Xi Reviews Work Reports - Comprehensive Deepening Reform Commission: Enterprises, Finance, Tech & Talents - Wang Yi on US Ties - 10 Prohibitions for Judicial & Security Staff - US Human Rights Report

Mar 01, 2022

Here are the stories and pieces that I found noteworthy from the Tuesday, March 01, 2022, edition of the People’s Daily.

Page 1: There’s a lot on the page, and in fact in the paper, to note today. But there’s nothing about what’s going on in Ukraine.

First, there’s a report about Xi Jinping’s instructions after he was given reports by key Party committees. Xinhua reports that the Politburo, and members of the leading Party members groups of the Standing Committee of the NPC, the State Council and the National Committee of the CPPCC, as well as secretaries of the leading Party members groups of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate submitted their work reports to Xi. After reading through them, Xi urged them to take historical initiative and greet the convocation of the upcoming 20th CPC National Congress with concrete action. Xi called on them to:

strengthen the ‘four consciousnesses’, the ‘four self-confidences’, achieve the ‘two safeguards’, fully understand the 国之大者, and always maintain a high degree of consistency with the CPC Central Committee in terms of ideology, politics and actions.
carry forward the great spirit of party building, perform our duties with a strong sense of political responsibility and historical mission, adhere to the problem orientation, adhere to the bottom line thinking, do all the work well with the spirit of nailing nails, and unswervingly implement the principles, policies and work arrangements of the Central Committee.
uphold the general principle of making progress while ensuring stability…promote high-quality development, and do a good job in ensuring and improving people’s livelihood.
ensure comprehensive and strict governance of the Party…implement the spirit of the eight-point regulation, carry forward the spirit of self-revolution, and always maintain political integrity.
carry forward the spirit of historical initiative, dare to struggle and be good at struggle, build on the momentum, and forge ahead…

Xinhua English has a good summary of the The work reports summed up experiences over the past year and stated the main points of their future work, which include:

remain committed to closely aligning themselves with the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core in terms of political stance, direction, principle, and path; In PD, the text for this emphasises understanding the decisive significance of the ‘Two establishments’ and ensuring the ‘two safeguards’
take the lead in studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and actively promote the great founding spirit of the CPC;
resolutely implement the decisions and plans made by the CPC Central Committee and Xi’s instructions, coordinate epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development, and coordinate development with security;
steadily improve Party conduct and root out corruption in the fields they are in charge of;
set up good examples, uphold integrity and enhance self-discipline, and willingly submit to oversight.

Next, there’s a report about Xi chairing (English report) the 24th meeting of the Central Commission for Comprehensive Deepening Reform. The meeting adopted:

Guidelines on Accelerating the Construction of World-class Enterprises
Implementation Guidelines on Promoting the High-quality Development of Inclusive Finance
Guidelines on Strengthening the Cultivation of Talents in Basic Disciplines
Guidelines on Promoting the Development of Original Technology Sources by State-Owned Enterprises.

Xi said that:

