Xi & Armed Forces Reform - Food Security under Xi - State Council on Boosting Investment & Consumption - Wang's Meetings with Lavrov & Borrell - Socialism Beating Capitalism - US & Chile's '9/11 Coup'
Here are the stories and pieces that I found noteworthy in the Friday, September 23, 2022, edition of the People’s Daily.
Page 1: The top story is about Xi Jinping extending “festive greetings and sincere regards on behalf of the CPC Central Committee to farmers and people working on agricultural and rural fronts ahead of the fifth Chinese farmers’ harvest festival.” Xinhua reports:
“Having overcome the impact of last year's rare autumn floods in the north, the late sowing of winter wheat in large areas and sporadic resurgences of COVID-19 cases, and coped with severe heat and drought in some southern regions, China has seen output increases in summer grain and early rice and is expecting another bumper harvest this year, Xi said. Party committees and governments at all levels must implement the major policies, decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee on work concerning agriculture, rural areas and farmers, and enhance efforts to ensure grain security, Xi said. He urged them to keep the fundamentals of the agricultural sector stable, consolidate and expand the achievements in poverty alleviation, and make solid progress in rural vitalization.”
The other article on the top of the page is a summary of the reforms in the armed forces under Xi Jinping in the new era. The piece makes the point that since the 18th Party Congress, faced with the changes in overall situation of the strategy of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the unprecedented, once-in-a-century changes in the world, and the deep-seated contradictions and problems that had long hindered national defence reform and armed forces building, Chairman Xi comprehensively reviewed/assessed the situation and decisively made the strategic decision of reforming and strengthening the armed forces.” 党的十八大以来，中国特色社会主义进入新时代，国防和军队建设也进入了新时代。面对中华民族伟大复兴战略全局和世界百年未有之大变局，面对长期制约国防和军队建设的深层次矛盾和问题，习主席审时度势、总揽全局，果断作出改革强军的战略决策.
The piece talks about Xi’s visit to Shekou Port in Guangdong in 2021, where he concluded that the dream of a strong country is linked to the dream of a strong armed forces. 可以说，这个梦想是强国梦，对军队来说，也是强军梦.
More than a hundred years ago, the great powers invaded from the sea. Modern China, which repeatedly missed the opportunity of reform, gradually fell into the abyss of suffering caused by poverty and weakness, internal tensions and external aggression. At an important meeting of the army, Chairman Xi profoundly pointed out: ‘Once the military backwardness is established, its impact on national security can be fatal. I often read some materials regarding China's modern history, and it pains me to see the tragic scenes of us falling behind and being beaten." A strong country must have a strong army, and a strong army can ensure national security. Without a strong army and solid national defence, the dream of a strong country can hardly be truly realised.” 一百多年前，列强从海上入侵。一次次错失改革机遇的近代中国，逐渐陷入积贫积弱、内忧外患的苦难深渊。在军队一次重要会议上，习主席深刻指出：“军事上的落后一旦形成，对国家安全的影响将是致命的。我经常看中国近代的一些史料，一看到落后挨打的悲惨场景就痛彻肺腑！”强国必须强军，军强才能国安。没有一支强大的军队，没有一个巩固的国防，强国梦就难以真正实现.
Then the piece talks about Xi underscoring that the world is going through a new military revolution. “Only the reformer advances, only the innovator is strong. President Xi encouraged the whole army: ‘The new military revolution has provided us with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We must seize the opportunity and work hard to not only catch up with the trend and the times, but also strive to be at the forefront of the times’.” 惟改革者进，惟创新者强。习主席激励全军：“新军事革命为我们提供了千载难逢的机遇，我们要抓住机遇、奋发有为，不仅要赶上潮流、赶上时代，还要力争走在时代前列.”
All of the above essentially is shared as framing the thinking behind the reforms that Xi initiated. In November 2013, the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee included the deepening of national defence and military reforms into the overall plan of comprehensively deepening reforms. Four months later, he set up a leading group of the Central Military Commission to deepen national defence and military reform. Xi himself was in charge of this group. The piece says that:
“These two extraordinary ‘firsts’ showed the firm will and determination of the Party’s core, the commander of the armed forces and the people’s leader to deepen the reform of national defence and the military, and greatly inspired and united all officers and soldiers to support the reform…” 这两个非同寻常的“第一次”，昭示了党的核心、军队统帅、人民领袖对深化国防和军队改革的坚定意志、坚强决心，极大激发和凝聚了全军官兵拥护改革、支持改革、投身改革的磅礴力量，成为推动改革的根本保证.
