Xi’s Business Speech: The West has spat into your Porridge

China’s party, military and state leader Xi Jinping spoke to the CPPCC delegates of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce on Monday afternoon local time in Beijing.

One of the takeaways from his speech, probably not surprisingly, was  that he emphasized party leadership over business¹⁾. (Ask Jack Ma if he was surprised.)

^{习近平在看望参加政协会议的民建工商联界委员时强调 正确引导民营经济健康发展高质量发展，新闻联播，2023-03-06}

Maybe somewhat more strikingly, Xi went beyond the usual descriptions of a “difficult” etc. environment for China, and blamed  “containment carried out by Western countries under U.S. leadership” for at least some of the undeniable difficulties China is facing. He combined that with an emphasis on achievements of the past five years, using the phrase of “不易” again – i. e. achievements that hadn’t been easy to come by²⁾

What he did not mention was that no country in the world is obliged to throw first-class technology at China, and that it had been China that tested economic-coercion tools against countries like Australia and Lithuania.

The following is a short translated excerpt from Xi’s speech on Monday.

Xi Jinping pointed out that the five years that followed the party’s 19th National Congress have been extremely unusual and outstanding years. Our country’s external environment has suddenly changed. Uncertain factors that are hard to predict have significantly grown, and especially the Western countries under American leadership have carried out comprehensive containment, blockade and suppression, bringing unprecedented, serious challenges to our country. At the same time, we are facing a multitude of difficulties inside our country, such as repeated corona epidemics and growing downward pressure on the economy. We will adhere to the overall main key of seeking progress within stability, we will rise to the challenges, calmly respond, not believe in evil, we will not fear, won’t seek refuge, average GDP will grow by 5.2 percent, we won the fight against poverty as planned, built a society of moderate prosperity, reached the first two-centenary goal, promoted the party’s and nation’s achievements that have found global attention, and promoted our country’s steps into the construction of a new milestone of comprehensive socialist modernization. The successes of the past five years are the fruit of the entire party and the entire people unitedly struggling, showing the essence of the CPPCC representatives’ contributions.
习近平指出，党的十九大以来的5年，是极不寻常、极不平凡的5年。我国发展的外部环境急剧变化，不确定难预料因素显著增多，尤其是以美国为首的西方国家对我实施了全方位的遏制、围堵、打压，给我国发展带来前所未有的严峻挑战。同时国内也面临新冠疫情反复、经济下行压力增大等多重困难。我们坚持稳中求进工作总基调，迎难而上，沉着应对，不信邪、不怕压、不避难，国内生产总值年均增长5.2%，如期打赢脱贫攻坚战，全面建成小康社会，实现第一个百年奋斗目标，推动党和国家事业取得举世瞩目的重大成就，推动我国迈上全面建设社会主义现代化国家新征程。5年来的成就，是全党全国人民团结奋斗的结果，也凝聚着广大政协委员的贡献。

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Notes

1)	「要引导民营企业和民营企业家正确理解党中央方针政策，增强信心、轻装上阵、大胆发展，实现民营经济健康发展、高质量发展。」
2)	「我们动态优化调整防控政策措施，较短时间实现了疫情防控平稳转段，新冠病亡率保持在全球最低水平，取得疫情防控重大决定性胜利。我们完整、准确、全面贯彻新发展理念，着力构建新发展格局、推动高质量发展，在全球通胀达到40多年来新高的情况下，我国物价总水平保持平稳，全年经济增长3%，在世界主要经济体中是很高的。这些成绩的取得，实属不易。」 Previously: 来之不易 (not easy to come by).

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Related

China’s “multilateralism” only for big powers, CNN / Landsbergis, March 7, 2023
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China’s Position: Ukraine still hopes for the Best

On February 27, Ukraine issued a rejection of sorts of China’s February 24 position paper “on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis”. Advisor to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Mykhailo Podolyak, told “Freedom TV”  that the only effective measure the position paper called for was “immediate cessation of fire.”

“This means that Russia will remain in the occupied territories, we will have a new dividing line, and we will have a slow absorption of Ukraine. That is, the slow death of Ukraine,” the TV station quoted Pdolyak.

