Xi Chairs Central Commission for Deepening Overall Reform Meeting - Li Qiang Congratulates Modi - Party's Discipline Construction Work
Here are the key reports and articles that I found noteworthy from the People's Daily’s edition on Wednesday, June 12, 2024.
Page 1: The lead story today (English report) is about the fifth meeting of the central commission for deepening overall reform. Xi Jinping chaired the meeting. Xi called “to better leverage the advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, strengthen the leadership of the Party, improve corporate governance, and promote the establishment of a modern enterprise system characterized by clear property rights, defined responsibilities and authorities, separation of government and enterprise, scientific management and cultivate more world-class enterprises.”
He added that “in order to stabilize grain production and ensure food security, it is crucial to protect and motivate farmers to grow grain and encourage local governments to focus on grain production. It is necessary to improve the income protection mechanisms for grain farmers and the benefit compensation mechanisms for major grain-producing areas, enhancing the precision and effectiveness of policies, and consolidating the foundation for food security. It is necessary to adhere to promoting innovation through opening up, improve the system and mechanism of opening up science and technology to the outside world, refine the global-oriented innovation system, actively integrate into the global innovation network, focus on key areas and critical links, and address shortcomings in the open innovation system.” 习近平在主持会议时强调，完善中国特色现代企业制度，必须着眼于发挥中国特色社会主义制度优势，加强党的领导，完善公司治理，推动企业建立健全产权清晰、权责明确、政企分开、管理科学的现代企业制度，培育更多世界一流企业。稳定粮食生产，确保粮食安全，必须保护和调动农民种粮和地方抓粮积极性，健全种粮农民收益保障机制和粮食主产区利益补偿机制，提高政策精准性、实效性，夯实粮食安全根基。要坚持以开放促创新，健全科技对外开放体制机制，完善面向全球的创新体系，主动融入全球创新网络，突出重点领域和关键环节，补齐开放创新制度短板.
Li Qiang, Wang Huning and Cai Qi attended the meeting, apart from other members of the commission.
The next paragraph talks about building a modern enterprise system. It says:
“In order to improve the modern enterprise system with Chinese characteristics, it is necessary to respect the status of enterprises as the main entities of operation, adhere to a problem-oriented approach, and implement policies and strengthen guidance according to the scale, development stage, and ownership nature of enterprises. It is necessary to strengthen the Party’s overall leadership over SOEs, improve the institutional mechanisms for the Party's leadership over SOEs, promote state-owned enterprises to strictly fulfill their responsibilities, improve the modern corporate governance of SOEs, and strengthen supervision and management of state-owned capital. It is necessary to encourage qualified private enterprises to establish a modern enterprise system, improve corporate governance structures, standardize shareholder behaviour, strengthen internal supervision, and improve risk-prevention mechanisms, pay attention to the leading role of Party building, and improve the level of internal management.” 会议指出，完善中国特色现代企业制度，要尊重企业经营主体地位，坚持问题导向，根据企业规模、发展阶段、所有制性质等，分类施策、加强引导。要加强党对国有企业的全面领导，完善党领导国有企业的制度机制，推动国有企业严格落实责任，完善国有企业现代公司治理，加强对国有资本监督管理。要鼓励有条件的民营企业建立现代企业制度，完善法人治理结构、规范股东行为、强化内部监督、健全风险防范机制，注重发挥党建引领作用，提升内部管理水平.
Xinhua English summarises the bit on agriculture well:
The meeting “highlighted efforts to improve the country's comprehensive agricultural production capacity, as well as policies on pricing, subsidies and insurance. China's main grain-producing and grain-consuming areas, as well as areas with balanced grain production and consumption, should shoulder the shared responsibility of ensuring food security, according to the meeting. Support for small farms and new agricultural business entities should be coordinated to link small farms with modern agricultural development, it said.”
On tech, the report says:
“The meeting pointed out that to build an open environment for scientific and technological innovation with global competitiveness, it is essential to combine ‘going out’ and ‘bringing in’, expand international scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation, strive to build win-win partnerships, and proactively plan and deeply participate in global technological governance. It is necessary to strengthen the construction of an internationalized research environment, address the real concerns of researchers, focus on solving prominent issues, and ensure that talent is attracted, retained, and effectively utilized. It is necessary to continuously improve the systems for technological security and risk prevention mechanisms, ensuring a solid security bottom line in an open environment.” 会议指出，建设具有全球竞争力的科技创新开放环境，要坚持“走出去”和“引进来”相结合，扩大国际科技交流合作，努力构建合作共赢的伙伴关系，前瞻谋划和深度参与全球科技治理。要加强国际化科研环境建设，瞄准科研人员的现实关切，着力解决突出问题，确保人才引进来、留得住、用得好。要不断健全科技安全制度和风险防范机制，在开放环境中筑牢安全底线.