We should uphold the overall leadership of the Party, develop a higher level socialist market economy, unswervingly consolidate and develop the public sector of the economy, unswervingly encourage, support and guide the development of the non-public sector of the economy, accelerate the construction of a number of world-class enterprises with outstanding products, outstanding brands, leading innovation and modern governance, and achieve greater development and play a greater role in the process of building a socialist modern country in an all-round way and realising the goal of the second century. We should always adhere to the people-centred development philosophy, promote the high-quality development of inclusive finance, improve the modern financial system to make it highly adaptable, competitive, and inclusive in order to better meet the diversified financial needs of the people and the real economy, and effectively solve the problem that loans are difficult and expensive. It is necessary to plan the training of talents in basic disciplines in an all-round way…It is necessary to encourage the state-owned enterprises to improve their innovation systems, enhance their innovation capabilities, and stimulate their innovation vitality; promote the deep integration of industrial chain and innovation chain; and enhance SOEs’ ability to attract greater demand for original technologies, allocate resources, and apply them for commercialization, so as to develop them into sources of original technologies. 习近平在主持会议时强调，要坚持党的全面领导，发展更高水平的社会主义市场经济，毫不动摇巩固和发展公有制经济，毫不动摇鼓励、支持和引导非公有制经济发展，加快建设一批产品卓越、品牌卓著、创新领先、治理现代的世界一流企业，在全面建设社会主义现代化国家、实现第二个百年奋斗目标进程中实现更大发展、发挥更大作用。要始终坚持以人民为中心的发展思想，推进普惠金融高质量发展，健全具有高度适应性、竞争力、普惠性的现代金融体系，更好满足人民群众和实体经济多样化的金融需求，切实解决贷款难贷款贵问题。要全方位谋划基础学科人才培养，科学确定人才培养规模，优化结构布局，在选拔、培养、评价、使用、保障等方面进行体系化、链条式设计，大力培养造就一大批国家创新发展急需的基础研究人才。要推动国有企业完善创新体系、增强创新能力、激发创新活力，促进产业链创新链深度融合，提升国有企业原创技术需求牵引、源头供给、资源配置、转化应用能力，打造原创技术策源地.

Some key points from the meeting’s readout:

It is necessary to support and guide leading enterprises in the industry and specialised and new enterprises that master key core technologies to deepen reform…strengthen the leading role of enterprises in innovation, encourage them to concentrate on various factors of innovation, and encourage them to take the initiative in technological innovation, management innovation and business model innovation. 要支持引导行业领军企业和掌握关键核心技术的专精特新企业深化改革、强化创新，加大培育力度。要强化企业创新主体地位，促进各类创新要素向企业集聚，推动企业主动开展技术创新、管理创新、商业模式创新。
better integrate the enabling government with an efficient market, improve the efficiency of government supervision and service, protect and stimulate the vitality of enterprises, pay attention to maintaining a fair market environment, and promote more outstanding enterprises to stand out in the market competition. We should make overall plans for development and security, and guide enterprises to actively and steadily explore the international market. 要推动有为政府和有效市场更好结合，提高政府监管和服务效能，保护和激发企业活力，注重维护好公平竞争的市场环境，推动更多优秀企业在市场竞争中脱颖而出。要统筹发展和安全，引导企业积极稳妥开拓国际市场.
It is necessary to deepen the supply side structural reform in the financial sector, allocate more financial resources to key areas and weak links, speed up efforts to address financial services shortcomings such as with regard to counties, small and micro enterprises, new agricultural business entities, etc., promote the integrated development of inclusive finance, green finance, science and technology finance, etc., and improve the accuracy and effectiveness of policies. 要深化金融供给侧结构性改革，把更多金融资源配置到重点领域和薄弱环节，加快补齐县域、小微企业、新型农业经营主体等金融服务短板，促进普惠金融和绿色金融、科创金融等融合发展，提升政策精准度和有效性.
Give full play to the commercial, developmental, policy-oriented and cooperative financial functions, enhance the service guarantee function of insurance and capital markets, broaden the direct financing channels, and promote the development of digital inclusive finance in an orderly manner…improve the infrastructure, institutional rules and grassroots governance with regard to inclusive finance, speed up the improvement of risk sharing and compensation mechanisms, and promote the formation of a long-term mechanism with affordable cost and sustainable business. We should attach great importance to the prevention of financial risks, strengthen the Party building in the financial system, strengthen the atmosphere of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, put strict requirements into practice, strengthen financial supervision, resolutely punish corruption in the financial sector, and investigate and punish those who violate laws and regulations. 要完善普惠金融政策制定和执行机制，健全普惠金融基础设施、制度规则、基层治理，加快完善风险分担补偿等机制，促进形成成本可负担、商业可持续的长效机制。要高度重视防范金融风险，加强金融系统党的建设，强化全面从严治党严的氛围，把严的要求落到实处，加大金融监管力度，坚决惩处金融领域腐败，查处违纪违法人员。
“We should take the road of self-cultivation of talents in basic disciplines, adhere to the forefront of science and technology in the world, the main battlefield of economy, meet the major needs of the country, and meet the needs of people's lives and health; fully implement the Party’s education policy, carry out the fundamental task of cultivating talents in basic disciplines, follow the law of education and speed up the development of a high-quality talent cultivation system in basic disciplines. We should adhere to the correct political direction, carry out the education of ideals and beliefs throughout the whole process of personnel training, guide talents to deeply love the Party and imbibe patriotism, sharpen their ambition to serve the country, and inherit and carry forward the fine qualities of the older generation of scientists who cherish the motherland and serve the people.” 要走好基础学科人才自主培养之路，坚持面向世界科技前沿、面向经济主战场、面向国家重大需求、面向人民生命健康，全面贯彻党的教育方针，落实立德树人根本任务，遵循教育规律，加快建设高质量基础学科人才培养体系。要坚持正确政治方向，把理想信念教育贯穿人才培养全过程，引导人才深怀爱党爱国之心、砥砺报国之志，继承和发扬老一辈科学家胸怀祖国、服务人民的优秀品质。
Promoting state-owned enterprises to build original technology sources, we need to focus on the strategic direction and major strategic tasks related to national security, core industrial competitiveness, and improvement of people’s livelihood; strengthen the supply of original technologies, plan in advance for exploring cutting-edge technologies and disruptive technologies, make great efforts to gather innovative elements, deepen innovation synergy, promote achievement transformation and optimise innovation ecology, and cultivate, introduce and make good use of talents in all aspects. 推进国有企业打造原创技术策源地，要把准战略方向，围绕事关国家安全、产业核心竞争力、民生改善的重大战略任务，加强原创技术供给，超前布局前沿技术和颠覆性技术，在集聚创新要素、深化创新协同、促进成果转化、优化创新生态上下功夫，全方位培养、引进、用好人才.

