Xi Jinping’s Lecture: “More efficient and Fairer than Capitalism”

The following are translated excerpts from a speech given by Xi Jinping on Tuesday, at the opening ceremony of a “study class” or seminar of leading CPC and other “democratic parties‘” cadres.

^{Banner: “Seminar for the implementation of Xi Jinping’s ideology of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era and the spirit of the party’s 20th national congress”}

Main Link: Xinwen Lianbo, Febr 7, 2023

Links and footnotes within blockquotes added during translation.

Newly-joined members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and alternate members as well as provincial-level leading cadres studied the implementation of Xi Jinping’s ideology of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era and the spirit of the party’s 20th national congress.¹⁾ The seminar took place at the Central Party School (aka Chinese Academy of Governance) in the morning of February 7th. CPC Central Committee secretary general, State Chairman and Central Military Commissions’ chairman Xi Jinping gave an important speech there and emphasized that summarizing and deepening the theory of Chinese-style modernization is a major innovation from the 20th national congress of the CPC and the latest fruit of scientific socialism. Chinese-style modernization is a great fruit of a long and difficult search and practice conducted by the people of all nationalities, under the leadership of our party, achieved under great deprivation and at a huge price. We must add to it and cherish it, adhere to it forever and continuously expand and deepen it.

新进中央委员会的委员、候补委员和省部级主要领导干部学习贯彻习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想和党的二十大精神研讨班7日上午在中央党校（国家行政学院）开班。中共中央总书记、国家主席、中央军委主席习近平在开班式上发表重要讲话强调，概括提出并深入阐述中国式现代化理论，是党的二十大的一个重大理论创新，是科学社会主义的最新重大成果。中国式现代化是我们党领导全国各族人民在长期探索和实践中历经千辛万苦、付出巨大代价取得的重大成果，我们必须倍加珍惜、始终坚持、不断拓展和深化。

Member of the politburo’s standing committee Li Qiang presided over the class opening ceremony, politburo standing committee members Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi were present.

中共中央政治局常委李强主持开班式，中共中央政治局常委赵乐际、王沪宁、蔡奇、丁薛祥、李希出席。

Xi Jinping pointed out that achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has been the common dream of the Chinese people ever since modernity²⁾, and countless people with lofty ideas had struggled for it and tried all kinds of ways, but failed in the end. Historically, the heavy responsibility of China’s modernization fell to the Communist Party of China.
习近平指出，实现中华民族伟大复兴是近代以来中国人民的共同梦想，无数仁人志士为此苦苦求索、进行各种尝试，但都以失败告终。探索中国现代化道路的重任，历史地落在了中国共产党身上。

Xi’s speech continues with a generous appropriation of the northern expedition, the agrarian revolution war, the Sino-Japanese war, and the civil war from 1945 to 1949 – those are all the CPC’s feats, in its own books. The CPC had overthrown the “three big mountains” (三座大山) – imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat-capitalism³⁾, made the People’s Republic of China “with the people in charge of its own affairs” or “master of their own house” (建立了人民当家作主的中华人民共和国),  achieved national independence (民族独立), people’s liberation (人民解放) so as to create the right conditions for modernization (为实现现代化创造了根本社会条件).

Xi Jinping emphasized that ever since the 18th national congress of the CPC, our party has continued its advance on foundations already laid by itself, continuously bringing about theoretical and practical innovative breakthroughs, successfully promoting and broadening Chinese-style modernization. We have deepened our knowledge, created the ideology of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, brought about the epochally soaring sinicization of Marxism, and new standards to follow in Chinese-style modernization.
习近平强调，党的十八大以来，我们党在已有基础上继续前进，不断实现理论和实践上的创新突破，成功推进和拓展了中国式现代化。我们在认识上不断深化，创立了新时代中国特色社会主义思想，实现了马克思主义中国化时代化新的飞跃，为中国式现代化提供了根本遵循。

[…]

We have continuously perfected our strategies, such as the strategy of relying on science to rejuvenate the nation, the strategy of developing a quality workforce in the new era, and the rural vitalization strategy, thus providing support for Chinese-style modernization.
我们在战略上不断完善，深入实施科教兴国战略、人才强国战略、乡村振兴战略等一系列重大战略，为中国式现代化提供坚实战略支撑。

[…]

