- David Gitter, Julia Bowie, Nathanael Callan
Weekly Report 1|39 7.21.2018-7.27.2018
HIGHLIGHTS
Xi Jinping attended the 10th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg where he called for greater cooperation between BRICS and other developing countries in international organizations like the UN, G20, and WTO.
Economic Daily Deputy Editor-in-Chief Zhang Lei (张磊) penned an article in the PLA Daily stressing that the core of “Xi Jinping’s Thought on News” (习近平新闻思想) is to “reinforce and improve the Party’s leadership on the work of news and public opinion.”
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and National Supervision Commission released regulations on the scope of authority, procedures, and supervisory measures, intended to ease concerns about the new detention mechanism, liuzhi (留置), legally enshrined with the passage of the new National Supervision Law this March.
Leadership speeches and commentary coverage of the Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology Vaccine Case sought to demonstrate outrage and indicate investigatory progress in holding the company responsible.
SENIOR LEADERS
Xi Jinping Issues Directive on Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology Vaccine Case
7.23 CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping stated that the illegal production of vaccines by Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Limited is vile and “shocks the eye and astonishes the heart” (令人触目惊心). Xi stated that the relevant local authorities and departments should attach great importance to the issue and immediately seek truth from facts (事实真相). Xi emphasized that to guarantee drug safety is the sworn duty of governments and Party committees at all levels.
State Council Premier Li Keqiang (李克强) issued official demands regarding the matter: most importantly, the State Council immediately dispatched investigation teams to seek truth from facts.
Wang Qishan Attends the Fifth China-Africa People’s Forum Opening Ceremony
7.23 Vice President Wang Qishan attended the opening ceremony of the 5th China-Africa People’s Form in Chengdu and gave a speech. Wang said that “The congratulation letter President Xi sent to the Forum fully embodies the importance that China’s Party and government attach to Sino-African people-to-people exchanges and cooperation.” He emphasized that “China will continue to push the development of the Sino-African relationship to a higher and wider level while upholding a truthful, sincere, and honest policy concept and justice.” Wang respectively met with Seychelles Vice President Vincent Meriton and Republic of Congo Prime Minister Clement Mouamba.
Xi Jinping: “Keeping Abreast of the Trend of the Times to Achieve Common Development” -- Important Speech at BRICS Business Forum
7.25 Xi Jinping delivered an important speech entitled “Keeping Abreast of the Trend of the Times to Achieve Common Development” at the BRICS Business Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa. The speech focused on creating a second “Golden Decade” of BRICS Cooperation.
Xi stated that the next ten years will see “new drivers of the world economy take the place of old ones,” “accelerated changes to the international order and balance of power,” and “the deep-going reconstruction of the global governance system.” He stressed that, during this period, “BRIC member countries must keep abreast of major historical trends, seize development opportunities, work together to overcome challenges, and play a constructive role in building a new type of international relations and a community of shared future for mankind.”
Xi’s speech offered four ways to accomplish these goals, namely “insisting on win-win cooperation to build an open economy,” “leadership in innovation to seize development opportunities,” “inclusivity to bring benefits to the people of every country,” and “multilateralism to improve global governance.”
Xi Jinping: “Turn Our Vision Into Reality”-- Speech to the 10th BRICS Summit
7.26 Xinhua printed Xi Jinping’s speech to the 10th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg this week. Xi remarked that the world is experiencing a technological revolution with big data and artificial intelligence, linking the “interests and destinies” of all countries together. Meanwhile, geopolitical conflicts, protectionism, and unilateralism have intensified, creating a common challenge for developing countries.
Xi delivered four points on how to “turn the beautiful vision of a second ‘Golden Decade’ into reality.”
“Release the enormous potential of economic cooperation”: “Through the framework of the United Nations, G20, and the World Trade Organization, [we] must firmly defend the rules-based multilateral trading system, promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and take a clear-cut stance against protectionism.”
“Firmly maintain international peace and security”: “Jointly build a new type of international relations with mutual respect, fairness and justice, cooperation and win-win.”
