Worries around Employment & Logistics - Philosophy & Social Sciences Development Plan - Wei Fenghe visits Iran - MoFA on Karachi Attack - Q1 Data: FA Investment in Transport & Current Account Surplus
Here are the stories and pieces that I found noteworthy in the Thursday, April 28, 2022, edition of the People’s Daily.
Page 1: One of the lead reports on the page is about Xi Jinping’s letter (English letter) to the First Innovation Exchange Conference for Craftsmen of the Nation. The letter says:
“Skilled workers are main forces underpinning China’s manufacturing sector (made in China) and innovation drive (create in China). The working class and other working people in China should carry forward the spirit of model workers, hard work and craftsmanship and adapt themselves to the requirements of the current global revolution in science and technology and industrial transformation. With diligence, dedication, innovation and initiative, they must keep honing their skills and contribute their wisdom and strength to promoting high-quality development, making China strong in manufacturing, and building a modern socialist country in all respects. Party committees and governments at all levels should deepen the reform to train industrial workers and fully leverage the role of skilled workers, seeing that their creativity and expertise is fully unleashed.”
On the top of the page is a report about the new National Plan for the Development of Philosophy and Social Sciences during the 14th FYP period. The aim is to “implement the Party Central Committee’s proposal to accelerate the construction of a philosophy with Chinese characteristics.”
The next paragraph says that the plan calls for the “work of philosophy and social sciences to adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, strengthen the ‘four consciousnesses’, strengthen the ‘four self-confidences’, and achieve the ‘two safeguards’. It must persist on being based in China and drawing lessons from foreign countries, explore history, grasp the present, care for mankind and face the future, take accelerating the construction of philosophy and social science with Chinese characteristics as the theme, focus on improving academic originality as the main line, and strengthen the discipline system and academic system, and discourse system…” The aim is for philosophy and social sciences to provide “strong ideological and intellectual support for building a comprehensive socialist modern country.”
The report says that the plan calls for philosophy and social sciences to adhere to overall leadership of the party and implement the leadership of the party in all aspects of work.
“It should give full play to the leading role of Marxism in philosophy and social sciences, carrying out in-depth research and development projects on Marxist theory, deepening and expanding research and interpretation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and forming an academic support system for the Party's innovative theories.”《规划》强调，要切实发挥马克思主义对哲学社会科学的引领作用，深入实施马克思主义理论研究和建设工程，深化拓展习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究阐释，形成党的创新理论学术支撑体系。
The plan calls for “strengthening the construction of new-type think tanks with Chinese characteristics, and the need to strive to establish new-type think tanks with important decision-making influence, social influence, and international influence, so as to provide support for promoting scientific and democratic decision-making according to law, modernising the national governance system and governance capacity, promoting high-quality economic and social development and enhancing the country’s soft power.” 《规划》提出，要加强中国特色新型智库建设，着力打造一批具有重要决策影响力、社会影响力、国际影响力的新型智库，为推动科学民主依法决策、推进国家治理体系和治理能力现代化、推动经济社会高质量发展、提升国家软实力提供支撑.
Third, there’s a report about the State Council’s weekly meeting. There were two focus areas, i.e., employment and ensuring smooth transport and logistics. Xinhua English has a detailed report. It says:
“The meeting noted the crucial role of stable employment in helping keep major economic indicators within the appropriate range. More robust measures must be adopted to keep employment stable. ‘Now we need to place greater importance on stabilizing employment. The new round of COVID flare-ups has hit employment quite hard. More forceful measures will be taken to enable the early resumption of full-capacity production of enterprises on the basis of sound COVID-19 control. It is particularly important to ensure the normal operation of key enterprises in the industrial and supply chains, transport and logistics enterprises, enterprises for COVID response and ensuring supply and key infrastructure. Point-to-point assistance will be provided to those facing massive difficulties,’ Li said.”
It adds:
“The meeting called for dedicated efforts to support market entities in keeping their payrolls stable. Policies to temporarily defer premiums payment for old-age insurance, unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation will be expanded from the catering, retail, tourism, civil aviation, highway, waterway and railway transportation industries to all micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and self-employed households facing COVID-induced difficulties in their operations. The proportion of refunding unemployment insurance premiums for MSMEs and self-employed households that make no or minimal cuts to staff numbers will be increased to as high as 90 percent. Localities will be supported to implement time-limited discounts on electricity consumption for industries in special difficulty, and broadband service and dedicated internet service provided for MSMEs at concessional rates on an ongoing basis, to lower costs for seeking employment, starting businesses or working from home. Enterprises can negotiate with employees to adopt flexible work hours to stabilize jobs. Healthy development of the platform economy will be advanced to boost job creation.”