The second section of the article says that in the process of deciding on reform measures, it was necessary to strengthen top-level planning and system design. This was needed to undertake reforms in the leadership and command system, force structure and policy system, and to ensure that these reforms complimented each other.
The next bit is interesting because the emphasis is not so much on Xi’s genius and foresight, but more on the consultative nature of the process of deciding on what reform should entail.
The thinking process involved an expert advisory group of the CMC leading group for deepening national defence and military reform, which was established; inputs were taken from a pool of more than 200 military experts and leaders for consultation and evaluation with regard to military policy and system reform, allowing for third-party independent evaluation. Academy of Military Sciences and National Defense University have been given relevant research and demonstration tasks, playing their role as think tanks…设立中央军委深化国防和军队改革领导小组专家咨询组；建立由军地200多名专家和领导组成的军事政策制度改革咨询评估专家库，充分发挥第三方独立评估作用；赋予军事科学院和国防大学相关研究论证任务，发挥其智囊作用……
It adds that Xi basically took on board advice and suggestions from outside and inside the armed forces, from organs to troops and from generals to soldiers; he conducted investigations by visiting places and engaged in discussions and interviews at all levels; also a large-scale questionnaire survey was carried out. Based on this the good ideas and suggestions were incorporated in the reform plan. 习主席到机关、进班排，上高原、赴海岛，登战车、乘军舰，深入调查研究。全军和各方面踊跃献策、积极建言，军外到军内、机关到部队、将军到士兵；各方向实地调研、各层面座谈访谈、大范围问卷调查；一份份情况报告、一封封来信意见、一条条网络留言……许多好思路、好建议、好点子进入了改革方案.
But after this, we get back to Xi’s personal leadership. “Under the leadership of Chairman Xi, a whole set of reform designs that solve deep-rooted contradictions and problems, achieve significant innovations and breakthroughs, and possess distinctive characteristics of the people's army emerged.” 在习主席领导运筹下，一整套解决深层次矛盾问题、有重大创新突破、人民军队特色鲜明的改革设计破茧而出.
Then we are told that Xi established a set of principles for the reforms. These were:
Seize the Party’s goal of strengthening the armed forces in the new era, and insist on examining reforms from the perspective of the goal of strengthening the armed forces…emphasise combat effectiveness and build a consolidated national defence and a strong armed forces commensurate with China's international status and national security and development interests.
Firmly grasp the fundamental principle of adhering to the correct direction of reform, have strategic determination on what to change and what not to change, better adhere to the party's absolute leadership over the army, better adhere to the nature and purpose of the people's army, and better adhere to the glorious tradition and fine style of our army.
Firmly grasp the focus of being able to fight and win battles…and strive to improve the actual combat level of our army.
Firmly grasp the orientation of modernisation of military organisation, deepen the reform of leadership and command system, power structure, policy system, etc., and provide strong institutional support for building and consolidating national defence and a strong army and winning military competitive advantage.