The rejection from Zelensky’s office, but only in an unofficial interview, suggests that Kiev doesn’t want to anger Beijing and possibly provoke Chinese lethal-arms supplies to Russia that wouldn’t happen otherwise.

^{中共中央外事工作委员会办公室主任王毅会见乌克兰外长库列巴，慕尼黑，Febr 18, 2023}

In an article published on March 3, “Freedom TV” quotes interviewees as saying that “it is too early to say that China is openly opposing Ukraine”. China’s “global ambitions”, its long common border with Russia, and its dependence on Russian energy supplies as well as the two countries’ traditional alliance are quoted as factors supporting the bilateral relationship, but “Beijing will not sacrifice its own well-being because of Russia, experts are sure”.

Part of China’s “well-beings” is the arable land it owns in Ukraine. It shouldn’t be too difficult to replace, given that Beijing’s investment companies are scouting all continents for farmable land to buy or rent, but it wouldn’t be fun to see the goose being killed by Russia – even if it isn’t quite the “golden” goose.

Besides, at least one of “Voice of America’s” interlocutors, Taiwan International Strategic Study Society director Ching-Sheng Lo (羅慶生), took a rather critical view of China’s food security, a year ago.

Lo Ching-Sheng says: “Having bought that much grain, with storage for a year and a half, there’s nothing to care about – no problem in the short run. If this should turn into an Afghanistan kind of war of twenty years, China’s problems will be very big.”
罗庆生说：“因为中国买了太多粮食的关系，它储存了一年半的粮食，所以一年半之内它不会有事情，所以短期的话没问题。长期的话，如果说变成阿富汗战争那个样子打个20年，那中国的问题就很大了。”

But the Russian hinterland will count more than Ukraine – be it for China’s “global ambitions”, be it for its food security. Beijing took a speaking decision in early February, 2022, a few weeks before the Russian invasion of Ukraine started. Answer to the unfolding crisis: more grain imports from Russia.

Ukraine’s hopes on China are unreasonably high. As Zongyuan Zoe Liu, a fellow for international political economy at the Council on Foreign Relations, recently wrote,

The party can survive setbacks in the chip war, but the stakes are much higher in the fight for food security. Failure on the food security front will threaten the survival of the regime.

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Related

Kuleba addresses Asia, March 22, 2022

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EU: “Just protecting the freedom of expression”

All the news that’s fit to blog.

Fri, Febr 24, 2023	One year after the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war, China publishes a Confucius-says “position paper”. Originally, it had been advised as a “peace plan” by China’s supreme diplomat Wang Yi, but has since been de-ambitioned. Meantime, China’s foreign-ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) offers a clue as to why: FMPRC tweet, Febr 24, 2023
Thu, Febr 23, 2023	The central committee of Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民進黨) approved a timetable that presidential nominations would be decided by April 12, and Legislative Yuan nominations in May. It appears to be widely accepted among the party’s legislators that, in the light of a poor showing in Taiwan’s “mid-term elections”, i. e. the country’s local elections in November 2022, more time is needed to prepare for the nation-wide presidential and legislative elections next year. Lai Ching-te, the incumbent Tsai administration’s current Vice President, has recently been elected chairman of the DPP, and Chen Jien-jen, Lai’s predecessor as Taiwan’s Vice President from 2016 to 2020, became head of the cabinet in January this year. Source: 央廣 / Radio Taiwan International
Wed, Febr 22, 2023	High-level foreign-policy and defense officials from Japan and China met at Japan’s foreign ministry in Tokyo on Wednesday. It was the first such meeting after an interruption of about four years. Chinese Deputy foreign minister Sun Weidong (孙卫东) was quoted as saying that there was “an important consensus” that neither country posed a threat for the other. However, Sun also said that there were Chinese concerns about Japan’s “strategic documents” issued in 2022, and Japan’s increasing cooperation with “outside forces” (域外力量), and about “negative tendencies” in Taiwan. Source: Radio Japan
Wed, Febr 22, 2023	Russian president Vladimir Putin met China’s chief diplomat Wang Yi in Moscow on Wednesday. The Kremlin published a detailed account of the meeting the same day. Source: Kremlin
Wed, Febr 15, 2023	Pyongyang was said to have gone under a Covid-related lockdown in late January, allegedly lasting from January 25 to 30. But was there a lockdown at all? Source: SinoNK
Tue, Febr 14, 2023	Chen Xuyuan (陈戌源) was – effectively, maybe not nominally yet – fired as chairman of the Chinese Football Association earliert his month, after having been confronted with the usual suspicions of “serious violations of discipline”, which appears to serve as a regular CPC codeword for corruption charges. Chen, a Shanghai native born in 1956, was also the football association’s deputy party secretary. Source: Ifeng
Mo, Febr 13, 2023	“Less then half the world is on the internet”, a BBC documentary broadcast told the audience on February 11, two days ahead of World Radio Day. Source: BBC
Tue, Febr 7, 2023	Critics of the EU’s censorship policy against Russia’s foreign-language service “RT” had a field day early this month, after the EU’s high-representative for for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, had told a “European Union External Action” (EEAS) conference that by imposing “restrictive measures on the Kremlin’s propaganda machinery and effectively ban them from operating within the European Union”, “we are not attacking the freedom of expression, we are just protecting the freedom of expression”. The EU’s “restrictive measures” aren’t limited to banning RT work from within the EU. Access to RT from EU countries is only possible via VPN. This includes the organization’s German and Chinese services. Main Source: EEAS