Xi Jiinping pointed out that the party’s leadership was directly related to the fundamental direction of Chinese-style modernization, it’s future fate, and the final decision between success and failure. The leadership by the party decides the fundamental quality of Chinese-style modernization. Only if adhering to the party’s leadership without the slightest wavering, Chinese-style modernization will see a shining future and an economic renaissance. Otherwise, it will get off course, lose its soul and even commit subversive mistakes.
习近平指出，党的领导直接关系中国式现代化的根本方向、前途命运、最终成败。党的领导决定中国式现代化的根本性质，只有毫不动摇坚持党的领导，中国式现代化才能前景光明、繁荣兴盛；否则就会偏离航向、丧失灵魂，甚至犯颠覆性错误。

In this context, Xi also mentions five aspects that – in the leadership’s view – characterize a uniquely Chinese path towards modernization. “China Daily” provided an overview of them in English about a year ago, in an article published in March 2022.

Xi’s core message was “brimming with assertiveness”, German correspondent Fabian Kretschmer noted in an article for Germany’s green-leaning “taz” on Wednesday, one day after Xi’s classroom lecture. Also, Xi had described China’s development path as a role model for the Global South. Beijing had been trying for years to export its autocratic model of government.

Indeed,

Practice confirms that Chinese-style modernization is feasible, works in a stable fashion, and is the only correct path for national rejuvenation.

实践证明，中国式现代化走得通、行得稳，是强国建设、民族复兴的唯一正确道路。

[…]

Xi Jinping pointed out that Chinese-style modernization was deeply rooted in China’s excellent traditional culture, embodied the advanced quality of scientific socialism, drew on all of mankind’s excellent civilizational fruits, represented a civilizational development direction for mankind, unfolded a mental picture different from Western modernization, was a completely new type of human civilization. Chinese-style modernization had broken the myth that “modernization = westernization, unfolded another mental picture of modernization, broadened the choices of developing countries towards modernization, and provided a Chinese plan for searching a better human society system.
习近平指出，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，是一种全新的人类文明形态。中国式现代化，打破了“现代化=西方化”的迷思，展现了现代化的另一幅图景，拓展了发展中国家走向现代化的路径选择，为人类对更好社会制度的探索提供了中国方案。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。

If you forecast cadres’ working plans based on this rendition of Xi’s speech, the central-committee members and candidates as well as the “provincial-level cadres” are going to face difficult tasks:

Both [of these goals] are important: to create greater efficiency than in capitalism, and more efficient protection of social fairness, a better balance between efficiency and fairness at the same time – both of them promoting each other, and both of them integrating with each other.
既要创造比资本主义更高的效率，又要更有效地维护社会公平，更好实现效率与公平相兼顾、相促进、相统一。

In addition to that, Xi demands “continuously broadening high-level opening up” (不断扩大高水平对外开放), and “thorough participation in global division of labor and cooperation” (深度参与全球产业分工和合作) so as to create more room for “Chinese-style modernization”.  How far this spells cooperation with, say, America, the Netherlands or Taiwan, or rather with the “Global South”, remains to be seen. The speech is careful enough not to mention potential cooperation partners explicitly, as not all of them may be happily available for the “great rejuvenation”.

________________

Notes

1)	Only the last lines of the article mentions another group of participants: dangwais (党外 or 党外人士). In this case, i. e. the Tuesday morning study class, this referred to “comrades from the democratic parties’ central committees, the all-China industrial and trade association, and others” (各民主党派中央、全国工商联及有关方面负责同志列席开班式).
2)	“Modernity” may not be the best choice to translate 近代 – jìndài may refer to modern times, recent history, or the years since the establishment of the PRC in 1949.
3)	官僚资本主义, translated “crony capitalism” by Baike-Baidu: “bureaucrat-capitalism, also described as crony capitalism (裙带资本主义), clique capitalism (朋党资本主义), bigwigs capitalism (权贵资本主义), close-friends capitalism (密友资本主义) or relationship capitalism (关系资本主义), describes an economy where success in business depends on close relationships between entrepreneurs, business people, and government officials. […]”

Related

“Personal experience”, Jan 5, 2013

________________
x
x

Lai Ching-te’s Rabbit of the Year

–

^{It’s just around the Corner (click photo for source)}

Lai said that facing an international climate that wasn’t good, changes in local politics and the threats of authoritarianism, the country, the government, individuals and companies could all display the wisdom of the rabbit. That would surely help to overcome an unpromising outset and turn it into a lucky process, to get through difficult times and for the people  to lead better lives.
國家、政府、個人、公司都可以學習發揮兔子的智慧，必定可逢凶化吉、度過難關，也讓人民過更好的生活。
–
Vice President Lai said among the twelve zodiac animals, the rabbit ranked fourth. It belonged to the 4th eartly branch. So this is the beginning of the day, full of hope. This was the hopeful year of the rabbit, the festival was symbolized by the character for “Spring”, and one could look forward to saying Goodbye to things that hadn’t worked as one wished for, and to hope for a prosperous year for everyone.