And this:
“College graduates will be supported to start their own businesses. Policies supporting business start-ups and innovation will be implemented. The program to provide young people including college graduates with one million internship openings will be pushed forward, and subsidies given to enterprises that provide such internship opportunities. A batch of projects such as farmland irrigation and water conservancy and rural roads will be launched, and public works programs extended, to increase job opportunities for migrant workers. (Quick thought: This sounds like an ad hoc, temporary Chinese version of MGNREGA)
Greater efforts will be made to ensure sound employment services and meet people’s basic needs. Support measures such as deferred repayment of student loans and interest reduction and exemption will be explored. Unemployed migrant workers that joined the scheme less than one year ago will receive provisional living allowances. Temporary assistance will be provided to people who lost their jobs due to the COVID impact, live in difficulty, and have not joined the scheme. Local governments are required to meet their responsibilities for stable employment, and their work in this respect will be included in their performance-based assessments. Localities should implement policies creatively to achieve the employment target set for the whole year.”
Bloomberg’s story on the State Council meeting and employment situation has this interesting chart, which explains the extent of the problem.
The report informs that the State Council has set up a working mechanism to deal with transport and logistics bottlenecks. The tweet below underscores why this is becoming critical.
Anyway, Xinhua reports that:
“The meeting required efforts to ensure the efficient running of trunk traffic network. Toll stations and service areas along expressways should stay open to the greatest extent possible. Transportation of goods to and from airports and ports will be unclogged. Platform and delivery enterprises will be supported to scale up their transport capacity. Micro-circulation for logistics will be kept smooth. Support will be provided for outlets including express service points shut down due to COVID to resume operation and for delivery men to return to work in an orderly manner. Rural roads will be kept open and smooth. Transportation of agricultural supplies and farm produce will be guaranteed. Intensified efforts will be made to ensure logistics in key regions and for key industries and enterprises. Transit stations adequately stock with emergency supplies need to be fully harnessed, to ensure the transportation of daily necessities, goods of key enterprises in the industrial and supply chains, and exports and imports.”
“Value-added tax will be exempted on eligible revenues generated from express delivery services starting May 1 till the end of the year. An 100-billion-yuan re-lending quota will be in place as quickly as possible to support financing for transport, logistics and warehousing industries. Deferred payment of auto loans will be supported as appropriate.” Also, “quick application and issuance and inter-regional recognition of travel permits will be realized nationwide. Free COVID-19 tests and antigen tests for truck drivers during transportation will be provided.”
Next, a report about Li Zhanshu’s meeting with Masud Gharahkhani, president of the Norwegian parliament. Xinhua reports:
Li “said the two countries can enhance cooperation in green development, deepen people-to-people cooperation in fields such as the cultivation of winter sports talents, sports event management and venue construction. Li said he hopes that the legislative agencies of the two countries will promote exchanges and mutual learning in areas such as public health, education and scientific research, and help foster a stable, open, fair and transparent law environment conducive to bilateral cooperation. Gharahkhani said Norway and China share a broad range of common interests and have carried out sound cooperation both in the bilateral and multilateral arena.”
Next, there’s a report about Han Zheng’s comments on national territory spatial planning work. Xinhua English reports:
Han “said that the pilot programs working toward this end launched by related departments and local governments have progressed well, noting that the work will be expanded nationwide. China specifically must prioritize ensuring its farmland area remains above the redline of 1.8 billion mu (about 120 million hectares). All tasks to protect arable land must be accomplished, Han said. Efforts should be made to consolidate achievements made in drawing ecological protection redlines, Han said, stressing that these lines must not be crossed. On drawing urban-rural boundaries, Han noted that the country needs to take into full consideration the carrying capacity of the population and resources, and set land construction quotas based on scientific analysis. China should also step up efforts to optimize the land use structure, Han said, underscoring the need for the frugal, economical use of land.”
Finally, a report on the progress in the 20th Party Congress election work in Hunan. Like other such reports, this one also talks about candidates being recommended and nominated have undergone a comprehensive “political ‘physical examination’ – 政治体检.” This included the local Organisation Department soliciting opinions from a bunch of departments, including the discipline inspection and supervision organs, public security, auditing, health, etc.
For instance, if a recommended person is in charge of an enterprise, then in this case, the local market supervision, taxation, social security, safety supervision and other administrative law enforcement agencies and industry supervision departments were required to issue written opinions, focussing on:
the individual’s handling of corporate interests, social interests, and national interests,
whether operations were in accordance with the law,
protection of the rights and interests of employees, and
undertaking social responsibilities.
如对身份为企业负责人的推荐人选，由其所在地的市场监管、税务、社保、安监等行政执法机构与行业监管部门出具书面意见，反映其处理企业利益与社会利益、国家利益关系，以及依法经营、保障职工权益、承担社会责任等情况.
