Xi to WTC Air Force: Deepen Preparations for Military Struggle - Xi's Sichuan Visit & Diplomatic Engagements - CPEC @10 - Wang Huning Visits Tibet - Li Xi Visits Xinjiang
Hi folks, my apologies for missing out on two editions late last week. Was traveling for a conference and was unable to do the newsletter. I’ve tried to make-up in this edition by rounding-up the key developments over the past few days.
Here are the key reports and articles that I found noteworthy from the People’s Daily's edition on Monday, July 31, 2023.
Page 1: The lead story on the page is a report on Xi Jinping’s comments during an inspection of the Air Force of the Western Theater Command on the eve of Army Day on August 1. He Weidong attended the meeting as per the report.
The report says that Xi: “emphasized the need to thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th Party Congress, the thought on strengthening the army in the new era, and the military strategic policy in the new era, speed up the modernization of the army, and resolutely complete all tasks entrusted by the Party and the people.” 他强调，要深入贯彻党的二十大精神，贯彻新时代强军思想，贯彻新时代军事战略方针，加快提高部队现代化水平，坚决完成党和人民赋予的各项任务.
Xi added that “it is necessary to closely align with the needs of missions, adapt to the special environment, and further deepen the preparations for military struggle. It is necessary to ensure airspace security by thoroughly carrying out regular air defense. It is necessary to promote the rapid integration of new equipment and new forces into the combat system and boost combat effectiveness. It is necessary to coordinate the development of aviation units and ground guidance, radar, electronic countermeasures and other units to promote the overall improvement of combat capabilities. It is necessary to make unremitting efforts to grasp realistic combat training, strengthen adversarial confrontational training, concentrate on challenging and difficult tasks, and improve the quality and standard of training.” 要紧贴任务需要，适应特殊环境，深入推进军事斗争准备。要周密组织日常防空，确保空防安全。要推动新装备新力量加快形成战斗力，有机融入作战体系。要统筹航空兵部队和地导、雷达、电子对抗等部队发展，推动作战能力整体提升。要坚持不懈大抓实战化军事训练，加强实案化对抗性训练，加强重难点课目专攻精练，提高训练质量和水平.
In the final paragraph, the report says that Xi emphasised the need to ensure that the “Party has a firm grasp of the military ideologically, politically and organizationally. It is necessary to hold high-level party committees accountable, ensure that they adhere to the above-mentioned principles and strict requirements, improve political judgement, political understanding and political execution, enhance leadership capabilities when it comes to preparing for and engaging in combat, and do a good job in the self-construction of Party committees. It is necessary to attach great importance to strengthening the construction of grass-roots party organisations, forge every grass-roots party organisation into a strong fighting fortress, and promote all-round progress and all-round excellence in grass-roots Party construction. It is necessary to unswervingly adhere to the principle of strict discipline, firmly consolidate the political responsibility of Party management and governance at all levels, and continue to promote the integrity of discipline and anti-corruption. It is necessary to implement the deployment requirements of the CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission, do a good job in the thematic education campaign across the military, adhere to the integration of learning, thinking and application, and the unity of knowledge, belief and practice, persist in rectifying problems throughout, promote the implementation of work in solving problems one after another, and create a new situation in army building.” 习近平指出，要认真贯彻落实全军党的建设会议精神，确保党从思想上政治上组织上牢牢掌握部队。要扭住高层党委，坚持以上率下、从严要求，提高政治判断力、政治领悟力、政治执行力，提高领导备战打仗能力，把党委班子自身建设搞过硬。要高度重视加强基层党组织建设，把每个基层党组织都锻造成坚强战斗堡垒，推动基层建设全面进步、全面过硬。要坚持严的基调不动摇，压紧压实各级管党治党政治责任，把正风肃纪反腐不断向纵深推进。要落实党中央和中央军委部署要求，抓好部队主题教育，坚持学思用贯通、知信行统一，坚持把问题整改贯穿始终，在解决一个个问题中推动工作落实，开创部队建设新局面.
Another report on the page informs about the publication of a new compilation on CPC’s military work. Xinhua informs that the book contains 119 important documents on the Party's military work issued between the founding of the CPC in July 1921 and the 20th CPC National Congress in October 2022. Among them, 98 pieces are articles by Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping. Some of the key pieces in the book are mentioned in pages 2 and 4 of the paper, if you are interested.