The State of Xi – Dented, but Dominant?

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Friday nights in Sanlitun are reportedly busy:

Increasing numbers of people are going around maskless too. Fear of the virus is receding in Beijing, at least among the young. Most have already been infected anyway.

Reactions abroad aren’t that sanguine: those who dare to, introduce controls.Passengers arriving in Taiwan from China have had to undergo nucleic acid tests since Wednesday (December 28), South Korea has announced restrictions on visa for Chinese travellers until the end of January, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and France have introduced restrictions or are about to do so, but Germany is too busy working on its national security strategy – not least because the federal states demand to participate in its definition.
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The State of Xi

The Chinese leadership, according to Xi Jinping at the Chinese People’s Consultative Conference’s tea meeting on Friday, has reason to celebrate:

We have solemnly celebrated the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, resolutely fought against “Taiwan independence” splittist behavior and foreign forces’ interference. We have continued to promote great-power diplomacy with Chinese characteristics and maintained overall stability within the general external environment. These successes haven’t been easy to achieve. They are the fruits of united struggle by the entire party, the entire army, the entire nation’s nationalities – the fruits of tenacious struggle.
我们隆重庆祝香港回归祖国25周年。我们对“台独”分裂行径和外部势力干涉进行坚决斗争。我们继续推进中国特色大国外交，维护外部环境总体稳定。这些成绩来之不易，是全党全军全国各族人民团结奋斗、顽强拼搏的结果。

Let’s have some tea together

Deng Yuguan, a regular columnist for the Chinese service of the “Voice of America”, believes that his (rather gloomy, apparently)  predictions of last year, concerning China and Xi Jinping’s government, have come true. Among those, China’s external environment hasn’t been favorable in 2022 (外部环境和中国面临的地缘政治让中国好起来的因素没有出现). The party leaders with Xi as the core etc. would agree: “a turbulent and unsafe environment outside China’s borders” (外部环境动荡不安，给我国经济带来的影响加深) is what they called it after their annual economic work conference on December 15 and 16.
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Deng sanctimoniously deplores that the situation now was even worse than his predictions, and that “Xi’s image has quickly fallen from his divine pedestal” (习的形象从高高在上的神坛快速跌落). That said, it’s just Xi’s image, not the guy himself yet, and some of the examples Deng cites to prove the great helmsman’s decline are as evil as you’d expect, but, by Chinese standards, also rather trivial: the Li Tiantian “incident” (李田田事件[编辑]), tennis star Peng Shuai’s sexual-assault allegations against Zhang Gaoli and her disappearance, and the “Xuzhou chained woman incident”. Then Deng moves to China’s lockdown policies, and to what turned out to be “the failure to fight the pandemic” (抗疫的失败对习的权威是巨大打击). Those, of course, are real blunders, but his conclusions may still be somewhat far-reaching, concerning Xi’s reign.
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There had been some ups and downs already, such as the trade standoff with the Trump administration, but every time, Xi had been able to defend his status – most recently by stopping the spread of Covid within China, successfuly sold as Chinese victories over the West to the Chinese public (although only for a while, until people lost patience), writes Deng.
He doesn’t go as far as to suggest that Xi will be toppled, but

