Xi's Bangladesh Speech - Xinjiang Policy - Zhong Sheng on US Sanctions - Alaska Meeting Preview
Here’s a breakdown of the interesting stories from the People’s Daily’s March 18, 2021, edition. I’ve also done a bit of a preview of the US-China meeting in Alaska at the end of the People’s Daily review in this post. Do check it out.
Page 1: First up, it was really interesting to see Xi Jinping sending a video message to an event held by Bangladesh commemorating the centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s birth, and Bangladesh’s 50th anniversary of independence. PD’s report is the same as Xinhua English’s. It says that Xi called Rahman an “old friend and a good friend of the Chinese people” who had “visited China twice and developed friendship with Chinese leaders of the older generations.”
Xinhua then says “China and Bangladesh have been friendly neighbouring countries since ancient times, and the friendship spanning over a thousand years was witnessed by the Silk Road Xi said. Over the last 46 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two sides have always treated each other with mutual respect and on an equal footing, offered mutual support and worked hand in hand, Xi added.”
Of course, this overlooks the fact that Beijing was not at all comfortable with the newly-created state of Bangladesh in 1971 and spent considerable energy and its first UNSC veto to block Bangladesh from joining the United Nations. This continued till Bangladesh finally joined in 1974. China’s recognition of Bangladesh only happened in late August 1975. This, importantly, came after the assassination of Mujibur Rahman. For more, do check out this piece by Saleem Samad from August 2020.
Anyway, Xi talked about how Sonar Bangla is connected to the Chinese Dream and how both sides should focus on “pragmatic cooperation.”
Next, PSC member Wang Yang called on cadre “to fully and accurately implement the Party’s strategy of governing Xinjiang in the new era.” This comes after he led a “research team” to the region from March 14 to 17. The PD report says: “From the 14th to the 17th, Wang Yang led a research team to Xinjiang, divided into 4 groups, and went to Urumqi, Kashgar, Turpan, Hami, Kizilsu, Changji and other places to go deep into rural areas, communities, schools, enterprises, party and government agencies, scientific research institutions, religious sites, etc., to conduct one-to-one interviews with party members, cadres, experts and scholars, people of all ethnic groups, and religious figures, and hold symposiums to listen to work reports from relevant parties.”
Wang said that the “general goal” of the Party is “social stability and long-term security.” He further explains: “We must focus on forging the consciousness of the Chinese nation’s community as the main line to do a good job in ethnic work, deepen historical research in Xinjiang, and strengthen national language education in accordance with the wishes of the people of all ethnic groups, and promote the unity and common development of all ethnic groups. It is necessary to fully implement the party’s policy on freedom of religious belief, adhere to the direction of my country’s religious sinicization, based on consolidating the achievements of de-radicalization, guided by the core values of socialism, with the construction of Confucianism as the key, and support by strengthening the cultivation of religious talents.”
Next, PSC member Han Zheng held a symposium at the National Development and Reform Commission on March 16. PD says that he “emphasized that it is necessary to take Xi Jinping’s thoughts on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era as a guide, based on the new development stage, implement the new development concept, build a new development pattern, grasp the promotion of high-quality development, solidly promote common prosperity, and firmly establish an overall national security concept.”
Some of the priorities that he pointed out were:
food security
energy structure
social issues like basic pension
medical insurance
pushing back the retirement age
housing in big cities
reduction of production capacity in key industries
maintain security of the industrial chain and supply chain
implement major regional strategies - this included the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Hainan Free Trade Port, Yangtze River Economic Belt, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
Finally, a report on how tax policy in China over the past five years aided science and technological development. The report says that “during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the amount of tax reductions and exemptions for...scientific and technological innovation has increased by an average annual rate of 28.5%, and the accumulated tax cuts have been 2.54 trillion yuan in five years.” It adds that the number of companies that enjoy tax deductions for R&D expenses increased from 53,000 in 2015 to 339,000 in 2019. Also, the “national research and experimental development expenditure has increased from 1.42 trillion yuan in 2015 to 2.44 trillion yuan in 2020.”
Page 2: Today in looking at the Party’s history, there’s a piece on the 12th Party Congress in 1982. This is the one where we get the phrase “socialism with Chinese characteristics.” There’s also this bit in the piece.
“The 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of China put forward the goal of ‘building the party into a strong core leading the socialist modernization drive’ and passed a new party constitution. The new party constitution corrected the ‘Left’ mistakes in the party constitution of the 11th National Congress. It had an impact on the nature and guiding ideology of the party, on the main contradictions in our society and the party's general tasks, and on how the party can correctly play its leading role in the life of the country. The regulations were in line with the new situation.”