At this point, I am going to turn to events over the past few days because the front page basically has feature articles that derive from them. For instance, there’s an article on positive responses to Xi’s comments around development during his visit to Sichuan; also, there is a consolidated article on Li Qiang’s meetings with the leaders of Guyana and Mauritania. I am covering their meetings with Xi below, because those themes are basically repeated in the report on the meetings with Li Qiang.
So let’s begin with Xi Jinping’s Sichuan inspection tour. This was the lead story on Sunday’s edition of the paper. Xinhua English has a detailed translated story. I am going to use that.
On July 25, Xi first inspected the “Cuiyun Corridor in Jiange County, Guangyuan City, an important section of an ancient passageway, known as ‘shudao,’ which connects Guanzhong Plain with Sichuan Basin in ancient times. The corridor possesses the best-preserved ancient artificial cypress forest in the world…Xi noted that being the world's largest forest of its kind, this man-made cypress forest has survived for so long and been protected so well, thanks to the inheritance and practice of such policies since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) as logging prohibition for both officials and civilians, and the transfer of duty to protect these trees along with transition of local government power. More importantly, it has benefited from the collective protection efforts made by local residents from generation to generation. This tells us that a well-functioning institutional framework is key to ecological conservation, and so is the strict implementation of policies, he said, emphasizing the importance of fully spurring the enthusiasm, initiative and creativity of the general public to consolidate and develop on the achievements of ecological conservation in the new era. Upon leaving, Xi urged local officials in charge to preserve these ancient trees and pass on China's fine traditional culture.”
On July 26, Xi visited the new building of the Sanxingdui Museum. He toured exhibition halls including the ‘Century-long Pursuit of Dreams,’ ‘Majestic Kingdom Capital,’ as well as ‘Heaven, Earth, Humans and Gods,’ to learn about the discovery and excavation of the ruins, and achievements of the ancient Shu civilization. Xi also paid a visit to the venue for relic preservation and repair, where he carefully observed the procedures, details, and latest techniques for repairing ancient artifacts, and talked amicably with the staff on site. Xi stressed that the archaeological achievements of Sanxingdui are world-renowned, demonstrating the fruits of a civilization more than 4,000 years ago. They also provide more convincing archaeological evidence for the integration of Chinese civilization as well as the mutual influence of the ancient Shu civilization and the Central Plains civilization. The preservation and restoration of cultural artifacts is a long-term task. The country must scale up support, expand its talent pool, and carry forward craftsmanship that features rigor and meticulousness. It is essential to strive for greater achievements step by step amid persistent efforts. On behalf of the CPC Central Committee, Xi extended warm congratulations on the completion and entry into operation of the new building of the Sanxingdui Museum, and expressed heartfelt gratitude and high respect to archaeologists across the country.” (In today’s paper, there’s a feature article on Xi’s interest in and stress on the importance of archeology.)
On July 27, he received a briefing by the Sichuan provincial Party committee and government. “He urged Sichuan to make more progress in sci-tech innovation, the application of sci-tech achievements, the building of a modern industrial system, rural revitalization and the consolidation of ecological shields along the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River. Opening up new areas of development with sci-tech innovation and forging new driving forces for and strengths of development is both a general trend and an urgent requirement of high-quality development, Xi said, calling on Sichuan to rely on innovation, especially sci-tech innovation, for transformations in driving forces for development. Sichuan boasts a large number of universities and research institutions with numerous innovative talents, a relatively complete industrial system, and a strong industrial foundation. It should give full play to its strengths and make efforts on both sci-tech innovation and the application of sci-tech achievements. He asked the province to resolve problems concerning a number of core technologies in key fields and strive to become an innovation hub in western China through improving its sci-tech innovation system, dovetailing with national strategic sci-tech resources, and optimizing the layout of its resources.”