賴副總統說，兔子的生肖排名第4，在地支屬卯，時辰是一天的開始，也是充滿希望。今年是充滿希望的兔年，節慶則對應「春」字，期盼揮別以往的不如意，希望今年大家都興旺。

________________

Related

Learn from the Rabbit’s Wisdom, RTI, January 23, 2023
Lai Ching-te, Wikipedia, accessed Jan 27, 2023

____________

Tendencies: Germany’s next China Policy

China didn’t feature prominently in Germany’s 2021 federal election campaign – at least not at the surface.
Somewhat underneath, and not really overreported in the German media, are donations and sponsorships that benefitted the political parties – or one or two of them – in the run-up to the Bundestag elections on September 26.
The picture, according to statista.de (quoting Germany’s federal parliament administration and only recording donations of more than 50,000 Euros):

CDU/CSU (center-right):	3,340,860 Euros
FDP (neoliberal):	2,055,454 Euros
Greens (ecological):	1,790,548 Euros
AFD (right-wing, neoliberal):	100,000 Euros
SPD (social democrats):	50,000 Euros

This is not the full picture, of course. Donations from 10,000 to 50,000 Euros will probably only appear in the political parties’ annual accounts, likely to be published around a year and a half after they happen.
Also, [Update, Oct 8: committed event] “sponsoring” [of party congresses, for example] amounts don’t need to be published in detail – there is no way of knowing who donated, and which amounts.
Still, the above-50,000 statistics give us an idea: the social democrats were considered dead in the water. That, at least, was a general belief into August this year, and that’s as far as the statistics go. Some corporations and lobby organizations may have tried to make up for their negligence when the SPD began to soar in the opinion polls.
Before we get to the China issues, let’s take a look at the 50,000-plus donations in relation to the actual votes for the parties.

Blue: donations >50,000
Red: actual votes
(relations, no numbers)

This doesn’t mean that the SPD wouldn’t like to get donations, and grassroot donations can make a difference too, but it is obvious that the industry didn’t bet on the social democrats and the left party.

China issues in the campaign

Hong Kong’s political activist Ray Wong, now living in German exile, German sinologist David Missal and other activists and human rights groups put a “China elections check” online for those who were interested in the party’s positions concerning China.
They asked each political party represented in Germany’s incumbent federal parliament, the Bundestag, eight questions, and according to the organizers, only the AFD didn’t respond.
That said, the CDU/CSU were “neutral” on seven out of the eight statements.
All eight statements can be considered a demand Missal, Wong and the organizations supporting the project would subscribe to.

The parties’ positions in detail

Statement 1

–

Statement 2

–

Statement 3

–

Statement 4

–

Statement 5

–

Statement 6

–

Statement 7

–

Statement 8

–

Political parties by rates of agreement, neutrality or disagreement with / towards the statements, in descending order (respectively)
Party / party group agrees with the statements (pro)
The Greens		6
SPD		4
FDP		3
The Left		3
CDU/CSU		0
Party neither agrees nor disagrees with the statements (neutral)
CDU/CSU		7
FDP		5
SPD		1
The Left		0
The Greens		0
Party / group doesn’t agree with the statements (opposed)
The Left		5
SPD		3
FDP		0*)
The Greens		2
CDU/CSU		1
________ *) corrected (Oct 8), down from 3

Outlook

At least for now, the CDU/CSU’s chances of heading (or even just joining) a government coalition have deminished, as both the FDP and the Greens are currently moving closer to the SPD, with some unfriendly noise especially from the CSU, the CDU’s Bavarian sister party.
This would mean that exactly the three parties that find most common ground with the Wong/Missal statements would be in government.
The picture would become much friendlier for pro-China lobbyists if the tide turned again,in favor of the CDU/CSU.
The proof of the pudding is the eating, and the industry will almost certainly become more generous with its donations to the Social Democrats, but for those who want to see a government with clear-cut positions on Chinese crimes against human rights, the trend isn’t looking bad.
The CDU/CSU didn’t really care, and documented that publicly.
____________

