Weekly Report 3|3 10.12.2019-10.18.2019
Highlights
Xi Jinping spoke about poverty alleviation work on National Poverty Relief Day (see Senior Leaders section).
People’s Daily issued a commentator article about the importance of achieving food security (see Propaganda Work section).
The CCDI and NSC held a seminar for African anti-corruption officials (see Party Discipline section).
Senior Leaders
Xi Jinping Holds Talks with Nepalese Prime Minister
10.13 Xi Jinping held talks with Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in Kathmandu, Nepal. During the meeting, Xi pointed out that China and Nepal have always been “good neighbors, good friends, and good partners” throughout history. Expressing China’s willingness to “promote friendly cooperation between China and Nepal on a new level,” Xi announced that he and Nepalese President Bidhya Devi Bhandari had agreed to establish a “strategic partnership of cooperation featuring everlasting friendship for development and prosperity” between China and Nepal.
Xi emphasized six ways the enhanced relationship between the two countries can be developed: thoroughly aligning development strategies; enhancing connectivity; fostering trade and investment; strengthening people-to-people ties; increasing cooperation in law enforcement; and reinforcing multilateral cooperation.
In return, Oli expressed that “the traditional friendship between China and Nepal is firm and cannot be broken.” He expressed firm support for China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and looked forward to building the “Trans-Himalayan Multidimensional Connectivity Network” with China and welcomed Chinese tourism and investment. He also praised China’s constructive role in protecting world peace and the international order and said Nepal was willing to increase bilateral communication and coordination and to uphold the interests of small and medium-sized developing countries.
Xi Jinping On Poverty Alleviation Work: Assert the Goal in One Sustained Effort, Ensure a High-Quality Victory in the Battle on Poverty
10.17 On the sixth National Poverty Relief Day, Xi Jinping gave important directives on poverty alleviation work. He said that in the 70 years since New China’s founding, the CCP has “wholeheartedly persisted in the fundamental objective of ‘serving the people’ (为人民服务), insisted on a people-centered development ideology, led all races of people of the whole country to continue declaring war on poverty, and obtained outstanding accomplishments.” He proclaimed that the battle on poverty has reached the “decisive and crucial stage of the endgame,” and stressed that “all regions and all departments must assert the goal in one sustained effort; resolutely capture the fortress of deep poverty; work hard to patch up weaknesses in compulsory education, basic medical care, housing and drinking water safety for impoverished populations; ensure that the rural poor can completely lift themselves out of poverty; and together with the whole nation step into a moderately prosperous society (小康社会).”
Propaganda Work
Tenth Forum on the Global Chinese Language Media Opens in Shijiazhuang
10.12 The Tenth Forum on the Global Chinese Language Media was held in Shijiazhuang, Hebei, under the theme of “hold hands with the world, witness the era, the ‘China story’ in Chinese language media.” More than 600 guests participated in the forum, including participants from more than 400 Chinese language media organizations from 61 countries and regions, as well as domestic media.
In the opening ceremony, National People’s Congress Standing Committee Vice Chairperson Shen Yueyue (沈跃跃) said that “Chinese language media actively introduces a modern China that is prosperous, stable, and peacefully developing to the world, and has made important contributions to forming China’s image, spreading Chinese culture, and promoting exchanges between China and the world.” She called on Chinese language media to “tell the China story well” and contribute to promoting the connection, communication, and cooperation of the world and China.
Zhong Sheng: Promote the Development of US-China Relationship on the Right Track
10.14 People’s Daily published a Zhong Sheng (钟声) article, which transmits the views of the People’s Daily on foreign affairs, on the trade relationship between the US and China. The article said that the US and China’s trade negotiators had a “frank, efficient, and constructive debate” during the US-China high-level trade talks held in Washington, DC, from 10 to 11 October and that “consensus between the U.S. and China is growing, and willingness to cooperate is becoming more prominent.”
The article quoted Xi Jinping’s message to President Trump:
“Maintaining the healthy and stable development of the China-US relationship is beneficial for both countries and the world. The two sides should maintain coordination, cooperation, and stability, manage differences based on mutual respect, expand cooperation based on mutual benefits, and push the bilateral relationship to develop forward along the right track.”
According to Zhong Sheng, China cannot be held responsible for trade tensions alone and the US cannot expect to solve those problems by force. “China and the US both agreed to proceed step-by-step,” which embodied both sides’ “pragmatic and rational attitude to find common ground while differences remain and take constructive actions.”
The article said that the world economy is gloomy and the “uncertainty spilling over from more than a year of US-China trade frictions has become a dark cloud over the global economy.” It wrote that the international community universally welcomes mutual communication and the expression of goodwill between the US and China, and said the world is looking forward to actualizing the US claim that - “we are close [to ending the trade war].”
“China and the US should persist in meeting halfway, resolve each other’s concerns on the basis of equality and mutual respect in accordance with the principles and directions determined by the leaders of the two countries, promote the healthy and stable development of the bilateral economic and trade relationship, and ceaselessly enhance the well-being of the people in both countries and the world.”
PD Commentator: The Road to Food Security With Chinese Characteristics is Getting Wider
10.15 People’s Daily published a commentator article about the State Council Information Office’s recent release of a white paper on food security. The white paper noted that China produces a one-fourth of the world’s food with one-fifth of the world’s population, and said that “China leans on its own capabilities to hold firm its own rice bowl, and has realized the historic transformation from ‘not eating enough’ to ‘eating enough’ and further to ‘eating well.’”