He called Sichuan the “strategic hinterland for China's development”. “Relying on its unique strengths in manufacturing, Sichuan should actively contribute to the safety of the country's industrial and supply chains, and dock itself with the new industrial layout in China's eastern coastal areas in a high-quality manner, Xi said. It is imperative to prioritize the development of distinctive and competitive industries and emerging strategic industries, accelerate the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, and deploy future ones in a forward-looking manner. Stressing the need for deep integration of the digital economy and the real economy, Xi called on the province to build a modernized industrial system with Sichuan characteristics and strengths. It is necessary to soundly plan and build a new energy system to promote the complementary development of multiple energy resources such as water, wind, solar power, hydrogen and natural gas. It is essential to strengthen the production and supply of food and strategic mineral resources, building Sichuan into a strategic base to ensure the supply of important primary products for national needs. The principle must be upheld that the development of Sichuan and Chongqing must be taken into overall consideration to strengthen the cooperation between the two regions, in order to build a strategic highland for opening up to the west and a new base for participating in international competition, so that Sichuan and Chongqing will become an important growth pole and a new source of power for promoting high-quality development in the western region as soon as possible.”
Xi urged the province to “put rural revitalization in a prominent position in the governance and development of Sichuan, and better shoulder the responsibility of maintaining the production and supply of important agricultural products such as grain, live pigs and oil. Importance must be attached to seeds and arable land so that the combination of improved seeds and good fields should help create a higher level ‘Granary of Sichuan’ in the new era…Sichuan should learn and apply Zhejiang province's experience in launching the project ‘Green Rural Revival Program’, focusing on minor things, and persevering in what it is pursuing. The bottom line must be held in the rural homestead reform to strictly control the transfer of land rights, which must never be taken advantage of to put farmland into non-agricultural use. Social security system must be well coordinated between urban and rural areas to promote equal access for rural and urban residents to basic public services.”
“We should persist with a holistic and systematic approach to the conservation and management of mountains, waters, forests, farmlands, grasslands and deserts, strengthen the control of territorial space and the management of negative lists, and strictly implement the supervision and regulation of nature reserves and ecological conservation red lines. It is imperative to speed up establishing a nature reserve system with national parks as the mainstay, and promote the natural regeneration of grasslands, forests, rivers, lakes, and wetlands. We should also work faster to adjust and improve the industrial structure, the energy mix, the composition of the transportation sector and land use, promote intensive and economical use of resources, and actively advocate green and low-carbon ways of production and life. We should keep our skies blue, waters clear and lands clean at a higher standard, actively explore mechanisms to realize the market value of ecological goods and services and improve the compensation system for ecological conservation, so that ecological and environmental governance can be further modernized.”
In addition, he stressed on the importance of strengthening the province’s emergency management system and emergency response capacity. He called on everyone to ensure “concrete results” in the context of the thematic education campaign and “efforts to conduct sound and objective assessment of the efficacy of the theoretical study program.” What this means is interesting to note:
“Whether Party members and officials have fully understood the Party's innovative theories and put them into practice, and whether they can apply the theories wherever it is necessary are the benchmark of how well the theoretical study program is carried out. Whether Party members and officials have learned about real social conditions and public opinions, and take action to solve problems for the people should decide if fact-finding missions and studies work. Whether new breakthroughs are made in high-quality development, and whether people's living standards have been improved are the gauge of how development is pursued. Whether the root causes of problems are identified and misdeeds are thoroughly rectified is a test of how examination and rectification work is done. Whether deviating thinking is rectified, whether unqualified Party members are well educated or dealt with, and whether hidden political dangers are removed are the way to see how endeavors in education of the ranks of officials have fared. Evaluation should be based on facts and open, and public opinions should make a difference, so as to ensure the evaluation is real and objective. It is important to see whether pointless formalities and bureaucratism have been effectively tackled when assessing the effectiveness of the theoretical study program. We should examine pointless formalities and bureaucratism to find out their root causes so as to provide targeted measures to cope with them effectively. It is essential to organize democratic meetings for the leadership and the regular Party activities at the grassroots level, where criticism and self-criticism should be conducted based on study, examination and rectification.”
Xi also visited an exhibition of cultural artefacts in the Hanzhong city Museum and the Tianhan Wetland Park in central Hanzhong.
