Xi Meets Prime Ministers of Spain & Norway - Lianyungang Forum - China's SCO Agenda - China-Russia Drills - China-US Commercial & Trade Working Group Meeting
Here are the key reports and articles that I found noteworthy from the People’s Daily’s edition on Tuesday, September 10, 2024.
Page 1: The lead story today is about Xi Jinping’s meetings with the visiting leaders of Norway and Spain. First, the report (English report) on Xi’s meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says:
“Xi also called on both sides to build long-term and stable China-Spain relations with strategic determination, and push bilateral relations to a higher level. Xi stressed that reform and opening up is a correct development path that China has found through long-term practice, and that it will be pursued steadfastly. The third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made systematic arrangements for further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization, bringing new opportunities for deepening and expanding cooperation between China and Spain, he said. The two sides should work for mutual benefits by promoting development in high-tech fields like artificial intelligence, the digital economy and new energy, Xi said, adding that China hopes Spain will continue to provide a fair, equitable, safe and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in the country. He urged joint efforts from the two sides to stay committed to inclusiveness and mutual learning, promote friendship between the two peoples, and strengthen cultural and people-to-people exchanges in the fields of language education, youth, culture and tourism.”
Xi added that “China appreciates Spain’s active promotion of China-EU exchanges and cooperation during its term as the rotating president of the EU in the second half of last year. As next year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the EU, China is ready to work with the bloc to review successful experience in the development of bilateral relations and further promote the relations. China hopes that Spain will continue to play a constructive role in this regard. China and Spain are both countries with a sense of responsibility and mission, and both advocate multilateralism and free trade…He noted that China is ready to expand cooperation with Spain in third-party markets in the Global South, and strengthen communication and coordination in the United Nations, the G20 and other international organizations, aiming to inject more positive energy into world peace, stability and human progress.”
As per the report, Sanchez said that: “Spain hopes that the two countries will strengthen people-to-people exchanges and deepen cooperation in such fields as economy, trade and new energy vehicles…Spain views its relations with China from a strategic height, adheres firmly to the one-China policy, is willing to be a trustworthy partner of China, and looks forward to deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries and making greater contributions to the well-being of the two peoples, world peace and prosperity…Spain supports the principles of free trade and open markets, opposes trade wars, and is willing to continue playing a positive role in promoting the healthy development of EU-China relations.”
The wars in Ukraine and Gaza were discussed, as per the report.
Also on the front page is a report on Li Qiang meeting with Sanchez. Xinhua says:
“Li said China is willing to expand two-way opening up with Spain, encourage the development of cross-border e-commerce and convenient logistics, and promote the optimization and development of bilateral trade and investment cooperation. China will provide more facilitation and support for Spanish and other foreign enterprises to invest in China, and hopes that Spain will provide a fair, safe, non-discriminatory and predictable business environment for Chinese enterprises keen to invest in Spain, Li said. He added that China is ready to work with Spain to focus on green development and innovation, and strengthen cooperation in new energy, energy conservation, environmental protection, the digital economy and space. Li said China stands ready to work with Spain to uphold openness and cooperation, safeguard the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core, maintain stability and unimpeded global industrial and supply chains, and jointly build an open world economy. It is hoped that Spain will play a constructive role in promoting China-EU cooperation, he said.”
The report says that both sides signed deals in the fields of economy, culture, education, science and technology.
Sanchez also met with Zhao Leji, who talked about deepening legislative exchanges. In this report, Sanchez is quoted as saying that Spain “adheres to the one-China principle”.
