Weekly Report 4|13 1.30.2021-2.5.2021
Highlights
The CCP Central Committee issued suggestions for strengthening the work of the Young Pioneers, a youth organizations for children age six to fourteen, in “cultivating Communist successors” (see Senior Leaders sections).
People’s Daily’s Zhong Sheng column continued to suggest areas of mutual interest and cooperation to the new Biden administration (see Propaganda Work section).
Senior Leaders
Politburo Collective Study Session: Completely, Correctly, and Comprehensively Implement the New Development Concept, Ensure a Good Start in the “Fourteenth Five-Year Plan” Era
1.28 During the 27th Politburo collective study session in Beijing, Xi Jinping spoke at length about the New Development Concept in the context of 2021, the opening year of the “Fourteenth Five-Year Plan” and the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CCP. Vice Premiers Liu He (刘鹤), Sun Chunlan (孙春兰), Hu Chunhua (胡春华), and Mayor of Beijing Cai Qi (蔡奇) all spoke on their areas of expertise and local-level work experiences.
Xi emphasized the New Development Concept is a holistic one. It entails innovative development, coordinated development, green development, open development, mutually-shared development. Its implementation would require accurate understanding of the principal contradiction and the coordination among central- and provincial-level leaders, and down to those of local-level officials. Central leaders have to provide macro-level guidance, policy design, laws and regulations, fiscal investment, and work delegation. All ministries and departments should grasp their principal responsibilities as they apply to the New Development Concept. All localities should adjust their development models based on local conditions. Local-level officials should never detach development from reality. They should not pursue development solely for the sake of political performance.
Xi emphasized the idea of mutually-shared wealth. Balanced development among people across the country is a key criteria of a socialist modernization. The rural-urban divide, regional divide, and income inequality problems must be tackled. Development must also guarantee and cover employment, education, social security, elder and child care, housing, healthcare, etc. More attention should be paid to the countryside and underprivileged groups.
Xi remarked that the New Development Concept should guide the comprehensively deepening of reform. The concept should be interpreted with a systematic mindset, which coordinates domestic and foreign situations, the “Five in One” overall framework and the “four comprehensives” framework.
Finally, Xi highlighted the political importance of the New Development Concept, that it is not only essential to the current economic landscape, but it is also integral to the spirit of central party leadership. All party and government officials should assume--not shy away from--their responsibilities.
Comprehensively Enhance Intellectual Property Protection Work, Catalyze Innovative Vitality to Promote the New Development Outlook
1.31 Qiushi reprinted a speech by Xi Jinping on intellectual property (IP). The speech was first made on November 30th, 2020, during the 25th Politburo collective study session.
Xi identified IP protection as a key component in China’s transition from an IP importer to an IP creator. On the one hand, he acknowledged the progress made from past policy directives issued by the central leadership, the establishment of IP-related bureaucratic bodies, and central and municipal-level IP protection courts.
On the other hand, he pointed out areas for improvement. Public awareness about intellectual property is still low. High-quality and high-value IP is rarely created. IP protection laws still lag behind technological development. Administrative and judicial bodies lack coordination. Some companies have exploited institutional loopholes and abused IP protection schemes. Domestic markets do not have the capacity to adequately respond to foreign IP protection problems. As a result, IP violations are still commonplace and IP rights are hard to defend.
Xi proposed six points to address the aforementioned IP protection challenges.
First, enhance the overall design and framework of IP protection. Clear objectives should be identified based on the “Fourteenth Five-Year Plan” and the New Development Outlook.
Second, raise the bar on the IP protection legal framework. Laws regarding patents, trademarks, and authored works should be amended and made consistent.
Third, IP protection should be more comprehensive, in order to cover all aspects related to IP in supply chains.
Fourth, deepen institutional reforms of IP protection. IP protection in big data, artificial intelligence, genetic technology, and other emerging technological fields should be complemented, as well as IP protection in traditional culture and knowledge.
Fifth, coordinate IP protection with international cooperation and competition. China should “dare to compete and compete well.” It should never sacrifice its own rights, nor should it abandon core national interests.
Sixth, protect IP related to national security. External IP transfers must always comply with national security. China has to be self-sufficient in developing and protecting key technologies essential to national security.
