Xi's Hebei Tour - Zhong Yin on China's Demographic & Talent Dividends - Scholars Discuss Chinese-style Modernisation
Here are the key reports and articles that I found noteworthy from the People's Daily's edition on Monday, May 15, 2023.
Page 1: On Saturday, the paper carried a detailed report on Xi Jinping presiding over a meeting on promoting the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. I am going to begin today’s edition by first looking at that story over the weekend.
Xinhua English has the full official translation of the report on the inspection tour of Hebei and the meeting. So I am going to use that.
Xi talked about the need to “make the region a pioneer and example in pursuing Chinese modernization.”
On May 11, Xi visited Cangzhou, where he travelled to a plot of saline-alkali wheat land in Xianzhuang area of Jiucheng Town, Huanghua City. The key point he made was: “It is a strategic issue to comprehensively utilize saline-alkali land, and great importance should be attached to it. It is important to base our work on the reality that China has a large amount of saline-alkali land, which has great development potential, Xi noted. It is imperative to make greater efforts to harness saline-alkali land through innovation in science and technology, to promote the development and planting of crops suitable for saline-alkali environment, to effectively expand the planting areas of the crops, and to develop processing industry in this regard, so as to do a great job in developing the distinctive agriculture of saline-alkali land.”
Next, he travelled to the coal dock of Huanghua Port. He said that this must be developed into a “multifunctional, comprehensive and modern port.”
On May 12, he visited the research institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation in Shijiazhuang City.
“He learned about the development of the enterprise, its research and development of products, and improvement of military-civilian integration and independent production. He entered a workshop to observe the chip production process. Xi pointed out that developing China into a power of science and technology serves as the strategic pivot for building it into a great modern socialist country in all respects and advancing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts. National strategic needs must be targeted as priority to systematically arrange key innovative resources, give full play to strengths brought about by the full integration of enterprises, colleges and research institutes so that new breakthroughs will be continuously made in core technologies in key fields. Xi encouraged technological researchers to achieve continuous progress in making breakthroughs in cutting-edge technologies, and develop more technological and engineering equipment and projects of great significance independently.”
Then, he went to the International Biomedical Industry Park in Shijiazhuang. “Xi emphasized that biomedical industry is an emerging strategic one of great importance to the national economy and people's wellbeing as well as national security. It is essential to strengthen basic research and scientific innovation capacity to keep the lifeline of the biomedical industry firmly in China's own hands. The principle of putting the people and their lives first must be upheld to develop and produce more ‘Chinese medicines’ that are compatible with the genetic, physical and mental features of the Chinese people, and much emphasis should be placed on the innovation and development of traditional Chinese medicine.”
After this, in Shijiazhuang, he attended a meeting on the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. In his speech, Xi made the following points:
Hebei “should thoroughly learn and implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress, put into practice the new development philosophy in a holistic, precise and comprehensive manner, remain committed to the primary task of high-quality development and the strategic task of fostering a new development paradigm, and blaze new paths in pursuing the strategy of innovation-driven development.”
He also called on Hebei to “shoulder new responsibilities in promoting the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and building Xiong'an New Area with high standards and high quality, score new breakthroughs in achieving all-round green transition, cultivate new strengths in deepening reform and opening up, take new initiatives in realizing common prosperity…”
He said that since the 19th Party Congress, “new and marked achievements have been made in the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, efforts to relieve Beijing of functions non-essential to its role as the national capital are paying off, significant phased achievements have been made in building Xiong'an New Area, the high-quality development of the Beijing Municipal Administrative Center has been stepped up, the rail network connecting Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei is quickly taking shape, major progress has been made in building the region into a beautiful and livable place, and technological innovation and industrial integration have been constantly improved. Facts have proved that the major regional development strategies such as the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region the CPC Central Committee has made are in line with the needs of our country in the new era to pursue high-quality development, and are an effective approach for promoting Chinese modernization.”
“Xi pointed out that active and steady efforts to relieve Beijing of functions non-essential to its role as the national capital must be prioritized as the pivot to control the increase of unnecessary functions and cut down the existing non-essential functions, and equal emphasis should be placed on reorganization of the internal functions and relocation of non-essential functions outside the capital to make solid and orderly progress in this regard. Xi urged greater efforts in relocation of marked projects, and the planning for the relocation to Xiong’an of another batch of the headquarters of centrally-administered state-owned enterprises in Beijing as well as their subsidiary companies and units of innovation operation. Incentive and constraint policies for the relocated should be further improved.”