Next, the report on Xi’s meeting (English report) with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store says that:
Xi said that “today’s world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, which are testing whether the international community can make the right choice. China will continue to follow the path of peaceful development. By further deepening reform in an all-round way and advancing Chinese modernization, China will inject stability and certainty into a world fraught with changes and turbulence and create more opportunities for the common development of all countries…He called on the two sides to expand practical cooperation in fields such as environmental protection, energy transformation, maritime affairs and shipping, agricultural and fishery products, and electric vehicles. He also called for intensified exchanges of personnel and strengthened cooperation in such areas as education, culture, tourism and winter sports. Xi noted that China and Norway share broad consensus on maintaining world peace and security, addressing climate change, protecting biodiversity and countering other global challenges. He said China is ready to strengthen communication and coordination with Norway at the United Nations and on other multilateral platforms, practice true multilateralism, and promote an equal, orderly, multipolar world and an economic globalization that benefits all. China hopes that Norway will play a positive role in promoting the sound development of relations between China and Europe…”
As per the report, Store said that Norway is looking for expanding cooperation “in such fields as green development, climate change, maritime affairs and shipping, agriculture and fishery industries, new energy vehicles and artificial intelligence.”
The report mentions a discussion on the Ukraine war. It says that Xi “voiced the hope that all parties will work together to accumulate favorable conditions for the political settlement of the crisis through dialogue”.
Zhao Leji also met with Store; the report discusses the importance of legislative cooperation. Store is quoted as saying that Norway “adheres to the one-China policy”.
Third, there’s a report (English report) on Xi’s congratulatory message to Kim Jong Un on the DPRK’s 76th founding anniversary. Xi praised Comrade Kim and then said that “China will continue to view bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, and is willing to deepen strategic communication, strengthen coordination and cooperation with the DPRK, and jointly maintain, consolidate and develop traditional friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries. He also called on the two sides to jointly advance the socialism cause, so as to bring more benefits to the two peoples and make greater contribution to peace, stability, development and prosperity of the region and the world”.
Finally, there’s a report on Cai Qi’s meeting with the visiting delegation from Singapore led by Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. Xinhua reports:
“China is willing to work with Singapore to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and deepen comprehensive, high-quality and future-oriented cooperation. Cai expressed the hope that the two parties will maintain close strategic communication, deepen mutual learning and exchanges, serve the modernization of both countries, and promote the formation of an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future. Balakrishnan said that the two parties share a common philosophy of serving the people while facing similar challenges. It is hoped that through institutionalized inter-party exchanges, the two sides will deepen mutual learning on governance experience and promote the comprehensive deepening of bilateral ties.”
Page 2: There’s a report on Wang Yi’s meeting with Balakrishnan. Xinhua says:
“Noting that both China and Singapore have important domestic political agendas this year and are making steady progress toward their respective national development goals, Wang said the two sides have worked closely and learned from each other, providing significant impetus for the development of their modernization. China is ready to strengthen synergy with Singapore in the development strategies, put into practice the all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership established by the leaders of the two countries, and make new contributions to regional peace, stability and development, Wang said. The two sides should give full play to dialogue mechanisms at all levels and in all fields, make good use of their mutual visa exemption policy, and deepen the construction of a China-ASEAN community with a shared future, thereby pooling greater joint forces and injecting sustained impetus into regional integration and economic globalization, he said. Balakrishnan said that Singapore abides by the one-China policy and unequivocally opposes ‘Taiwan independence.’ The new Singaporean government is ready to use the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Singapore and China next year as an opportunity to prepare for high-level exchange and expand comprehensive cooperation. He extended his congratulations on the success of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which brought new opportunities for the accelerated development of the Global South. He said Singapore firmly supports free trade and the expansion of two-way investment between China and ASEAN, and stands ready to work with China to uphold the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core. The two sides expressed their willingness to strengthen coordination and work together to push for positive outcomes from the upcoming leaders’ meetings on East Asia cooperation.”
Another report informs that Wang Yi will travel for the 14th meeting of the BRICS high-ranking officials responsible for security matters and national security advisors in St. Petersburg from September 11 to 12.
Next, there’s a report on the Global Public Security Cooperation Forum in Lianyungang. Wang Xiaohong talked about how China had implemented the GSI. He added that China is willing to work with countries around the world to practice common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concepts, and deepen exchanges and cooperation in the field of public security. The country will work with other countries to promote the development of the global public security governance system in a fairer, more rational and more efficient direction.
