Xi takes the new Standing Committee to Yan'an
The destination of the Standing Committee for its first group visit after a Party Congress is very important. These trips are designed to signal key themes for the years ahead.
Xi took the new Standing Committee on a pilgrimage to Yan’an. In 2017 he took them to the site of the first Party Congress meeting in Shanghai, and in 2012 he led the new team to the “Road towards Rejuvenation” exhibition in Beijing. The general themes from the 18th and 19th Standing Committee first visits in the Xi Era were:
2012 - National Rejuvenation;
2017 - Remaining true to our original aspiration and keeping our mission firmly in mind.
According to the readout of the Yan’an visit:
“Xi Jinping stressed the need to carry forward the great spirit of party building, carry forward the spirit of Yan'an, firm up historical confidence, strengthen historical initiative, carry forward the spirit of struggle, and unite in striving to achieve the goals and tasks proposed by the 20th Party Congress”
习近平强调，要弘扬伟大建党精神，弘扬延安精神，坚定历史自信，增强历史主动，发扬斗争精神，为实现党的二十大提出的目标任务而团结奋斗
The lead picture in the Xinhua report is of Xi standing at the site of the 1945 Seventh Party Congress, with a painting of Mao Zedong and Zhu De above the stage:
As Gao Hua wrote on page 701 of his book How the Red Sun Rose: The Origin and Development of the Yan'an Rectification Movement, 1930–1945 about the Seventh Party Congress:
The official readout of the visit includes these comments from Xi:
Xi Jinping pointed out that during the Yan'an period, with its tenacious spirit of struggle and superb struggling skills, the Party effectively carried out the fight against Japanese militarist aggression, effectively coped with a series of major challenges such as the Xi'an incident, the July 7 incident, and the Chongqing negotiations, effectively led and commanded the national revolutionary struggle, effectively coped with the key attacks of the Kuomintang troops in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, and opened up a new situation in the Chinese revolution by relying on millet and rifles. The comrades of the whole party should carry forward the spirit of struggle, enhance their ability in struggle, resolutely overcome all kinds of difficulties and challenges on the road ahead, and rely on tenacious struggle to open up new horizons for the development of our cause.
习近平指出，延安时期，党以顽强的斗争精神和高超的斗争本领，有力开展了抗击日本军国主义侵略的斗争，有力应对了西安事变、七七事变、重庆谈判等一系列重大挑战，有力领导和指挥了全国革命斗争，有力应对了国民党军队对陕甘宁边区的重点进攻，靠小米加步枪打开了中国革命新局面。全党同志要发扬斗争精神、提高斗争本领，坚决战胜前进道路上的各种困难和挑战，依靠顽强斗争打开事业发展新天地。
Among the signals Xi appears to be sending, again, is prepare for difficult times ahead, and prepare for struggle. In his comments he also mentions the need for “a firm and correct political direction” and “solidly promote common prosperity”.
Summary of the Essential Eight:
Personnel appointments - Li Shulei is officially heading the propaganda department, Shi Taifeng is officially the new head of the United Front Work Department, SingTao reports that Beijing mayor Chen Jining will not replace Cai Qi as Beijing Party Secretary but is instead going to Shanghai as Party Secretary, and there is talk that the NPC Standing Committee will make Li Qiang a vice premier soon, before the March 2023 NPC.
Covid - More cities are reporting outbreaks and lockdowns. Xining, Lhasa and Zhengzhou in particular sound bad, but it is very hard to get a clear picture as there are likely some deficiencies with the reported data in at least some areas. Apple should be concerned about the outbreak at the Zhengzhou Foxconn facility, both in terms of making sure Foxconn is taking care of its workers and about how it may impact production.
Russia-China - In a speech Putin said Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was a provocation, Xi is a “close friend” and that he did not warn Xi about the Ukraine invasion. Wang Yi spoke with his counterpart Sergey Lavrov to brief him on the 20th Party Congress and tell him that “China will also firmly support the Russian side, under the leadership of President Putin, to unite and lead the Russian people to overcome difficulties, eliminate disturbances, realize strategic development goals and further establish Russia's status as a great power on the international stage”.
There was no mention on Ukraine in the PRC readout of the Wang-Lavrov call.Correction: The readout notes they did discuss Ukraine 双方还就乌克兰及共同关心的国际和地区问题交换了意见。US chip controls - The US official in charge of BIS, the bureau inside the Department of Commerce implementing the new chip controls, told a DC event that the US expects allies to get on board with the controls, and that further controls around biotech and AI are likely. I wonder if the US can really get the Netherlands on board, given how much influence ASML has in the Hague
US-China - Xi sent a letter to the annual gala of the NCUSCR Wednesday, saying “China stands ready to work with the United States to find the right way to get along with each other in the new era”. On Thursday the US Department of Defense released a public version of the 2022 National Defense Strategy which stated that the “most comprehensive and serious challenge to U.S. national security is the PRC's coercive and increasingly aggressive endeavor to refashion the Indo-Pacific region and the international system to suit its interests and authoritarian preferences”.
Local government finances - Caixin reports that the local government land sales shell game is on hold at least in some places, after the Ministry of Finance decided to crack down again. But fiscal revenues were up 8.4% year-on-year in September, in part from “a 39.7% jump in nontax revenue…some localities have been selling idle state-owned assets including properties and mining rights in large quantities, and making efforts to collect other types of nontax revenue such as fines.”
Wall Street Journal on the Meng Wanzhou arrest and the Two Michaels hostage saga - It is a great story with lots of details of the back and forth negotiations to finally negotiate a deal, and some more details about the awful conditions in which Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were held. The WSJ writes that after Meng Wanzhou was detained in Canada “China’s Ministry of Public Security, which had a list of Canadian names, proposed two for [Xi] to select.“ And Xi picked the two Michaels, according to this report.
Thanks for reading, and look forward to the weekly discussion and a big announcement for paid subscribers Friday.
The Essential Eight
1. Xi takes the Standing Committee to Yan'an
Abridged Xinhua translation - Xi stresses striving in unity to fulfill goals set by Party congress-Xinhua
Xi Jinping...on Thursday stressed promoting the great founding spirit of the Party and the spirit of Yan'an, and striving in unity to fulfill the goals and tasks set by the 20th CPC National Congress.
Xi, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, led Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi, members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, in a trip to Yan'an, an old revolutionary base in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.
The first stop for Xi and the other leaders on Thursday was the site of the Seventh National Congress of the CPC.
The congress held in 1945 is of milestone significance in the history of the CPC, marking the Party's becoming more mature politically, ideologically and in terms of its organization, Xi said.