Now, he has started his third term at the 20th party national congress with a unified Xi team, but the failure to fight the pandemic – while it apparently hasn’t hurt his grip on power – has seen him crossing the peak of his power and authority, and entering a downward spiral.
如今，他虽然在二十大如愿以偿开启第三任期，并建立了一个清一色的习氏班子，抗疫的失败看起来并未动摇他对权力的绝对掌控，可从毛的案例来看，他跨过了权力和权威的巅峰期，进入下行通道。

Comparing Xi’s situation with Mao’s after the latter’s numerous setbacks, Deng doubts that Xi would be able to overthrow everything that opposes him and restore his power and authority that way. On the other hand, while weakened, he isn’t likely to be sidelined either, writes Deng, and so much for the rendition of his VoA column.
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If the U.S.-led policy on semi-conductor restrictions on China should turn out to be successful, Xi’s greatest mistake will probably turn out to be China’s “more assertive” role after 2012. The “wolf-warrior diplomacy” was utterly useless (except for those attacked by it – Sweden, Lithuania, South Korea and many other countries have gained new insights on what a “powerful” China will do, and the U.S. seems to have gained some insights, too.  Much of the “turbulent and unsafe environment outside China’s borders” (CPC speak, see above) is a world made by China itself. Beijing hasn’t been powerful enough (yet) to shape the world in a way to its liking, but they’ve successfully left unpleasant turds all through the five continents.
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Meantime, not all the news is bad for Beijing.

Tired of a too-strong and newly weaponized greenback, some of the world’s biggest economies are exploring ways to circumvent the US currency,

notes a signed Bloomberg article. That’s not to say that the dollar is going to hell in a basket, according to the authors, but both sanctions and “[t]he he US currency’s rampant gains have [..] made Asian officials more aggressive in their attempts at diversification“.

So, let’s think of the dollars future reign (for whatever period) as something like Xi Jinping’s reign over China (according to Deng’s VoA column): possibly somewhat dented, but dominant all the same.

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Related

新年茶话会，习近平发表重要讲话, CPBS, Dec 31, 2022
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Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) Christmas Program on Shortwave, 2022 (01)

If Germany’s Northern German Radio (Norddeutscher Rundfunk, NDR) has it right in its December 2022 schedule, the traditional program of greetings from the shore to the Seven Seas (minus the Pacific, it seems) will be on air on Christmas Eve from 18:03 to 21:00 UTC. That would be in line with last year’s broadcasting time, which was also just three instead of the traditional four hours.

^{Hello World, this is Leer calling}
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»»»»» Beginning of Update, Nov 30, 2022

Times and frequencies

Target Areas	Schedule Nov 26 (now invalid)	Schedule Nov 30 (most recently)
Atlantic (North)	6145 kHz
Atlantic (South)	9830 kHz	13725 kHz
Atlantic (Northwest)	—	15770 kHz
Atlantic (Northeast)	—	6030 kHz
Atlantic / Indian Ocean	9590 kHz	11650 kHz
Indian Ocean	—	9740 kHz
Indian Ocean (West)	9740 kHz
Indian Ocean (East)	9675 kHz
Europe	6155 kHz	6080 kHz

This leaves us with some guesswork, but tradition and target areas seem to suggest that the Atlantics will be served from Nauen (Germany) or from Issoudun (France). and 6155 kHz look like Moosbrunn (Austria), especially as the Austrian Broadcasting Service (Österreichischer Rundfunk Service, ORS) seem to target all of Europe (360°) from there with their daily morning and midday broadcasts in German.

But to be honest, I’m really wildly guessing. Hopefully, NDR will follow up with some more details about transmitter sites, soon.