Firmly grasp the general requirement of being active and prudent…What should be reformed should be reformed quickly, boldly, and resolutely. At the same time, the pace must be stable and prudent…
Fully grasp the strategic measures of deepening the reform of national defence and the army, focus on implementing the requirements of political army building under the new situation…focus on further promoting the strict law-based governance…focus on building elite combat forces, optimising the scale structure and army organisation, and promoting the transformation of our army from quantity to quality; focus on seizing the commanding heights of future military competition strategy, give full play to the role of innovation-driven development, and cultivate new growth points of combat effectiveness; focus on the development and management of military human resources…
——抓住党在新时代的强军目标这个牛鼻子，坚持用强军目标审视改革、以强军目标引领改革、围绕强军目标推进改革，进一步解放和发展战斗力，进一步解放和增强军队活力，建设同我国国际地位相称、同国家安全和发展利益相适应的巩固国防和强大军队。——牢牢把握坚持改革正确方向这个根本，在改什么、不改什么的问题上要有战略定力，更好坚持党对军队的绝对领导，更好坚持人民军队的性质和宗旨，更好坚持我军的光荣传统和优良作风。——牢牢把握能打仗、打胜仗这个聚焦点，树立向改革要战斗力的思想，把改革主攻方向放在军事斗争准备的重点难点问题上，放在战斗力建设的薄弱环节上，着力提高我军实战化水平。——牢牢把握军队组织形态现代化这个指向，深入推进领导指挥体制、力量结构、政策制度等方面改革，为建设巩固国防和强大军队、赢得军事竞争优势提供有力制度支撑。——牢牢把握积极稳妥这个总要求，牢固树立进取意识、机遇意识、责任意识，该改的就要抓紧改、大胆改、坚决改，同时步子一定要稳，必须稳妥审慎，战略上勇于进取，战术上稳扎稳打，步步为营，积小胜为大胜。——全面把握深化国防和军队改革的战略举措，着眼于贯彻新形势下政治建军的要求，推进领导掌握部队和高效指挥部队有机统一，形成军委管总、战区主战、军种主建的格局；着眼于深入推进依法治军、从严治军，抓住治权这个关键，构建严密的权力运行制约和监督体系；着眼于打造精锐作战力量，优化规模结构和部队编成，推动我军由数量规模型向质量效能型转变；着眼于抢占未来军事竞争战略制高点，充分发挥创新驱动发展作用，培育战斗力新的增长点；着眼于开发管理用好军事人力资源，推动人才发展体制改革和政策创新，形成人才辈出、人尽其才的生动局面.
The third section of the article talks about specific steps that were taken, such as the creation of new services, theatres, offices, etc. Some of this is, of course, very well known, so I am not repeating it. But this includes the establishment of the Science and Technology Committee of the Central Military Commission and the Military Scientific Research Steering Committee of the Central Military Commission.
At this point, it’s worth sharing Suyash Desai and my recent paper on military reforms under Xi Jinping published in the India Quarterly journal. There’s a lot of granular data that was gathered for this, for which credit goes to Suyash. I am sure you’ll find it useful.
Third, there’s a report on the State Council’s executive meeting. The report says that Premier Li Keqiang heard a report on the ninth round of State Council's accountability inspection. Xinhua English has a detailed report too:
“The meeting noted the recent ninth round of accountability inspection by the State Council in some localities. The inspection focused on supervising and inspecting local efforts in stabilizing economic performance and meeting people's basic needs, and helped resolve a set of difficulties various localities faced. It was conducted mainly through unannounced visits, which made the inspection more effective and lessened the burdens on primary-level governments. Going forward, the list of identified problems will be sent to related localities and departments to make rectification and forestall similar occurrences. The taskforces that supervise and assist efforts for stabilizing overall economic performance should remain on duty to better align their work with the accountability inspection, and continue to coordinate the settlement of problems.”
“Policy measures to boost investment and consumption will be advanced on a priority basis, such as fiscal, taxation and financial support for key infrastructure projects and equipment upgrading and renovation. Localities are urged to fulfill their due responsibilities for stabilizing the economy and meeting people's basic needs. Economically strong provinces should play a leading role and work together to consolidate the foundation for economic stability and promote recovery and growth. To deepen the reform of government functions and make government services more efficient and effective, a list of high-demand government services that affect a wide range of sectors and are accessed in relatively concentrated time frames will be set up, covering all key stages in the life circles of businesses and individuals, to meet their real needs. Government departments will merge related items, and work to provide one-stop, cross-agency services for items that used to require multiple visits to multiple departments, so as to save hassle for businesses and the people. For market players, five items of government services, i.e. starting of business, permit for business operation, employee recruitment, real estate registration and simplified enterprise de-registration, can now be accessed on a one-stop basis. This will lower institutional transaction costs and help market entities emerge and grow. It will also help unlock and boost productivity to cope with new downward pressure. For individuals, one-stop services will be provided on eight administrative items, involving newborns, flexible employment, marriage and childbirth, assistance to the disabled and people in hardship, discharge of military personnel, ownership transfer registration of secondhand houses and associated utility services, retirement of enterprise employees and posthumous procedures, to better serve people's needs and provide greater convenience. All localities must fulfill these tasks by the end of the year. Those who fail to deliver will be made known and urged to rectify on a time-bound basis.”