Next, there’s a new set of regulations on the management of state assets owned by administrative institutions. Xinhua English has less details, but it has the gist. It says that “the regulation applies to assets obtained or formed by administrative units and public institutions through fiscal funds, acceptance of allocation or transfer, replacement, and donation, among others. It clarifies the responsibilities of governments at all levels and relative government departments in managing the assets. The regulation also includes provisions on the allocation, use, and disposal of state assets owned by administrative institutions. It stipulates that the assets should be allocated in strict accordance with the budget management regulations.”
Page 3: Here’s where things get acrimonious. Much of the page is dedicated to pieces about China-US ties. Of course, all this comes amid tensions ahead of Yang & Wang’s meeting with Blinken and Sullivan.
First, we have China’s MoFA’s criticism of the statement following the US-Japan 2+2 dialogue. Here’s the full English version of Zhao Lijian’s comments. He says that “the US-Japan joint statement maliciously attacks China’s foreign policy, flagrantly interferes in China's domestic affairs, and attempts to harm China's interests.” Apart from other things, he accuses the two countries of seeking “bloc confrontation and attempt(ing) to form an anti-China circle.” Then he has these words for Tokyo: “Japan, driven by the selfish aim to check China's revitalization, willingly stoops to acting as a strategic vassal of the United States, going so far as to break faith, harm relations with China, invite the wolf into the house, and betray the collective interests of the whole region. Such despicable behavior is deeply unpopular.”
So what angered Zhao so much? Well, here’s the US-Japan joint statement after the meetings. It contains the following paragraph on China’s behaviour:
“The United States and Japan acknowledged that China’s behavior, where inconsistent with the existing international order, presents political, economic, military, and technological challenges to the Alliance and to the international community. The Ministers committed to opposing coercion and destabilizing behavior toward others in the region, which undermines the rules-based international system. They reaffirmed their support for unimpeded lawful commerce and respect for international law, including freedom of navigation and overflight and other lawful uses of the sea. The Ministers also expressed serious concerns about recent disruptive developments in the region, such as the China Coast Guard law. Further, they discussed the United States’ unwavering commitment to the defense of Japan under Article V of our security treaty, which includes the Senkaku Islands. The United States and Japan remain opposed to any unilateral action that seeks to change the status quo or to undermine Japan’s administration of these islands. The Ministers underscored the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. They reiterated their objections to China’s unlawful maritime claims and activities in the South China Sea and recalled that the July 2016 award of the Philippines-China arbitral tribunal, constituted under the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, is final and legally binding on the parties. The Ministers shared serious concerns regarding the human rights situation in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.”
In addition to this, do note that after the Defense Minister-level talks, it has been agreed that the US and Japan will be hold drills in preparation for contingencies involving the Senkaku Islands.
Next, there is more sparring (English report) between China and the US on the issue of human rights. Jiang Duan, minister of the Chinese mission to the UN in Geneva, criticised the US for the “deterioration of the human rights situation.” The Chinese side said that “the United States failed to take effective measures to prevent and control the epidemic, resulting in the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives. However, American politicians shirked their responsibilities and blamed others. The United States pursues ‘vaccine nationalism’, hoarding a large amount of new coronavirus vaccines far exceeding the needs of its population, but refuses to provide vaccines to other countries, including allies.” He also talked about racial discrimination, police violence, foreign interventions, etc. He even went on to say that “the US neither apologizes for its evil past of genocide nor provides reparation to the victims. Instead, it, distorting facts, maliciously slanders other countries out of political motivation.”
Next, a report based on the Stop AAPI Hate’s new report, which said that it recorded 3,795 anti-Asian hate incidents between March 19, 2020 and February 28, 2021. There’s no editorialising or commentary on this. But PD picks up this element from the report: “ethnic Chinese are the most attacked ethnic group, accounting for 42.2% of the total. The second and third places are Korean and Vietnamese.”
Finally, you have a Zhong Sheng commentary on the US. This one hits back after the US State Department sanctioned 24 PRC and Hong Kong officials (full list here) “whose actions have reduced Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy.” These included “14 vice chairs of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee and officials in the Hong Kong Police Force’s National Security Division, the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, and the Office for Safeguarding National Security.”
The commentary says that “the US’s acts of bullying and interventionism on Hong Kong-related issues seriously violated international law and the basic norms of international relations, seriously interfered in China's internal affairs, and fully exposed its sinister intentions to disrupt Hong Kong and hinder China's stability and development, which is disgusting.” The commentary calls American sanctions a piece of “waste paper,” defends changes to HK’s election system, talks about human rights in American and other countries' support for Beijing.
Page 4: One piece note. This one’s about the Central Propaganda Department’s report on Party History Learning and Education. It informs that local level meetings on this were held in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai, with the aim of studying the report and drawing action items from it.