“Deeply expand humanities exchange and cooperation”: “Strengthen cooperation between cultural and creative industries, tourism, and local cities to tell more exciting and moving BRICS stories and continuously enhance mutual understanding and traditional friendship among the five countries’ people.”
“Build a close partnership network”: “We must expand ‘BRICS Plus’ cooperation under the United Nations and G20 frameworks and expand the common interests and development space for emerging market countries and developing countries.”
PROPAGANDA WORK
Zhong Sheng: Building a Community of Common Destiny Between China and the UAE
7.22 On the occasion of Xi Jinping’s state visit to the UAE, the People’s Daily’s Zhong Sheng (钟声) column, used to authoritatively transmit the views of the People’s Daily on international affairs, discussed the deepening strategic relationship between China and the UAE. The column called the two countries “natural cooperative partners” in building the Belt and Road. It also called China’s relationship with the UAE “a model for developing mutual respect, pragmatic friendship, and win-win cooperation with other Arab countries.” Therefore, the deepening China-UAE relationship will create an “exemplary effect” (示范效应) for China relations with the Arab world, “injecting strong momentum into building a community of mutual benefit and common destiny between China and Arab countries.”
Zhong Sheng: Push China-Senegal Cooperation to a Higher Level
7.24 The People’s Daily’s Zhong Sheng (钟声) column commented on Xi Jinping’s state visit to Senegal from 21 to 22 July, saying that “this successful visit has pointed out a clear direction for the development of the bilateral relationship between China and Senegal, created a larger consensus for the building of the ‘Belt and Road,’ and added new force to joining hands and building a tighter community of shared future for China and Africa.” During Xi’s visit, both sides signed multiple cooperative agreements, including on building the “Belt and Road,” making Senegal the first West African country that signed a “Belt and Road” cooperative document with China. The commentary quoted Xi Jinping and said that “China’s development will bring Africa more opportunities, and Africa’s development will drive China’s development.”
Reinforce and Improve the Party’s Leadership on News and Public Opinion Work
7.25 Economic Daily Deputy Editor-in-Chief Zhang Lei (张磊) penned an article in the PLA Daily stressing that the core of “Xi Jinping’s Thought on News” (习近平新闻思想) is to “reinforce and improve the Party’s leadership on the work of news and public opinion.”
Zhang wrote that “the so-called ‘value neutral’ and ‘public instrument’ [qualities of] the media advocated by Western theorists do not exist in reality” and that “only through using news and public opinion to guide, can a party organize and mobilize tens of thousands of its supporters to advance its political objective; controlling the tools of news and public opinion not only is the requirement for a party to realize its political aspiration, but also a decisive factor of its development and survival.”
To reinforce the Party’s leadership in news and public opinion, Zhang advocated firmly grasping the “Party principle” (党性原则), adhering to the correct direction of public opinion, improving work quality, building a team that the Party and people trust, and enhancing all levels of Party committees’ capability to work on news and public opinion.
Zhong Sheng: Jointly Open a Friendly New Era for China and South Africa
7.26 Xi Jinping conducted a state visit to South Africa from 23 to 24 July. The People’s Daily’s Zhong Sheng (钟声) column issued an article saying that “the leaders of the two countries have reached important consensus on advancing the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and South Africa” and that “the plentiful achievements of China-South African cooperation are inspiring.” Zhong Sheng pointed out that Xi Jinping attributed these achievements to the “emotional, political, economic, public opinion, and strategic foundations” built by both sides adhering to mutual help, respect, trust, benefit, understanding, and interdependence. During the two leaders’ meeting, Xi proposed to deepen the cooperation in politics, economics, culture, security and law enforcement, and multilateral cooperation, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa responded cordially.
PD Commentator Article: Keep Abreast of the Trend of the Times to Create a “Golden Decade” Once Again
7.27 The People’s Daily published a commentator article supporting Xi Jinping’s 25 July speech at the BRICS Business Forum. It praised the first decade of BRICS cooperation, arguing “this creative cooperative mechanism has transcended the well-worn road of political and military alliances to establish new relationships of non-alignment, the old way of thinking based on ideological delineation to follow a new path of mutual respect and common progress, and the old concepts of ‘You lose, I win’ and winner-take-all to put into practice the new ideals of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation.”