On transportation and logistics, the report says that “the meeting required all-out efforts to ensure the normal functioning of ports and cargo terminals, as well as smooth logistics in both trunk and branch routes. Unnecessarily stringent measures and a one-size-fits-all approach must be forestalled. In Q4, highway tolls for trucks will be cut by 10 percent. In the meantime, targeted financial policy support will be provided to tolled highway operators, to lower their financing costs as appropriate. Government-priced harbor dues on cargo will be lowered by 20 percent in Q4. The 100-billion-yuan (about $14.33 billion) special relending for transportation and logistics will be put to good use to help freight companies and drivers get through the difficulties.”
Finally, the meeting adopted a draft revision of the Administrative Reconsideration Law of the People's Republic of China.
Fourth, there’s a long summary of the work related to food security under Xi. Some of the key policy areas that this touches on are:
The work that has been done with the goal of maintaining 1.8 billion mu, or 120 million hectares, of arable land to ensure food security.
At present, China has basically formed a legal system to protect arable land, with the land management law and its implementing regulations, land reclamation regulations and basic farmland protection regulations as the core; Civil Code and Criminal Law clearly stipulate the protection of arable land; the accelerated formulation of the food law also emphasises the protection of cultivated land. Since the 18th Party Congress, by promoting the construction of high-standard farmland, China has built a large number of high-quality fertile fields with high and stable yields. By the end of this year, a total of 1 billion mu of high-standard farmland will be built, and a grain production capacity of more than 1 trillion jin will be steadily realised. 目前，我国基本形成了以土地管理法及其实施条例、土地复垦条例、基本农田保护条例等为核心的耕地保护法治体系；民法典、刑法对耕地保护进行了明确规定；加快制定中的粮食法也强调耕地保护。党的十八大以来，我国通过推进高标准农田建设，建成了一大批旱涝保收、高产稳产的优质良田。到今年末将累计建成10亿亩高标准农田，稳定实现1万亿斤以上粮食产能.
The work related to seeds, which Xi refers to as ‘chips/semiconductors’ when it comes to agriculture, thereby desiring self-improvement and self-reliance.
The piece says that “seeds are the foundation of agricultural modernisation. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasised that we should strengthen technical research on improved seeds and rely on Chinese seeds to ensure China's food security.” 农业现代化，种子是基础。党的十八大以来，习近平总书记强调，加强良种技术攻关，靠中国种子来保障中国粮食安全。
Visiting the seed laboratory in Sanya, Hainan Province, in April Xi said seed resources must be ‘firmly held in our own hands; to ensure food security. He stressed efforts to achieve self-reliance in seed technology and ensure that China’s seed resources are self-supporting and under better control…今年4月，习近平总书记到海南考察，第一站就来到国家南繁科研育种基地的“大脑”——三亚市崖州湾种子实验室。总书记说：“只有用自己的手攥紧中国种子，才能端稳中国饭碗，才能实现粮食安全.” In July 2021, the 20th meeting of the Central Comprehensively Deepening Reforms Commission reviewed and approved the ‘Seed Industry Revitalization Action Plan’, raising the need to secure seed sources to a strategic perspective linking it to related to national security. In March 2022, the newly revised seed law came into effect. 2021年7月，中央深改委第二十次会议审议通过了《种业振兴行动方案》，把种源安全提升到关系国家安全的战略高度。2022年3月，新修改的种子法正式施行.
So far, a seed industry base "national team" with Hainan, Gansu and Sichuan as the core has been established; 96 seed production counties and 120 regional bases serve as the backbone; and the seed supply guarantee capacity of the national bases has increased to 75%. New breakthroughs have been made in the breeding of water-saving wheat and high-quality rice varieties, and the coverage rate of improved crops has reached over 96%, which ensures that Chinese grains are mainly used in China…如今，我国形成了以海南、甘肃、四川三大国家级育制种基地为核心，96个制种大县和120个区域性基地为骨干的种业基地“国家队”，国家级基地供种保障能力提高到75%。节水小麦、优质水稻品种选育取得新突破，农作物良种覆盖率达96%以上，保证了中国粮主要用中国种.The comprehensive mechanisation rates of wheat, corn and rice crops are over 97%, 90% and 85% respectively...The rapid development of agricultural science and technology has effectively guaranteed the grain output to be stable at more than 1.3 trillion jin year after year. 小麦、玉米、水稻三大粮食作物耕种收综合机械化率分别超过97%、90%和85%……农业科技的快速发展有力保障粮食产量连年稳定在1.3万亿斤以上.