Next, there’s a report on Xi signing a new decree to promulgate a set of revised regulations on military audit. The report says that the regulations comprise 8 chapters and 75 articles. They form the fundamental legal basis for conducting military audit work. The report adds:
“The regulations make clear the economic supervision orientation of military audit, stress its political nature and political functions, adhere to the principles of strict compliance with the law, seeking truth from facts, comprehensive coverage, problem orientation, and integrated investigation and rectification; they focus on constructing and improving the audit supervision task system, further detailing audit-related matters, and optimising audit methods for major construction projects and other areas; focus on improving audit quality and efficiency, improve the full-link procedural requirements from plan formulation to result application, establish and improve the system mechanisms for coordination and accountability with other supervisory departments to promote a synergistic supervision effort; emphasise the strengthening of self-construction, refine and establish more stringent audit discipline requirements, and promote the construction of a high-quality professional audit team that is firm in its beliefs, proficient in its work, pragmatic in its style, and honest and clean.” 着力构建完善审计监督任务体系，进一步细化审计有关事项，优化对重大建设项目等方面的审计方式；围绕提升审计质量和效能，完善从计划制定到结果运用的全链路程序要求，建立健全与其他监督部门的贯通协同、抄告问责等制度机制，促进形成监督合力；突出加强自身建设，细化立起更为严格的审计纪律要求，推动建设信念坚定、业务精通、作风务实、清正廉洁的高素质专业化审计队伍.
Third, there is a report on Premier Li Qiang congratulating Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his re-election. “Li Qiang said that the healthy and stable development of China-India relations will not only benefit the well-being of the two peoples, but will also inject stability and positive energy into the world and the region. China is willing to work with India to push bilateral relations in the right direction.” While reporting this, do note that Xi Jinping has not sent a congratulatory message. He had done so in 2019.
Next, there’s a report informing that in the first five months of this year, the national railways completed fixed asset investment of 228.47 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.8%.
Finally, there’s an article discussing the construction of a modern financial system with Chinese characteristics. Two key points made by Pan Gongsheng, PBOC Governor, are:
“improve the dual-pillar regulatory framework of monetary policy and macro-prudential policy, deepen the market-oriented reform of interest rates and exchange rates, implement an independent financial budget management system for the central bank, improve the modern payment system with wide coverage, high efficiency and security, and improve the credit reporting system covering the whole society.” 建立健全科学稳健的金融调控体系，要加快建设现代中央银行制度。中国人民银行党委书记、行长潘功胜表示，人民银行将健全货币政策和宏观审慎政策双支柱调控框架，深化利率汇率市场化改革，落实中央银行独立财务预算管理制度，完善广泛覆盖、高效安全的现代支付体系，健全覆盖全社会的征信体系.
“will deepen the supply-side structural reform of finance. On the one hand, the central bank will strengthen the main role of large commercial banks, deepen the reform of policy banks, promote small and medium-sized banks to return to their original purpose and main businesses, and ensure that various financial institutions have a more reasonable scale, structure, and regional layout. On the other hand, it will improve the market-oriented pricing ability and market resilience of the bond market, give full play to the role of asset securitization in revitalising existing assets, enhance the stability of the money market, and further optimize the financing structure.” 人民银行将深化金融供给侧结构性改革。一方面，强化大型商业银行主力军作用，深化政策性银行改革，推动中小银行回归本源和主业，推动各类金融机构在规模、结构、区域布局上更加合理。另一方面，提高债券市场市场化定价能力和市场韧性，充分发挥资产证券化盘活存量资产作用，增强货币市场稳健性，进一步优化融资结构.
Page 3: There is a report informing that Li Qiang will be visiting New Zealand, Australia and Malaysia from June 13 to 20.
Another report covers Wang Yi’s remarks at the BRICS meeting that I covered yesterday. While in Nizhny Novgorod, Wang also met with his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor. Xinhua says:
Wang “congratulated South Africa on its smooth general election and commended the African National Congress (ANC) for continuing to play a leading role in South African politics as the largest party. He expressed the belief that the ANC will stay true to its original aspiration, hold firm to its belief, and continue to lead the South African people towards greater achievements in building a unified, stable, and prosperous nation. Wang noted that China and South Africa are comprehensive strategic partners and bilateral relations are flourishing under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, heralding a ‘golden era.’ Last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to South Africa and his participation in the BRICS Summit resulted in important consensus with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, ushering in a new era for building a high-level China-South Africa community with a shared future, said Wang, adding that the historic expansion of the BRICS mechanism announced in South Africa has further inspired solidarity among the Global South. Wang said that the two sides should enhance high-level exchanges, consolidate political mutual trust, plan for the next phase of institutional bilateral exchanges, and continue to firmly support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests. China and South Africa enjoy extensive, broad and high-level cooperation, which brings tangible benefits to their people, Wang said. China is ready to synergize the development strategies of the two countries and improve the top-level design for their future cooperation, he said, stressing that China values South Africa's role as a major developing country, and is willing to strengthen multilateral coordination and provide objective, balanced, and constructive perspectives on hot-button issues, such as the Ukraine crisis, to contribute to world peace and stability.”
