，人们还担心老年人跟不上信息时代的节奏。转眼间，一批老年人刷起了短视频、爱上了网购，甚至自己当网红、做电商，破次元、火出圈。1.7亿中国老年网民为互联网注入新活力，人口红利的延续效应，不容小觑。放眼更多领域，银发群体同样朝气蓬勃。风景名胜地，带着户外装备、摄影器材，体力不输小年轻；相约健身房、滑雪场，燃烧卡路里；投身各类教育平台，舍得为知识付费，活到老、学到老。中老年文旅年消费超7000亿元、在线教育人群约3500万、马拉松参赛者逐年增加……六七十岁，正是“闯”的年纪。
Looking at more fields, the silver-haired population is just as vibrant. At scenic spots, they carry outdoor gear and photography equipment, showing stamina comparable to the young; they meet up at gyms and ski resorts to burn calories; they engage in various educational platforms and willingly pay for knowledge, embracing lifelong learning. Middle-aged and elderly tourism consumption exceeds 700 billion yuan annually, online education users in this group number around 35 million, and marathon participation among them continues to grow—people in their sixties and seventies are in their prime to explore. Aging is not necessarily an obstacle to wealth. The ‘silver economy’ has been written into policy documents and is gaining momentum; ‘silver power’ was selected as a buzzword of the year, drawing attention; accompanying elderly patients to doctor visits and ghostwriting memoirs have become new income-generating occupations for many young people. Things happening around us and big data are all indicating that the needs of hundreds of millions of ‘silver-haired group’ for a better life represent a huge potential market, which can completely become a driving force for economic growth and an opportunity for social development.” 放眼更多领域，银发群体同样朝气蓬勃。风景名胜地，带着户外装备、摄影器材，体力不输小年轻；相约健身房、滑雪场，燃烧卡路里；投身各类教育平台，舍得为知识付费，活到老、学到老。中老年文旅年消费超7000亿元、在线教育人群约3500万、马拉松参赛者逐年增加……六七十岁，正是“闯”的年纪.
Harnessing the power of aging to create new dividends once again. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the Opinions on Deepening the Reform and Development of Elderly Care Services, explicitly proposing to ‘establish a tiered and classified, inclusive, accessible, urban-rural covering, and sustainable elderly care service system’, ‘further stimulate the vitality of the elderly care sector and industry to better meet the diversified elderly care needs of the elderly,’ and ‘ensure that all elderly people enjoy a happy and peaceful old age’. Top-level design has pointed the way, and numerous practitioners and innovators are working diligently to follow through. China’s population has both quantity and quality, and the silver generation is rising strongly, proving that they are still in their prime. The release of a new dividend is both promising and within reach. Broadening the horizon, we can also see that we should coordinate the response to the low birth rate and aging population to avoid losing one thing while focusing on the other; further comprehensively deepen reform and expand opening up, and continuously provide new impetus for the realisation of Chinese-style modernisation under the new situation of population development. A series of strategic moves will take care of the present and illuminate the future. “老”，未必是“富”的阻碍。“银发经济”写进政策文件，站上风口；“银发力量”入选年度流行语，引人注目；陪老年人就诊、代写回忆录，成为许多年轻人“创收”的新行当。身边事、大数据都在表明，亿万“银发族”对美好生活的需要，是个巨大的潜在市场，完全可以成为经济增长的动力、社会发展的机遇。向“老”发力，再创红利。中共中央、国务院印发《关于深化养老服务改革发展的意见》，明确提出“健全分级分类、普惠可及、覆盖城乡、持续发展的养老服务体系”“进一步激发养老事业和养老产业发展活力，更好满足老年人多层次多样化养老服务需求”“让全体老年人安享幸福晚年”……顶层设计指明方向，众多实干者、创新者循声耕耘。人口有存量、有质量，银发力量支棱起来、老当益壮。释放新红利，可期亦可及。
Page 3: Apart from the Wang Yi interview, which I covered earlier, there’s a Hé Yīn commentary calling on China to develop into an “Empowering-type Major Power/Enabling-type Major Power” 赋能型大国. This is a new series. It says:
Historically, some major powers have achieved modernisation by taking the path of ‘extractive’ expansion. The development of these countries has come at the expense of the development of other countries, bringing profound suffering to the people of developing countries. China, however, insists on dissolving zero-sum competition through coexistence, replacing dominance with shared benefits, supporting other countries' development through its own progress, and promoting global modernisation through Chinese-style modernisation. For this, China has been recognised as an ‘empowering-type major power’. Australian scholar Warwick Powell has pointed out that China is an ‘enabler’. While seeking more balanced development at home, it is also promoting global integration through trade, capital export and technology transfer to solve the problem of unbalanced global development for decades. 历史上，一些大国实现现代化，走的是“收割型”扩张的道路。这些国家的发展以牺牲其他国家发展为代价，给广大发展中国家人民带来深重苦难。中国坚持以共生消解零和，以共享替代支配，以自身发展助力其他国家发展，以中国式现代化促进世界现代化，被誉为“赋能型大国”。澳大利亚学者鲍韶山指出，中国是一个“赋能者”，在寻求国内更均衡发展的同时，也在通过贸易、资本输出和技术转让，促进全球一体化，解决数十年来全球发展不均衡的问题.