Related

Germany after the federal elections, Sept 27, 2021
Guanchazhe flatters Austrian Supernova, April 7, 2018
____________

Germany after the Federal Elections – Arithmetics of Power

Even though the German “Liberals” (the FDP) supported a coalition with the Christian Democrats and their Bavarian sister party, they would join an SPD-led “traffic-lights” coalition if the SPD should win the September 26 federal elections, Dr. Zhu Yufang, a researcher at Tongji University’s German Studies Institute wrote on Sunday morning Beijing time, in an assessment for the Shanghai online newsportal “Guanchazhe” (Observer).

Now the Social Democrats appear to have won the elections, and Dr. Zhu’s expectations can perform miracles – if they can. And that’s a big “if”.

Gains and losses, according to ARD Television / infratest-dimap projection at 21:36 UTC

Germany’s investors immediately went into the process of telling the Greens where to go. In the words of “Wirtschaftswoche”, a German weekly published in the neighborhood of Armin Laschet, the Christian Democrats’ and Bavarian Christian Socials’ (CDU/CSU) candidate for chancellor, the Greens’ path towards Laschet’s party is shorter than the FDP’s path towards the Social Democrats (SPD) and their candidate, Olaf Scholz.

If you go by German ARD television’s / infratest dimap projection published at 21:36 UTC, the CDU/CSU got 24.1 percent of the vote, narrowly beaten by the SPD with 25.8 percent. The far-right AFD would get 10.5 percent, the “Liberals” or FDP are at 11.5 percent, and the Left Party appears to remain under the 5-percent threshold that would bar it from re-entering the Bundestag, but three directly-won mandates (or more) will secure their re-entry with whatever percentage, even with less than 5 percent of the overall vote, they may get.

Basically, any coalition among the parties that obtains a majority of the seats in the Bundestag is conceivable, with the likely exception of the far-right AFD (“Alternative für Deutschland”).

Infratest dimap / ARD Radio and Television, Sept 26, 21:36 UTC projection

This means that the SPD, the Greens and the Left combined would fall short of a majority by five seats, and this would have been the only safe SPD-led government coalition. The SPD and the Greens alone are – all according to the 21:36 UTC projection – 45 seats short of an overall majority.

The likelihood that the FDP will fill this gap – as expected by Dr. Zhu – is rather small, and the likelihood that the Greens will extract concessions from the CDU/CSU that may enable them to sell a coalition to their grassroots is fairly high. The CDU/CSU will want to remain in government at nearly all costs.

On the other hand, the FDP may try to extract concessions from the SPD which the Social Democrats are unlikely to accept.

Dr. Zhu’s expectation that Laschet will only be a transitional successor of incumbent chancellor Angela Merkel may not hold water either. When Merkel became chancellor in 2005, she looked like the actual loser of the federal elections that still brought her to power. Helmut Kohl, who became chancellor in 1982, was a joke – that didn’t keep him from becoming the longest-serving federal chancellor to date.

If Laschet should indeed be an “transitional” chancellor, it won’t be because of him in the first place, but because of the CDU/CSU. The Christian Democrats’ and their Bavarian sister party didn’t only offer the public the weakest candidate. Their platform is nothing to write home about either. After sixteen consecutive years at the helm of the federal government – all led by Merkel – they are out of ideas and of personnel.

But that has never kept them from running the country in the past.

(OK. Obviously, I hope that I’m wrong, but had to get this out of my system before going to work.)

Long Yongtu’s WTO Accession Commemorative Lecture (1)

Long Yongtu (龙永图), born in Hunan Province in 1943, is a former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and was China’s Chief Negotiator for his country’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Long was also an enthusiastic participant in public debate on domestic issues during the first decade of the new century.

The following is part one of my translation of a lecture “recently” given by Long at a seminar in Beijing.

Main link: Since you are all market economies, can you remove “socialism”? – Absolutely not (既然都是市场经济了，能不能去掉社会主义？“绝对不可能”)

As we discuss the 20th anniversary of China’s accession to the WTO this year, we should put it into the context of this years biggest thing this year, the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party’s establishment. The activities of commemorating the 20th anniversary of WTO accession should be a part of learning the party’s 100 years of history. Only in this fashion will our commemorative activities have clear-cut representative meaning and add to its value and importance.