Next, he met with Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith. Xinhua says:
“Since the start of this year, practical cooperation between the two countries has gained strong momentum, with bilateral trade continuously rising and the China-Laos Railway setting new records in passenger and freight transport volumes, Wang said, adding that the railway has become a symbol in the building of the China-Laos community with a shared future, and injected new vitality into the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and regional interconnected development. He noted that facing complex international situations and domestic development tasks, China and Laos, as friendly neighbors with a shared future, should unite more closely to meet challenges, ward off external disturbances, oppose bloc confrontation, and safeguard regional peace and stability. China firmly supports Laos as the rotating chair of ASEAN and intends to work jointly to build an even closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future, Wang said. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, he said, stressing that China is ready to work with countries in the region, including Laos, to continuously carry forward the glorious tradition of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, advance with the times, and march towards a brighter future of building a community with a shared future for mankind.”
Wang also met with Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa. Xinhua says:
“China and Thailand are good neighbors, good friends, and are as close as one family. The two countries, which share a traditional friendship, see their cooperation continuously deepened, and the building of the China-Thailand community with a shared future has maintained a sound momentum, he noted. China is full of confidence in the prospect of China-Thailand relations and is willing to strengthen high-level exchanges with Thailand, enhance cooperation in various fields, accelerate the construction of the China-Thailand railway and other major projects, and realize the development vision of China-Laos-Thailand connectivity at an early date, said Wang. The Chinese side appreciates Thailand's consistent support for China's just position on the Taiwan question, and supports the Thai government's efforts to achieve political stability, economic development, and the improvement of people's livelihood, and believes that the two sides will continue to firmly support each other, he said. China is willing to maintain communication and coordination with Thailand on international and regional affairs, and hopes that Thailand will make more positive contributions to the development of China-ASEAN relations, said Wang, adding that China firmly supports an effective regional cooperation architecture with ASEAN centrality, and stands ready to work with regional countries to eliminate external interference, oppose bloc confrontation and safeguard regional peace and stability.”
Do note that Sangiampongsa said that “Thailand is also willing to join the BRICS mechanism as soon as possible, play a more active role in South-South cooperation, and strengthen coordination and cooperation with China on multilateral platforms.”
Page 9: There is an article by the Xi thought research centre at the Central Party School on the importance of discipline building. This is of course in the context of the ongoing discipline education campaign.
“To carry out the Party discipline study and education with high standards and high quality, we must thoroughly study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions on comprehensively strengthening the Party's discipline construction, deeply understand General Secretary Xi Jinping's important proposition that ‘strengthening discipline construction is the fundamental solution to comprehensively and strictly governing the Party’, and deeply grasp the historical logic, theoretical logic, and practical logic of this important proposition, promote the in-depth and practical progress of learning and education on Party discipline, and continuously improve the Party’s creativity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness.”高标准高质量开展党纪学习教育，就要深入学习贯彻习近平总书记关于全面加强党的纪律建设的重要论述，深刻领会习近平总书记提出的“加强纪律建设是全面从严治党的治本之策”重要论断，深入把握这一重要论断的历史逻辑、理论逻辑、实践逻辑，推动党纪学习教育走深走实，不断提升党的创造力、凝聚力、战斗力.