Politically, the entire Party was united under the banner of Mao Zedong, and ideologically, the guiding role of Mao Zedong Thought for the whole Party was established and Mao Zedong Thought was incorporated into the Party Constitution, Xi said...
In an important speech delivered after visiting the exhibition, Xi hailed Yan'an as a holy site of the Chinese revolution and the cradle of New China. He noted that it was in Yan'an that the Party's Central Committee and veteran revolutionaries, including Mao Zedong, led China's revolutionary cause from a low point into an upsurge, reached a historical turning point, and transformed the prospects of the country...
He called on all members of the Party to promote the fighting spirit, strengthen the fighting capacity, resolutely overcome various difficulties and challenges ahead, and harness the indomitable fighting spirit to open up new horizons for the cause of the Party and the country.
Xinhua/CCTV Evening News on the visit. Starting at about 6:15 Xi gives a speech, the report shows Xi talking for about about 9 minutes. - 习近平在瞻仰延安革命纪念地时强调 弘扬伟大建党精神和延安精神 为实现党的二十大提出的目标任务而团结奋斗--时政--人民网
Some excerpts:
Xi...led..Standing Committee...to revisit the momentous years of the Party Central Committee in Yan'an during the revolutionary war, to remember the great achievements of the old generation of revolutionaries, to declare the new central leadership collective will continue the red bloodline, inherit the spirit of struggle, and handing over new excellent results to history and the people... Xi Jinping stressed the need to carry forward the great spirit of party building, carry forward the spirit of Yan'an, firm up historical confidence, strengthen historical initiative, carry forward the spirit of struggle, and unite in striving to achieve the goals and tasks proposed by the 20th Party Congress...
党的二十大闭幕不到一周，中共中央总书记、国家主席、中央军委主席习近平带领中共中央政治局常委李强、赵乐际、王沪宁、蔡奇、丁薛祥、李希，专程从北京前往陕西延安，瞻仰延安革命纪念地，重温革命战争时期党中央在延安的峥嵘岁月，缅怀老一辈革命家的丰功伟绩，宣示新一届中央领导集体赓续红色血脉、传承奋斗精神，在新的赶考之路上向历史和人民交出新的优异答卷的坚定信念。习近平强调，要弘扬伟大建党精神，弘扬延安精神，坚定历史自信，增强历史主动，发扬斗争精神，为实现党的二十大提出的目标任务而团结奋斗...
The narrator introduced the process of creating and singing the song "The East is Red" based on the folk song "White Horse Tune", and sang it on the spot. Xi Jinping pointed out that these literary works praising the Party and Chairman Mao are spontaneous creations of the people, fully demonstrating that the people chose Mao Zedong, the people embraced Mao Zedong... [Bill: This is a hint "spontaneous creations of the people" may now be "allowed" to demonstrate the people chose and embrace Xi?]
讲解员介绍了当年陕北人民在民歌《白马调》基础上创作和传唱歌曲《东方红》的过程，并现场作了演唱。习近平指出，这些歌颂党、歌颂毛主席的文艺作品都是人民群众自发创作的，充分说明人民选择了毛泽东，人民拥戴毛泽东...
Xi Jinping said with deep emotion, I lived and worked in the Yan'an area for seven years, my father's generation also went out from here, I am very familiar with this place. When I was in northern Shaanxi, every time I passed through Yan'an, I had to come to the site of the Seventh Congress, Yangjialing, Zao Yuan, Phoenix Hill and other old revolutionary sites to see. After working in the central government, I came to Yan'an three times to study and research. This time the Central Politburo Standing Committee comrades to come together to declare that the new central leadership collective will inherit and carry forward the excellent revolutionary traditions and style of the party formed during the Yan'an period, to carry forward the spirit of Yan'an.
习近平满怀深情地说，我在延安地区生活劳动了7年，我的父辈也是从这里走出去的，我对这里十分熟悉。当年在陕北插队的时候，每次路过延安，我都要来七大会址、杨家岭、枣园、凤凰山等革命旧址看一看。到中央工作后，先后3次来延安考察调研。这次和中央政治局常委同志一起来，就是要宣示新一届中央领导集体将继承和发扬延安时期党形成的优良革命传统和作风，弘扬延安精神。
Xi Jinping stressed that the glorious traditions and fine style formed and carried forward during the Yan'an period, cultivating the Yan'an spirit with a firm and correct political direction, the ideological line of emancipation of thinking and seeking truth from facts, the fundamental purpose of wholeheartedly serving the people, and the entrepreneurial spirit of self-reliance and hard work are valuable spiritual assets of the Party and should be passed on from generation to generation.
习近平强调，在延安时期形成和发扬的光荣传统和优良作风，培育形成的以坚定正确的政治方向、解放思想实事求是的思想路线、全心全意为人民服务的根本宗旨、自力更生艰苦奋斗的创业精神为主要内容的延安精神，是党的宝贵精神财富，要代代传承下去。
Xi Jinping pointed out that a firm and correct political direction is the essence of the Yan'an spirit. In 1938, Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out at the Yan'an Anti-Japanese Military and Political University [KangDa] when answering "what should be studied in KangDa?" that "the first thing is to study a political direction." The comrades of the whole party must adhere to the correct political orientation, resolutely implement the party's basic theory, basic line, and basic strategy, resolutely implement the decisions and arrangements of the party Central Committee, and continue to push forward the great cause pioneered by revolutionaries of the older generation.
习近平指出，坚定正确的政治方向是延安精神的精髓。1938年，毛泽东同志在延安抗日军政大学回答“在抗大应当学习什么”时指出，“首先是学一个政治方向”。全党同志要坚持正确政治方向，坚决贯彻党的基本理论、基本路线、基本方略，坚决落实党中央决策部署，把老一辈革命家开创的伟大事业继续推向前进。
Xi Jinping stressed that during the Yan'an period, the party put forward the fundamental purpose of wholeheartedly serving the people and wrote it into the party constitution, stressing that the Communist Party "this team is entirely for the liberation of the people, is thoroughly working for the interests of the people", requiring party cadres to "sit their butts on the side of the people ", forming a vivid situation of "seeing only public servants but not officials". All party comrades should stand firm on the people's position, practice the party's purpose, implement the party's mass line, maintain the flesh and blood ties between the party and the people, consciously put the people-centered development ideology throughout all work, solidly promote common prosperity, so that the fruits of modernization benefit all people more and more fairly...
习近平强调，延安时期，党提出全心全意为人民服务的根本宗旨并写入党章，强调共产党“这个队伍完全是为着解放人民的，是彻底地为人民的利益工作的”，要求党的干部“把屁股端端地坐在老百姓的这一面”，形成了“只见公仆不见官”的生动局面。全党同志要站稳人民立场，践行党的宗旨，贯彻党的群众路线，保持党同人民群众的血肉联系，自觉把以人民为中心的发展思想贯穿到各项工作之中，扎实推进共同富裕，让现代化建设成果更多更公平惠及全体人民...