The final section talks about the work related to increasing farmers’ incomes.
Page 3: First, Li Keqiang remarks (English report) during a high-level video dialogue with representatives of the Japanese business community. There are two parts to this report. The first is about China-Japan ties, but the more interesting bit is the other stuff around Chinese economic policies.
“Noting that China and Japan will mark the 50th anniversary of their normalization of diplomatic relations in a few days, Li said China and Japan are important neighbors and the world's second and third-largest economies, respectively. Maintaining the sound and steady development of bilateral ties serves the interests of both sides, promotes the well-being of the two peoples, and safeguards the peace, stability and development of the region and the world. Over the past 50 years, China-Japan relations have made great progress overall. The two sides should strive for peaceful and friendly coexistence, abide by the principles set out in the four political documents between the two countries, view each other's development in an objective and rational way, and push for the steady and long-term development of China-Japan relations, Li said… “China will increase direct flights between China and Japan in an orderly manner to further facilitate personnel exchanges on the premise of COVID-19 prevention and control, the premier said. He said China is firmly committed to peaceful development, calling on the two countries to respect each other, treat each other as equals, enhance mutual trust, handle differences properly, jointly maintain a peaceful external environment and stable regional environment, and realize the common development of China, Japan and other countries in the region.”
“Li noted that this year, the downward pressure on the Chinese economy has increased due to the impacts of factors that exceeded expectations. China has responded decisively, made timely adjustments, and worked to stabilize employment and prices. The Chinese economy has continued to run within an appropriate range and is showing an overall recovery trend. Li stressed that China will take a realistic approach and do its best to work toward reasonable results in economic development for the whole year. China remains committed to the basic state policy of opening-up and will only open its doors wider to the outside world. China will continue deepening reform to delegate power, streamline administrative procedures and optimize government services, Li said. It will also create a market-oriented and law-based international business environment, and ensure regulations are transparent, stable and predictable, he said. China will also relax market access further and ensure intellectual property rights are protected strictly, Li added.”
The report finally adds: “The Japanese business community is optimistic about the prospects of China's economic development, and said it will actively expand its business in the country and strive to build Japan-China economic relations that meet the requirements of the new era. The representatives also expressed hope that the two countries would take the opportunity of the RCEP's enforcement to expand cooperation on the economy, trade, environmental protection, health and aging populations, enhance people-to-people exchanges, and promote peace and development of the two countries, the region and the world.”
Second, a bunch of meetings for Wang Yi at the sidelines of the UNGA. In PD, what’s covered of these is his meeting with Serbia’s Vucic and Russia’s FM Lavrov.
Xinhua’s report (PD report) on the meeting with Lavrov says:
“Lavrov wished the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China a full success, and believed China will make new and greater achievements in national construction. He said Russia is willing to make joint efforts with China to follow through on the important common understandings reached by the two heads of state during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Samarkand summit, and continuously advance bilateral practical cooperation. The Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping are of great importance and will achieve international synergy in promoting peace, development, equality and justice for the world. Russia highly appreciates the initiatives and actively supports them, he said. Lavrov hoped Russia and China would strengthen coordination in international and regional bodies including the United Nations, the SCO and BRICS.”
“Wang said the heads of state of the two countries held an important meeting and reached new common understandings in Samarkand, charting the course for the development of bilateral relations. China is willing to work with Russia to implement the important common understandings in a comprehensive and efficient manner. At present, the pandemic situation remains severe and the international landscape is undergoing complex changes. As permanent members of the UN Security Council and responsible major countries, China and Russia should play their due roles, Wang said. He said the two sides should deepen strategic cooperation, advance high-quality practical cooperation, take an active part in global governance, work together to meet global challenges, promote a fairer international order, oppose unilateralism and power politics, and uphold justice for developing countries as well as small and medium-sized countries. The two sides exchanged views on the Ukraine issue. Noting that China will continue to hold an objective and fair stance to promote peace talks, Wang said China hopes that the related parties will not give up dialogue, and will strive to address security concerns through peace talks. Lavrov expounded Russia's position on the issue, stressing that security is indivisible and that Russia is still willing to solve problems through dialogue and negotiation. Both sides also exchanged views on the situation on the Korean Peninsula.” — Quick thought: While the situation in Ukraine is not mentioned, the bit about peace talks tells us that it was discussed, and there’s nothing particularly new or different in terms of the Chinese position that one can infer from Wang’s reported comments.