Next, in Chengdu, Xi met with visiting foreign leaders. Doing a brief breakdown of the coverage from Xinhua:
Xi’s meeting with Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye:
“Xi said that China-Burundi relations have withstood the test of international changes and uncertainties, and the two countries are all-weather friends who share weal and woe and good partners respecting each other and developing together. China firmly supports Burundi in upholding national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and in pursuing an independent and self-reliant development path, Xi said. China is willing to strengthen exchanges of state governance experience with Burundi, Xi said, adding that China will accelerate the progress of major cooperation projects and support the early export of Burundi's agricultural products to China. He said China encourages capable Chinese enterprises to invest in Burundi, and will help Burundi achieve food self-sufficiency and sustainable development. China is willing to work with Burundi to jointly contribute to peace and stability in Africa, Xi said. Noting that China and Africa have always been a community with a shared future, Xi said the two sides need to strengthen unity and cooperation to safeguard the common interests of developing countries as well as international fairness and justice in a world that is facing multiple challenges and crises.”
“Ndayishimiye said Burundi regards China as an all-weather cooperative partner for its national development, and firmly adheres to the one-China policy and considers Taiwan as an inalienable part of China. Burundi firmly supports the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative put forward by China, opposes double standards on human rights issues, and stands against interference in other countries' internal affairs, he said. Ndayishimiye expressed the hope to strengthen cooperation with China in agriculture, mining, animal husbandry and other fields. Burundi is willing to enhance communication and cooperation with China in regional and international affairs, strengthen Africa-China unity and cooperation, and build a more just and reasonable international order, he said.”
Xi’s meeting with Indonesia’s Joko Widodo:
“China is willing to maintain regular strategic communication with Indonesia, strengthen the exchanges of state governance experience, initiate the ‘2+2’ dialogue mechanism for foreign and defense ministers of the two countries, and build high-level strategic mutual trust, Xi said. Major achievements have been made in synergizing the Belt and Road Initiative with Indonesia's vision of the Global Maritime Fulcrum, Xi said. With the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway soon coming into operation, the two sides need to ensure the high standard and high quality of the project, injecting more impetus to Indonesia's development, said Xi, adding that the two countries need to further the cooperation on comprehensive industrial parks. China supports Indonesia in developing its new capital and the North Kalimantan Industrial Park, and is willing to expand cooperation in areas including new energy vehicles and smart cities and jointly promote the industrial digital transformation, Xi said. China is willing to continue to expand imports of bulk commodities and high-quality agricultural products from Indonesia, deliver on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and strengthen cooperation in fields including food security, poverty reduction, rural revitalization, vocational education, language education, medicine and health, culture and tourism, he said. China is ready to deepen its comprehensive strategic partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and support the work of Indonesia as the rotating chair of the ASEAN, Xi said. China stands ready to strengthen communication and coordination with Indonesia under G20, BRICS and other multilateral mechanisms, promote the implementation of the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, safeguard regional and global peace and stability, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, Xi said.”
“Indonesia firmly upholds the one-China policy and is willing to continue to enhance cooperation with China in areas including investment, marine fisheries, food security and healthcare, he said. The Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative put forward by Xi are open and inclusive, Widodo said, adding that Indonesia actively supports the initiatives.”
A bunch of agreements were signed during the visit;
Protocol on Inspection and Quarantine Requirements for Konjac Powder Exports from Indonesia to China
the Protocol on Phytosanitary Requirements for Tabasheer Exports from Indonesia to China
Action Plan for Health Cooperation
Memorandum of Understanding on Joint Research and Development Center
Memorandum of Understanding on Planning Cooperation and Knowledge Sharing Related to the Relocation of Indonesia's New Capital City
Memorandum of Understanding on Enhancing Indonesia-China ‘Two Countries, Twin Parks’ Cooperation
Memorandum of Understanding on Chinese Language Education
Memorandum of Understanding on Economic and Technical Cooperation.
Xi’s meeting with Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani.
“Facing profound changes unseen in a century in the world, China and Mauritania should continue to be good friends who support each other and good partners in seeking development, and jointly safeguard their common interests and international fairness and justice, Xi said. China appreciates Mauritania's consistent support on issues concerning China's core interests, Xi said, adding that China will continue to support Mauritania in pursuing a development path suited to its national circumstances, and oppose external interference in Mauritania's internal affairs. China will continue to provide assistance to the best of its ability for Mauritania, enhance cooperation in mushroom planting technology, and deepen cooperation on fisheries, agriculture, animal husbandry and other areas, Xi said. Xi said the signing of a plan between China and Mauritania on promoting Belt and Road cooperation will deepen and expand exchanges and cooperation in various fields. China encourages and supports more Chinese enterprises in taking part in cooperation with Mauritania in fields such as infrastructure and energy, Xi said. China will continue to send more high-level medical teams to Mauritania, support the country in running the Confucius Institute well, and enrich exchanges and cooperation in terms of culture, youth, media and localities, Xi said.”