He then called for “more progress” in the “development of both the Beijing Municipal Administrative Center and Xiong’an New Area, which are the ‘two new wings’ of Beijing” and critical to address Beijing’s “big city malaise”. “Xi urged the relocation of another batch of administrative organs, state-owned enterprises and public institutions under the Beijing municipal government to the Beijing Municipal Administrative Center to make room for the enhancement of the essential functions of the capital.”
For the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, he said that the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region “should strengthen innovation coordination and industrial collaboration to play an exemplary role in achieving self-reliance in high-level science and technology. Efforts should be made to accelerate the building of an international center for innovation in science and technology and a high-level talent highland in Beijing, making the capital city an important source of China's independent innovation and original innovation. A new model of collaboration among enterprises, universities and research institutes should be developed to increase the efficiency and share of the science and technology achievements that have been applied within the region of their origin. Xi stressed the necessity of reinforcing the principal role of enterprises in innovation to cultivate a group of leading innovative enterprises with international competitiveness that hold independent intellectual property rights. It is essential to consolidate and strengthen the foundation of the real economy, and give top priority to the development of strategic emerging industries such as integrated circuit, cybersecurity, biomedicine, electric power equipment, and safety and emergency equipment to build world-class advanced manufacturing clusters.”
The next paragraph deals with improving people's wellbeing and promoting common prosperity. In this, he emphasises, improving public services, ensuring employment, education, healthcare and elderly care and ecological conservation.
He then talked about the need to develop transportation and other infrastructure and deepen intra-regional coordination and develop “a world-class city cluster in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.” “It is necessary to combine Beijing's strengths in scientific and technological innovation with Tianjin's advantages in advanced manufacturing research and development, strengthen joint efforts to achieve breakthroughs in core technologies, build a national technological innovation center in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region to enhance their role as a growth engine for scientific and technological innovation.”
Finally, Xi talked about the Xi thought education campaign being the “top priority of this year's Party building work”, and the “provincial and municipal Party committees in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei must conscientiously implement” the requirements of the Central Committee.
Li Qiang and Ding Xuexiang then spoke at the meeting, reiterating Xi’s messages.
In today’s paper, the first report to note is a review of the three symposiums that Xi Jinping has attended over the years on the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
Next, there’s a report on the Ministry of Natural Resources implementing the Xi thought thematic education campaign in order to “build a solid foundation of faith, replenish spiritual calcium, and stabilise the rudder of thought.” 学习贯彻习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想主题教育开展以来，自然资源部通过举办主题教育读书班等多种形式，深学、笃信、力行，推动自然资源系统党员、干部筑牢信仰之基、补足精神之钙、把稳思想之舵，以学铸魂、实干担当.
Third, there’s the first in a new series of Zhong Yin commentaries. This one discusses China’s population policy. It says that:
“Recently, General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over the first meeting of the 20th Central Financial and Economic Commission to study the issue of supporting Chinese-style modernization with high-quality population development. The meeting pointed out that the current population development in China is characterised by the trend of birthrate decline, population ageing, and differentiation in regional population growth. The new situation of population development in China must be fully understood and correctly viewed.” 近日，习近平总书记主持召开二十届中央财经委员会第一次会议，研究以人口高质量发展支撑中国式现代化问题。会议指出，当前我国人口发展呈现少子化、老龄化、区域人口增减分化的趋势性特征，必须全面认识、正确看待我国人口发展新形势.
The next paragraph says that “since the 18th Party Congress, the CPC Central Committee with comrade Xi Jinping at the core has attached great importance to the population issue, made important decisions to adjust and improve the birth policy in a timely manner and promote the long-term and balanced development of the population according to the changing situation of China's population. Remarkable achievements have been made in all aspects of this work, laying a solid foundation for comprehensively building a modern socialist country. We must deeply realise that the population is the most basic support for modernization. To realize socialist modernization, we must comprehensively improve the quality of the population. In the final analysis, the power of more than 1.4 billion people must be mobilised. As the General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasised: ‘Population development is of vital importance to the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and efforts must be made to improve the overall population quality so as to support Chinese modernization’.” 党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央高度重视人口问题，根据我国人口发展变化形势，作出适时调整完善生育政策、促进人口长期均衡发展的重大决策，各项工作取得显著成效，为全面建设社会主义现代化国家打下坚实基础。必须深刻认识到，人口是现代化建设最基本的支撑。要实现社会主义现代化，必须全面提升人口素质，归根结底要激发14亿多人民的力量。正如习近平总书记强调的：“人口发展是关系中华民族伟大复兴的大事，必须着力提高人口整体素质，以人口高质量发展支撑中国式现代化.”