CCP Central Committee’s Suggestions Regarding Comprehensively Strengthening the Work of Young Pioneers of China in the New Era
2.4 On 31 January, the CCP Central Committee issued a document with suggestions for strengthening the work of the Young Pioneers of China, an organization run by the Communist Youth League for children six to fourteen years old. The document stated that the Young Pioneers of China is a party-led organization that serves as a school for children to learn about socialism with Chinese characteristics and communism. It noted the achievements of the Party since the 18th National Party Congress and highlighted the importance of the organization in passing on the “red gene” (红色基因) from generation to generation before putting forward a number of suggestions, including:
Working Principles
“Adhere to the fundamental task of cultivating communist successors,” which includes strengthening the political attributes of the work of the Young Pioneers of China and cultivating feelings toward the Party and the socialist motherland starting at an early age.
“Adhere to strengthening the Young Pioneers of China members’ sense of honor and glory as the central theme of work,” which includes building an incentive system to guide Young Pioneers starting from primary school.
Promote the complementary education of the Young Pioneers.
“Adhere to advancing with the times, reform, and innovation.”
“Strengthen political leadership and have a clear-cut stand to cultivate communist successors.”
“Educate and guide the Young Pioneers to keep in mind General Secretary Xi Jinping’s teachings.”
“Vigorously cultivate the Young Pioneers’ simple feelings toward the Party and the socialist motherland,” which includes teaching them about the history of the Party, New China, reform and opening, and socialist development.
“Cultivate the seeds of communist ideals and morals of the Young Pioneers from an early age,” which includes planting the seeds of struggling for the communist cause in the hearts of Young Pioneers and gradually developing communist morality.
“Guide the Young Pioneers to cultivate and practice the core values of socialism from an early age.”
“Put effort into strengthening Young Pioneers’ feelings of honor and glory and promote the reform and innovation of the new era Young Pioneers of China organization.”
“Consolidate and expand the organizational system of the Young Pioneers of China,” which includes establishing teams of Young Pioneers in primary and secondary schools and expanding the organization of Young Pioneers off-campus.
Improve the incentive system and highlight outstanding Young Pioneers and instructors.
Increase the visibility of the Young Pioneers of China’s ceremonies, uniforms, and symbols.
“Highlight the features of practical education and promote the socialized development of the Young Pioneers in the new era.”
“Strengthen the role of the Young Pioneers of China in educating people,” which includes making its activities compulsory in primary and secondary school.
“Improve the level of socialization of the Young Pioneers,” which includes improving off-campus facilities, encouraging local organizations to provide support for their activities, strengthening exchanges with Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan children to strengthen their national, ethnic, and cultural identities.
“Increase the influence of the Young Pioneers of China’s propaganda and ideological and cultural work,” which includes supporting Young Pioneer cultural products and publicizing their efforts in the media to create a positive public opinion atmosphere.
“Place political standards first and strengthen the construction of the Young Pioneers Teaching Team.”
“Hammer and refine the political inner qualities of Young Pioneer teachers,” which includes strengthening the hiring process, political training, and recruitment.
“Optimize the Young Pioneer teacher structure,” which includes ensuring that people are taking responsibility and that schools have enough resources, and recruiting qualified individuals outside of the school to be teachers.
“Innovate the evaluation and incentive mechanisms for Young Pioneer teachers,” which includes annual assessments and improving standards and methods of evaluating the teachers.
“Deepen the construction of related subjects and theoretical research of the Young Pioneers,” which includes strengthening research at Party schools, improving the curriculum, and incorporating the work of the Young Pioneers into elementary education and undergraduate majors, as well as setting up master’s degree fields related to their work.
“Comprehensively strengthen the Party’s leadership on the work of the Young Pioneers of China.”
“Strengthen the leadership and responsibilities of party committees at all levels,” which includes greater involvement in Young Pioneer-related activities and work and establishing organization activities locally.
“Specify the responsibilities of party committees and functions of government departments at all levels,” which includes government departments increasing their support and promotion of Young Pioneer-related work in relevant sectors.
“Consolidate the responsibilities of leading the whole Communist Youth League,” which includes strengthening its guidance of the Young Pioneers politically and organizationally, working together with the local Youth League Committees, and ensuring complementary leadership.