Still update, Nov 30, 2022

I’m not sure how the NDR schedule had arrived at the previous schedule (Nov 26) – those weren’t last year’s Christmas frequencies either. But moving up the spectrum makes sense, as maximum usable frequencies have been rising for a while, and are likely to do so until about 2025.

End of update Nov 30 «««««

In some ways, the program seems to be going back to normal as far as its  format is concerned. People are no longer confined to their computers and the internet – people meet again. Christmas messages from seafarers’ relatives ashore will be pre-recorded in Leer (East Frisia / Ostfriesland) on December 11, and in Hamburg on December 18, in settings as christmaslike as possible, 13 or six days ahead of the big day (or night) itself.

What will be missing this year (it appears) is the religious service – the only part of the traditional shortwave broadcasts that actually used to be live on the air. That would follow at 22:00 UTC, but only on VHF, digital, or streamed.

German Chancellor’s first China Visit: Opportunities and Liabilities

It is going to be the first visit to China for German chancellor Olaf Scholz who took office late last year with a three-party coalition (SPD, Greens, and FDP).

On Friday (November 4), he is scheduled to meet “President” Xi Jinping, according to his office’s website, and following that, a meeting his planned with him and Li Keqiang, his actual colleague as head of a government. Bilateral relations, international topics such as climate change, Russia’s “war of aggression” against Ukraine and the situation in the east Asian region are said to be on the agenda. “Federal Chancellor Scholz will be accompanied by a business delegation during his visit”, the office’s statement concludes.

^{Not everybody’s first visit}
Shanghai’s “Jiefang Daily” suggests^*) that

many European companies have experienced serious economic problems this year, because of the energy crisis, high inflation, rising interest rates and problems like the economic slowdown. It is crucial for these European companies to make up for these losses in Europe by profiting from the Chinese market. Brudermüller for example, CEO at Germany’s chemical giant BASF, plans to further expand BASF’s “favorable investments” in China. It’s business report shows that unlike in Europe, results in China have been positive.
欧洲很多企业今年以来由于能源危机、高通胀、利率上升和经济放缓等遭遇严重经营困难。对这些欧洲企业来说，用中国市场的收益弥补在欧洲的亏损至关重要。比如德国化工巨头巴斯夫集团首席执行官薄睦乐就打算进一步扩大巴斯夫在中国的“有利投资”。业绩报告显示，与在欧洲的亏损不同，巴斯夫集团在中国的增长一直是正向的。

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Michelin’s business report, said to have been published on October 25, also shows rapidly rising sales in China, in contrast with an eight-percent drop in Europe, “Jiefang Daily” reports.

Michelin’s handsome China numbers notwithstanding, the “Global Times”, a Chinese paper for a foreign readership, blames a “sour-grape” mentality for France’s differences with Germany’s China policy. Those differences probably exist, with Paris being more skeptical about Chinese “opportunities” than Berlin, but you might consider Germany’s dependence on Chinese export markets as a liability, rather than as an opportunity, just as well.

While the SPD remains highly cooperative when it comes to China business, both its coalition partners have advised caution. And while it may be difficult to forecast a trend of future German investment in, exports to and supply chain connections with China, there are statements from German business circles you wouldn’t have heard a few years ago.

China itself rather bets on protectionism, but wants to get into the act globally, including in Germany (China setzt selbst eher auf Abschottung, will aber überall in der Welt mehr mitmischen, auch bei uns in Deutschland),

German weekly “Focus” quotes Martin Wansleben, head of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce.  Scholz should champion clear-cut rules.
It isn’t only France that is concerned about Germany’s economic dependence on China. “Voice of America’s” (VoA) Chinese service, too, points out that “the West shows growing concern about Chinese trade practices and its human rights record”, as well as unease about “Germany’s dependence on the world’s second-largest economic body” (对德国对中国这个世界第二大经济体的依赖感到不安).

VoA also quotes a German government spokesman as saying that while Berlin’s view on China had changed, “decoupling” from China was opposed by Berlin.

When you keep pressing people for a while, the main problem appears to be China’s aggressive policy against Taiwan. Most Germans (this blogger included) never expected that Russia would really invade Ukraine. Now that this has happened, peoples’ imagination has become somewhat more animated – and realistic.