The next paragraph says: “It should be noted that the growth rate of China’s total population has obviously slowed down; the fertility level has continued to decline; and the degree of ageing has deepened. Increasingly, low birth rates and an ageing population will become the norm. This is the objective result of China's economic development, especially industrialisation and urbanisation, which has reached a certain stage, and is also a common problem faced by the world, especially developed countries. Facing the new situation, we must improve the population development strategy in the new era, grasp the favourable factors of population development, actively and effectively respond to risks and challenges, strive to achieve high-quality population development, and firmly grasp the strategic initiative of economic and social development.” 要看到，我国总人口增速明显放缓，生育水平持续走低，老龄化程度加深，“少子老龄化”将成为常态，这是我国经济发展特别是工业化、城镇化发展到一定阶段的客观结果，也是世界尤其是发达国家普遍面临的问题。面对新形势，必须完善新时代人口发展战略，把握人口发展的有利因素，积极有效应对风险挑战，努力实现人口高质量发展，牢牢掌握经济社会发展的战略主动.
The next paragraph says: “To fully understand and correctly view the new situation of population development in our country, we should not only grasp the main contradiction and the main aspects of its contradictions, but also look at the overall situation, trend, and long-term perspective. This requires grasping the issue of population change from a comprehensive perspective, treating the impact of population change on economic and social development with dialectical thinking, and strengthening the study, analysis and policy response to the population situation. It should be noted that China's basic national conditions of a large population base and large population remain unchanged; the advantages of China’s super-large-scale domestic market will remain for a long time; and the balance between population and resources and the environment will remain tight. At the same time, China has a labor force of nearly 900 million, which is increasing by more than 15 million every year. Abundant human resources are still an outstanding advantage in our country. More importantly, the population receiving higher education now exceeds 240 million, and the average length of education of the new labour force has reached 14 years. It can be said that our ‘demographic dividend’ has not disappeared, and the ‘talent dividend’ is forming, and the development momentum is still strong. Facing the future, with the improvement of population quality, the advantages of population resources will be effectively brought into play, which will further promote the transformation of economic development model, the upgrading of industrial structure and the improvement of total factor productivity, and provide effective human capital support for high-quality development.” 全面认识、正确看待我国人口发展新形势，既要抓住主要矛盾和矛盾的主要方面，也要看全局、看趋势、看长远。这就需要以全面的视角把握人口变化，以辩证的思维看待人口变化对经济社会发展的影响，加强人口形势研判、分析和政策应对。应当看到，我国人口基数大、人口众多的基本国情没有改变，超大规模国内市场优势将长期存在，人口与资源环境仍将处于紧平衡状态。同时，我国有近9亿劳动力，每年新增劳动力都超过1500万，人力资源丰富仍然是我国的突出优势。更重要的是，我国接受高等教育的人口已超过2.4亿，新增劳动力平均受教育年限达到14年。可以说，我们的“人口红利”没有消失，“人才红利”正在形成，发展动力依旧强劲。面向未来，随着人口素质的提高，人口资源的优势将得到有效发挥，会进一步促进经济发展方式转变、产业结构升级、全要素生产率提高，为高质量发展提供有效人力资本支撑.
The final paragraph basically emphasises the importance of high-quality to development in order to manifest the above advantages.
While on the subject, do check out this Global Times report on the China Family Planning Association has said that it will be “launching pilot projects in 20 cities to build a new-era marriage and childbearing culture, in order to vigorously create a child-bearing-friendly social environment. The projects will focus on tasks including promoting marrying and having children at appropriate ages, encouraging parents to share child-rearing responsibilities, and curbing high ‘bride prices’ and other outdated customs, said association officials during an event held in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province on Thursday. The cities include Guangzhou and Handan in North China's Hebei Province.”
The report adds: “In 2022, the China Family Planning Association launched a pilot project of a new culture of marriage and childbirth construction in 20 cities, including Beijing. In February, China unveiled its key policy document for 2023, vowing to launch a special campaign against problems including exorbitant ‘bride prices’ and extravagant wedding ceremonies as part of efforts to strengthen the construction of public cultural-ethical standards in the country's rural areas. Subsequently, many provinces, cities and counties have responded to the call to advocate new-era marriage culture and investigate and deal with related issues.”
Page 3: There’s a commentary previewing the China-Central Asia summit. It calls the region “a high-quality BRI development demonstration zone.” The article highlights a host of different BRI projects, including energy, transportation and people-to-people connectivity initiatives.
Next, there’s a brief report on Angolan President Joao Lourenco praising a Chinese-built potable water project built in the country’s northern province of Malanje. This was built by China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co.