今年我们谈中国入世20周年，应该把它放在今年最大的一件事情——中国共产党建党100周年——背景之下，把纪念入世20周年的活动，作为我们学习党的100年历史的一个组成部分。只有这样才能使我们的纪念活动具有鲜明的时代意义和时代特色，也赋予它更大的价值和重要性。

This isn’t far-fetched, but rather,the histories of our country’s establishment, of reform and opening up are all part of the party’s history. By putting the commemoration of WTO accession 20 years ago into this big context makes it more significant, and it is very relevant in this context.

这样说不是要牵强附会，而是因为我们的建国史、改革开放史，都是百年党史很重要的部分，我们把纪念入世20周年放在这样一个大的背景下更有意义，也是非常相关的。

I think this history can be divided into two areas. One is the fifteen years of accession negotiations from 1986 to 2001. Why didn’t we enter WTO when we recovered our legitimate United Nations’ seat? That was because at the time, our thinking wasn’t sufficiently intellectually liberated. At the time, it was believed that that was a rich countries’ club, without any advantages for us. In fact, according to GATT regulations, we simply could have written an application and we could have joined, without any need for negotiations, because China had been a founding member. Because of restoring its legitimate UN membership, our re-entry into GATT would have been a matter of course. But at the time, we just felt that GATT was a rich countries’ club, and joining wouldn’t have been of any use. It was all dominated by Western countries, so we decided not to join.

关于这段历史，我觉得可以分为两部分：一部分是1986年到2001年中国复关和入世的15年谈判。为什么当年恢复联合国合法席位后，我们没有进入WTO？因为当时思想不够解放，认为那是一个富国俱乐部，对我们也没什么好处。实际上当时根据《关贸总协定》的规定，我们完全可以写一张申请就进去的，那个时候根本不需要谈判，因为我们中国是创始成员，既然恢复了联合国的合法席位，我们复关也是理所当然的。但是当时就觉得关贸是富国俱乐部，我们进去也没有什么用，都是西方国家主导的，就决定不去了。

Later, it took us until 1986 to apply. Why was that? Because after the beginning of reform and opening in 1978, we saw our country’s foreign trade continuously expand, with the need to be granted quotas, especially because at the time, GATT sill had the “Agreement on Textile and Clothing“, and the “Multi Fibre Arrangement“. Because of the need to apply for quotas for textile exports under the “multi-fibre arrangement” framework, it was decided to apply for re-entry into the GATT. So I think that the history from 1986 to 2001 is also something everyone can study.

后来一直到1986年才提出申请，为什么？因为1978年开始改革开放以后，慢慢觉得我们中国的对外贸易在不断扩大，特别是当时《关贸总协定》还有《纺织品协定》《多种纤维协定》要发放配额。当时为了我们中国的纺织品贸易特别是纺织品出口能够借助多边的《多种纤维协定》框架取得配额，决定开始复关了。所以从1986年开始到2001年，我觉得这一段历史,也是大家可以研究的一段历史。

The second area is the twenty years from entering the WTO in 2001, to 2021. How have we fulfilled our promise to the WTO? How has entering the WTO accelerated China’s reform and opening, how has it enhanced its hard power and soft power? This historical period also needs to be well researched.

第二部分是2001年到2021年中国入世这20年。这20年我们是怎么履行对世贸组织的承诺？是怎么样通过入世这件事加快中国的改革开放，提升了中国的硬实力和软实力？这一段历史也是需要好好研究的。

Therefore, the first point of view under such a special historical background this year, is that by regarding the WTO entry of twenty years ago as part of our studies and research of the party’s 100-years history, we stand on a high ground – not just discussing trade or doing research on an academic level. We look at this matter from a perspective of the entire party and the entire country. As part of China’s reform and opening, thereby moving forward promoting China’s reform and opening, this is significant.