“Mauritania firmly upholds the one-China policy, and is willing to enhance cooperation with China in economy and trade, energy and other fields, and to elevate the Mauritania-China relations to a new height, Ghazouani said. The Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative that President Xi put forward fully comply with norms governing international relations, Ghazouani said. The initiatives are conducive to upholding true multilateralism, promoting world peace, security and common development, and advancing the establishment of a fairer and more equitable international order, Ghazouani said, adding that Mauritania highly appreciates and actively supports the initiatives.”
Xi’s meeting with Guyanese President Irfaan Ali.
“Xi said that China and Guyana should be good friends who trust and count on each other, and both countries should share opportunities, meet challenges, seek cooperation and promote development together. Xi urged the building of a more close-knit China-Guyana community with a shared future. Guyana was the earliest country in the Caribbean region to recognize the one-China principle and establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. … Xi said China and Guyana, both developing countries, should strengthen communication and cooperation, firmly support each other, and advance bilateral relations steadily for the fundamental and long-term interests of the two peoples. China is willing to deepen the alignment between the Belt and Road Initiative and Guyana's Low-carbon Development Strategy 2030, and elevate the level of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation between the two countries, Xi said. Xi said China welcomes Guyana's participation in the China International Import Expo to introduce more of Guyana's distinctive and high-quality products into the Chinese market. China encourages its companies to invest in Guyana, expand mutually beneficial cooperation in areas such as energy, mining, finance, agriculture, fisheries and infrastructure construction, and foster new sources of growth, he said…China and Guyana have broad common interests and similar positions in international and regional affairs, Xi said. Xi congratulated Guyana on being elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2024-2025 term. Xi said China supports Guyana in playing a greater role in international and regional affairs, and is willing to work with Guyana to practice true multilateralism, safeguard the common interests of developing countries, and jointly address global challenges such as climate change, food security and energy security. He said China is willing to work with Caribbean countries to build a closer community with a shared future. Xi expressed the hope that Guyana will continue to play an active role in promoting relations between China and the Caribbean countries.”
“Guyana firmly adheres to the one-China principle, highly admires President Xi's outstanding leadership, and highly values China's international influence, Ali said. Ali said China has played an important role in the economic and social development of Guyana and the Caribbean region, not only by sharing its experience but also providing valuable assistance in developing infrastructure, connectivity, healthcare and other areas. Ali said Guyana regards China as a highly reliable cooperative partner and welcomes Chinese companies to invest and do business in Guyana. Guyana supports a series of major initiatives put forward by President Xi and actively participates in the Belt and Road cooperation, Ali said. Guyana is ready to closely communicate and collaborate with China to promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity and establish a fairer and more equitable international order, Ali said.”
Finally, Xi’s meeting with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili. The two sides issued a joint statement announcing the establishment of the China-Georgia strategic partnership.
“Xi said China and Georgia should understand and support each other on issues concerning their respective core interests and be good friends and partners based on mutual respect, mutual trust and equality…China is ready to work with Georgia to jointly promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, Xi said, adding that China welcomes Georgia to expand its exports of high-quality products to China and encourages Chinese enterprises to invest in Georgia…Xi said that he had put forward the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative with the aim of upholding the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law, and solving global issues related to peace and development. Expressing gratitude for China's long-term support for Georgia and respect for Georgia's sovereignty and independence, Garibashvili said Georgia firmly upholds the one-China policy. Garibashvili said that Georgia supports the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by President Xi and will actively participate in their implementation. The elevation of Georgia-China relations to a strategic partnership will bring more opportunities to Georgia, Garibashvili said, expressing the hope that Georgia will expand and deepen cooperation with China in economy, trade and various other fields.”
Page 3: There’s an article by Ahsan Iqbal, Pakistan’s Federal Minister Planning & Development. He says that over the past decade, CPEC has “comprehensively improved the level of Pakistan's infrastructure, gradually changed the development of Pakistan, and created favourable conditions for Pakistan’s modernization. It has received widespread praise from all sectors of Pakistani society.”