The President of Interpol delivered a speech at the event. Wang also met with:
Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
Malaysian Interior Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail
Myanmar Home Affairs Minister Lieutenant-General Yar Pyae
Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security Jack Jacob Mwiimbu
Director General of the National Police of Nicaragua Francisco Javier Díaz Madriz
Russian Deputy Prosecutor General
The discussions were around law enforcement cooperation, combating cross-border crimes such as telecommunications network fraud and drug trafficking, the safety of Chinese personnel, institutions and projects in Myanmar, combating transnational crime and criminal judicial assistance, etc.
Finally, there’s a report on Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong’s remarks as China took over as the chair of the SCO. He highlighted the importance of the summit meeting next year, which he said would be a “friendly, united and fruitful” summit. He then outlined three points of priority for China.
First, he said that under the theme Year of SCO Sustainable Development, China will carry out a series of cooperation and actions in the eight key areas of the Global Development Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping, including poverty reduction, food security, public health, development financing, climate change and green development, industrialization, the digital economy, and connectivity.
Second, the focus will be on drafting two important documents. One is a summit declaration, which will be issued to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, as well as the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. This declaration will express the shared voice of member states on major international and regional issues. Another is the formulation of the next-stage development strategy for the SCO, based on the consensus and willingness of member states for pragmatic cooperation.
Third, he pointed to the theme of Promoting the 'Shanghai Spirit': The SCO in Action. He said that China will host more than 100 meetings and events within the SCO framework. It will deepen practical cooperation in various fields of the SCO with concrete actions, consolidate political mutual trust, maintain common security, promote common prosperity, strengthen people-to-people exchanges, and enhance the effectiveness of the mechanism.
孙卫东介绍了中方关于主席国任期相关工作的设想。一是围绕一个主题，即“上合组织可持续发展年”。中方将在习近平主席提出的全球发展倡议八大重点领域，包括减贫、粮食安全、公共卫生、发展筹资、气候变化和绿色发展、工业化、数字经济、互联互通等开展一系列合作与行动。二是制定两份重要文件。即结合中国人民抗日战争暨世界反法西斯战争胜利80周年、联合国成立80周年，发表峰会宣言，发出成员国在重大国际和地区问题上的共同声音。结合成员国在务实合作方面的共识和意愿，制定上合组织下一阶段发展战略。三是用实际行动践行一个口号，即“弘扬‘上海精神’：上合组织在行动”。中方将“行动”二字作为主席国工作的关键词，将在上合组织框架内举办100多项会议和活动，以实实在在的行动进一步深化上合组织各领域务实合作，巩固政治互信、维护共同安全、促进共同繁荣、加强民间交往、提升机制效能。孙卫东还就弘扬“上海精神”、高质量共建“一带一路”等回答了记者提问.
China Daily’s report on this adds:
“As a rotating chair, China is ready to continue to work with other members to improve the SCO mechanism in addressing security challenges, fighting the three forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism, and combating illicit drug trafficking as well as cyber and cross-border organized crime, he said. He also urged efforts to intensify SCO pragmatic cooperation in trade, financing, energy, green development and the digital economy, and to build synergy among the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, regional cooperation initiatives and national development strategies.”
Page 12: There’s a report on the CPI rising 0.6% in August. But this Reuters report puts it in context.
“China’s consumer inflation accelerated in August to the fastest pace in half a year but the uptick was due more to higher food costs from weather disruptions than a recovery in domestic demand as producer price deflation worsened. A sputtering start in the second half is mounting pressure on the world's second-largest economy to roll out more policies amid a prolonged housing downturn, persistent joblessness, debt woes and rising trade tensions. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.6% from a year earlier last month, versus a 0.5% rise in July, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Monday, but less than a 0.7% increase forecast in a Reuters poll of economists. Extreme weather this summer from deadly floods to scorching heat has pushed up farm produce prices, contributing to faster inflation. China's affected crops due to various natural disasters totalled 1.46 million hectares in August, state media reported on Monday.”
Also note that in August, affected by insufficient market demand and the downward trend of some international bulk commodity prices, PPI fell by 0.7% month-on-month.