Third, there’s a long piece, the second in the series “Endeavour to build a strong country: General Secretary leads Chinese-style modernization in this way.” The article runs through to occupy nearly all of Page 2. The theme today is common prosperity. I am not doing a detailed breakdown of the piece. To me, it doesn’t signal anything specifically new in terms of policies with regard to common prosperity. But here’s what I thought when I read through the article.

Underscoring that Xi is the protagonist of this piece, there are 47 mentions of his name in the article. Apart from quotes from Xi at different times, the piece features little nuggets and stories of Xi Jinping’s engagements with people at the grassroots. These are smartly used to make the point that Xi is the straw that stirs the drink of common prosperity. Clarifying direction is not really the objective of the piece. The goal is to place Xi at the driving force. Therefore, the article refers to Xi’s grassroots engagements as experiences that Xi shared with senior officials at different times. Basically, the impression one gets is of Xi Jinping travelling to places and learning about people’s livelihood and needs and then communicating to officials what they need to be thinking about and doing.

Next, there’s a report (English report) about the NPC Standing Committee concluding its session on Monday. Xinhua reports:

At the closing meeting, lawmakers voted to adopt the decision on the ranks for active-duty soldiers of the People's Liberation Army, and the decision to remove Li Jiheng from the post of the minister of civil affairs and appoint Tang Dengjie as the new minister.
Lawmakers also voted to adopt a decision to establish the Chengdu-Chongqing financial court.
Lawmakers approved in principle the work report of the NPC Standing Committee and entrusted Li Zhanshu to deliver the report to the fifth annual session of the 13th NPC on behalf of the NPC Standing Committee.
Lawmakers also approved a report on deputy qualifications and personnel-related bills.
The meeting approved the draft agenda for the NPC annual session to be opened on March 5.

The details of some of these decisions mentioned above are on Page 4, if you are interested.

Finally, there’s a report about Qiushi publishing Xi Jinping’s speech at the central conference on work related to people’s congresses. This dates back to October 2021. We’re working on a draft translation of the speech, along with notes highlighting relevant points. I should be able to share it in tomorrow’s newsletter.