“In the energy sector, the completion of projects such as the Karot Hydropower Station and the Matiari-Lahore Transmission Line has greatly improved Pakistan's power supply, particularly by increasing the share of clean energy in the power generation mix. This has helped address the long-standing issue of power shortages, promoting industrial development in Pakistan. In the transportation sector, the second phase of the Karakoram Highway project and the sections of the Peshawar-Karachi Motorway from Sukkur to Multan have been opened successively. This has significantly increased development opportunities for the people along the route, leading to gradual improvements in their living standards. The upcoming completion of the Gwadar New International Airport, along with the Gwadar Port and the East Bay Expressway, will form a modern and comprehensive transportation network, further enhancing Pakistan's overall transportation infrastructure. In the livelihood sector, Chinese technology and investment have brought opportunities for win-win cooperation. Motorcycles produced with Chinese technology can be seen on the streets of Pakistan. In the industrial park in Faisalabad, Chinese investment has provided numerous employment opportunities for locals, and products like tiles have entered thousands of households in Pakistan. In many places in Punjab and Sindh, Chinese hybrid rice has become a popular planting variety, significantly increasing rice yields and promoting poverty reduction and income growth among local farmers.” 在能源领域，卡洛特水电站、默拉直流输电项目等能源基础设施的建成，大大提高了巴基斯坦电力供应水平，尤其是提升了清洁能源在电力供应中的占比，助力巴基斯坦解决长期缺电造成的发展难题，促进了巴基斯坦工业化发展。在交通领域，喀喇昆仑公路二期项目、白沙瓦—卡拉奇高速公路苏库尔至木尔坦段陆续通车，沿线巴基斯坦人民的发展机会明显增多，生活正逐步得到改善。即将建成的瓜达尔新国际机场将与瓜达尔港、东湾快速路等共同组成海陆空现代化立体交通网络，巴基斯坦综合交通运输网络将进一步完善。在民生领域，中国技术和中国投资带来了合作共赢的机遇。引进中国技术生产的摩托车穿梭于巴基斯坦街头巷尾；在费萨拉巴德的工业园区，中企投资给当地带来大量就业机会，生产的瓷砖等产品走进巴基斯坦千家万户；在旁遮普省与信德省许多地方，中国杂交水稻成为广受欢迎的种植品种，水稻亩产大幅提高，促进当地农户增收脱贫.
He adds that CPEC “not only contributes to the economic and social development of Pakistan, but also adds impetus to the peaceful development of the region.”
“Currently, the construction of the CPEC has entered a new stage of high-quality development. Looking ahead, the CPEC will continue to prioritise improving people's livelihoods and continuously expand cooperation areas. The people of Pakistan highly value and have great expectations for the future development of the CPEC, hoping that China and Pakistan will deepen cooperation in various fields, continue to promote the building of a community of shared future between the two countries, and contribute to the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind.” 目前，巴中经济走廊建设已进入高质量发展的新阶段。展望未来，巴中经济走廊建设将继续以改善民生为立足点，不断拓宽合作领域。巴基斯坦各界高度关注并看好巴中经济走廊发展前景，期待巴中继续深化各领域合作，不断推进巴中命运共同体建设，助力构建人类命运共同体.
This article comes in the context of the 10-year-anniversary celebrations for CPEC. Vice Premier He Lifeng is visiting Pakistan as Xi’s special envoy to mark the occasion. Speaking about He’s visit, Iqbal said that “a number of MoUs (memorandum of understanding) will be signed under CPEC during current visit of Chinese vice prime minister.” Dawn’s report informs that as per Iqbal the “under-construction Gwadar Airport would be operationalised by the end of the current year.” He added that China and Pakistan have agreed on the technical parameters of the Main Line-1 (ML-1) rail project and finances will be allocated for it.
“As of 2022, the CPEC had brought $25.4 billion in direct investment to Pakistan and created about 236,000 jobs there. It helped Pakistan generate 8,000 megawatts of electricity and build 886 kilometers of national core transmission grid, according to the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan…Zhang Baozhong, chairman of China Overseas Ports Holding Co, told the Global Times that with the improvement of local ports and infrastructure including hospitals, airports and schools, Gwadar has now been transformed to a modern seaside city with a permanent resident population that grew from 80,000 in 2013 to 220,000 in 2023. Zhang said that his company aims to build Gwadar into a smart port city by 2050 with a total population of more than 1.7 million and an annual GDP of $30 billion.”