Page 2: The entire page is dedicated to stories related to the COVID-19 outbreaks in the country. The coverage, however, is essentially about providing a positive spin on all that’s happening. For instance, there’s a story about how different departments, local governments and individuals have been aiding and supporting enterprises. This acknowledges that the outbreaks have led to supply chain and industrial chain blockages along with the fluctuating prices of raw material.
Then there’s this story featuring Wang Ruifang as the protagonist. Wang is a cop at the Xujiahui Police Station, Xuhui Branch of Shanghai Public Security Bureau, helping residents at a local community complex in meeting their daily needs during the lockdown. He’s delivering goods; he’s cautioning residents standing in the balcony to wear masks; he’s helping maintain order when people are giving their test samples; and he’s listening to people’s needs and complaints – it’s all in a day’s work for Wang.
And there’s this story about life at Fudan University amid the pandemic. The piece begins by telling us that as of April 23, people could step out into the open and enjoy the rain and games outdoors. That was the first day of the trial operation of grid classification management in Handan Campus, which allowed people to exit in batches for limited periods of time. Finally, another story that talks about the importance and practice of adhering to the dynamic clearing policy in Shanghai.
Page 3: China’s Defense Minister Wei Fenghe met with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran. Xinhua English reports:
“Raisi called for expanding the areas of cooperation between the two countries, and strengthening all-round cooperation, including in the military field. Iran and China share similar positions in international affairs and support each other, said the Iranian president. Iran, which opposes unilateralism, hegemonism and external interference, firmly supports China in safeguarding its core interests, Raisi said, while expressing gratitude to China for its long-term support and assistance during Iran's difficult times.”
“The Chinese minister said that his visit to Iran, which came against the backdrop of the current turbulent international situation, reflected the importance of the China-Iran relations, their firm mutual support and joint progress. He expressed China’s strong support to Iran in safeguarding its national sovereignty and dignity, and its willingness to cooperate with Iran to deal with various risks and challenges, safeguard common interests, and jointly maintain regional and global peace and stability. The Chinese and Iranian militaries have expanded the areas of cooperation in recent years, Wei said, adding that the Chinese military is willing to maintain strategic communication with Iran, make good use of the cooperation mechanisms, and boost pragmatic collaboration so as to lift the bilateral military ties to a higher level.”
Wei also met with Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Mohammad Bagheri and Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani. They talked about the Iran nuclear issue and the situation in Ukraine. They also reached consensuses on expanding high-level strategic communication, deepening military exchanges, and conducting joint exercises and personnel trainings.”
Second, MoFA’s comments after the Karachi terror attack.
Wang Wenbin called it “a premeditated suicide terrorist attack targeted at Chinese citizens. It is egregious and outrageous that the terrorists targeted teachers, who are dedicated to carrying forward human civilization and promoting cultural exchanges. The Chinese side expresses strong condemnation and grave indignation over this. The people and their lives always come first. The Chinese government always attaches great importance to the safety of Chinese citizens and institutions overseas. As required by State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the Chinese Foreign Ministry and diplomatic missions in Pakistan activated the emergency response mechanism and sent officials to the site immediately after the incident. Diplomats at the Chinese Foreign Ministry and diplomatic missions in Pakistan asked the Pakistani side, through multiple channels, to take all-out measures to treat the injured and handle the follow-up matters of the victims, immediately conduct a thorough investigation, and apprehend and punish the perpetrators to the full extent of the law. In the meantime, the Pakistani side needs to take more robust measures to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens and institutions in Pakistan and prevent such incidents from happening again. The Chinese diplomatic missions in Pakistan also reminded Chinese institutions and personnel to be more vigilant, scale up security protocols and protect their own safety…I would like to stress that terrorism is the common enemy of mankind. The blood of the Chinese citizens shall not be shed in vain. China firmly supports Pakistan’s counter-terrorism efforts. We will work with Pakistan to hunt down the perpetrators and make sure they are brought to justice and pay a heavy price. We once again remind Chinese citizens, companies and projects to follow closely the local security situation and meticulously guard against security risks.”
What is known so far is that the attacker was 30-year-old Shaari Baloch. She had joined the Majeed Brigade of Balochistan Liberation Army two years ago, as per a purported statement from the BLA.