所以我的第一个观点，在今年这样一个特定的历史背景之下，我们把纪念中国入世20周年，看成是我们学习和研究党的100年历史的组成部分，这样站位就高了，我们的讨论就不仅仅是在经贸领域，更不是在学术领域这样一个层面上进行研究，而是从全党、全国的角度来看这件事情。它作为中国改革开放史的一部分，从而进一步推动中国的改革开放，这样就有意义了。

The second [point of view] in my view, when learning the history of China’s WTO membership is to comply with Secretary Xi Jinping’s “Sixteen Characters Policy”. This “Sixteen Characters Policy” is connected with studying the entire party’s history, because we make our studies of 20 years of WTO membership a part of studying the party’s history. Of course, the “Sixteen Characters Policy” also suitably guides our 20-years-WTO activity.

第二，对中国入世20年的历史学习，我觉得要遵循习近平总书记提出来的“16字方针”。这“16字方针”是针对整个党史学习，既然我们把入世20周年作为党史学习的一部分，当然这“16字方针”也适合指导我们入世20周年的纪念活动。

The General Secretary’s “Sixteen Characters Policy’s” first article is to study historical fact.¹⁾ Studying history can help to understand some principles. From China’s 15 years of WTO accession negotiations and its 20-year membership, which principles are there, which experiences can we summarize and use as reference?

总书记提出的“16字方针”，第一条是学史明理，学习历史能明白一些道理，中国入世谈判15周年、入世20周年，我们有哪些道理、哪些经验可以总结、可以借鉴？

The second article is to enhance faith by studying history – studying history can strengthen our confidence, our continuous promotion of reform and opening, the deepening of reform, and it can expand confidence in opening up.

第二条是学史增信，学习历史可以增强我们的信心，增强我们进一步推动改革开放，深化改革、扩大开放的信心。

The third article is the virtue of studying history. Within the process of the entire history, which spirits are there that can be used? At the time, many comrades actually showed a great sense of responsibility when they completed those [WTO] negotiations.

第三条是学史崇德，我们在整个历史进程当中，有哪些精神是可以发扬的？当时很多同志确实表现了很多的担当精神，来完成这一场谈判。

The third article is to let the studies of history be followed by action which means that the reader must act. To research the WTO’s prospects and China’s role int it actually means to draw from China’s 20 years of membership to promote the solution of the issues that currently need to be solved. We still resolutely support the multilateral trade system represented by WTO and acknowledge the WTO as the core of the entire multilateral trade system. Therefore, the prospect of WTO reform is extremely important, as an important part of China’s participation in global governance.

第四条是学史力行，就是要见诸行动了，今天研究世贸组织前景与中国角色，实际上就是借助中国入世20周年这样一个契机来采取一些行动，推动当前必须解决的问题。我们还是坚决支持以WTO为代表的多边贸易体系，承认WTO是整个多边贸易体系的核心。所以WTO的改革前景就非常重要了，是中国参与全球治理的重要组成部分。这其中，中国发挥什么样的作用，在这里都可以好好地研究。

The third [point of view] is that when we study China’s 20 years of WTO membership, we must know clearly what major problems has WTO entry solved for China? In my view, China’s entry into the WTO has brought China’s reform and opening two major breakthroughs:

第三，我们学习中国加入世贸20年历史的成果，要搞清楚中国入世解决了什么重大问题？我觉得中国入世对于中国改革开放来讲，有两个重大的突破：

The first major breakthrough was that by joining the WTO, we made a promise to the world to practice market economy, which is a major historic turning point in China’s reform and opening, because before 1992, market economy was a restricted area, something you couldn’t discuss because market economy simply was capitalism. But by joining the WTO, we promised to practice market economy.

第一个重大突破是我们通过加入世界贸易组织向全世界承诺我们搞市场经济，这是中国改革开放当中一个重大的历史转折，因为1992年以前市场经济是一个禁区，那是不能谈的，市场经济就是资本主义。但是我们通过入世承诺了搞市场经济。

The second major breakthrough was that, by joining the World Trade Organization, we promised, as a developing country opening its market to the world, relatively big market openings, thus accelerating China’s opening towards the outside world. So, these two breakthroughs are actually two major achievements of China joining WTO, and also crucial points with a certain status.

第二个重大突破是我们通过加入世贸组织，承诺了以发展中国家身份向全球开放市场，在很多领域里做了比较大的市场开放，从而大大促进了中国的对外开放。所以这两个突破实际上是中国入世谈判的重大成果，也是入世在中国改革开放史上具有一定地位的两个关键。

For example, at the beginning, we did not promise a market economy, but came under constant pressure to do so. At the time, this was hard for the participants, taking the measure of saying that while we didn’t recognize market economy, we could still agree to refer to a commodity economy, or a planned market economy, and we could still implement that market-economy rules system of theirs.