In the meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Xinhua reports (PD report) Vucic as saying that Serbia “cherishes the friendship with China, firmly adheres to the one-China policy, and recognizes that there is only one China in the world and this position will never change.” “Wang said China and Serbia are each other's trusted and reliable partners.” The report adds that the two sides also exchanged views on cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries.
Next, there’s a report on Wang’s comments at the dialogue on climate change. Xinhua says that China believes that global climate governance goals should be advanced in four aspects:
The first is to focus on making the UN climate change conference to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh a success, so as to achieve positive and balanced outcomes in such aspects as mitigation, adaptation and finance.
The second is to attach importance to implementing actions. It is necessary to follow the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, adhere to the consensuses that have been reached, and accelerate the realization of the temperature control goal set in the Paris Agreement, Wang said. China supports the universal early warning system initiative launched by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Wang said, adding developed countries should honor their commitments and provide financial, technological and capacity building support for developing countries.
The third is to promote green transformation in a practical manner. Wang called for gradually withdrawing from the mode of traditional energy on the basis of secure and reliable new energy sources. He also appealed for high-quality and just transformation within the framework of sustainable development.
The fourth is to create a fine political environment. Unilateralism, geopolitical games and green barriers should be abandoned, said Wang. Developed countries should achieve carbon neutrality well ahead of schedule, make room for developing countries to develop, and restore mutual trust between the North and the South with concrete actions, he said.
Although it is not in PD, Wang also met with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell. Xinhua reports:
“As the world enters a period of turbulent evolution, China and the EU, as two major forces in a multi-polar world, should shoulder their due responsibilities, stick to the basic position of being strategic partner each other, and maintain the sound momentum of dialogue and communication, Wang said, expressing belief that the EU will maintain strategic autonomy and work with China to promote the steady and sustained growth of bilateral relations. The two sides should adhere to mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, reject attempts at decoupling or severing supply chains, Wang said, noting that the two sides should uphold multilateralism and oppose camp confrontation. The two sides should also seek common ground while shelving differences, refrain from treating each other as rivals, and refrain from reducing cooperation because of competition, he added. The two sides should hold a new round of high-level strategic dialogue at an early date, and strive to launch high-level dialogues on economy and trade, green development, digital as well as people-to-people and cultural exchanges within this year, Wang said. The two sides should also step up dialogue and cooperation in the fields of macro-economy, finance, supply chain, energy and climate change to jointly address global challenges, he added.”
The bit on Ukraine in the report is really interesting, with Borrell seeking greater Chinese intervention and Wang seemingly indicating that although it is very concerned, there’s a limit to what Beijing can do. This is basically for Europe to sort out with Russia, and they better do so keeping their strategic autonomy in mind. The report says:
“The EU is deeply concerned about the possibility of nuclear proliferation and hopes that China will exert its important influence to jointly find a way out of the problem, he said. Wang said that at the moment, the Ukraine situation is showing a trend of prolongation and expansion, and that its negative spillover effects are becoming more severe, which China does not want to see. He noted that at present the most pressing task is to bring the conflict to an end. China will neither stand by nor add fuel to the fire, but will continue to play its role in its own way, Wang said, adding that China supports the EU and major European countries to continue to actively mediate and make every effort to strive for peace.”
Back to PD, there’s a report on the support that GSI has received at the International Day of Peace 2022 event in Beijing. Representatives from more than 90 countries and more than 120 organisations attended the event online and offline. The piece mentions comments from UN Secretary General António Guterres, Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari, Saysomphone Phomvihane, Vice Chairman of the Lao National Assembly, SCO Deputy Secretary-General Grigory Logvinov, Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Moin ul Haque, Serbian Ambassador to China Maja Stefanović, and Secretary-General of the Tanzania Revolutionary Party Daniel Chongolo.
Page 9: I’m not doing a breakdown of the articles in the page, but it’s worth highlighting the theme that the articles are based upon.