Xi Jinping pointed out that during the Yan'an period, with its tenacious spirit of struggle and superb struggling skills, the Party effectively carried out the fight against Japanese militarist aggression, effectively coped with a series of major challenges such as the Xi'an incident, the July 7 incident, and the Chongqing negotiations, effectively led and commanded the national revolutionary struggle, effectively coped with the key attacks of the Kuomintang troops in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, and opened up a new situation in the Chinese revolution by relying on millet and rifles. The comrades of the whole party should carry forward the spirit of struggle, enhance their ability in struggle, resolutely overcome all kinds of difficulties and challenges on the road ahead, and rely on tenacious struggle to open up new horizons for the development of our cause.
习近平指出，延安时期，党以顽强的斗争精神和高超的斗争本领，有力开展了抗击日本军国主义侵略的斗争，有力应对了西安事变、七七事变、重庆谈判等一系列重大挑战，有力领导和指挥了全国革命斗争，有力应对了国民党军队对陕甘宁边区的重点进攻，靠小米加步枪打开了中国革命新局面。全党同志要发扬斗争精神、提高斗争本领，坚决战胜前进道路上的各种困难和挑战，依靠顽强斗争打开事业发展新天地。
Re millet and rifles, I did not know that Doonesbury had weighed in on this in 1976:
“The purpose [of the visit] is for us to review the glorious years of the party in Yanan, in memory of the great achievements of our revolutionaries, promote the Yanan spirit, and carry forward the fighting spirit [of our revolutionaries] as we strive to achieve goals set out in the 20th party congress,” Xi said...
The 1945 [Seventh Party] congress saw Mao Zedong Thought included in the party’s constitution for the first time, after a rectification campaign successfully purged Mao’s main opponents within the party and firmly upheld his status in it.
2. Personnel appointments
Li Shulei is officially heading the propaganda department, Shi Taifeng is officially the new head of the United Front Work Department, SingTao reports that Beijing mayor Chen Jining will not replace Cai Qi as Beijing Party Secretary but is instead going to Shanghai as Party Secretary, and there is talk that the NPC Standing Committee will make Li Qiang a vice premier soon, before the March 2023 NPC.
獨家｜北京市長陳吉寧 料主政上海 | 多倫多 | 加拿大中文新聞網 - 加拿大星島日報 Canada Chinese News
SingTao says that Beijing Mayor and new Politburo member Chen Jining is going to be the next Shanghai Party Secretary
外界原來以為新任政治局委員、北京市長陳吉寧將順位擔任北京書記，但最新消息透露，陳吉寧將擔任上海書記，主政中國第一都市。
Shi Taifeng is the new head of the United Front Work Department, replacing You Quan. I thought it was likely he would replace Ding Xuexiang as head of the General Office of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and head of Xi's office.
据中央统战部宣传办公室官方微信公众号“统战新语”消息，10月27日，中央统战部召开会议，研究部署学习贯彻党的二十大精神。中共中央政治局委员、中央统战部部长石泰峰出席并讲话，强调学习贯彻党的二十大精神，是当前和今后一个时期统一战线的首要政治任务，要在学懂弄通做实上下功夫，切实用习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想武装头脑、指导实践、推动工作，汇聚起共同致力民族复兴的强大力量。
Compared to other loyalists of Xi, Li Shulei is believed to have become acquainted with Xi in person at a relatively late stage, when Xi was assigned as president of the Central Party School in 2007...
Li is seen as the most academically gifted official among Xi’s protégés, enrolling in a master’s programme in modern Chinese literature at Peking University in 1982... [Bill: He enrolled as an undergrad at Peking University at age 14]
After receiving his doctorate in 1989, Li began working at the Central Party School...
In 1999, he was selected by Beijing to study at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Politics,
While Li Qiang, now China’s No 2 in the party hierarchy, will take the premiership in March, the naming of senior government roles might have already begun, enabling appointees to get to grips with economic challenges, plan policy priorities and ensure a seamless transition.
As of last year, the standing committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), which has convened a meeting from Wednesday to Sunday, was vested with the powers to approve vice-premier nominations and confirm some of the new economic team...
The NPC’s early approval of vice premiers “is likely, but won’t have much significance because the transition [in the State Council] should have started, and power is held in a variety of leading groups,” said a Chinese economist keeping track of the leadership reshuffle.
The economist, who wished to stay anonymous because of the sensitivity of the matter, said current market panic was a result of misunderstandings about the leadership reshuffle and the emphasis on security. He said development remains a priority and he expects a change to Covid policies.
3. Covid
More cities are reporting outbreaks and lockdowns. Xining, Lhasa and Zhengzhou in particular sound bad, but it is very hard to get a clear picture as there are likely some deficiencies with the reported data in at least some areas. Apple should be concerned about the outbreak at the Zhengzhou Foxconn facility, both in terms of making sure Foxconn is taking care of its workers and about how it may impact production.
Workers at the world’s largest iPhone factory, run by Foxconn Technology Group in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, have turned to social media for help amid strict pandemic control measures on campus that have been imposed since last week to curb a small Covid-19 outbreak.
Workers shared texts, photos and videos of chaotic scenes and voiced their anger on platforms including microblogging site Weibo and TikTok’s Chinese version Douyin, with many raising concerns that cases may have been under-reported, putting employees at high risk of infections.
Foxconn’s Big iPhone Plant Hit by China’s Latest Covid Lockdown - The New York Times
The lockdown in Zhengzhou began early last week when people in more than a dozen neighborhoods in the central Zhongyuan district, west of the Foxconn factory, were told to stay at home, according to an official notice. By Tuesday, images and videos of an outbreak inside Foxconn erupted on social media, sparking outrage from Chinese internet users who accused the company of failing to be transparent and downplaying the situation. The hashtag #ZhengzhouFoxconn briefly trended on Weibo, a popular social media platform in China.
Chinese local govts endeavor to address public concerns amid widening COVID outbreak - Global Times
As Shanxi, Fujian and Qinghai provinces have seen a rapid development of the epidemic while Guangdong Province and the Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions have hit a plateau, the daily increase in local infections in the Chinese mainland remains high.
Locked-Down Xining Residents Voice Their Hunger, Anger Online - SixthTone
the scene is being played out in the northwestern city of Xining where residents are once again pleading for food and other essentials on social media. The capital of Qinghai province, home to 2.5 million people, went into a snap lockdown last week.
Dozens of locals said they are running out of food, with one making desperate pleas to a food courier to deliver steamed buns or cakes for their grandfather, who could only digest soft foods. Deliveries were not possible since the neighborhood was sealed and the older man died the following day.