“Strengthen the coordination responsibility of the education department,” which includes deepening collaboration between Youth League Committees.
“Increase the funding guarantees for Young Pioneer work,” which includes considering creating positions that will be funded by relevant government departments.
“Strive to form a good situation where all of society is jointly concerned with and supports the Young Pioneers’ work.”
Propaganda Work
Zhong Sheng: Great Power Cooperation is the Key Force for World Economic Recovery
1.30 As the new Biden administration has come into office, People’s Daily commentator Zhong Sheng（钟声）called for renewal in Sino-US economic and trade cooperation. It argued that during this time of economic contractions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Sino-US cooperation matters more than ever.
Zhong Sheng laid out a stark picture of the stage of the world economy, quoting the 2021 World Risk Report, which showed exacerbated economic inequalities and called for global leadership and cooperation.
Zhong Sheng then talked about the interconnectedness of the world economy and implied that the two great powers need each other. “If one prospers, all will prosper,” the commentary said, “if one suffers, all will suffer.” In reflecting on the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, Zhong Sheng quoted former president Obama saying that “the US needs Chinese support and cooperation to get out of a global financial crisis,” and former secretary of treasury Henry Paulson saying that “the only way to successfully deal with China is cooperation.”
By quoting Obama, Zhong Sheng implicitly called for lowered tensions during the Biden administration, and even for the return of the spirit of engagement.
Zhong Sheng then showed the continuing trend of increasing Sino-US trade, warned of adverse effects of tariffs and further decoupling, which included job loss and future GDP contractions. It described the vitality of the Chinese economy, the only economy to achieve positive growth in 2020, and of its increasing foreign trade. The commentator said China is committed to deepening reform and welcoming more foreign enterprises, “including Starbucks,” to operate in China.
The commentary concluded by reiterating that Sino-US cooperation is no longer just about the two big countries. It also matters for the stability and prosperity of the world.
Zhong Sheng: Confronting Climate Change Cannot be Done without Benign Major-Power Interaction
1.31 In spirit of cooperation from the previous commentary, Zhong Sheng（钟声）again emphasized the importance of major-power cooperation and multilateralism in combating climate change.
Zhong Sheng said, China welcomes the decision by the new US administration to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement. Zhong then severely condemned the previous administration for dropping out of the Paris Agreement, “slandering other countries,” and “being on the side opposite to all of humanity.”
Zhong Sheng recalled that the passage of the Paris Climate Agreement was built on the political consensus between the US and China. Sino-US cooperation reinforces multilateralism, it said.
The commentary then described China as a go-getter in fighting climate change. It mentioned China’s commitment to peak carbon emissions in 2030 and to reach net zero by 2060, and its active participation at the Climate Ambition Summit last December.
At the end, Zhong Sheng said, China is willing to work with the US in facing the challenge of climate change together.
Propaganda Department of the CCP Central Committee’s Decision Regarding Conferring “Model of the Times” Title on the Air Force Transportation and Search and Rescue Brigade
2.4 On 3 February, People’s Daily published an article on the Propaganda Department’s decision confer the title of “Model of the Times” on the Air Force Transportation and Search and Rescue Brigade. The article highlighted the brigade’s efforts in “build[ing] an important green barrier” in a desert zone while simultaneously strengthening its combat readiness training. The article noted Xi Jinping’s two mountains theory--“clear waters and green mountains are as valuable as gold and silver mountains”--and praised the brigade for thoroughly implementing it. It mentioned that sowing seeds in a number of provinces has made “important contributions to firmly winning the fight against poverty and promoting local economic and social development.” The article lauded the brigade for “developing its advantages to benefit the people and to build a beautiful China” and stated that it is the “advanced model” for the “rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” It also asserted that the brigade’s achievements demonstrate “firm obedience to the Party’s command” and the “revolutionary spirit,” explaining that to publicize and praise [the brigade’s] advanced deeds,” the Publicity Department is honoring the brigade with this title. The article concluded by calling on Party members and cadres to study and implement Xi Jinping’s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era, Xi Jinping’s Thought on a Strong Military, strengthen the “four consciousnesses,” consolidate the “four confidences,” achieve “two defends,” and focus on realizing the Party’s goal of strengthening the army in the new era.