The Social Democrats are more skeptical than its middle- and upper-class coalition partners when it comes to the West’s human-rights agenda, and rightly so. (If China put all its SOEs on international sale, you wouldn’t hear a word about the Uyghurs from Western governments anymore.)

But the Russian-Chinese alliance is a fact, and so is that alliance’s preparedness to annex third countries. That is something the Social Dems can’t ignore. If the press, the oppositional CDU/CSU and the SPD’s coalition partners statements are something to go by, the tide of German integration with China’s economy is being reversed.

“Nothing speaks against German SMEs continuing to import their special nuts and bolts from China”, a columnist mused on German news platform t-online last week, but not without a backup source.

China’s propaganda doesn’t look at Scholz’ visit in a way isolated from its other global contacts. In fact, the German visitor is mentioned in a row with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyễn Phú Trọng, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan – all of them bearing testimony, or so the propaganda suggests, of how attractive “Chinese opportunities” (中国机遇) actually are.

But Germany’s dependence on China, while worrying and in need to be cut back substantively, shouldn’t be viewed in an isolated way either. Scholz visit won’t even last for a full day, without an overnight stay, and also in November, Scholz will travel to Vietnam. Statistics appear to suggest that German industry will find backup sources there – if not first sources just as well.

And Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s foreign minister and one of the leaders of the SPD’s China-skeptic Green coalition partner, is currently travelling Central Asia. All the countries there “once hoped to be a bridge between Russia, China, and Europe,” German broadcaster NTV quotes her – the European Union needed to provide Central Asia with opportunities. Options beyond Russia and China, that is.

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Notes

*)	“Jiefang” actually “quotes foreign media”, but Chinese propaganda is often very creative in doing so – therefore no names here.

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Xi’s Kitchen Cabinet (2): Li Qiang

The following is a translation of a report that toes a fine line between coming across as a moderately modest local hero, giving credit to your great sponsor, and still make people aware of your personal rise through the ranks. Li Qiang doesn’t visibly dominate the article and leaves a lot of space to Xi Jinping’s role in “Shanghai’s story”.

The article was published by Xinhua, in June 2021.

Apart from that, readers may get an idea of some of the key words in the megacity’s projects, and not least about the world according to Beijing.

Surveys about other nation’s attitudes towards China, certainly when published by Western media, often focus on OECD countries’ attitudes. At least when it comes to third-world countries’ “elites”, the picture can be different, and given the many failures of development projects in the past of the “global South”, the Chinese model does often sell there – especially when it comes with grants and scholarships.

This is the second part of a series about Xi’s kitchen cabinet, the 20th Politburo’s Standing Commission.

Previously posted:

Xi’s Kitchen Cabinet: (1): For what we are about to receive

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^{Top left: Li Qiang; top right: Song Tao}

Main Link:

The China Communist Party’s Story – the Practice of Xi Jinping Thought on New Era Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in Shanghai