五问西宁市有关部门：为什么会出现买菜难，如何解决买菜贵？_人民日报五问西宁：为何会买菜难？_蔬菜_供应
A Xining official discusses the mechanics and challenges of the lockdown
Beijing Youth Daily on provincial leaders overseeing dynamic zero-Covid in their areas...the fight against Covid is exhausting everyone
Shanghai Plans to Build $221 Million Permanent Quarantine Center on Island
The project will renovate and expand an existing temporary hospital on Fuxing Island in Huangpu River to have 3,009 isolation rooms and 3,250 beds, including 1,300 new beds, the document showed. The construction is expected to be completed in six months.
The original makeshift facility was built in April, at the height of the epidemic in Shanghai, using prefabricated materials. Onsite construction workers told Caixin that the new center will be equipped with high-quality facilities to meet basic living needs and “can withstand a typhoon with a magnitude of 12 or more.”..
Shanghai has also set up seven public health emergency response reserve teams with a total of more than 5,000 members to improve the city’s ability in responding to major outbreaks, local media reported earlier this week
Other large cities across China including Datong and Xi’an have implemented new curbs this week to rein in local outbreaks.
Protests break out in Tibetan capital against China’s strict Covid restrictions — Radio Free Asia
Videos obtained by RFA show scores of protesters on the streets. A daytime video shows people mostly standing or milling about, with officials in white protective suits standing nearby. In two nighttime videos, crowds and cars block a large street and the crowd surges forward while raising their voices.
China’s Covid Fight Disrupts Businesses, Food Supplies as Cases Spread - WSJ $$
a lockdown in the city of Xining disrupted food supplies there. On Wednesday, officials in the city of 2.5 million laid out efforts to provide meat and vegetables for residents, while asking them to bear with efforts to stamp out the virus.
The official number of cases across China is small in comparison to waves of the virus that have hit elsewhere in the world. On Thursday, China reported more than 1,200 cases.
Yet, policies that include lockdowns, mass testing and government quarantines have magnified the impact. As of Monday, a little more than 200 million people were affected by some degree of lockdowns in 28 cities, according to investment bank Nomura.
4. Russia-China
In a speech Putin said Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan as a provocation, Xi is a “close friend” and that he did not warn Xi about the Ukraine invasion. Wang Yi spoke with his counterpart Sergey Lavrov to brief him on the 20th Party Congress and tell him that “China will also firmly support the Russian side, under the leadership of President Putin, to unite and lead the Russian people to overcome difficulties, eliminate disturbances, realize strategic development goals and further establish Russia's status as a great power on the international stage”. There was no mention on Ukraine in the PRC readout of the Wang-Lavrov call. Correction: The readout notes they did discuss Ukraine 双方还就乌克兰及共同关心的国际和地区问题交换了意见。
Putin says United States wrong to destroy relations with China | Reuters
Putin said Russia recognises Taiwan as part of the People's Republic of China and said visits by U.S. officials, including House Speaker Nanci Pelosi - who Putin referred to as "grandma" - to Taiwan were a provocation.
Putin says China's Xi is 'close friend', hails 'unprecedented' partnership with Beijing | Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia's relations with China were at an "unprecedented level" as he called China's President Xi Jinping a "close friend."
Russia treats China as a close friend, and their leaders have similar relations. However, back in February, Putin did not warn Chinese leader Xi Jinping about the upcoming military operation.
Chinese, Russian foreign ministers hold phone conversation - CGTN
Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday held a phone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent congratulations to Xi Jinping on his election as general secretary of the 20th CPC Central Committee, Wang noted. It shows the high level of mutual trust and firm mutual support between China and Russia.
China will also firmly support the Russian side, under the leadership of President Putin, to unite and lead the Russian people to overcome difficulties, eliminate disturbances, realize strategic development goals and further establish Russia's status as a great power on the international stage, he said.
China is willing to deepen exchange with the Russian side at all levels to promote China-Russia relations and cooperation in various fields to a higher level, which will better benefit the two countries and peoples and provide more stability to the volatile and unstable world, he said.
王毅说，普京总统在二十大后第一时间向习近平总书记发来贺信，体现了中俄之间高水平的互信和坚定的相互支持。中方也将坚定支持俄方在普京总统领导下，团结带领俄罗斯人民克服困难、排除干扰，实现发展战略目标，在国际舞台上进一步确立俄罗斯大国地位。中俄实现各自发展振兴是两国的正当权利，完全符合时代发展潮流。任何阻挡中俄前进步伐的企图都不可能得逞。中方愿同俄方深化各层级交往，推动中俄关系和各领域合作不断迈向更高水平，更好惠及两国和两国人民，为动荡不定的世界提供更多的稳定性。
Wang noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a letter of congratulation to General Secretary Xi after the 20th CPC National Congress, and this showed the high-level mutual trust and firm mutual support between the two countries. China will firmly support the Russian side, with the leadership of President Putin, to unify Russian people to overcome difficulties and interruptions, to realize the strategic goal of development, and to further reinforce the status of Russia as a major power.
"China and Russia have legitimate rights to realize their own development and revitalization, which is in line with the trend of the times. Any attempt to stop China and Russia from marching forward is doomed to fail," Wang said. China and Russia will deepen exchanges at all levels, and promote China-Russia relations and cooperation in all areas to a higher level, to better benefit the peoples of the two countries, and to bring more stability to the world facing turbulence, said the Chinese foreign minister.
Chinese analysts said the remarks by Wang are actually aimed at the US document titled "National Security Strategy" released by the White House earlier this month, which vows to "out-compete China and constrain Russia."
China can use its leverage with Russia to prevent a nuclear war | Financial Times - Zhou Bo
if Moscow decides to use tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine, China can hardly maintain such a position any more. A joint declaration between Beijing and Kyiv in December 2013 agreed that China will not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine and, more importantly, will provide security assurances in the event of any such threat by a third party.
Comment: This is an interesting OpEd by Zhou, a retired PLA officer who is an active overseas OpEd writer.
5. US chip controls
The US official in charge of BIS, the bureau inside the Department of Commerce implementing the new chip controls, told a DC event that the US expects allies to get on board with the controls, and that further controls around biotech and AI are likely. I wonder if the US can really get the Netherlands on board, given how much influence ASML has in the Hague
US Expects Deal With Allies on China Chip Curbs in Near Term - Bloomberg
“We expect to have a deal done in the near term,” Alan Estevez, under secretary of Commerce for industry and security, told an audience at an event hosted by the Washington-based Center for a New American Security on Thursday. Making the controls multilateral is “a work in progress,” he said.