Page 3: There’s a report about an event being held at Jinjiang Hotel to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Shanghai Communique. Li Qiang and Wang Yi spoke at the meeting. Here’s an English report with the same details:

“Shanghai Party Secretary Li Qiang said that last year Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden had reached agreement on several aspects of bilateral relations via calls and video meetings. He said Shanghai is a key player and witness in the development of China-US relations and a bridge for the two countries to deepen mutual cooperation in all areas. He stressed that a lot of stories happening in Shanghai prove that a healthy and stable development of China-US relations is the best choice for both sides and also the common wish of both peoples. Looking to the future, he added, Shanghai will play a more active role in promoting friendly exchanges and pragmatic cooperation between China and the US and the development of the bilateral relations, upholding the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.”

Wang Yi spoke at the event. Here are his full remarks in English. Wang outlined four points for ties to improve going forward:

First, we must uphold the one-China principle and consolidate the political foundation of China-U.S. relations.

“It is explicitly stated in the Shanghai Communiqué that the United States acknowledges that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China. The United States Government does not challenge that position. In the 1978 Joint Communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic relations, the United States acknowledges the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is a part of China; and recognizes the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal Government of China. In 1982, the two sides issued the Communiqué of August 17, in which the U.S. side reiterates that it has no intention of infringing on Chinese sovereignty and territorial integrity, or interfering in China’s internal affairs, or pursuing a policy of “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan.” The U.S. side also states that it does not seek to carry out a long-term policy of arms sales to Taiwan, and that it intends to reduce gradually its sales of arms to Taiwan, leading over a period of time to a final resolution. However, not long after establishing diplomatic ties with China, the United States enacted the so-called “Taiwan Relations Act” and later covertly pieced together the so-called “Six Assurances” to Taiwan. Both of these were unilaterally concocted by the United States. They conflict with U.S. commitments in the three joint communiqués, and violate the one-China principle established by the UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 which is widely observed by the international community. They are therefore illegal and void from the very beginning. China-U.S. relations, as a state-to-state relationship, can only be built on common understandings reached between both countries, namely the three joint communiqués, rather than on domestic laws or unilateral policies of the United States. That is a universally accepted international rule and a basic principle of international relations. The United States shall not place its domestic legislation above international law. A review of this episode of history shows that facts on the Taiwan question are crystal clear, and that the historic dynamics of the one-China principle are self-evident. History brooks no falsification, and what is right or wrong should not be distorted. The United States should return to the original and true meaning of the one-China principle, honor its political commitments to China, and fulfill its due international obligations. It should stop draining the one-China principle of its essence, and hollowing it out. It should stop encouraging and supporting “Taiwan independence” moves, stop attempting to use the Taiwan question to contain China, and stop saying or doing things that interfere in China’s internal affairs. Only in doing so can peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait be truly maintained and the larger interests of China-U.S. relations be upheld.”

Second, we must respect each other and ensure the right direction for China-U.S. relations.

“Cooperation represents the mainstream of China-U.S. relations. To define the relationship as competition is oversimplification. Even in competition, there should be boundaries, as well as widely recognized international rules based on fairness. This not only enables one country to be faster and stronger, but also makes all countries more united for a shared future. Even if there is competition, it should be about who does a better job in running the country and who contributes more to the world.”

Third, we must pursue win-win cooperation and promote the development and prosperity of both countries.
Fourth, we must shoulder responsibilities as major countries and provide the world with more public goods.

“China is open to U.S. participation in the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative. We are also ready to consider coordinating with the Build Back Better World initiative of the United States to provide more quality public goods for the world. China and the United States jointly stated in the Shanghai Communiqué that “neither should seek hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region”. Today, this statement remains as relevant as ever. China has not, does not and will not seek any hegemony, and neither should the United States. The Asia-Pacific region, where the two countries’ interests are most interwoven and their interactions most frequent and close, should well become a demonstration field of building mutual trust and cooperation, rather than a backyard where one pursues sphere of influence, let alone a wrestling ground for confrontation or conflict. The United States should stop initiating bloc confrontation and developing small, exclusive circles in the region. It should work with China and other regional countries to build a big Asia-Pacific family featuring openness and inclusiveness, innovation-driven growth, greater connectivity, and mutually beneficial cooperation.”