比如说市场经济，开始我们是不承认的，后来在谈判当中一直逼着我们要承诺搞市场经济，当时参加谈判的人很痛苦，变着法地想讲我们虽然不承认市场经济，叫商品经济也好，叫有计划的市场经济也好，但是我们能够执行你们那一套以市场经济规则体系为基础的市场经济。

____________

Notes

¹⁾ Not sure how Long arrives at this interpretation – the 16 characters’ first line goes 科学立法 巩固法治根基 – scientifically legislate and solidify the foundations of rule by law.
____________

Related

Rare public criticism, SCMP, Nov 18, 2018
Milton Friedman’s Misadventures, The American Scholar, Dec 5, 2016
Long and the Smiling Curve, May 17, 2012

____________

One Territory, two Statements

Apolitical, too? Erdogan in talks hosted by Xi Jinping, July 2019 (CCTV coverage)

Erdogan said that connected by the ancient Silk Road, Turkish-Chinese friendship had a long history and was now strengthened further. Close Turkish-Chinese relations were significant for regional peace and prosperity. Turkey made efforts for the development of relations with China, and for deepening cooperation. Turkey staunchly persued the one-China policy, the happiness of all Xinjiang nationalities in China’s development was also a fact, and Turkey would never allow anyone to incite disharmony in Turkish-Chinese relations. Turkey resolutely opposed extremism, wanted to enhance mutual trust and strengthen security cooperation. Potential for Turkish-Chinese cooperation was huge, Turkey resolutely upheld the construction of “one belt, one road”, and hoped that the two sides would strengthen cooperation on trade, investment, financial, energy, car building, infrastructure, 5G mobile communication, smart cities, etc., and enhance exchanges in the fields of education, culture, research, etc..

埃尔多安表示，通过千年古丝绸之路连接起来的土中友好源远流长，今天得到进一步加强。密切的土中关系对地区和平繁荣有重要意义。土耳其致力于发展对华关系，深化对华合作。土方坚定奉行一个中国政策，中国新疆地区各民族居民在中国发展繁荣中幸福地生活是个事实，土方不允许任何人挑拨土中关系。土耳其坚定反对极端主义，愿同中方增进政治互信，加强安全合作。土中合作潜力巨大，土方坚定支持“一带一路”建设，希望双方在“一带一路”框架内加强贸易、投资、金融、能源、汽车制造、基础设施、第五代移动通信、智慧城市等领域合作，增进在教育、文化、科研等领域交流。

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan‘s statement in July this year, according to the Chinese government’s website

Mesut Özil‘s statement this month, according to “The Guardian”:

His Instagram message read: “East Turkistan, the bleeding wound of the Ummah, resisting against the persecutors trying to separate them from their religion. They burn their Qurans. They shut down their mosques. They ban their schools. They kill their holy men. The men are forced into camps and their families are forced to live with Chinese men. The women are forced to marry Chinese men.

“But Muslims are silent. They won’t make a noise. They have abandoned them. Don’t they know that giving consent for persecution is persecution itself?”

____________

Related

Beijing invites fact finding mission, July 9, 2019

___________

Shortwave Logs: Science from the South

–

1. Radio Havana in English: Science from the South

Charles McKelvey, according to the “American Herald Tribune”^*), is an emeritus professor at Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina, USA, and member of the Advisory Council of the Honorary Section of Political Science from the South at the Faculty of Philosophy and History of the University of Havana, Havana, Cuba.

One might read his books, or one might happen on “Notes on the Revolution”, a Radio Havana Cuba (RHC) series with 40 columns to date, about “third World socialist revolutions in power”, which would, in his view, include China, Cuba, and Vietnam.

The program, to effects unknown to this blogger, is edited by RHC editor and presenter Ed Newman.

Picadura Valleys Cattle Breeding Project, Radio Habana Cuba QSL, 1988. The project’s prominent role in the QSL series is no concidence: the project is or was run by Ramón Castro Ruz, » the older brother of the two political leaders. Asked by an American journalist in the late 1970s » what he thought about Cuban-U.S. relations, Castro parried the questions “with a shrug and grin: ‘That’s all politics – I leave that to Fidel. All I know about are cows.'”