Xinhua, Shanghai, June 16, report by Wu Yu.
Jointly organized by the International Liaison Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and the Communist Party of China Shanghai Municipal Committee, a dialogue under the name “China Communist Party’s Story – the Practice of Xi Jinping Thought on New Era Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in Shanghai” was carried out in Shanghai on June 16. Titled “Set out for the Dream, Witness the Wonders”, the world was shown the Communist Party of China’s glorious course through the century, and especially the party’s great achievements since its 18th National Congress, [illustrated by] the great changes from Shanghai as the party’s birthplace to the forefront of reform and opening up. 126 political parties and friendly organizatons with more than 740 representatives took part through video link, and ambassadors from more than 40 countries were present at the meeting.
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新华社上海6月16日电（记者吴宇）由中共中央对外联络部和中共上海市委共同主办的“中国共产党的故事——习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想在上海的实践”特别对话会16日在上海举行。对话会以“启航梦想，见证奇迹”为主题，通过上海从中国共产党的诞生地到中国改革开放前沿阵地的沧桑巨变，向世界展现中国共产党百年光辉历程，特别是党的十八大以来以习近平同志为核心的党中央带领中国取得的伟大成就。来自近100个国家、126个政党和友好组织的740多名代表通过视频连线参加对话会，40多个国家驻华大使现场出席会议。
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Li Qiang, member of the CPC Central Committee’s Politburo and Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, said in his address that Shanghai is the birthplace of the CPC, the place from where the CPC’s dream set out, a window for the world on China, a hub that connects China with the world, and a main carrier for major national strategies. Since the CPC’s 19th National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has personally visited Shanghai in four consecutive years, issued strategic arrangements for Shanghai’s development, poured in great momentum, Shanghai became more radiant by the day, an even more dazzling pearl of the Orient.
Binding together the vivid stories of the rise of Luziazui Financial City‘s rise, the Huangpu and Suzhou Rivers’ shoreline linkup, the “two networks” in step with the municipality (integrated online government services, “management on one website”), [Li Qiang] described Shanghai’s concrete practice in Pudong’s development and opening up, in people’s city building and megacity administration. He said that under the guidance of Xi Jinping’s Socialism with Chinese Characteristics Thought, Shanghai will unswervingly follow the road of liberating thought, deepening reform, orientation towards the world, and of broadening openness, of smashing routine, creating new breakthroughs, and of constantly producing extraordinary achievements that are worthy of the party’s place of origin.
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中共中央政治局委员、上海市委书记李强在致辞中表示，上海是中国共产党的诞生地，是中国共产党梦想启航的地方，也是世界观察中国的窗口、中国链接世界的枢纽、国家重大战略的重要承载地。中共十九大以来，习近平总书记连续四年亲临上海，为上海发展作出战略擘画、注入强大动力，上海正日益焕发出更加璀璨的光彩，成为更加耀眼的东方明珠。李强结合陆家嘴金融城兴起、黄浦江苏州河“一江一河”岸线贯通、政务服务“一网通办”和城市运行“一网统管”“两张网”建设等生动故事，讲述了上海在浦东开发开放、人民城市建设、超大城市治理方面的具体实践，表示上海将在习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想指引下，坚定走解放思想、深化改革之路，面向世界、扩大开放之路，打破常规、创新突破之路，不断创造无愧于党的诞生地的不凡业绩。
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Song Tao, director of the International Liaison Department of the Chinese Communist Party, said that Shanghai, as the place where the dream of the Communist Party of China had set out from, had witnessed the beginnings of the great cause of the CPC’s founding, witnessed the quantum leap of China standing up, prospering and its rise to become a strong country. Over the past century, the CPC had persisted in following the goal of the people’s happiness, in the struggle towards the goal of the nations’s great rejuvenation, and especially since the party’s 18th national congress, under the strong leadership of the party’s central committee with Xi Jinping as the core, all the party’s and the state’s undertakings had achieved historic successes. The masses’ sense of gain, feeling of happiness and sense of security had been enormously improved, and so had China’s international status and influence. The Communist Party had also always striven for the cause of mankind’s progress. As for the future, the CPC wants to work with political parties from all the countries of the world to strengthen friendly contacts, to bring together the majestic power of building the Community of common destiny for mankind, and to make new and greater contributions global peaceful development and the progress of mankind.
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中共中央对外联络部部长宋涛表示，上海作为中国共产党梦想启航地方，见证了中国共产党成立这一开天辟地的大事，见证了中国从站起来到富起来、强起来的伟大飞跃。一百年来，中国共产党坚持把为人民谋幸福、为民族谋复兴作为奋斗目标，特别是党的十八大以来，在以习近平同志为核心的党中央坚强领导下，党和国家的各项事业取得历史性成就，人民群众的获得感、幸福感和安全感极大提升，中国的国际地位和影响力极大提升。中国共产党也一直为人类进步事业而奋斗。展望未来，中国共产党愿同世界各国政党加强友好往来，凝聚构建人类命运共同体的磅礴力量，为世界和平发展和人类进步事业作出新的更大贡献。
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The representatives of political parties etc. participating in the meeting earnestly listened to the story of Shanghai’s economic and social development and the people’s improved standard of living, narrated by representatives from all walks of life in Shanghai. Chairman of the Socialist Party of Serbia and President of Parliament Ivica Dačić, Cambodian People’s Party Central Committee’s Standing Committee and Second Vice President of Cambodia’s National Assembly Khuon Sodary, the Party of the European Left‘s first vice chairperson Mola, Gabonese Democratic Party‘s General Secretary¹⁾ Bounguendza, Panama Democratic Revolutionary Party General Secretary González, People’s Democratic Party of Tajikistan vice chairman²⁾ Yousufei etc. warmly congratulated on the CPC’s 100th founding anniversary and its successes that had caught the attention of the world. They said that the CPC’s foundation had not only greatly changed China’s development process, but also contributed significantly to world peace and global development, having become a model for study by the world’s political parties, and an example to learn from. Following the CPC’s 18th national congress, the Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core had proposed the “Belt and Road” initiative, helping developing countries to achieve greater development, vividly adding to the concept of a Community of common destiny for mankind. They hoped to strengthen exchanges with the CPC about government experience, and to advance pragmatic cooperation in all fields so as to benefit all countries and peoples even better.
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与会政党代表等认真听取了上海各界人士代表讲述上海经济社会发展和人民生活水平提升的故事。塞尔维亚社会党主席、议长达契奇，柬埔寨人民党中央常委、国会第二副主席昆索达莉，欧洲左翼党第一副主席莫拉，加蓬民主党总书记本根扎，巴拿马民主革命党总书记冈萨雷斯，塔吉克斯坦人民民主党副主席尤苏菲等在发言中热烈祝贺中国共产党百年华诞和取得的举世瞩目成就，表示中国共产党的成立不仅极大改变了中国的发展进程，也为世界和平、发展与进步作出了重大贡献，成为世界政党研究、借鉴和学习的榜样。中共十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的中共中央提出“一带一路”倡议、助力发展中国家实现更大发展，生动诠释了人类命运共同体理念。愿同中国共产党加强治国理政经验交流，促进各领域务实合作，更多造福各国和各国人民。
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Notes