Page 4: There’s a report about Wang Chen’s visit to Inner Mongolia. He said that:
it “is necessary to follow the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, deeply understand the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech when he participated in the deliberation of the Inner Mongolia delegation at the Fifth Session of the 13th National People's Congress, and fully implement the practice of the ‘five roads that must be followed’.” He talked about the importance of building “a strong sense of community of the Chinese nation, strengthening the construction and protection of the rule of law, and uniting and striving to write a new chapter of long-term stability and high-quality development” of the region. 中共中央政治局委员、全国人大常委会副委员长王晨24日至26日在内蒙古调研。他强调，要以习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想为指导，深刻领会习近平总书记在参加十三届全国人大五次会议内蒙古代表团审议时的重要讲话精神，全面贯彻“五个必由之路”的实践要求，坚持党的领导，坚持中国特色社会主义，积极服务和融入新发展格局，铸牢中华民族共同体意识，加强法治建设和保障，团结奋斗谱写祖国北疆长治久安和高质量发展新篇章。
Xinhua English offers a good summary of the visit:
“Wang inspected local businesses and research institutes and talked with grassroots lawmakers during the tour. He called on the region to foster new development edges and strive for progress on economic and social development. The focus should be placed on key technologies, with greater energy devoted to advanced manufacturing and the sectors of wind power, solar power and new materials, Wang said. A comprehensive approach should be taken to deal with air, water and soil pollution, he said, urging the border region to enhance its efforts on ecological preservation. Wang also called on local lawmakers to provide strong legal safeguards for ethnic unity and high-quality development.”
PD informs that Wang visited the Baotou Rare Earth Research Institute and the Yunsheng Strong Magnetic Materials Co., Ltd.
Second, there’s this report on pre-school education in China. As per the Ministry of Education, the number of children in kindergartens across the country was 48.052 million as of 2021, an increase of 13.808 million over 2011. The overall enrolment rate has increased from 62.3% in 2011 to 88.1% in 2021. The number of kindergartens nationwide was 295,000 in 2021, an increase of 128,000 from the number in 2011.
Page 10: A couple of reports with useful data to note. First, in Q1 this year, investment in fixed assets in the transportation sector was 636 billion yuan, an increase of 9.8% year-on-year.
Second, in Q1, China’s current account surplus was $89.5 billion, accounting for 2.1 percent of its gross domestic product during the period. During the period, trade in goods reported a surplus of $145 billion, hitting an all-time high. Goods exports and imports respectively rose 16 percent and 15 percent, year on year. The trade in services saw a lower deficit of $18.2 billion, down 30 percent, year on year. In Q1, the net inflow of direct investment was $65 billion. Among them, the inflow of direct investment in China was $107 billion, and the outflow of direct investment was $42 billion.
Third, in Q1, 2.85 million new urban jobs were created, achieving 26% of the annual target.
Other Stories:
I thought I’d share some of the reports that I’ve been reading outside PD.
First, there’s this new report by the Rhodium Group and MERICS on China’s investment footprint in the EU-27 and the United Kingdom (UK) in 2021. Some key points are in the graphics below, but I recommend reading through the the report:
Also, this is interesting to note:
“The EU investment screening regulation, in force since October 2020, has contributed to increased scrutiny of foreign investment and incentivized the creation of screening regimes across Europe. Of the 27 EU member states, 18 now have legislation in place that allows them to screen foreign investments (up from 11 in 2017), and all but three member states are planning to establish or amend screening regimes. From October 2020 to June 2021, as part of their duties under the new EU FDI regulation, 11 member states notified 265 transactions as potentially problematic to the EU, of which eight percent concerned investors ultimately from China. Most publicly known cases of reviewed Chinese investments focused on critical infrastructure and strategic dual-use technologies. Several screenings involved acquisitions of semiconductors producers, an area in which China wants to become independent from foreign suppliers.”
Second, this really interesting Financial Times story about disagreements between Liu He on one side and Hu Chunhua and Han Zheng on the other over the regulation of the property sector in particular. The report says:
“Liu, who heads a powerful committee that co-ordinates policy between the central bank and China’s banking, securities and other regulators, has supported recent moves by many regional governments to ease restrictions on property purchases. But according to the officials and policy advisers, two other vice-premiers — Han Zheng and Hu Chunhua — have sided with the housing ministry in wanting to maintain the pressure on developers by tightly regulating how they can use project revenues.”
“Liu’s Financial Stability and Development Committee wants to give debt-laden developers more freedom to deploy revenues from buyers who pre-pay for their homes. Over the past year, local governments have ringfenced sales revenues so they are only used to complete the relevant project. ‘It is already common for lenders, be they banks or bond investors, to give repayment extensions to developers,’ said a government adviser who shared Liu’s concerns. ‘Continued weakening of the industry may cause bad debts to spike and the entire financial sector to go under’… Han and Hu’s supporters argued that fears about the impact on China’s largely state-owned banking sector were overblown. ‘Not every bank will go under,’ one of the people said. ‘We can always have healthy banks bail out troubled ones.’ While Liu has long been regarded as China’s most powerful economic and financial official, Han is the highest-ranking of the three vice premiers. Han sits on the Chinese Communist party’s most powerful body, the politburo standing committee, and is considered a leading candidate to replace Li Keqiang as premier next year.”