The article said that in the 70 years since the PRC’s founding, the country not only “successfully resolved the problem of feeding nearly 1.4 billion people,” but also achieved a “remarkable improvement in the residents’ quality of life and nutrition level.” It said that since the 18th Party Congress, the Party Central Committee has made food security a top priority in governing the country, put forth the grain security concept of “ensuring basic self-sufficiency of grain and absolute security of staple food” (确保谷物基本自给、口粮绝对安全), and instituted a grain security strategy that is “self-reliant, domestically-based, guaranteeing production capacity, moderately importing, and technology-supported.”
The article also said China “actively participates in global food security governance,” and “practices the concept of free trade, strengthens international exchanges and cooperation, resolutely defends the multilateral trading system, implements the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and has made important contributions to promoting the healthy development of the world food industry and safeguarding world food security.”
United Front Work
CPPCC National Committee Holds Biweekly Session
10.12 Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee Chairman Wang Yang (汪洋) presided over the 13th CPPCC National Committee’s 28th biweekly session on 11 October to deliberate on policy measures to promote employment.
In his speech, Wang emphasized that employment is the root of people’s wellbeing, the source of wealth, and the cornerstone of social stability. He called for giving full play to the roles of the market and the government in enhancing the accuracy, stability, and coordination of employment policies and achieving full, higher-quality employment.
The members recognized that “the Central Committee places great importance on the issue of employment and upholds the strategy of giving top priority to employment and proactive employment policy.” They spoke highly of policies in place to boost employment, and emphasized that the Central Committee is fully qualified to respond to changes in the domestic and international environment and maintain economic stability.
The article listed several suggestions made from the committee members, such as coordinating fiscal and monetary policies with employment policies, expanding the financing channels of labor-intensive enterprises, and building a unified information platform for employment.
Politburo Standing Committee Attends Funeral of Ding Shisun at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery
10.17 The United Front Work Department’s WeChat account published a short article about the death and funeral of former Peking University president and prominent mathematician Ding Shisun (丁石孙). Ding had been president of Peking University during the Tiananmen Square protests and forced to resign shortly after. A member and former Chairman of the China Democratic League, one of the eight legally recognized minority political parties, he also served as a National People’s Congress Standing Committee Vice Chairperson. His funeral, held on 17 October, was attended by all current members of the Politburo Standing Committee, along with Vice President Wang Qishan (王岐山) and previous Presidents Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao.
Central United Front Work Leading Group Convenes Forum on General Secretary Xi Jinping’s Important Thoughts on Strengthening United Front Work
10.18 In an 18 October meeting of the Central United Front Work Leading Small Group presided over by United Front Work Department Head You Quan (尤权), Leading Small Group Leader Wang Yang (汪洋) delivered remarks expounding the significance of Xi Jinping’s model of united front work. He stressed its “origins in Marxist united front theory, in the practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and in the very soil of Chinese culture” and its having “thoroughly answered the major questions of whether the new era needs a united front, what type of united front it would need, and how to build such a united front.”
Wang went on to further explain the importance of ensuring theoretical work complements united front work in practice, urging cadres at all levels to “persevere in connecting the theoretical and the practical, and take investigations and research as both the precious treasure and everyday fare of united front work” by discovering and resolving problems and refocus emphasis from “‘what was done’ to ‘what results were achieved.’”
State Council Secretary-General Xiao Jie (肖捷), Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee Vice Chairman Xia Baolong (夏宝龙), and head of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission Bagatur (巴特尔) were also in attendance.
Party Discipline
CCDI and NSC Hold African Countries Anti-Corruption Seminar
10.17 The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and National Supervision Commission (NSC) opened its African Countries Anti-Corruption Seminar in Beijing. CCDI Deputy Secretary and NSC Deputy Director Li Shulei (李书磊) presided. The seminar will last 15 days and is being attended by more than 20 anti-corruption officials from seven African countries.
The seminar is a result of the consensus reached at the September 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation, where China agreed to host annual anti-corruption seminars for African anti-corruption officials from 2019 to 2021. The Beijing Declaration and Beijing Action Plan passed at the summit proposed that China and Africa should improve institutions and mechanisms for anti-corruption cooperation, strengthen the exchange and sharing of experiences, and jointly crack down on cross-border corruption.
International Liaison Work
10.12-10.14 At the invitation of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), Politburo member, Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Deputy Secretary, and National Supervision Commission Director Yang Xiaodu (杨晓渡) led a CCP delegation to Serbia. While there, he delivered a special report for mid- and high-level leading cadres in the SNS, inspected important SNS grassroots party building and China-Serbia “Belt and Road” projects, and individually met with SNS President and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, Socialist Party of Serbia President, First Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić, and SNS Vice President Marko Đurić.
10.13 International Department Deputy Head Guo Yezhou (郭业洲) met with former Tanzanian Prime Minister and current Silk Road Think Tank Association International Advisory Board member Mizengo Pinda.
10.14 International Department Deputy Head Wang Yajun (王亚军) met with a high-level United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) delegation led by PSUV Vice President Diosdado Cabello.
10.15-10.17 At the invitation of the Austrian government, Yang Xiaodu led a CCP delegation to Austria. While there, he inspected the International Anti-Corruption Academy, signed an anti-corruption cooperation agreement with the United Nations (UN), and individually met with UN representatives as well as Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka, and Vice Chancellor and Minister of Justice Clemens Jabloner.
10.16 International Department Deputy Head Qian Hongshan (钱洪山) met with major foreign delegates to the Fourth Asian-African Youth Festival.
10.17 Wang Yajun met with a Saudi Arabian political figures delegation led by former Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture and Information Abdulaziz Bin Salamah.
10.18 Guo Yezhou traveled to Kigali, Rwanda. While there, he held talks with Rwandan Patriotic Front Secretary General François Ngarambe and met with Rwandan Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Olivier Nduhungirehe.
Organization Work
10.14 Chen Dingwu (陈定武) was appointed secretary of the People’s Public Security University of China’s party committee.