So how does China do this? The piece argues that China’s own economic growth contributes to global growth and vitality; “China’s contribution to world economic growth is about 30%, and it is the main engine of world economic growth.” 中国对世界经济增长的贡献率约为30%，是世界经济增长的主要引擎.
It adds that China empowers and enables by enhancing “the internal and external linkage of development and activating common prosperity by sharing opportunities. China is increasingly becoming a growth point and innovation laboratory for enterprises from all over the world.” 赋能之道，在于不断增强发展的内外联动性，以共享机遇激活共同繁荣。中国日益成为各国企业的增长发力点、创新实验室. In other words, the Chinese market creates opportunities.
“The way to empower is to lead the changes of the times with scientific concepts and shape a new pattern of global development in response to challenges. At present, economic globalisation is facing headwinds and global development is at a new crossroads. It is an urgent need for all countries to clear the fog and outline long-term development concepts for moving forward together. The empowering role of Chinese concepts is becoming increasingly prominent: China has always advocated the diversification of development paths and broken the myth of ‘uni-dimensionality’. African scholars have remarked that ‘the most important lesson Africa has learned from China is to choose a development logic that suits its national conditions rather than an externally imposed formula’; China has always adhered to the people-centered approach and proposed that ‘no one should be left behind on the road to modernisation, and no country should be left behind’, which is praised as ‘not only an update of economic logic, but also a sublimation of the realm of civilisation’; China has always focused on win-win cooperation and pursued positive-sum outcomes, leading an increasing number of people to realise that the development of countries in today’s era is not an exclusive competition, but a process of symbiotic growth; China has always promoted the exchange of governance experience, and macro theories and micro experiences such as ‘the interaction between an effective government and an efficient market’, ‘poverty alleviation starts with fostering ambition’, and ‘teaching a person to fish is better than giving them a fish’ to the world, enriching the toolbox of other countries to solve the development dilemma. A China that adheres to openness, advocates sharing, and works with other countries will bring win-win development to the world and convey hope and confidence. Firmly committed to being an ‘empowering power’, China will continue to add momentum to the world’s modernization.” 赋能之道，在于以科学理念引领时代之变，在因应挑战中塑造全球发展新格局。当前，经济全球化遭遇逆风，全球发展处于新的十字路口，廓清迷雾、擘画长远的发展理念，是各国共同前行的迫切需要。中国理念的赋能作用日益凸显：始终倡导发展道路多样化，打破“单向度”迷思，非洲学者感慨“非洲从中国学到最重要一课，是选择符合国情的发展逻辑而非外部给定的公式”；始终坚持以人民为中心，提出“现代化道路上一个都不能少，一国都不能掉队”，被誉为“不仅是经济逻辑的更新，更是文明境界的升华”；始终聚焦共赢、谋求正和，引领越来越多人认识到，当今时代各国发展不是排他的竞技，而是共生的成长；始终推动治国理政经验交流，“有为政府与有效市场互动配合”“扶贫先扶志”“授人以鱼不如授人以渔”等宏观理论与微观经验不断走向世界，充实其他国家破解发展困局的工具箱。一个坚持开放、崇尚共享、与各国同行的中国，给世界带来的是共赢发展，传递的是希望信心。坚定做“赋能型大国”，中国将不断为世界现代化增添动能.