Moving on, there’s a report on a publicity event called “Hello, Silk Road” being held in Karamay city in Xinjiang. This is actually a dated report. The report says that over 200 experts, scholars, journalists, and online influencers from countries such as China, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, and Colombia participated. This is basically a high-end propaganda event, which underscores the effort being taken to expand “organic” positive coverage of developments in Xinjiang.
Next, a report informing of the 43rd Chinese naval escort task force’s visit (replenishment break) to South Africa from July 24 to July 27. Also, there’s a brief report on a CCP delegation led by Secretary of Qinghai Province Chen Gang visiting Kyrgyzstan. They met with the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic Akylbek Zhaparov.
Page 4: There’s a report on the national work safety conference, where Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing called for all-out efforts to effectively prevent and contain the occurrence of major accidents.
He said that “lessons of recent accidents should be learned, risks and hidden dangers should be accurately investigated and rectified, in order to do a solid job on workplace safety. It is necessary to firmly establish the safe development concept, put an end to the idea of making efforts afterwards, focus on accident-prone industries and high-risk points, and resolutely curb the frequent occurrence of gas accidents.”
Page 15: There’s a brief report on the Russia-Africa summit, which ended over the weekend. The joint declaration is available here. AP’s reporting of the summit is worth reading through:
“African leaders have left two days of meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin with little to show for their requests to resume a deal that kept grain flowing from Ukraine and to find a path to end the war there. Putin in a press conference late Saturday following the Russia-Africa summit said Russia’s termination of the grain deal earlier this month caused a rise in grain prices that benefits Russian companies. He added that Moscow would share some of those revenues with the ‘poorest nations.’ That commitment, with no details, follows Putin’s promise to start shipping 25,000 to 50,000 tons of grain for free to each of six African nations in the next three to four months — an amount dwarfed by the 725,000 tons shipped by the U.N. World Food Program to several hungry countries, African and otherwise, under the grain deal. Russia plans to send the free grain to Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Eritrea and Central African Republic. Fewer than 20 of Africa’s 54 heads of state or government attended the Russia summit, while 43 attended the previous gathering in 2019, reflecting concerns over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine even as Moscow seeks more allies on the African continent of 1.3 billion people. Putin praised Africa as a rising center of power in the world, while the Kremlin blamed ‘outrageous’ Western pressure for discouraging some African countries from showing up.”
Some noteworthy points from the joint statement:
The parties agreed to “initiate the creation of a permanent top-level Russia-Africa dialogue mechanism to operate within the African Union Multilateral Partnership framework, in order to coordinate efforts against terrorism and extremism, including violent extremism conducive to terrorism, address environmental, food, and information security issues, participate jointly in African Union programmes on developing the architecture of peace, stability and security.”
“Coordinate, within the United Nations Security Council, approaches towards sanctions policies with regard to African States, including with a view to further easing and lifting restrictive measures that are no longer relevant.”
“Work together to counter the use of illegitimate unilateral tools and methods, including the application of coercive measures in circumvention of the United UN Council and their extraterritorial application, as well as the imposition of approaches that harm primarily the most vulnerable and undermine international food and energy security.”
“Strengthen cooperation within other international organizations and consider expanding the practice of providing mutual support at elections to their governing bodies and in decision-making on issues of importance for the Russian Federation and African States in accordance with their national interests and international obligations.”
“Help enhance the BRICS–Africa partnership and establish the Collective Security Treaty Organization–African Union dialogue, as well as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization–African Union dialogue.”
“Oppose the application of illegitimate unilateral restrictive measures, including secondary ones, as well as the practice of freezing sovereign foreign exchange reserves. Reaffirm the unacceptability of using political blackmail to bring leaders of third countries to implement such measures or influence the political and economic policies of States.”