...Alan Estevez, industry and security undersecretary at the US Commerce Department, adding that the intent is not to impede China economically.
“
Will we end up doing something in those areas? If I was a betting person, I would put money on that,” said Estevez, who oversees the Bureau of Industry and Security charged with crafting and enforcing the new rules.
“That is not, despite some of the views out there, about the economic destruction of China,” he added. “This is about national security.”
An Interview with Dan Wang About the China Chip Ban – Stratechery by Ben Thompson $$
The restrictions from the U.S. now are going to roll back China’s progress to something like 2015 capabilities. So in 2022, China is very plausibly going to be at around 2015 levels of technology. And so when we consider when it can progress from 2015 levels of technology up into something like five nanometers, the first thing to recognize that they’ve been really significantly rolled back. So it’s very easy to gesture towards the future without giving any concrete sense of timelines. But I think that within the next, let’s say 5 to 10 years, China is going to be really, really substantially behind on the domestic manufacturer of advanced chips, in that five nanometers even is going to be quite out of reach for at least the next 5 to 10 years.
Biden’s Unprecedented Semiconductor Bet - Matt Sheehan - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The new restrictions also attempt to settle a long-running debate within U.S. technology policy. That debate centered on a perceived trade-off between two competing goals: damaging Chinese capabilities today versus maintaining American leverage in the future. With the latest rules, the U.S. government is betting that it can so deeply undermine China’s semiconductor fabrication capabilities that it won’t matter how motivated or well-resourced China’s efforts are to create its own semiconductor industry—they simply won’t be able to catch up.
In China, Marvell’s decision got the attention of the local semiconductor industry after a number of online media outlets reported its job cut plan. Multiple departments at Marvell in Shanghai and Chengdu will be cut or downsized, according to a report on the social media account of ICWise, a Shanghai-based consultancy firm.
6. US-China
Xi sent a letter to the annual gala of the NCUSCR Wednesday, saying “China stands ready to work with the United States to find the right way to get along with each other in the new era”. On Thursday the US Department of Defense released a public version of the 2022 National Defense Strategy which stated that the “most comprehensive and serious challenge to U.S. national security is the PRC's coercive and increasingly aggressive endeavor to refashion the Indo-Pacific region and the international system to suit its interests and authoritarian preferences”.
Xi sends congratulations to Gala Dinner of National Committee on U.S.-China Relations-Xinhua
Xi congratulated Evan Greenberg, vice chair of the national committee and chair of Chubb Limited and Chubb Group, on receiving an accolade at the gala, and extended his appreciation to the committee and its members for their longstanding dedication to the growth of China-U.S. relations and the exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in various areas.
Noting that the world today is neither tranquil nor peaceful, Xi said closer communication and cooperation between China and the United States, both as major countries, will help bring greater stability and certainty to the world, and promote world peace and development.
China stands ready to work with the United States to find the right way to get along with each other in the new era on the basis of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, which will benefit not only the two countries but also the whole world, Xi said.
Xi said he hopes the committee and all those who care for and support China-U.S. relations will continue to play an active role and help bring the bilateral relations back to the track of sound and steady development.
Xi's letter - 习近平向美中关系全国委员会年度晚宴致贺信--新闻报道-中国共产党新闻网
习近平指出，当今世界既不安宁也不太平。中美作为大国，双方加强沟通和合作，有助于推动世界增加稳定性和确定性，有助于推动世界和平与发展。中方愿同美方一道努力，相互尊重，和平共处，合作共赢，找到新时代中美正确相处之道，既有利两国，又造福世界。
习近平希望美中关系全国委员会和关心支持中美关系的各界朋友继续发挥积极作用，助力中美关系重返健康稳定发展的轨道。
China brushes off US request to resume military dialogues | South China Morning Post
Contact has been cut off since August, after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan over Beijing’s protests. Responding to US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin’s recent call for China to resume contact, Tan Kefei, a spokesman for China’s defence ministry, said that Washington bore all blame.
National Defense Strategy - US Department of Defense
The most comprehensive and serious challenge to U.S. national security is the PRC's coercive and increasingly aggressive endeavor to refashion the Indo-Pacific region and the international system to suit its interests and authoritarian preferences. The PRC seeks to undermine U.S. alliances and security partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region, and leverage its growing capabilities, including its economic influence and the PLA's growing strength and military footprint, to coerce its neighbors and threaten their interests. The PRC's increasingly provocative rhetoric and coercive activity towards Taiwan are destabilizing, risk miscalculation, and threaten the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait. This is part of a broader pattern of destabilizing and coercive PRC behavior that stretches across the East China Sea, the South China Sea, and along the Line of Actual Control.
China and America are barely speaking, though crises loom | The Economist
In Beijing scholars suggest that things could be worse, noting that though the party congress heard a grim report about the international situation, there were no major changes in foreign and security policies, for instance over Taiwan. Da Wei, director of the Centre for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, sees this moment as a “pause for reflection”, as China absorbs a “blunt and hostile” National Security Strategy.
In Professor Da’s telling, the mainstream Chinese view is that America’s high-tech controls are a selfish plan to control a lucrative industry. “From China’s perspective, the United States is trying to strangle China’s economy, or at least some sectors,” he charges. America’s aim is not to defend human rights or its national security, but “to strengthen its position in the global supply chain.”
7. Local government finances
Caixin reports that the local government land sales shell game is on hold at least in some places, after the Ministry of Finance decided to crack down again. But fiscal revenues were up 8.4% year-on-year in September, in part from “a 39.7% jump in nontax revenue…some localities have been selling idle state-owned assets including properties and mining rights in large quantities, and making efforts to collect other types of nontax revenue such as fines.”
Caixin - Local SOEs Slow Land Purchases After Finance Ministry’s Warning on Inflating Revenue
A dramatic reduction in the value of land purchases by state firms at an auction in the Jiangsu province trade hub of Wuxi this week suggests the noose could be tightening on the practice of local authorities using such auctions to cook their books.
It came after China’s Ministry of Finance banned local authorities from using their own state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to inflate their revenue from land sales, a practice many have relied on as the property crisis has eaten their revenue.
At the Tuesday land auction in Wuxi, local SOEs — including local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) — bought 33% of the land parcels on sale by value, according to data from the China Index Academy, a property think tank. That’s less than the 92%, 55% and 89% purchases by SOEs in the city’s previous three auctions this year...
The notice came after some cities’ LGFVs bought land parcels, only to be refunded by the authorities, resulting in fake revenue on the local government’s balance sheet.
