Tracking People’s Daily — September 2, 2020

Page 1: The top story is about Xi presiding over the fifteenth meeting of the Central Committee for Comprehensively Deepening Reform. Xinhua’s English report captures the key points.

• Xi said: “Accelerating the establishment of a new development pattern featuring dual circulation, which takes the domestic market as the mainstay while letting domestic and foreign markets boost each other, is a strategic decision made in accordance with changes in China’s development stage, environment and conditions…Efforts should be made to give full play to reform, remain firm in strategic determination, uphold and improve the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, and modernize China’s governance system and capacity.”
• He added: “the country needs to accelerate reforms that help increase the efficiency of resource allocation, and reforms that help improve growth quality and efficiency.”
• The meeting reviewed and approved a series of guidelines on innovative development of foreign trade, vitalizing higher education in the country’s central and western regions, standardizing private schools for compulsory education, standardizing medical practices and pushing ahead with garbage sorting.
• The meeting called for efforts to enhance the quality of foreign trade, stabilize the industrial and supply chains, foster new growth drivers, further promote trade facilitation and optimize the environment for foreign trade development. The meeting stressed upholding and strengthening the Party’s overall leadership over universities and colleges to further develop higher education in the central and western regions.

Next, a commentary on Xi’s Tibet speech over the weekend. This one talks about boosting high-quality development in Tibet, which is also a national security imperative.

It says: “Tibet’s economic and industrial foundations are relatively weak, and there is a greater risk of returning to poverty. More efforts should be made in consolidating the results of poverty alleviation, more methods should be devised, more follow-up assistance and support should be given, and rural revitalization should be effectively linked, especially the transportation facilities, medical and school services, and social insurance for the elderly that are closely related to daily life should be fully covered. It is necessary to promote the construction of a number of major infrastructure and public service facilities around the Sichuan-Tibet railway construction and other projects, and build more solidarity lines and happiness roads. It is necessary to cultivate the ability to support employment, provide more employment opportunities, and promote employment in the multi-channel market. It is necessary to cultivate more talents in short supply such as science, engineering, agriculture and medicine, focus on economic and social development and future market demand, run vocational education, scientifically set up disciplines, improve the level and level, and cultivate more professional and practical talents.”

Third, China’s Ministry of Education reports that as of September 1, 29 primary and secondary schools and 56 subordinate universities in 29 provinces have opened.

Page 3: A bunch of reports to take note. First, a piece commemorating the end of WWII and then links it to the concept of a community of shared destiny. It says: “Over the past seven years, the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind has become increasingly perfect, and its vision and implementation path have become increasingly clear. China has taken firm steps and steadily promoted the practice of the grand blueprint of building a community with a shared future for mankind.” In explaining what this means, the piece talks about China’s engagement at the UN; bilateral engagement with different forums, such China-Europe, China-Africa and China-Latin America; then it talks about a cyberspace, nuclear weapons, BRI, AIIB, China Import Expo and so on.

Next, a commentary that talks up China’s poverty alleviation efforts, highlighting their global significance. It says: “From a global perspective, China’s achievements in poverty reduction are of great world significance. In particular, as Chinese technology, Chinese wisdom, and Chinese solutions go to the world, China has helped people in many countries and regions embark on the road to poverty alleviation.” And then it says: “It is obvious to all that China has established the world’s largest education, social security, and medical system, and has become the country with the largest number of people out of poverty. It can be called the largest human rights project and the best human rights practice. This is also China’s important contribution to the world’s human rights cause.”

Third, MoFA’s comments pushing back against the US on Taiwan. This is specifically in the context of US Assistant Secretary of State David R. Stilwell’s remarks. English version here.

Lastly, the BRI think tank forum holds an online discussion. The meeting was led by Song Tao from the CCP ILD. He said: “Facing new risks, challenges and complex factors, think tanks and scholars from various countries should play their own important roles to actively promote solidarity and cooperation, openness and tolerance, mutual learning, fairness and justice, and speak out for the maintenance of world peace, development and common prosperity, and for the building of mankind. A community with a shared future contributes wisdom and strength.”

Page 4: The Central Party School began its fall semester with Chen Xi, Politburo member and president of the school, delivering a speech. He said “Leading cadres must uphold the people’s supremacy…and take people’s satisfaction as the fundamental standard. We must cultivate our feelings for the people, consciously be a loyal public serviceman; firmly establish a correct outlook on political performance…We must bear heavy burdens and overcome difficulties; promote the style of close contact with the masses, resolutely oppose formalism and bureaucracy, and maintain the qualities of hard work, simplicity, integrity and integrity.”

Next, Liaoning and Zhejiang have new Party secretaries. Zhang Guoqing has been appointed secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Committee, replacing Chen Qiufa. Yuan Jiajun was appointed secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the CPC, replacing Che Jun.

Page 5 & 9: First, on the fifth page, there’s a commentary by Yang Yanqiu, deputy director of the Institute of Historical Theory, Chinese Academy of History, Chinese Academy of Social Science. Yang writes: “The choice of the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics came from a profound summary of history. In a speech at the European Academy of Bruges in 2014, President Xi Jinping pointed out that ‘the Chinese nation has more than 5,000 years of civilization history, the Chinese people has more than 170 years of struggle since modern times, the Chinese Communist Party has more than 90 years of struggle, the People’s Republic of China has more than 60 years of development history, and more than 30 years of reform and opening up. Exploring history, these histories are in the same line and cannot be separated’.”

And then: “The political system of each country is the result of long-term development, gradual improvement, and endogenous evolution on the basis of the country’s historical heritage, cultural traditions, and economic and social development.” I highlight the piece to emphasise how discourse around the Chinese system is cultivated. There’s also reference to the trend of the times, which essentially imply that the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is on the cards. Such determinism, man.

On the ninth page, there are two interesting pieces. First, by Wang Jianlang, director of the Institute of Modern History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He writes about China’s war against Japan through the 1930s and 40s. Interesting that he talks about the significance of the national united front, and of course, emphasises the role of the CCP rather than the Kuomintang.

He writes: “Among the allies during the war, the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union were all industrially developed countries, and China was an agricultural country. It is rare in the history of modern warfare to resist the modern Japanese army with backward equipment for 14 years and achieve ultimate victory. It was precisely because the Chinese Communist Party held high the banner of the Anti-Japanese National United Front and persisted in the whole nation’s resistance against Japan that China won the great victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan.”

Next, Zhang Ming, from the Jiangsu Research Center for Socialist Theory with Chinese Characteristics, writes about China’s COVID-19 battle. Zhang writes: “The strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, the majestic power of the Chinese people, the governance capabilities of the Chinese system, and China’s growing comprehensive national power, etc., have gathered together to fight the epidemic and show the strength of China in the new era.”

Here’s more: “A major crisis is the touchstone for testing the pros and cons of the system. In this major examination of the epidemic, my country’s national system and national governance system demonstrated strong governance effectiveness. The scale, efficiency, and effectiveness of China’s fight against the epidemic have amazed the world. The powerful social mobilization capabilities, mass organization capabilities, and resource deployment capabilities of the Chinese system are the code behind China’s speed in fighting the epidemic and China’s efficiency. The significant advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and the national governance system have never been abstract. This time it is fully reflected in all aspects of fighting the epidemic, allowing the world to clearly see the significant advantages and vigorous vitality of the Chinese system.”

Page 16: Here’s what the international page covered.