“Socialism with Chinese characteristics is the dialectical unity of the theoretical logic of scientific socialism and the historical logic of China's social development. In the 10 years of the new era, the great creation and great achievements of socialism with Chinese characteristics in theory and practice have given a new contemporary connotation to scientific socialism. Socialism has come to life in China, and the historical evolution of two ideologies and two social systems - socialism and capitalism, and their competition in the world have undergone a major shift in favour of socialism.” 中国特色社会主义是科学社会主义理论逻辑和中国社会发展历史逻辑的辩证统一。新时代10年，中国特色社会主义在理论和实践上的伟大创造与伟大成就，赋予科学社会主义崭新的时代内涵。社会主义在中国焕发勃勃生机，使世界范围内社会主义和资本主义两种意识形态、两种社会制度的历史演进及其较量发生了有利于社会主义的重大转变.
Page 10: A report informing that the actual consumption of electricity based on renewable energy in China in 2021 was 2,444.6 billion kWh, accounting for 29.4% of the total electricity consumption of the whole society, up 0.6 percentage points year-on-year. The consumption of non-hydropower renewable energy in China is 1,139.8 billion kWh, accounting for 13.7% of the total electricity consumption of the whole society, with a year-on-year increase of 2.3 percentage points. 国家能源局近日发布的《2021年度全国可再生能源电力发展监测评价报告》显示，2021年全国可再生能源电力实际消纳量为24446亿千瓦时，占全社会用电量比重29.4%，同比提高0.6个百分点；全国非水电可再生能源电力消纳量为11398亿千瓦时，占全社会用电量比重为13.7%，同比增长2.3个百分点.
By the end of 2021, the cumulative installed capacity of renewable energy generation in China was 1.063 billion kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 13.8%, accounting for 44.8% of the total installed power. In 2021, national renewable energy power generation reached 2.48 trillion kWh, accounting for 29.7% of the total power generation. 截至2021年底，全国可再生能源发电累计装机容量10.63亿千瓦，同比增长13.8%，占全部电力装机的44.8%。2021年，全国可再生能源发电量达2.48万亿千瓦时，占全部发电量的29.7%.
Page 15: Today’s piece in the series on colour revolutions is by Wang Fei from CASS. Wang writes about US engagement in Chile. The article basically talks about the 1970s, covering events following the election of Salvador Guillermo Allende. The article says that “from political intervention to economic sanctions and inciting public opinion, a series of interference and subversive actions by the United States led to the ‘9/11 coup’ in Chile in 1973, with a pro-US government subsequently coming to power.
I am not doing a full translation, but this concluding bit is worth highlighting because this is Beijing’s message to the developing world.
“On September 11, 1973, the United States supported a military coup by then Chilean Army Commander Augusto Pinochet, who bombed and occupied the Palacio de La Moneda. Allende died in the coup attempt, and Chile began a 17-year period of military rule. Then US President Richard Nixon himself admitted that the US was involved in the Chilean coup and that ‘Chile under the dictatorship of the right is safer for the United States than under the democratic leadership of the left’. The subversion of Chile's left-wing regime by the United States was an integral part of its ‘covert actions’ against the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and other socialist countries during the Cold War. This reflected America's long-term arbitrary bullying in its ‘backyard’ of Latin America. The United States controlled and subverted Chile in the name of promoting the process of ‘democratisation’, with the real intent being to force it to become a country controlled by the United States, obey its interests and meet its strategic needs. These actions of the United States completely violated the Charter of the United Nations and the basic principles of international relations, damaged the sovereignty and interests of Latin American countries, including Chile, and posed a great threat to the peace and development of Latin America.” 1973年9月11日，美国支持时任智利陆军司令皮诺切特发动军事政变，轰炸和占领莫内达宫，阿连德在政变中身亡，智利开始了为期17年的军政府统治时期。时任美国总统尼克松亲口承认，美国卷入了智利政变，“对于美国来说，右派独裁下的智利比左派民主领导的智利更安全”。美国颠覆智利左翼政权的行径是其冷战期间针对苏联、东欧等社会主义国家“隐蔽行动”的组成部分，体现了美国长期以来对拉美“后院”的恣意霸凌。美国以促进“民主化”进程的名义对智利进行控制和颠覆，真实目的则是迫使其成为受美国控制、服从美国利益、符合美国战略需要的国家。美国的这些行径完全违背了联合国宪章和国际关系基本原则，损害了包括智利在内的拉美国家的主权和利益，对拉美地区的和平与发展构成了巨大威胁.