独家｜落实国办发20号文，某省摸底调查开发区债务 - 21经济网
A Chinese province is surveying the debt levels related to its economic and technological zones 开发区, the 21st Century Business Herald said in an exclusive report, citing multiple unnamed sources. The newspaper did not name the province but said the work is intended to gather information on the scale, structure, types, risks and reduction efforts of such debts. This follows the release of a state council guideline urging local governments to “strengthen the management” of invisible government debt in economic and technological zones.
Caixin - China’s Fiscal Revenue Buoyed by Nontax Income Spike
General public budget revenue rose 8.4% year-on-year in September, up from 5.6% in August, which had marked the first increase in five months, according to Caixin calculations based on data published by the finance ministry on Tuesday. The growth was mainly driven by a 39.7% jump in nontax revenue, while tax income only increased 0.4%.
To shore up sluggish fiscal revenue this year, some localities have been selling idle state-owned assets including properties and mining rights in large quantities, and making efforts to collect other types of nontax revenue such as fines.
Outside the general public budget, local governments’ revenue from land sales, a primary funding source, continued to sink in September, down 26.4% year-on-year.
8. Wall Street Journal on the Meng Wanzhou arrest and the Two Michaels hostage saga
It is a great story with lots of details of the back and forth negotiations to finally negotiate a deal, and some more details about the awful conditions in which Spavor and Kovrig were held. The WSJ writes that after Meng Wanzhou was detained in Canada “China’s Ministry of Public Security, which had a list of Canadian names, proposed two for [Xi] to select.“ And Xi picked the two Michaels, according to this report.
Three Arrests, Two Superpowers and a Secret Prisoner Swap - WSJ
This account is based on interviews with current and former U.S., Canadian and Chinese officials, lawyers and prosecutors, former Huawei officials, people familiar with Ms. Meng’s legal team and her staff, as well as current and former diplomats of the three countries. It draws from court documents, real-estate and corporate records, classified diplomatic cables, unpublished photographs and notes of government officials involved in the negotiations...
Chinese Foreign Ministry officials briefed Mr. Xi on the arrest when he returned to Beijing on Dec. 6. Ms. Meng, ranked China’s eighth most powerful businesswoman by Forbes magazine, was in custody and under severe distress.
China’s Ministry of Public Security, which had a list of Canadian names, proposed two for him to select. Canada’s ambassador was summoned to a Foreign Ministry office in Beijing and warned China would retaliate….
In the summer of 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic spread worldwide, FBI agents arrested five academic researchers, most of them charged with lying on visa applications. Trump administration officials believed the students were exploiting U.S. research to advance China’s military. All pleaded not guilty.
The arrests prompted China to resuscitate secret prisoner-swap discussions with the U.S., which had gone silent in the pandemic. Beijing wanted its researchers back. Washington wanted its Americans—and the two Michaels.
Comment: They have a list of US names at the ready, or at least they did in the Fall of 2020 when I was told about, with the detail that most on the list were people who had worked in the US government and were now in the private sector.
Business, Economy and Trade
China to continue implementing the policy package and follow-up policies to boost economic recovery and growth-Xinhua according to the decision made at the State Council's Executive Meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday. The meeting urged efforts to fully study and implement the guidelines laid out at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. After arrangements are made, the key lies in delivering them on the ground. All departments should perform their duties diligently and ensure effective policy implementation, to strive for sound economic and social development.
Apple Reports Record Revenue, Continuing Pandemic Streak - WSJ Sales from Greater China in the September quarter were $15.5 billion, up 6% from the previous year, compared with the $15.1 billion analysts expected.
人社部：截至9月底基本养老保险基金委托合同规模1.6万亿元—中国证券报 China allocated 214 billion rmb to support provinces with “pension difficulties” in the first three quarters, China Securities Journal reported, citing the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. The newspaper said the ministry is also studying a plan that would see employees get compensated for work injuries related to emerging and new industries. 前三季度调拨全国统筹调剂资金2104亿元，支持基金困难省份养老金发放。
前9月工业利润同比下降2.3%，装备制造业利润年内首次由降转增—界面新闻 China’s industrial profits dropped 2.3% in the first nine months of the year, compared to the same period last year. An official from the state statistical watchdog blamed the slump on high operational costs for firms and geopolitical tensions. One bright spot was 装备制造业 the manufacturing sector, which rose 0.6% over the Jan - Sep period.
商务部答证券时报记者问：消费有望继续稳定恢复—证券时报 Despite signs of recovery in retail businesses, physical stores, dining and hotel sectors still face major challenges, a commerce ministry spokesperson told reporters on Oct 27. In Sept retail sales rose 2.5% year on year but grew at a slower pace compared to August.
多地“真金白银”支持新能源汽车消费 专家预计四季度将保持产销两旺态势—证券日报 A number of Chinese provinces have rolled out new measures intended to boost new energy vehicle consumption, and analysts say such moves are likely to lift the sector in the fourth quarter. The measures include subsidies of various forms, funded by the local governments.
Australia rides out Chinese sanctions as exports boom | Financial Times $$ “The sanctions haven’t worked. The Australian economy has remained buoyant, somewhat ironically, on Chinese demand,” said Michael Wesley, deputy vice-chancellor international at the University of Melbourne. “The Chinese economy cannot wean itself off iron ore. It is a bedevilling situation for them,” he said. Australia exported A$175bn worth of iron ore to China in 2021, according to the Lowy Institute.
Boeing (NYSE:BA) Expects China Fleet to Double in Two Decades - Bloomberg The US manufacturing giant expects China to need 8,485 new passenger and freighter planes valued at $1.5 trillion through 2041. That figure is more than a fifth of global aircraft deliveries over the next two decades, Boeing said in a statement Thursday. China’s commercial fleet will grow to more than 9,600 planes in that time from about 3,900, the company said.
Caixin - China’s First Homegrown Jet Gets December Delivery Date The first batch of China’s homegrown C919 aircraft will be delivered to China Eastern Airlines Corp. in December, the state-owned carrier’s general manager Li Yangmin said Monday at an internal meeting. China Eastern will shoulder the “political responsibility” to be the first airline operating the C919 in commercial flights, Li said.
Caixin - China Steel Exports Plunge for Fourth Straight Month In September, China exported 4.984 million tons of steel, down 19% from August and up only 1.3% year-on-year. It was the lowest monthly export total since May, according to China Customs data. For the first nine months, China exported 51.2 million tons of steel, down 3.4% year-on-year. China’s steel exports fell sharply early in the year because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but started to pick up in May.
Swiss Energy Trader Mercuria Buys Back Stake From ChemChina - Caixin Swiss commodities trading giant Mercuria Energy Group bought back the minority stake that Chinese state-owned ChemChina held in the Geneva-based company since 2016, Mercuria confirmed with Caixin Wednesday.