On page 9, there’s a piece by Xu Jianfei from the School of Marxism, Yangzhou University. Xu writes about learning from Party history. Xu argues that “Ideals and beliefs are the spiritual ‘calcium’ of communists,” the deficiency of which could lead to “chondrosis.” The ideals and belief that he is talking about is Marxism. Xu writes that “through the glorious years and arduous journey, we have deeply understood and realized the truth and power of Marxism, deepened our understanding of the laws of the Communist Party’s governance, the laws of socialist construction, and the laws of the development of human society…”
He then talks about why it is important to study Party history. “Carrying out party history learning and education will help party members and cadres understand the spiritual pedigree of the Chinese Communists in a more profound and comprehensive way in understanding the historical situation and grasping the historical context, vigorously carry forward the red tradition, inherit the red gene, and continue the spiritual blood of the Chinese Communists. Maintain the revolutionary spirit of fearless struggle, and muster the spirit of marching on a new journey and forging ahead into a new era.”
Here’s more: “Carrying out party history study and education can enable party members and cadres to deeply understand the hard-won red regime, the hard-won New China, the hard-won socialism with Chinese characteristics, and a deep understanding of why the Chinese Communist Party ‘can’, why Marxism ‘does’, and why socialism with Chinese characteristics is ‘good’...”
That’s about it for People’s Daily, but I wanted to do a bit of a preview of the upcoming US-China meeting in Alaska.
First, the State Department’s sanctions on PRC and HK officials is indicative of a tough American posture.
Second, on March 16, there was a special briefing by the State Department on the talks. Two unidentified officials responded to the press. Here’s some key points from this:
“our China strategy fits within our broader Indo-Pacific Strategy, sits within our broader approach to national security.”
This is not the resumption of a particular dialogue mechanism or the beginning of a dialogue process. This is very much about sitting down, getting an understanding of each other, and then taking that back and taking stock.
“we’ve always said that the domestic piece, strengthening ourselves at home, and then working with allies, partners, and international institutions to strengthen ourselves globally is really key to setting up how we are going to both confront China where it is undermining our interests and values, and where we’re going to cooperate with China where we have an interest in doing so. I think that it’s really important that that is the backdrop for our conversations in Anchorage. We are coming in with what we feel like is an increasing – increasingly strong hand to come to the table with our Chinese interlocutors…We think it’s really important that our Chinese interlocutors hear from Secretary Blinken and from National Security Advisor Sullivan directly about our priorities and about our intentions. We know that sometimes there is a sense, potentially a perception, or maybe it’s a hope, in Beijing that our public message is somehow different than our private message. And we think it’s really important that we dispel that idea very early and that we’re very clear with delivering the same messages in private that you have heard from us in public. That includes making very clear our deep concerns about a range of issues, whether it’s Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Chinese economic coercion of our allies and partners, China’s increasingly aggressive activities across the Taiwan Strait. We will absolutely make those points very clear. But this is really about having a broader strategic conversation, it’s about communicating the areas where we intend to take steps, and it’s about understanding where our Chinese interlocutors are at.”
“we’re going to lay down some specific areas where we believe that Beijing does need to take some steps to change course. And you’ve probably seen some comments specifically about China’s economic coercion in some of our allies, including Australia, that we do believe need to change before we can take substantial steps forward in the relationship.”
The officials ruled out the issuance of a joint statement, downplaying the overall expectations from the meeting. The officials also talked about the prospect of raising “Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan, economic coercion of allies…China’s actions to impinge on freedom of navigation” and actions “in the technology space, in the economic space” and cyber space.
Third, on the other hand, we have this report by Lingling Wei and Bob Davis in WSJ. it quotes the Chinese foreign ministry as saying that the Biden administration asked for the Alaska meeting. The piece, however, primarily talks about how Beijing plans to press Washington to reverse many of the policies targeting China introduced during the Trump presidency during the meeting. The report adds:
“The measures China wants reversed include limits on American sales to Chinese firms such as its telecommunications company Huawei Technologies Co. and chip maker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. ; visa restrictions on Communist Party members, Chinese students and state-media journalists; and closure of the Chinese Consulate in Houston. Beijing has retaliated in kind, hitting American entities and individuals with similar penalties. Should those restrictions be removed or relaxed, China would consider eliminating its own countermeasures, said the people with knowledge of the Chinese plans.”
Here’s more:
“The Chinese officials also plan to propose re-establishing regular high-level meetings between the two sides and scheduling a virtual summit between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Mr. Biden in April during a global conference on climate change.”
Fourth, US NSA Jake Sullivan also discussed the Alaska meeting with his counterparts from France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
Finally, a day ahead of the meetings, the US Commerce Department said it has served subpoenas on multiple Chinese companies as part of an ongoing US effort to target foreign communications technology and services that could threaten national security.