The article stresses strict and law-based Party governance. It adds that maintaining strict discipline is the inherent requirement of Marxist parties to maintain their advanced nature and purity. “Party discipline is the bottom line that Party organizations at all levels and all Party members should adhere to, and it is the basis for the education, management and supervision of Party organizations at all levels and all Party members.” 的纪律是党的各级组织和全体党员应当坚守的底线，是对党的各级组织和全体党员教育、管理和监督的依据。
“Failure to strictly enforce Party discipline will inevitably lead to lax discipline, organizational disintegration, and indifference to Party principles. Before the 18th National Congress of the Party, there were issues of ineffective Party governance and lax Party discipline, with some shocking cases of corruption that sparked strong dissatisfaction among Party members, cadres, and the masses. To a certain extent, this was closely related to the lax enforcement of discipline in some regions and departments, and the insufficient strictness and rigour of internal Party supervision. History and reality both reveal that in order to consistently maintain the advanced nature and purity of a Marxist political party, it is necessary to strengthen Party discipline construction.” 不严肃执行党的纪律，必然会出现纪律松弛、组织涣散、党的观念淡漠等情况。党的十八大前曾经出现管党不力、治党不严问题，一些贪腐问题触目惊心，引起广大党员、干部和群众的强烈不满。这一定程度上就与一些地方、一些部门执纪不严，党内监督的硬约束和严肃性不足密切相关。历史和现实都表明，始终保持马克思主义政党的先进性和纯洁性，必须加强党的纪律建设,
The authors then argue that under Xi, the framework is now of “comprehensive” and “strict Party governance”. “General Secretary Xi Jinping has incorporated discipline construction into the general requirements for Party building in the new era. He has put forward the idea of “comprehensively promoting Party political, ideological, organizational, style, and discipline construction, with institutional construction running through them all.” This approach has combined high standards with bottom-line adherence, truly transitioning Party governance from laxness to strictness. Strict standards are established, strict discipline is enforced, and the role of party discipline as a yardstick for Party governance is fully exerted, fully demonstrating the distinctive characteristics of comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, promoting comprehensive and strict governance of the Party to achieve historic and pioneering achievements, and exerting a comprehensive and profound influence.” 习近平总书记把纪律建设纳入新时代党的建设总要求，提出“全面推进党的政治建设、思想建设、组织建设、作风建设、纪律建设，把制度建设贯穿其中”，坚持高标准和守底线相结合，使管党治党真正从宽松软走向严紧硬。严的标准树立起来，严的纪律执行起来，党纪这一管党治党的“戒尺”作用得到全面发挥，充分彰显全面从严治党的鲜明特点，推动全面从严治党取得历史性、开创性成就，产生全方位、深层次影响.
The second section of the article makes this explicit:
“General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, ‘Comprehensively and strictly governing the Party must first be viewed from a political perspective’. As the ruling party of a vast and populous country, our Party's unity and cohesion would be greatly weakened without iron discipline. This weakening would significantly diminish the Party's creativity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness, as well as its leadership and governance capabilities. To uphold the Party's unity and cohesion, it is necessary to comprehensively and strictly govern the Party, rely on iron discipline to restrain it, make strict political discipline and political rules the top priority, and ensure that discipline is a truly electrified high-voltage line. While Party discipline encompasses various aspects, political discipline is the most important, fundamental, and crucial. Observing the Party’s political discipline is the essential foundation for adhering to all Party disciplines. Only by strictly observing the Party’s political discipline, ensuring that all Party organizations and members at all levels remain in alignment with the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, can we continuously enhance the Party's creativity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness, ensuring that the Party acts with unified will and action, moving forward in a consistent manner, better leading more than 1.4 billion Chinese people to overcome various risks and challenges on the road to progress.” 习近平总书记指出：“全面从严治党首先要从政治上看”。我们党在一个幅员辽阔、人口众多的发展中大国执政，如果没有铁的纪律，就没有党的团结统一，党的创造力、凝聚力、战斗力就会大大削弱，党的领导能力和执政能力就会大大削弱。维护党的团结统一，必须全面从严治党，必须靠铁的纪律来约束，把严明政治纪律、政治规矩摆在首位，使纪律真正成为带电的高压线。党的纪律是多方面的，但政治纪律是最重要、最根本、最关键的纪律，遵守党的政治纪律是遵守党的全部纪律的重要基础。只有严格遵守党的政治纪律，使党的各级组织和全体党员始终同以习近平同志为核心的党中央保持高度一致，才能不断提高党的创造力、凝聚力、战斗力，确保全党统一意志、统一行动、步调一致向前进，更好领导14亿多中国人民战胜前进道路上的各种风险挑战.
“To advance comprehensive and strict Party governance in depth, it is necessary to carry out Party discipline learning and education with high standards and high quality, and use strict political discipline and rules to drive all disciplines to be strictly enforced; enable the vast number of Party members and cadres to learn, understand, be aware of, and abide by the discipline and truly transform disciplinary rules into political, ideological, and action consciousness. It is necessary to firmly safeguard General Secretary Xi Jinping’s position as the core of the Party Central Committee and the core of the entire Party, firmly safeguard the authority and centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, unify thoughts and actions with the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, and form a powerful synergy for united struggle for the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country.” 纵深推进全面从严治党，就要高标准高质量开展党纪学习教育，以严明政治纪律和政治规矩带动各项纪律全面从严，让广大党员干部学纪、知纪、明纪、守纪，真正把纪律规矩转化为政治自觉、思想自觉、行动自觉，切实做到坚决维护习近平总书记党中央的核心、全党的核心地位，坚决维护党中央权威和集中统一领导，把思想和行动统一到党中央决策部署上来，形成为全面建设社会主义现代化国家而团结奋斗的强大合力.