Page 9: There’s a discussion on the page with comments from three scholars on the issue of Chinese-style modernisation. Much of this is repetition of the official line on the subject, and there are some fascinating exaggerations. But it is useful to go through this for several reasons.
First, for those who are new to the discourse on Chinese-style modernisation, this offers a window. Second, it is useful because there are policy implications when these ideas are repeated in official discourse - for instance, with regard to environmental policies. Finally, it is useful in terms of the discourse around whether the Chinese leadership is keen on exporting its model, system, etc. The discussion below once again brings out that while Beijing is interested in making the case that modernisation is not Westernisation and calling for respecting diversity in the interpretation of “common values of mankind”, there seems to be a sense that exporting the Chinese model might not be feasible and/or desirable.
The introduction to the discussion says:
“Our Party adheres to and develops Socialism with Chinese characteristics, promotes the coordinated development of material, political, spiritual, social and ecological civilizations, and has created a new path of Chinese-style modernization and a new form of human civilization. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: ‘The unique world outlook, values, historical outlook, civilization outlook, democracy outlook and ecological outlook contained in Chinese-style modernization and its great practice are major innovations in the theory and practice of world modernization. Chinese-style modernization has set a good example for other developing countries to pursue modernization independently and provided them with a new choice’. Chinese-style modernization is deeply rooted in Chinese excellent traditional culture, it embodies the advanced nature of scientific socialism, draws on and absorbs all outstanding achievements of human civilization, represents the development direction of human civilization progress, and presents a new picture different from the Western modernization model. How should one understand the unique world outlook, values, historical outlook, civilization outlook, democratic outlook, ecological outlook and its great practice contained in Chinese-style modernization? How should one view the new image of modernization presented by Chinese-style modernization, and then deeply understand the new form of human civilization? 我们党坚持和发展中国特色社会主义，推动物质文明、政治文明、精神文明、社会文明、生态文明协调发展，创造了中国式现代化新道路，创造了人类文明新形态。习近平总书记指出：“中国式现代化蕴含的独特世界观、价值观、历史观、文明观、民主观、生态观等及其伟大实践，是对世界现代化理论和实践的重大创新。中国式现代化为广大发展中国家独立自主迈向现代化树立了典范，为其提供了全新选择。”中国式现代化深深植根于中华优秀传统文化，体现科学社会主义的先进本质，借鉴吸收一切人类优秀文明成果，代表人类文明进步的发展方向，展现了不同于西方现代化模式的新图景。怎样理解中国式现代化所蕴含的独特世界观、价值观、历史观、文明观、民主观、生态观等及其伟大实践？怎样看待中国式现代化展现的现代化新图景，进而深刻理解人类文明新形态？围绕这些问题，本报记者约请几位专家进行研讨交流.
The first question to the scholars is what kind of picture of modernisation does Chinese-style modernisation present? In this, the responses basically restate what are official positions that we’ve heard and read several times.
Fu Xiaoqiang, from the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, says: “The modernisation process we are discussing today is a trend and change characterised by modern industrialization and urbanisation, driven by the development of science and technology and the progress of civilization. This process of modernization originated in the west, but we can't think that modernization is westernisation. Especially the history of the last half century shows that if a country equates modernization with westernisation and simply copies and transplants the western modernisation model, it tends to fall into the predicament of turbulence and stagnation. There is no fixed model for the road to modernization, and countries need to find their own road to realise modernization. Chinese-style modernization not only has the common characteristics of modernization in all countries, but also has distinctive characteristics based on China’s national conditions. This has greatly enriched modernization theory and expanded modernization practice, and contributed Chinese wisdom and propositions to the process of world modernization.” 傅小强：今天我们所讨论的现代化进程，表现为在科技发展、文明进步的推动下，以现代工业化、城市化等为特征的一种潮流和变革。这一现代化进程发轫于西方，但不能就此认为现代化就是西方化。特别是最近半个世纪的历史表明，如果一个国家将现代化等同于西方化，简单复制移植西方现代化模式，往往会陷入动荡与停滞的困境。现代化道路没有固定模式，各国要实现现代化，需要找到适合自己的道路。中国式现代化既有各国现代化的共同特征，更有基于自己国情的鲜明特色，极大丰富了现代化理论、拓展了现代化实践，为推进世界现代化进程贡献了中国智慧、中国方案. He also stresses that Chinese-style modernization is based on “peaceful development” and “does not follow the old path of some countries achieving modernization through war, colonisation, and plunder.” And he talks about “whole-process democracy” being the “democratic form in line with China's national conditions” and being “fundamentally different from Western bourgeois democracy.”