Central Civilization Office: Promote with Great Efforts a Civilized Healthy Green Lifestyle People’s Daily
2.4 The Central Civilization Office, part of the Central Guidance Commission on Building a Spiritual Civilization managed by the Central Propaganda Department, issued a notice titled “On Continuously Deepening Spiritual Civilization Education, Advocate with Great Efforts for a Civilized Healthy Green Lifestyle.” It called for public health awareness on controlling the coronavirus epidemic, spiritual civilization education, and a clean and green lifestyle.
In order to increase awareness of public health measures, the notice said local authorities should enlist the help of volunteers and organizations for outreach among villagers returning for the Lunar New Year. Epidemic prevention and control efforts in rural villages during the winter and spring season are the key components of the promotion campaigns. Counseling services and check-ins should also be provided by volunteers for those who are not traveling for the New Year.
With regards to living “green,” the notice urged media outlets at all levels to write about the importance and meaning of a sustainable lifestyle. Elements of Chinese traditional culture such as food conservation and frugality should be emphasized. A civilized lifestyle should be pushed at several fronts: civilized travel, civilized traffic, and civilized cyberspace.
Lastly, the notice demanded that environmental awareness be integrated into urban and rural lifestyles. Rural officials should organize cultural activities, especially for rural youth, to enrich spirits with contemporary culture and to root out bad habits. Households, urban or rural, should voluntarily participate in making their communities cleaner, and greener with vegetation. Local schools should also educate students on energy conservation, clean hygiene, health, and labor.
United Front Work
Xi Jinping Welcomes the New Year with Non-Party Figures
2.1 In anticipation of Lunar New Year festivities, Xi Jinping hosted representatives from the central committee of non-CCP democratic parties and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, along with politically unaffiliated leaders, at the Great Hall of the People on the afternoon of 1 February. At the event, Xi expressed New Year’s greetings on behalf of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Also in attendance were Politburo Standing Committee Member and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee Chairman Wang Yang (汪洋) and Politburo Standing Committee Member and State Council Vice Premier Han Zheng (韩正).
The event featured a speech by Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang Chairperson Wan Exiang (万鄂湘) on behalf of the central committee representing non-CCP democratic parties, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and the politically unaffiliated in attendance. In his speech, Wan lauded the Party’s achievements and promised that in the new year, non-CCP parties, the unaffiliated, and the All-China Federation would “unite even more closely around the Party center, with Xi Jinping at the core.” He further stated that they would “contribute wisdom and strength” in order to achieve “a new victory [in] building a modern socialist country,” and realize “the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese people.” In his response, Xi Jinping emphasized the important role that non-Party groups had played in China’s many achievements over the past year, and especially in combating the Covid-19 virus. He exhorted the non-Party groups in attendance to “adhere to and improve multi-party cooperation and the political consultation system under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party” and to assist the Party in its political, social, and economic work.
International Liaison Work
2.2 International Department Deputy Head Qiao Hongshan (钱洪山）held a video conference with the Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSD) International Secretary and Chamber of Deputies European Affairs Committee Chair Tilvar Angel.
2.2 International Department Assistant Head Li Mingxiang (李明祥) attended and addressed the opening ceremony of a webinar on “Jointly Welcoming the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the Parties,” co-hosted by the CCP and South African Communist Party (SACP). Other attendees included relevant Chinese experts, SACP First Deputy Secretary Solly Mapaila, and nearly 70 high-level SACP cadres.
2.3 International Department Head Song Tao (宋涛) and Deputy Head Guo Yezhou (郭业洲) held a videoconference with Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Secretariat member and Central Commission for External Relations Head Sounthone Xayachack.
2.3 Guo Yezhou held a video exchange with Arctic Circle Chair and former Icelandic President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson.
2.5 International Department Assistant Head Zhu Rui (朱锐) met with Emirati Ambassador to China Ali Al Dhaheri.
Organization Work
2.2 Li Guoying (李国英) was appointed as secretary of the the Ministry of Water Resources’ Party group.
2.4 Chen Gang (陈刚) was elected vice chair of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions and first secretary of its secretariat.
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