Next, there’s a report about Wang Yi’s meeting with Republic of Korea Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong. They spoke about elections in South Korea and Korean Peninsula affairs. This chat comes amid North Korea test-firing a ballistic missile recently.

Third, a report about Wang Yi’s comments to the 49th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Full English comments here. Before I get to Wang’s comments, do note that there was a move to hold an urgent debate on Ukraine. This will also consider a resolution for a probe into alleged human rights violations. China voted no to the call for a debate. Anyway, Wang said this as per Xinhua:

China believes that all parties should act as true practitioners of human rights, staunch guardians of people’s interests, positive contributors to common development, and firm defenders of equity and justice…respecting and protecting human rights is the unremitting pursuit of the Communist Party of China, and China will continue to steadfastly pursue a human rights development path that meets the trend of the times and suits its national conditions. “We will continue to uphold a human rights philosophy that puts people front and center, develop the whole-process people's democracy, promote common prosperity for all, and safeguard the human rights of the Chinese people at a higher level,” said Wang. China will continue to take an active part in UN human rights endeavors by making China’s voice heard and contributing China's part to this worthy cause, he added. Wang refuted false information about the affairs of China’s Xinjiang and Hong Kong, saying they had been hyped up with ulterior motives, and adding that China is ready to engage in human rights exchanges and cooperation with all countries on the basis of equality and mutual respect. “We do not accept self-styled 'lecturers' on human rights and reject stoking bloc confrontation in the name of human rights,” said the foreign minister.

Page 4: A report (English report) on the 10-point code of conduct for the country's judicial, prosecuting and public security staff. These are described as the “red line” for their conduct. The report says that:

The ‘Ten Strict Prohibitions’ thoroughly implement Xi Jinping Thought on Rule of Law, and thoroughly implement the important instructions and spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s discourses on strengthening the construction of the political and legal personnel, which is an important measure to consolidate and deepen the educational rectification achievements of the national political and legal teams and promote the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party and the police.

The translations could use a lot of improvement, but the 10 Strict Prohibitions roughly are as follows:
It is strictly forbidden to engage in double-dealing and be a two-faced person;
It is strictly forbidden to not follow orders and do what is prohibited, or continue to do so despite repeated prohibition;
It is strictly forbidden to let erroneous thoughts/ideologies have a corroding influence;
Improper communication and interference in law enforcement and justice are strictly prohibited;
No dereliction of duty, bending the law;
It is strictly forbidden to participate in profit-making activities in violation of regulations;
It is strictly forbidden to shield and connive with evil forces;
Abuse of law enforcement and judicial power is strictly prohibited;
Misfeasance and nonfeasance are strictly forbidden; as is wielding privilege and misusing one’s prestige;
It is strictly forbidden to leak or air secrets.
“十个严禁”深入贯彻习近平法治思想，深入贯彻习近平总书记关于加强政法队伍建设的重要指示和训词精神，是巩固深化全国政法队伍教育整顿成果、推进全面从严管党治警的重要举措。内容包括：严禁搞两面派、做两面人；严禁有令不行、有禁不止；严禁放任错误思潮侵蚀影响；严禁不当交往、干预执法司法；严禁玩忽职守、徇私枉法；严禁违规参与营利活动；严禁包庇纵容黑恶势力；严禁滥用执法司法权；严禁不作为乱作为、耍特权抖威风；严禁跑风漏气、失密泄密。其中强调，凡违反“十个严禁”的，依规依纪依法严肃处理。

The code was jointly formulated and released by the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and five other departments, including the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security.

Pages 10- 12: The entire Statistical Communiqué of the People's Republic of China on the 2020 National Economic and Social Development is published. The entire document is available in English here.

Page 14: The full Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States in 2021 is published on the page. The English version is here.