Other Stories:
China-Russia Drills: The Russian military will dispatch naval and air forces in September to participate in drills in the waters and airspace of the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk organized by the Chinese military. The drills, codenamed Northern/Interaction-2024, “aim to deepen strategic cooperation between the two sides and strengthen their ability to respond to security threats. The ministry noted that the drills are planned according to an annual schedule and mutual consensus between China and Russia. The ministry added that Chinese and Russian naval fleets will conduct their fifth joint maritime patrol in the Pacific Ocean. Furthermore, the Chinese navy will participate in Russia's ‘Ocean-2024’ strategic exercise”.
China-US Talks: The China-U.S. commercial and trade working group held its second vice-ministerial meeting in Tianjin on Saturday. Xinhua says: “During the meeting, the Chinese side expressed concerns regarding the U.S. Section 301 tariffs, the Section 301 investigation into China's shipbuilding and other sectors, the overstretching of the concept of national security, sanctions on Chinese companies, restrictions on bilateral investments, the U.S. trade remedies against China, and unfair treatment of Chinese firms in the United States, among other issues. The Chinese side emphasized that clarifying the boundaries of national security in economic and trade matters would help stabilize business cooperation expectations. It opposes using claims of ‘overcapacity’ as a pretext for imposing trade and investment restrictions, according to the MOC. Both sides have agreed to provide necessary support for trade and investment promotion activities hosted by both countries, maintain communications in areas such as cross-border data flows, inspection and quarantine, healthcare and women’s health, medical devices as well as clean energy, and continue to facilitate cooperation between Chinese and U.S. businesses by establishing more project offices. They also aim to strengthen collaboration within frameworks such as the Group of 20 and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the MOC said, adding that the commerce departments of both countries are willing to maintain dialogue with businesses and listen to their feedback.”
The US readout says that the American side underscored that “United States will not negotiate on issues related to U.S. national security.” It adds:
“During the meeting, Under Secretary Lago addressed several commercial and market access issues affecting U.S. businesses and workers. She reviewed cross-border data flows and collaboration on healthcare and climate. She also emphasized concerns about decreasing regulatory transparency and certainty, China’s continued non-market policies and practices, and overcapacity in a range of industrial sectors, all of which negatively affect U.S. businesses and workers. The meeting advanced commercial cooperation in a range of key sectors. In the healthcare sector, Under Secretary Lago highlighted opportunities for U.S. companies to improve healthcare outcomes for patients in China, building on convenings with China’s National Health Commission, the Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, and U.S. and Chinese healthcare leaders and experts. In the climate and environmental sector, Under Secretary Lago promoted opportunities for U.S. companies in China to meet both countries’ shared climate goals, building on meetings with China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the China Association of Environmental Protection Industry, and U.S. companies seeking to expand business opportunities in and exports to China. The U.S. Department of Commerce plans to support a related trade mission in China later this year. Moving forward, the sides agreed to continue their regular engagement over the following months.”
China launches anti-dumping probe into Canadian rapeseed imports:
Ministry of Commerce on Netherlands export controls: Xinhua says that “recently, China and the Netherlands have conducted multi-level and multi-frequency communication and consultation on the issue of semiconductor export controls … In recent years, to maintain its global hegemony, the United States has been constantly generalizing the concept of national security and coercing certain countries to tighten export control measures on semiconductors and equipment, which has seriously threatened the stability of the global semiconductor industrial and supply chains and undermined the legitimate rights and interests of relevant countries and enterprises, the spokesperson said. ‘China firmly opposes this.’ The spokesperson noted that the Dutch side should keep in mind international economic and trade rules and the overall situation of Sino-Dutch economic and trade cooperation. They should respect market principles and the spirit of contract, and avoid relevant measures that hinder the normal cooperation and development of the semiconductor industry of the two countries, the MOC spokesperson added. China urges the Netherlands not to abuse export control measures on semiconductor products and to earnestly safeguard the common interests of Chinese and Dutch enterprises while maintaining the stability of the global semiconductor industry and supply chains.”