Tang Zhengdong from Nanjing University says that Chinese-style modernisation takes the “free and all-round development” of human beings as its value proposition, and therefore, it adheres to “people-centred development” philosophy.
Peking University’s Xun Qingzhi argues that “Chinese-style modernization not only demonstrates the diversity of human civilization and its development paths, but also advocates and promotes the common values of all mankind, such as peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom and is committed to building a community with a shared future for mankind.” 中国式现代化不仅表明人类文明及其发展路径具有多样性，而且在认识和把握这种多样性的过程中，倡导弘扬和平、发展、公平、正义、民主、自由的全人类共同价值，致力于推动构建人类命运共同体. He also says that “Chinese modernization is the modernization of harmonious coexistence between man and nature.”
The next question is about the development trend that Chinese-style modernization represents for human society.
Tang says that Historical materialism believes that the contradictory movements between productive forces and production relations, economic base and superstructure promote the development of social history. This enlightens us that the modernization constructed and promoted by the internal contradiction movement of the socialist mode of production is necessarily different from the capitalist modernization. The western capital-centred modernization model cannot be applied to all countries. Every country has the right to choose the modernization path in line with its actual national conditions according to the development of its own productive forces and relations of production. Only when each country firmly holds its own development destiny in its own hands and respects the people of other countries’ independent choice of development path can it truly write a new picture of modernization of human society… Chinese-style modernization has abandoned the old Western path of modernisation that is capital-centred, polarised, and based on materialist expansion and external expansion and plunder. It has made major innovations in the theory and practice of world modernization and will certainly have a brighter future.” 唐正东：唯物史观认为，生产力与生产关系、经济基础与上层建筑的矛盾运动推动社会历史的发展。这启示我们，社会主义生产方式内在矛盾运动所建构和推动的现代化，必然不同于资本主义现代化。西方以资本为中心的现代化模式，不可能适用于所有国家。每个国家都有权根据自己国家的生产力和生产关系发展状况，选择符合现实国情的现代化路径。各个国家只有把自身发展的命运牢牢掌握在自己手中，并尊重其他国家人民对发展道路的自主选择，才能真正谱写人类社会百花齐放的现代化新图景。中国共产党运用生产力与生产关系矛盾运动规律，结合中国实际，对具体的、历史的生产力与生产关系的矛盾运动作出新探索。中国式现代化摒弃了西方以资本为中心的现代化、两极分化的现代化、物质主义膨胀的现代化、对外扩张掠夺的现代化老路，实现世界现代化理论和实践的重大创新，必将具有更加光明的未来.
Xun Qingzhi says that “the expansion and promotion of Chinese-style modernization is of great significance for us to understand and grasp the diversity of civilizations and promote the exchange and mutual learning of civilizations.” 作为一种人类文明新形态，中国式现代化的拓展和推进，对于我们认识和把握文明多样性、推动文明交流互鉴具有重要意义. It has “become a bridge to enhance the friendship between people of all countries, a driving force to promote social progress, a link to safeguard regional and world peace, and a gathering of civilised forces to build a community of shared future for mankind.”中国式现代化有力推动文明交流互鉴，成为增进各国人民友谊的桥梁、推动社会进步的动力、维护地区和世界和平的纽带，汇聚起构建人类命运共同体的文明力量. From an environmental perspective, Chinese-style modernisation “not only enhances the well-being of the people at present, but also protects the rights and interests of future generations and promotes the sustainable development of human society.” 从人与自然关系来看，人与自然和谐共生的现代化，既创造更多物质财富和精神财富，也体现人类永续发展的要求和趋势；既增进当代人福祉，又保障子孙后代权益，促进人类社会可持续发展.
Fu Xiaoqiang emphasises the “people-centered” nature of Chinese-style modernisation.
The third question is about the significance of Chinese-style modernisation for the world.
Tang basically highlights the virtues of Chinese-style modernisation and says that people around the world are understanding and appreciating it.
Xun says that the GCI is having a “far-reaching impact on exchanges and mutual learning among human civilizations” and promoting “understanding between different cultures and advancing human civilization.” He adds that Chinese-style modernisation will “give a substantial boost to global cooperation in environmental governance and ecological progress.”
Fu says that given China’s size, its modernisation will inevitably impact the world. He also adds that Chinese-style modernisation has “set a good example for developing countries to move towards modernization independently, and provided new choices for countries and nations in the world who want to accelerate their development while maintaining their independence.”
The final question has all three re-affirming the importance of Party leadership to further China’s modernisation.