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Wang Huning visited Tibet last week, from Tuesday to Thursday. He said that it was necessary to resolutely implement the Party's strategies for governing Tibet in the new era, deeply comprehend the decisive significance of ‘Two Establishments’, strengthen the ‘four consciousnesses and four confidences and achieve the ‘two safeguards.’ Under the main task of fostering a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, efforts should be made to maintain stability, promote development, advance ecological conservation and boost development in border areas. 他表示，做好西藏工作，必须坚定不移贯彻新时代党的治藏方略，深刻领悟“两个确立”的决定性意义，增强“四个意识”、坚定“四个自信”、做到“两个维护”，紧扣铸牢中华民族共同体意识这一主线，抓好稳定、发展、生态、强边四件大事，在建设社会主义现代化新西藏上展现更大作为. Wang visited Nyingchi, Lhasa and inspected the Sichuan-Tibet railway. He also met with Pagbalha Geleg Namgyai and other CPPCC members. The final paragraph of the story captures the essence of Wang’s message:
“It is necessary to take safeguarding the unity of the motherland and strengthening national unity as the main focus of Tibet's work, do a solid job in ethnic and religious work, and strengthen ethnic exchanges and integration. It is necessary to take improving people's livelihood and rallying people's hearts as the starting point and foothold of economic and social development work, consolidate and expand the achievements of poverty alleviation, comprehensively promote rural revitalization, and embark on a road of high-quality development that is in line with Tibet's reality. It is necessary to establish the concept of “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”, build a highland for ecological civilization construction and build a harmonious coexistence between man and nature.” 要把维护祖国统一、加强民族团结作为西藏工作的着眼点和着力点，扎实做好民族宗教工作，加强民族交往交流交融。要把改善民生、凝聚人心作为经济社会发展的出发点和落脚点，巩固拓展脱贫攻坚成果，全面推进乡村振兴，走出符合西藏实际的高质量发展之路。要树立绿水青山就是金山银山的理念，打造生态文明建设高地，建设人与自然和谐共生的现代化。
PBSC member Li Xi, meanwhile, visited Xinjiang from Tuesday to Saturday. He “emphasized that the new journey of building a strong country and national rejuvenation are inseparable from the cohesion and unity of the people of all ethnic groups. Discipline inspection and supervision organs should focus on the overall goal of social stability and long-term peace, constantly forge a sense of the Chinese nation community, firmly and in a clear-cut manner uphold discipline against separatist activities, strengthen supervision and inspection on the implementation of the policy of stabilizing Xinjiang, benefiting the people and enriching the people, resolutely rectify outstanding problems that harm the interests of the people, continuously enhance the people's sense of gain, happiness and security, and promote all ethnic groups to join together like pomegranate seeds to create a better life together.” 他强调，走好强国建设、民族复兴新征程，离不开各族人民凝心聚力、团结奋斗。纪检监察机关要聚焦社会稳定和长治久安总目标，不断铸牢中华民族共同体意识，旗帜鲜明严肃反分裂斗争纪律，加强对稳疆兴疆、惠民富民政策落实情况的监督检查，坚决整治损害群众利益的突出问题，不断增强人民群众获得感、幸福感、安全感，促进各民族像石榴籽一样紧紧抱在一起，共同创造美好生活. He also attended a symposium with discipline inspection secretaries. He told them that the “purpose of studying Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era lies in its application, turning this important thought into a powerful ideological weapon to transform both the subjective and objective worlds.” In this regard, he called on them to implement the priorities outlined at the 20th Party Congress, implement the 8-point regulation and the integrated approach to tackle corruption.
Finally, do check out this Xinhua commentary by Zhang Haisen, deputy dean of the School of International Development and Cooperation, University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. Zhang writes:
“if the United States and other Western countries continue to adopt the ‘de-risking’ approach, the global economy will face risks in greater numbers and scale. ‘De-risking’ hinders global development and seriously dampens the efforts of countries around the world to shore up growth momentum. ‘De-risking’ from China will impact the existing trading framework, and bring uncertainties to the global economic order. ‘De-risking’ actually decreases opportunities, cooperation, stability, and development, and is creating and spreading risks, from which no one can benefit. The real risk that the international community should be vigilant against and jointly resist is the push for ‘de-sinicization’ in the name of ‘de-risking.’ International Monetary Fund Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas has warned that ‘de-risking’ could see countries turn inward at the expense of global growth. ‘There is a danger that (the) global economy could fragment into blocks’.”