1)	the title might look revolutionary, but Wikipedia suggests that his party is center-right
2)	supposing this is a man

To be continued.

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Related

Many Miracles, “China Daily”, June 18, 2021
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Li Zhanshu: “Russia made an important Choice and acted firmly”

Meeting Valentina Ivanovna Matviyenko
Xinwen Lianbo, Sept 11, 2022

Li Zhanshu’s talk isn’t exactly going viral on Chinese mass media, and appears to be only just beginning to catch attention on Twitter . The current Chairman of the Standing Committee of the “National People’s Congress” (China’s rubberstamp parliament), told Russian parliament speaker Vyacheslav Volodin and leaders of Russian parliament factions that

We see that the United States and its NATO allies are expanding their presence near the Russian borders, seriously threatening national security and the lives of Russian citizens. We fully understand the necessity of all the measures taken by Russia aimed at protecting its key interests, we are providing our assistance,

and

On the Ukrainian issue, we see how they have put Russia in an impossible situation. And in this case, Russia made an important choice and responded firmly

A transcript (and a much-shared video) on Twitter in Chinese:

对俄罗斯在核心利益和重大关切问题，中方对俄罗斯也是表示理解和充分的支持。就像现在的乌克兰问题，美国和北约直接逼到俄罗斯的家门口，涉及到俄罗斯的国家安全和人民的生命安全，在这种情况下，俄罗斯采取认为适合应当的一些措施，中方是表示理解的，并且从不同方面给予策应。

栗战书：“对俄罗斯在核心利益和重大关切问题，中方对俄罗斯也是表示理解和充分的支持。就像现在的乌克兰问题，美国和北约直接逼到俄罗斯的家门口，涉及到俄罗斯的国家安全和人民的生命安全，在这种情况下，俄罗斯采取认为适合应当的一些措施，中方是表示理解的，并且从不同方面给予策应。”） https://t.co/MGaeCh9GUZ

— Wen 💙💛 (@wenyunchao) September 14, 2022

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The translator adds a disclaimer, saying he doesn’t understand Li’s Shanxi accent too well, but that this is about what he said.