Caixin Exclusive: Ex-Chief of China Merchants Bank Profited on CATL Investments The corruption investigation of Tian Huiyu, a former president of China Merchants Bank Co. Ltd. (CMB), is most likely focused on misconduct over the bank’s asset management business and early investment in battery giant CATL, Caixin learned. While details of the alleged misconduct and the amount of the former executive’s illegal gains are unclear, multiple sources say he made a killing on hidden personal stakes in the bank’s early backing of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL), the world's largest producer of lithium-ion batteries. As bank president, Tian backed CMB’s pre-IPO investments in the company. China’s top prosecutor issued a warrant for the arrest of Tian, the agency said Wednesday
Yicai - Couriers Vie for Deliverymen Ahead of China’s Biggest Annual Shopping Event China’s couriers are busy competing for deliverymen in the run-up to next month’s Double 11, the country’s biggest annual shopping festival. “Vacancies for deliverymen, those living nearby preferred, CNY300 to CNY400 (USD42 to USD55) a day,” reads one job posting on a delivery van in Beijing, the Beijing Youth Daily reported today. Some firms are even offering CNY500 a day for temporary delivery staff.
Tesla's Sudden Price Reductions Spur Chinese Car Owners to Defend Rights - Pandaily Tesla announced price adjustments for mainland China on October 24, affecting its Model 3, which dropped by as much as 18,000 yuan ($2,497), and its Model Y, which dropped by as much as 37,000 yuan ($5,132). Subsequently, many Tesla car owners who had recently made orders set up “rights protection groups” on WeChat, with the aim of organizing actions such as visiting Tesla stores to ask for compensation, but some car owners were taken in by fraudster
China's Youths Can’t Find Job. But Electric Car Talents Are Not Worried at All - Bloomberg Jiang is one of the chosen few in China’s rapidly evolving finance sector: a PhD in electric vehicle technology. This kind of methodical researchers steeped in the classical sciences are replacing well-connected bankers as the most desirable hires at venture capital firms across the nation -- sometimes doubling their salaries when they switch over.
这个一线城市二手房“过冬”：有业主持有5年损失220万，还有人30天内调价3次降价92万 | 每经网 The slump of the housing market is hurting homeowners. In Shenzhen, one second-hand homeowner cut almost 1 million rmb from the asking price recently, the National Business Daily reported. In Sept, second-hand home prices in that city dropped 3.5% compared to the same month last year.
PBOC Says Private Developers’ Bond Sales Should Be Supported - Bloomberg State-owned China Bond Insurance Co. should provide more support for private property developers’ bond sales, People’s Bank of China Deputy Governor Pan Gongsheng said. Deploying bond financing tools for private companies has promoted inclusive, healthy and stable development of the financial market, Pan said at a seminar Thursday
Chinese Pork Producers Report Surging Profits as Prices Rise - Caixin Chinese pork producers have reported solid profits for the third quarter, as expectations of tightening supply and increased seasonal demand continued to drive a price rally from April lows.
Shanghai real estate prices plummet as wealthy sell up in wake of party congress — Radio Free Asia "People are dumping apartments; prices of many luxury homes have fallen by 30 or 40 percent compared with market prices [before the party congress]," Shanghai real estate broker Zhao Ting told RFA in a recent interview. "They are all getting out; they are worried it will be too late if they don't sell now," Zhao said.
Politics and Law
How was the CCP Constitution Revised and What are the Revisions? - New Politburo's First Study Session there’s a front page commentary talking about the “three musts/imperatives” 三个务必. These are about being modest, prudent and working hard; keeping the original mission in mind; and daring to struggle and being good at struggle.
人民日报评论员文章：牢记“三个务必” 坚定历史自信 增强历史主动——论学习贯彻党的二十大精神 CCTv Evening News summarizes this People's Daily commentary
Chinese lawmakers consider draft law revision on protection of women-Xinhua Chinese lawmakers are mulling a draft law revision to improve safeguarding the rights and interests of women, especially disadvantaged groups such as impoverished, older, and disabled women. The draft revision to the Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women was submitted Thursday to the National People's Congress Standing Committee for a third reading.
He Helped Pioneer Chinese Nationalism. Now He Says It’s Gone Too Far. - The New York Times Wang Xiaodong once gave a speech declaring that “China’s forward march is unstoppable.” He published essays calling on China to build up its military. He co-wrote a book, bluntly titled “China Is Unhappy,” in which he said the country should aim to control more land and shape global politics. “We should lead this world,” he said...rather than reveling in that success, Mr. Wang has become alarmed by it. Egged on by government propaganda, Chinese nationalism has become increasingly volatile and vitriolic. And so Mr. Wang has found himself in the unexpected position of trying to tamp down the movement that he helped ignite nearly 35 years ago.
What did the Party do to its Constitution? - Ginger River Review This state media substacker provides a side-by-side comparison of the English-language changes to the Party Constitution
一图读懂丨《中国共产党章程》修改对比一览表————要闻——中央纪委国家监委网站 side by side comparison of the Chinese-language changes to the Party Constitution
Foreign and Defense Affairs
Central Military Commission holds executive meeting on studying Party congress guiding principles-Xinhua The meeting also stressed strengthening the theoretical and political awareness of upholding the leadership core and obeying commands, adding that being able to fight and win should be the most pragmatic test of the learning and implementation. Zhang Youxia, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice chairman of the CMC, presided over the meeting.
China Direct: Belgian cable exposé — One-man rule — EU’s Chinese cops – POLITICO Beijing recently asked the Belgian government to retract an interview by Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib in which she called China a “potential enemy” and denounced Beijing’s failure to uphold international treaties, according to a diplomatic cable seen by POLITICO’s Barbara Moens. NO HOLDS BARRED: Lahbib, a journalist-turned-politician who became the foreign minister in July, didn’t mince words in the interview. Most interestingly she went beyond the EU’s (and even Washington’s) preferred wording and named China as “a potential enemy.” “I believe above all that in the current context, our eyes are turned to China, which is a partner, a rival and a potential enemy,” she said. “We denounce the revisionist character of China, which does not respect history and does not respect international treaties, whether in relation to Hong Kong or Taiwan.”
Report: Germany to push ahead with Chinese takeover of chips plant – POLITICO German outlet Handelsblatt reported Thursday that the deal — which would see a takeover of the semiconductor production of Dortmund-based Elmos by Sweden's Silex, a wholly owned subsidiary of China's Sai Microelectronics — was set to get the green light against security advice...The German government says that the technology Elmos uses is old and not to expect any outflow of critical know-how to China. The German security authorities, on the other hand, argued that they are not only concerned about exiting knowledge, but also that China is systematically increasing its chip production capacities.