After reiterating the four ways to create a second “Golden Decade” of BRICS cooperation that Xi proposed in his speech, the article asserted that “We should resolutely pursue multilateralism, oppose hegemony and power politics, and advocate a common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security concept.” It concluded by declaring that “As long as BRICS countries join hands and are of one mind, they can surmount perilous peaks and steep cliffs to reach a new peak.”
Changchun Changsheng Company’s Illegal Production of Rabies Vaccine Case Investigation Work Achieves Great Progress
7.27 A Xinhua article stated that great progress had been made in discerning the facts of the Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Limited illegal rabies vaccine production case. Among other points, authorities have determined that Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences conducted a variety of illicit cost-cutting activities such as mislabeling expired vaccines and falsifying records to conceal such activities.
UNITED FRONT WORK
You Quan Addresses “Overseas Chinese” Adolescents at the Great Hall of the People Xinhua
7.25 United Front Work Department Head You Quan (尤权) spoke at the 9th Overseas Chinese and Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan Adolescent “Search for Chinese Roots Trip” summer camp at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. More than 3,000 adolescents attended the camp. You Quan encouraged the youth to keep in mind Xi Jinping’s important discourses on “root”, “spirit”, and “dream.” Speech Excerpts from United Front Leaders at “United Front Participation in Bijie Experimental Zone Construction Conference” Released
7.26 On 19 July, United Front organizations participated in the Bijie Experimental Zone Construction Conference, where each “chairpersons of the democratic parties, alongside the chairpersons of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and a non-party representative, earnestly studied the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important directives, summarized work experience, and planned for the next step of work.” Excerpts of their speeches, such as Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang Chairman Wan Exiang’s (万鄂湘) “Condense Consensus, Display Advantage, Build a Better Tomorrow Together for the Bijie Experimental Zone in a New Era,” take up the entirety of the second page of Tuanjie Bao.
PARTY DISCIPLINE
“Problem List” of the 19th Central Committee’s First Inspection Released
7.23 Details of the first discipline inspection conducted by the 19th Central Committee were released on the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) website. Over the course of three months, 15 inspection teams covered: 14 provinces; the Ministry of Commerce and 7 other central units; 8 Party organizations of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), including that of China National Nuclear Corporation; and the heads of Party committees and People’s congress standing committees’ Party leadership groups of 10 sub-provincial level cities. The article pointed out that all Party organizations at the 14 provinces and 10 sub-provincial level cities inspected showed problems of not learning or implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the Spirit of 19th Party Congress well, the “Four Forms,” and violating the Eight Point Guideline. A detailed inspection report was released.
CCDI Commentary: Grasping Inspection and Improvement Work is to Implement the “Two Defends”
7.23 The CCDI and National Supervision Commission website published a special commentary saying that “the problems reported by the 19th Central Committee’s first round of inspection present the new focus of inspection work in a new era.”
“The first round of inspection upheld defending General Secretary Xi Jinping’s core status and the Central Committee’s authority and centralized and unified leadership firmly as its fundamental political mission. From discovering and reporting problems to proposing opinions for reform and improvement, [the inspection work] firmly grasped its role as a political inspection and loyally fulfilled the critical political responsibility of the ‘two defends’ (两个维护).” The “two defends” are to defend the core status of General Secretary Xi and to defend the authority and centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee.
CCDI and NSC Release Regulations on the Usage of Supervisory and Investigative Measures
7.26 The CCDI and National Supervision Commission released regulations on the scope of authority, procedures, and supervisory measures, “an important measure of reinforcing the internal supervision,” according to the article.
The regulations stated that the detention measure, liuzhi (留置), should be implemented according to the law and regulations. It added that “the detainee’s personal and property rights, right to [legal] self-defense, and other legal rights should be protected. Their dignity and ethnic customs should be respected. Food, drink, and medical treatment should be provided, and the detainee’s rest and security should be ensured.”