____________

^*) not to be confused with the “New York Herald Tribune”
–

2. Radio Ukraine International: reviving 2017

Arne Lietz (SPD, German social democrats) may not have been aware, but he was on the radio on Saturday – on the German program of Radio Ukraine International (RUI, formerly Radio Kiev), that is. And as Russia had already annexed Crimea at the time, and because the Gerhard-Schröder / Martin-Schulz generation have adopted an unnerving pep-talk style^*) decades ago which  dominates social dem speeches to this day, I only realized that something was wrong with the broadcast when Lietz referred to Martin Schulz as the the German Social Democrats’ candidate for chancellor.  That, after all, was more than two years ago.

There was no news broadcast, and, therefore, no way to find out about the mix-up earlier. Besides, Lietz was a member of the European Parliament from 2014 to 2019, but lost his seat in the 2019 EP elections.

Similar mix-ups used to happen with Radio Ukraine International’s English service transmissions by WRMI, an American broadcaster in Florida, some three years ago. At the time, WRMI supposed that mistakes in the audio file names sent by RUI had occasionally led to old news going on air. Radio Ukraine International’s German program is currently aired by a shortwave enthusiasts’ association in Northrhine-Westphalia who are operating a shortwave station in Kall-Krekel.

____________

^*) It’s beginning to dawn on me that while there may be other reasons not to vote for the German social democrats, the way they talk may be one of those reasons. They make you feel as if you were ten years old again, and back in sunday school. (God forbid.)

–

3. Fed Court: Da Silva and Rousseff no part of criminal org

reports Radio Havana. However, a series of legal proceedings concerning alleged bribery continues.

–

Trier: the Statue stands and divides, but Marx isn’t the Problem

This is a sad day in Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The city where Karl Marx was born in 1818 has accepted a Marx statue as a gift from the Chinese state. As news magazine Der Spiegel wrote in March 2017, 42 members of the city parliament supported the idea of taking the statue, seven opposed it, and four abstained. The statue is scheduled to be unveiled this morning.

The BBC quotes Trier’s mayor Wolfram Leibe as saying that “[w]e have accepted it as a gesture of friendship and this statue should encourage people to deal with Karl Marx,” and that “[m]aybe some judgements and prejudices will be revised.”

Katrin Werner, representing the Left Party, argued in 2017 that “Trier should rise to the occasion and “stand by one of its best-known children.”

But this is missing the point. A “present from the PRC” is a present from the regime. A Green deputy put it best, a year ago: “by accepting a gift, you honor the one who makes the present,” he reportedly said. By refusing to take it, Trier could make a case for human rights.

In an interview unrelated to the Trier statue, but about Marx, Gregor Gysi, former head of Germany’s Left Party from 1989 to 1993, and currently president of the Party of the European Left, when asked why Marx’ ideas deserve attention, given that regimes around the world had justified dictatorship and human rights violation with his ideology, suggested that state socialism had abused Marx. What should be striven for was a freedom-based socialism “that picks up the things capitalism does well, that leaves out what capitalism can’t do well, but only with the support of a popular majority”, plus separation of powers.

But while acknowledging that state socialism was a failure, he also pointed out that all (three) attempts to date to establish genuine democratic socialism – the Paris Commune, the Prague Spring, and in Chile – had been struck down by the military.

When it comes to the Greek Chinese gift, even mainstream German media can see some good in Marx: according to Friedrich Engels, he once said that “all I know is that I’m not a Marxist”. After Marx’ death, Engels ascribed this to Marx, in a critical letter to Paul Lafarge, an opponent to reformism.

Leftists may tend to idealizing democratic socialism – as far as I can see, Salvador Allende, one of the democratic socialists cited by Gysi, did not really have a mandate of a majority for “radical” policies.

But many who take gifts from China – even professorships and statues – aren’t terribly interested in Marx anyway – they are interested in Marxists (provided that those are wealthy and generous). In Lower Saxony, the same cabinet that oversaw the delayed award of citizenship to a British-Italian applicant in 2009 (it became a protracted affair, because she was a member of the left party), sounded happy tunes about China’s financing of one-and-a-half professorships at Göttingen University, in 2010.

Marx? God forbid. But money doesn’t stink. And avoiding offense to the CCP spells business for Trier. The feelings of Chinese tourists must not be hurt.

Marx isn’t the problem. But there are still a few problems in his country – his native land, which once forced him into exile.