Italy will not be dependent on China, minister says | Reuters Adolfo Urso spoke when asked to comment on Germany's recent decision to allow China's Cosco to buy a stake in a Hamburg port terminal run by logistics firm HHLA - a company which also operates in the Italian port of Trieste. "We will not put ourselves into the hands of the Chinese," Urso told a journalist at a conference in Rome // Comment: Scholz is really putting Germany on the fringe of the EU approach to China.
Online Press Conference on the Violent Harassment of the Chinese Consulate General in Manchester - YouTube We urge the British side to solve this issue according to its own merits and hope that the British side can work with China and not to be affected by the disturbances to ensure the sound & healthy development of #China-#UK relations. // An excerpt: "Protecting [sic] shelter to the Hong Kong independent [sic] elements will only in the end bring disaster to Britain. I remind you of the story of the farmer and the snake in Aesop's tales...
Comment: PRC diplomatic staff in the UK are now just trolling the UK government, and faint echoes of this:
Police investigate claim of secret Chinese police stations in Canada | China | The Guardian The Royal Canada Mounted Police said it was investigating “reports of criminal activity in relation to the so-called ‘police’ stations” but did not specify the location of the sites. The police also warned that “foreign states may seek to intimidate or harm communities or individuals within Canada”.
Chinese overseas police station in Dublin ordered to shut – The Irish Times The Department of Foreign Affairs ordered a Chinese “police service station” operating in Dublin city centre to close, following scrutiny over the activities of the overseas offices
PLA Navy's newly commissioned frigate Ziyang makes training debut - Global Times A report by China Central Television (CCTV) on Tuesday showed that the Ziyang, with the hull number 522, conducted a training exercise featuring live-firing of its main gun and anti-submarine depth charges..
German exporters rethink €100bn ‘love affair’ with China | Financial Times $$ Germany’s Mittelstand companies increasingly realise that they cannot rely on Chinese profits as they once did, according to Jörg Wuttke, president of the influential trade lobby EU Chamber of Commerce in China. “It’s a lost love affair,” said Wuttke...
Pakistan, China aim to jump-start Belt and Road plans in key talks - Nikkei Asia Pakistan and China aim to revive Belt and Road projects in the South Asian country at an annual huddle, scheduled to take place virtually on Thursday. In the run-up to the talks, cash-strapped Islamabad appears to have accepted a Chinese demand to increase the cost of a railway, as it seeks to secure more financing. This will be the 11th meeting of the Joint Cooperation Committee, the key forum for making decisions on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $50 billion Pakistan component of the Belt and Road. Zhao Shiren, the Chinese consul general in Lahore, told local media earlier this month that work on the CPEC is expected to speed up after the JCC meeting.
Hong Kong and Macao
Hong Kong court sentences man to 4 years and 3 months over 2019 Yuen Long mob attacks - Hong Kong Free Press HKFP A Hong Kong court has sentenced a man to four years and three months in prison for rioting and conspiracy to wound in connection with the mob attack on protesters and others at Yuen Long MTR station during the 2019 unrest.
Supporters of Hong Kong Activist Given Jail Time for Clapping in Court - WSJ $$ Two supporters of a prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activist were given jail sentences on Thursday for clapping and uttering comments in the public gallery during one of her courtroom appearances, reflecting the widening ambit of authorities’ efforts to eliminate dissent in the city.
Yicai - Chinese Mainland Tours to Macao to Resume Next Month, With Searches Up 300% With four provinces and one city on the Chinese mainland ready to restart group tours to Macao, the special administrative region’s health bureau issued Covid-19 prevention guidelines for tour organizers yesterday. Following news of the resumption, Macao-related searches on travel guide websites surged about 300 percent.
Taiwan
Taiwan Braces for ‘Grim’ Times After China’s Xi Extends Power - WSJ In addition to the military promotions and party-charter amendment, China’s leadership excluded Liu Jieyi, director of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, from the Communist Party’s new Central Committee lineup. Some analysts say that signaled a potential shift in Taiwan policy. Mr. Liu’s failure to make the Central Committee could be read as a sign of Mr. Xi’s dissatisfaction with the work of the Taiwan Affairs Office, according to Shen Ming-shih, acting deputy CEO of the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a military-backed think tank in Taipei
Tech and Media
Yicai - China’s Third-Quarter Phone Shipments Show Return to Pre-Covid Level Is Still Far Off China’s smartphone market slightly picked up in the third quarter from a quarter earlier, buoyed by Apple’s new iPhone 14 debut, but it will take time to reach the levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic. From July to September, the Asian country's smartphone shipments tallied 70 million units, up by 4 percent from the second quarter but down 11 percent from a year ago, according to Singapore-based market research institute Canalys.
Society, Arts, Sports, Culture and History
Chinese authorities ask: Dear newlywed, when's the baby arriving? | Reuters An online post about a newlywed in China, who was rung up by her local government asking if she was pregnant, garnered tens of thousands of comments on Thursday before being removed, with many netizens saying they had experienced similar calls...The post quoted the colleague as saying she was told by an official that the local government "wants newlyweds to be pregnant within a year and their target is to make a phone call every quarter."
Energy, Environment, Science and Health
Economical, intensive use of water resources highlighted in draft law revision-Xinhua Chinese lawmakers are mulling a draft law revision to strengthen the economical and intensive use of water resources in the Yellow River, the "mother river" of the Chinese nation. The draft revision to the law, which was submitted Thursday to the National People's Congress Standing Committee, specifies that the water resources of the Yellow River basin should be used in a carefully calculated and strictly budgeted manner.
Drought-stricken city begins rationing water - China Daily Yueqing, Zhejiang province, will ration water to its residents amid its serious drought, local authorities announced on Monday. The city will supply water to the residents every other day starting on Oct 25, according to the announcement. During the period, water supplies will be suspended in places such as bathhouses, swimming pools and car washes, and will be restricted for hotels, electroplating factories and construction sites, among other high water consumers, the announcement said.
Education
China Scrutinizes Arts Academies After Sexual Harassment Claims - SixthTone The “special governance action” plans to clamp down on sexual abuse against minors, while shutting down academies without authorized licenses, dismissing unqualified teachers, and punishing fraudulent activities, according to the notice jointly published by the ministries of education, public security, and market regulation.
Rural and Agricultural Issues
China’s Shortage of Pig Feed Set to Ease on Looming Soy Imports - Bloomberg Futures for November delivery settled at 4,884 yuan ($676) a ton Thursday, about 800 yuan higher than prices for January. Chinese processors slowed buying of foreign soybeans during the summer when crush margins turned negative, curbing arrivals. Shallow water in the Mississippi River because of drought has also limited prospects for US exports and worsened the crunch.
“The Magnificent Seven” - great image of the SCPB team at Yan’an.