Here are the section titles and some excerpts from the report:

A heavy price for US epidemic prevention and control

Entrenched violent thinking threatens lives (This covers proliferation of guns; gun violence; police brutality; rights violations by prison staff; and wrongful convictions)
Playing with fake democracy tramples on political rights (This covers the influence of money in politics; disregard for people’s interests; political polarisation; suppression of voting rights; and says that “the international community’s confidence in U.S. democracy continues to decline.”) Here’s an excerpt:

“According to The Guardian on Jan. 7, 2021, candidates spent 14 billion U.S. dollars alone on advertising for the 2020 U.S. president election cycle. The U.S. Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) reported on April 15, 2021 that Wall Street executives, their employees and trade associations invested at least 2.9 billion U.S. dollars into political initiatives during the 2020 election cycle. The U.S. media outlet Politico said on Nov. 17, 2021 that a secret-money group "doled out" 410 million U.S. dollars in 2020 to the Democratic Party, aiding the latter's efforts to win back control of the Senate. In the 2020 presidential election, U.S. pharmaceutical companies made huge political donations to both parties, and the Democratic administration, after taking office, invested an enormous sum of money back to the companies involved, with Moderna alone earning profit of nearly 1 billion U.S. dollars. The federal government then funneled interests directly to pharmaceutical companies by purchasing large quantities of COVID-19 vaccines, resulting in massive hoarding and waste of vaccines in the United States. The U.S. government gave pharmaceutical companies a free hand in pricing COVID-19 vaccines, leading to continuous increases in vaccine prices. The Financial Times reported that Pfizer raised the price of its COVID-19 vaccine for the European Union from 15.5 euros to 19.5 euros, and the price of a Moderna jab increased to 25.5 euros from 19 euros. However, the production cost of a Moderna dose is estimated to be less than 3 U.S. dollars.”

Here’s another excerpt:

“Changes of government did not reduce or remove the political polarization in the United States. The American people are becoming more incompatible with each other over such issues as pandemic prevention and control, race relations, abortion rights and gun control, while the political struggle between Democrats and Republicans over infrastructure construction, social welfare bills, government debt ceiling and other legislation related to the economy and people's livelihood have become more intense, and the Congress has been nearly dysfunctional. A Republican leader even went so far as to deliver a record 8.5-hour speech in the Congress to block and delay a vote on a Democratic-proposed bill. The Pew Research Center reported on Oct. 13, 2021 that the United States was regarded as the most politically polarized country in a survey involving 17 advanced economies, as 90 percent of the American respondents said there are at least strong conflicts between those who support different parties, and about six-in-ten thought their fellow citizens disagree not only over policies, but also over basic facts.”

Indulging in racial discrimination exacerbates social injustice (This covers attacks and discrimination faced by Asian Americans, Muslims and aborigines. It also talks about the economic divide between races. )
Creating a migrant crisis against humanity (This covers violence faced by asylum seekers; “detention and abuse” of immigrant children; and immigrants facing “human trafficking and forced labor”)
Abuse of force and sanctions violates human rights in other countries. Here’s an excerpt:

“The U.S. has always pursued hegemonism, unilateralism and interventionism. The country frequently uses force, resulting in a large number of civilian casualties. Its abusive use of unilateral sanctions has caused humanitarian crises, challenging justice with hegemony, trampling on righteousness with self-interest, and wantonly violating human rights in other countries. It has become the biggest obstacle and destroyer of the sound development of the international human rights cause…Tragedies like the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and Vietnam show that Washington has a history of ignoring basic humanitarianism for its own selfish ends…The U.S. war on terror has killed millions of people. Since the 21st century, the United States has launched a series of global foreign military operations in the name of anti-terrorism, resulting in nearly one million deaths…”

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Xi Reviews Work Reports - Comprehensive Deepening Reform Commission: Enterprises, Finance, Tech & Talents - Wang Yi on US Ties - 10 Prohibitions for Judicial & Security Staff - US Human Rights Report

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