The regulations also devote a chapter to the management of supervision work, which includes measures such as regularly inspect documents on investigations and measures conducted to ensure procedures accord with the rules.
CENTRAL MILITARY COMMISSION
Zhang Youxia, Wei Fenghe Meet with Serbian Defense Minister
7.25 Central Military Commission (CMC) Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (张又侠) and State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe (魏凤和) held individual meetings with the Serbian Minister of Defense Aleksandar Vulin. Among other points, Zhang noted that China-Serbian relations are traditionally friendly, while Wei noted that the traditional friendship between both countries is profound. Vulin noted “Serbia attaches great importance to the development of Sino-Serbian relations and that Serbia supports the construction of the ‘Belt and Road.’”
Zhang Youxia Meets with Vietnam People’s Army General Political Department Chief
7.25 CMC Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia met the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Secretariat member and Vietnam People’s Army General Political Department Chief Lương Cường at the CMC’s August 1st Building (八一大樓). At the meeting, Zhang stated that China and Vietnam are Socialist neighbors and important cooperative partners.
COMPREHENSIVELY DEEPENING REFORM
Central Committee and State Council Publishes A Reform Plan for the National and Local Tax Collection and Management System
7.20 The General Offices of the CCP Central Committee and the State Council issued a reform plan for national and local tax collection and management system (国税地税征管体制改革方案). The Xinhua announcement endorsed the reform plan for implementing the spirit of the 19th Party Congress and the 19th Central Committee second and third plenary sessions, and being guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. Reform of the tax system will help safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of taxpayers, create a service-oriented taxation authority, improve the business environment, optimize resource allocation, and reduce collection costs. The reform plan will also solve the problems of “two-headed running” (两头跑) and “two-headed investigation” (两头查).
The reform plan proposes step-by-step implementation; first, the national and local tax collection agencies will be combined before adding the responsibilities of receiving social security premiums and non-tax revenue; second, tax bureau reform in the provinces will be carried out in a steady manner and steps will be taken to reform town and county level tax bureaus; third, all reform steps will be completed by the end of 2018. The reform plan will additionally facilitate better information sharing systems across different tax bureau levels
INTERNATIONAL LIAISON WORK
7.22-23 International Department Vice Minister Xu Lüping (徐绿平) led a CCP delegation to Botswana. While there, she met with Vice President and Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) Chairman Slumber Tsogwane and BDP Secretary General Mpho Balopi.
7.23 International Department Vice Minister Guo Yezhou (郭业洲) met with British Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field. 7.23 On the sidelines of the 5th China-Africa People’s Forum in Chengdu, International Department Minister Song Tao (宋涛) held separate meetings with Seychelles Vice President and People’s Party President Vincent Meriton and Republic of Congo Prime Minister Clément Mouamba.
7.23-25 At the invitation of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP), Yunnan Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee member and Propaganda Department Head Zhao Jin (赵金) led a CCP delegation to Laos. While there, he met with member of the LPRP Central Committee Secretariat and head of the LPRP Central Committee Propaganda Department, Kikeo Khaykhamphithoune.
7.24 International Department Vice Minister Qian Hongshan (钱洪山) met with the Portuguese Ambassador to China José Augusto Duarte.
7.25 Song Tao met former President of Tanzania and Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa board member Jakaya Kikwete. The ambassadors of seven Southern African Development Community member countries to China also participated in the meeting.
7.26 Song Tao met with an Israeli multiparty cadre study group led by Likud Political Bureau member and Deputy Knesset Speaker Nava Boker. International Department Vice Minister Li Jun (李军) also participated in the meeting.
ORGANIZATION WORK
7.25 Fu Xingguo (傅兴国) was appointed vice minister of the Central Organization Department.
7.26 Du Hangwei (杜航伟) was appointed member of the Ministry of Public Security’s Party committee.
7.26 Zhang Jianmin (张建民) was appointed head of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration.