A post by a prolific nationalist/leftist blogger is getting a ton of attention because it was republished by many official propaganda outlets, in what can be reasonably interpreted as a sign that the views expressed conform with the views of Party Center. If that is a correct interpretation then things may get get much uglier for entertainers, the rich, and anyone left who has even the faintest hint of a positive thought about America.

Here is a taste, from the conclusion:

At present, China is facing an increasingly severe and complex international environment. The United States is implementing increasingly severe military threats, economic and technological blockades, financial strikes, and political and diplomatic encirclement against China, and is waging biological warfare, cyber warfare, public opinion warfare, and space warfare against China, with increasing efforts to launch a color revolution against China through the fifth column within China. If at this time we still rely on the big capitalists as the main force against imperialism and hegemony, and still cater to the U.S. "tittytainment strategy 奶头乐战略”, and let our young generation lose their toughness and virility, then we will fall first without our friends, just like the Soviet Union did back then, letting the country collapse, letting the country's wealth be looted, and letting the people fall into a deep disaster. Therefore, the profound changes that are currently taking place in China are precisely to deal with the current severe and complex international situation, and precisely to deal with the savage and ferocious attacks that the United States has begun to launch against China.

Each of us can feel that a profound social change has begun, not only in the capital circle, but also in the entertainment circle, It is necessary not only to destroy the decadent forces but also to scrape the bones and heal the wounds. It is also necessary to clean the house, freshen the air, make our society healthier, so that the main body of society can feel happy

当前中国面临着越来越严峻复杂的国际环境，美国正在对中国实施越来越严厉的军事威胁、经济及科技封锁、金融打击、政治及外交围剿，正在对中国发动生物战、网络战、舆论战、太空战，力度越来越大地通过中国内部的第五纵队对中国发动颜色革命。如果这个时候，我们还要依靠那些大资本家作为反帝国主义、反霸权主义的主力、还在迎合美国的奶头乐战略，让我们的青年一代失去强悍和阳刚的雄风，那么我们不用敌人来打就自己先倒下了，就像当年苏联一样，任国家崩溃、任国家财富被洗劫、任人民陷入深重灾难。因此当前我们中国正在发生的这场深刻变革，正是为了应对当前严峻而复杂的国际形势，正是为了应对美国已经开始对中国发动的野蛮而凶猛的攻击。

我们每个人都能感受到，一场深刻的社会变革已经开始，不仅资本圈，也不仅娱乐圈，不仅要摧枯拉朽，而且要刮骨疗伤，还要清扫屋子，清新空气，让我们社会更加健康，让社会主体能够感到身心愉悦。

While this post is getting a lot of attention Xi has been busy on other important fronts. He chaired the first Central Conference on Ethnic Affairs in seven years and per the readout emphasized that “casting the consciousness of community for the Chinese nation is the key link of the Party's ethnic affairs work in the New Era, and all work should focus on this. 铸牢中华民族共同体意识是新时代党的民族工作的“纲”，所有工作要向此聚焦”.

Xi also chaired the 21st meeting of the central committee for deepening overall reform, and from the readout it is clear we should expect much more anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition work.

Today’s Essential Eight items:

1. "Everyone can feel that a profound change is taking place"

2. Central Conference on Ethnic Affairs

3. More anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition regulation coming

4. US Origins review does not find anything conclusive

5. Wang Yi and Tony Blinken have a chat

6. PRC Special Envoy Yue Xiaoyong talks about Afghanistan

7. More rectification ahead for entertainers

8. Ministry of Education announces more measures to reduce student and parent burdens

Thanks for reading.

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The Essential Eight

1. "Everyone can feel that a profound change is taking place"

China Commentary Calls Xi’s Crackdown a ‘Profound Revolution’ - Bloomberg

“This is a return from the capital group to the masses of the people, and this is a transformation from capital-centered to people-centered,” the commentary said, adding that it marked a return to the original intention of the Communist Party. “Therefore, this is a political change, and the people are becoming the main body of this change again, and all those who block this people-centered change will be discarded.”

The opinion piece was originally published by a WeChat blogger who goes by the name “Li Guangman Ice Point Commentary.” In an unusual move that indicated official support, it was reposted online by major state-run media outlets including Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency, PLA Daily, CCTV, China Youth Daily and China News Service...

The author wrote that high housing prices and medical costs will become the next targets of the campaign. While the piece reiterated comments from prominent Chinese economists last week that the campaign would not “kill the rich to help the poor,” it said the government needed to “combat the chaos of big capital.”

Some excerpts from "Everyone can feel that a profound change is taking place" -每个人都能感受到，一场深刻的变革正在进行！-新华网

At the same time as Zhao Wei, there is another American, Gao Xiaosong. His programs Xiao Shuo, Xiao Song Qi Tan, etc. have been on the Internet and TV stations in China for a long time. He talks nonsense about history, worships America and kneels for America, and fooled a group of Chinese people into becoming his fans.

How do we feel about what happened in just two days, from rectifying fan worship circles to punishing Zheng Shuang, and then taking Zhao Wei and Gao Xiaosong offline? If we look at this series of events from a higher political level, we will find the historical trend and development trend of a country from some details.

From the suspension of Ant's listing, to the central government's rectification of economic order and anti-monopoly work, to Alibaba's fine of 18.2 billion yuan and Didi's investigation, to the central government's grand commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, which put forward the road of common prosperity, and a series of recent rectification actions against the chaos in entertainment circles, all tell us that China is undergoing major changes, and a profound change or revolution is taking place in the economic, financial, cultural and political fields. This is a return from the capital clique to the masses, and a change from capital-centered to people-centered. Therefore, this is a political change, the people are becoming the main body of this change again, and all those who block this people-centered change will be abandoned. This profound change is also a return, a return to the Communist Party of China（CPC）'s initial aspirations, a return to people as the center, and a return to the essence of socialism.

This change will wash away all dust, the capital market will no longer become a paradise for capitalists to get rich overnight, the cultural market will no longer become a paradise for "sissy 娘炮" stars, and the news and public opinion will no longer become a position to worship western culture. Therefore, we need to control all cultural chaos and build a lively, healthy, masculine, tough and people-oriented culture. We need to crack down on the chaos of big capital manipulation, platform monopoly and bad money driving out good money in the capital market, and guide funds to flow to real-economy entities, high-tech enterprises and manufacturing industries. The current efforts to bring under control the chaos of after-school training and school district housing makes education truly return to civilians and fairness, and gives ordinary people room for upward mobility. In the future, we also have to deal with high housing prices and high medical costs, and completely level the three mountains of education, medical care and housing. Although we won't kill the rich to help the poor, we need to effectively solve the problem that the income gap between the rich and the poor is getting worse. Common prosperity means that ordinary workers can get more income in the distribution of social wealth....

与赵薇同时下架的还有另一个美国人高晓松，我国网上、电视台长期都有他的节目《晓说》、《晓松奇谈》等，他胡扯乱谈历史，崇美跪美，忽悠了一批中国人成为他的粉丝。

从整治饭圈到处罚郑爽，再到下架封杀赵薇和高晓松，仅仅两天内发生的事，我们有什么感觉？如果我们从更高的政治层面来看这一系列事件，就会从一些细节中发现一个国家的历史走向和发展趋势。

从蚂蚁上市被叫停，到中央整顿经济秩序、反垄断，到阿里被罚182亿元和滴滴被查，到中央隆重纪念建党100周年，提出走共同富裕道路，以及最近对娱乐圈乱象的一系列整治动作，都在告诉我们，中国正在发生重大变化，从经济领域、金融领域、文化领域到政治领域都在发生一场深刻的变革，或者也可以说是一场深刻的革命。这是一次从资本集团向人民群众的回归，这是一次以资本为中心向以人民为中心的变革。因此，这是一场政治变革，人民正在重新成为这场变革的主体，所有阻挡这场以人民为中心变革的都将被抛弃。这场深刻的变革也是一次回归，向着中国共产党的初心回归，向着以人民为中心回归，向着社会主义本质回归。

这次变革将荡涤一切尘埃，资本市场不再成为资本家一夜暴富的天堂，文化市场不再成为娘炮明星的天堂，新闻舆论不再成为崇拜西方文化的阵地，红色回归，英雄回归，血性回归。因此我们需要治理一切文化乱象，建设鲜活、健康、阳刚、强悍、以人民为本的文化，我们需要打击资本市场上大资本操纵、平台垄断通吃、劣币驱逐良币的乱象，引导资金流向实体企业、流向高科技企业、流向制造业，当前正在进行的从治理培训机构、学区房开始的治理教育乱象，让教育真正回归平民化、公平性，使普通人有向上流动的空间，未来还要治理高房价、高医疗费，彻底铲平教育、医疗、住房三座大山。虽然我们不搞杀富济贫，但需要切实解决富者愈富、贫者愈贫的收入差距越来越大的问题，共同富裕是要让普通劳动者在社会财富分配中能够获得更多收入...

Neo-Maoist site Utopia seems pleased Li’s post is getting such widespread republication - 李光满：人民网、新华网、央视网、中国军网、光明网等央媒及数十家省区市媒体集中在重要位置转发“李光满冰点时评”文章！－乌有之乡

8月29日，人民日报社的人民网、新华社的新华网、中央广播电视总台的央视网、解放军报社的中国军网、光明日报社的光明网、中国青年报社的中青在线、中新网、人民日报旗下环球网等中央媒体在头版重要位置集中统一转发“李光满冰点时评”第1073期文章《每个人都能感受到，一场深刻的变革正在进行！》，各大央媒集中统一刊发一篇来自公众号自媒体的文章十分罕见，显然是新闻宣传主管部门和网信主管部门的统一安排，由此形成了非常强势的宣传效应。

Recent posts by Li Guangman 微信公众号 李光满冰点时评(ligm-479210127) 最新文章 | 微信公众号文章阅读 - WeMP

This nastiness has been telegraphed for a while:

"Worshipping America" and "Kneeling to America" - December 17, 2020 - Sinocism

“The "Worshipping America" and "Kneeling to America" soft-bone disease must be cured!” is a very nasty piece by the Xinhua commentator "Xin Shiping" directed at people who have been critical of China's more assertive stance towards America…

This Xinhua commentary has a very specific domestic target, with the stark message to pick the correct side or you will be in trouble - "for those "kneeling people" who forget their ancestors and and aid the evil-doers, we must resolutely struggle against them, pierce their painted skin, eliminate their influence, and not let wrong values confuse people."

Xi’s letter to the Journal of Chinese Humanities《文史哲》; Competing views of “multilateralism”; Potemkin saplings - May 10 2021 Sinocism

The Journal of Chinese Humanities,《文史哲》or Literature, History and Philosophy in Chinese, is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. The official readout of Xi’s reply to a letter from the editors emphasizes the promotion of Chinese culture and civilization.

Those with a deeper understanding of CCP history may see more signals about the intensifying anti-Americanism in Xi’s New Era. Some will blame Trump, and he certainly helped accelerate it. But it was one of the reasons I left in 2015, long before Trump, but already well into the Xi’s New Era.

As Geremie R. Barmé told me this morning over email:

"That noxious journal was the vehicle for the attack on Yu Pingbo in 1954, part of the on-going destruction of Chinese academia and Mao’s purge of pro Hu Shih, pro American academics"

And that is why some of the more politically sensitive people in my network find this concerning.

2. Central Conference on Ethnic Affairs

As expected from the foreshadowing comments from Xi and the propaganda [see the August 25 newsletter], there was a central conference on ethnic affairs Friday and Saturday, the first since 2014.

Xi stresses high-quality development of Party's work on ethnic affairs - Xinhua

Xi Jinping has stressed consolidating the sense of community for the Chinese nation and unswervingly taking the correct approaches with Chinese characteristics to handling ethnic affairs when addressing the central conference on ethnic affairs...

The historical position of the Party's ethnic work in the new era must be understood from the strategic perspective of national rejuvenation, Xi said.

Guiding all ethnic groups to jointly strive for fully building a modern socialist country must be taken as a crucial task of CPC's ethnic work in the new era, Xi noted.

Forging the sense of community for the Chinese nation must be the focus of CPC's ethnic work in the new era, he said, adding that the right perspective of the Chinese nation's history must be upheld, and the sense of national identity and pride must be boosted.

All ethnic groups must be equal; the banner of the unity of the Chinese nation must be held high, he said.

The system of regional ethnic autonomy must be upheld and improved, and the implementation of the CPC Central Committee's policies and decisions as well as China's laws and regulations must be guaranteed, he stressed.

The sense of belonging for the Chinese nation must be established; extensive exchanges, communication and integration of various ethnic groups must be promoted, according to Xi.

Ethnic affairs must be governed in accordance with the law; national sovereignty, security and development interests must be resolutely safeguarded, Xi said.

The CPC's leadership over ethnic work must be upheld, he stressed...

Only through fostering a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation and all ethnic groups jointly safeguarding national security and social stability, can the infiltration and subversion of extremist and separatist thoughts be resisted and the aspiration of the people of all ethnic groups for a better life be fulfilled, Xi said.

Only in doing so can powerful ideological guarantees be provided for the prosperity and enduring stability of the Party and the country, he said, urging efforts to forge a community with a shared future for the Chinese nation with a higher sense of national identity and a stronger bond of attachment among the people.

All ethnic groups should be guided to always place the interests of the Chinese nation above anything else, with their consciousness of different ethnic groups serving the sense of community for the Chinese nation as a whole, Xi said.

Efforts should be made to see that the interests of all ethnic groups are realized in the process of the realization of the overall interests of the Chinese nation, Xi said.

Neither Han chauvinism nor local ethnic chauvinism is conducive to the development of a community for the Chinese nation, he stressed.

Xi called for promoting the use of standard spoken and written Chinese, protecting the spoken and written languages of all ethnic groups, and respecting and protecting the learning and use of spoken and written languages of ethnic minorities.

Xi underscored the need to facilitate the march of all ethnic groups toward socialist modernization....

In his concluding remarks, Wang Yang said that Xi's speech is the latest summary of the practice of the Party's work on ethnic affairs and the latest achievement in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context.

This is the almost 20 minutes Saturday CCTV Evening News report on the meeting; it lists 12 key tasks - 习近平在中央民族工作会议上强调 以铸牢中华民族共同体意识为主线 推动新时代党的民族工作高质量发展_CCTV

In his speech, Xi Jinping pointed out that the greatest achievement of the Party's national work is to walk out a correct road to solve national problems with Chinese characteristics. Since Reform and opening up, especially since the 18th Party congress, our party has stressed that the Chinese nation as a big family, the community of the Chinese nation, the concept, such as casting the community consciousness of the Chinese nation is in line and keep pace with The Times to carry out the party's ethnic theory and policy, accumulated to grasp the ethnic problems, to do a good job of national precious experience, formed the party's important thoughts on strengthening and improving the national work, Generally speaking, there are the following aspects.

First, we must grasp the historical orientation of the Party's work on ethnic groups in the new era from the height of the strategy for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and plan and advance the Party's work on ethnic groups in the new era with the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation as the starting point and goal.

Second, we must take it as an important task of the Party's ethnic work to encourage all ethnic groups to work together to build a modern socialist country in an all-round way in the new era, and encourage all ethnic groups to keep pace with The Times and work together for common prosperity and development

Third, we must focus on building a strong sense of community among the Chinese nation in the party's work concerning ethnic groups in the new era, encourage all ethnic groups to strongly identify with the great motherland, the Chinese nation, Chinese culture, the Communist Party of China, and socialism with Chinese characteristics, and constantly promote the building of a community for the Chinese nation.

Fourth, we must uphold a correct view of the History of the Chinese nation and enhance our sense of identity and pride in the Chinese nation.

Fifth, we must ensure that all ethnic groups are equal, ensure that they jointly run the country and participate in the management of state affairs, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the people of all ethnic groups.

Sixth, we must hold high the banner of unity of the Chinese nation and encourage all ethnic groups to embrace each other closely in the big Family of the Chinese nation like pomegranate seeds.

Seventh, we must uphold and improve the system of regional ethnic autonomy, ensure that the decisions of the CPC Central Committee are carried out effectively, ensure that state laws and regulations are implemented, and support all ethnic groups in developing the economy, improving people's livelihood, and achieving common development and prosperity.

Eighth, we must build a common spiritual home for the Chinese nation, so that the hearts of all ethnic groups will come together and become interdependent, forming a strong spiritual bond of cohesion and solidarity

Ninth, we must promote extensive exchanges, exchanges and integration among our ethnic groups, promote unity and unity among our ethnic groups in ideals, beliefs, feelings and cultures, and help each other and deepen brotherhood.

Tenth, we must continue to govern ethnic affairs in accordance with the law and modernize the system and capacity for governing ethnic affairs.

Eleventh, we must resolutely safeguard China's sovereignty, security and development interests, educate and guide all ethnic groups to carry on and carry forward their patriotic traditions, and conscientiously safeguard national reunification, national security and social stability.

Twelfth, we must uphold the Party's leadership over ethnic affairs and enhance our ability to solve ethnic problems and do our work well. The Party's important thoughts on strengthening and improving the work related to ethnic groups crystallizes the wisdom of the Party's theory and practice of work related to ethnic groups, and is the fundamental guideline for the Party's work related to ethnic groups in the new era. The whole Party must fully, accurately and comprehensively grasp and implement it...

Xi Jinping emphasized that casting the consciousness of community for the Chinese nation is the key link of the Party's ethnic affairs work in the New Era, and all work should focus on this.

Comment: 以铸牢中华民族共同体意识为纲 far away? let's hope not. that of course would be a play on 以阶级斗争为纲 taking class struggle as the key link]

习近平在讲话中指出，回顾党的百年历程，党的民族工作取得的最大成就，就是走出了一条中国特色解决民族问题的正确道路。改革开放特别是党的十八大以来，我们党强调中华民族大家庭、中华民族共同体、铸牢中华民族共同体意识等理念，既一脉相承又与时俱进贯彻党的民族理论和民族政策，积累了把握民族问题、做好民族工作的宝贵经验，形成了党关于加强和改进民族工作的重要思想，概括起来有以下方面。

一是必须从中华民族伟大复兴战略高度把握新时代党的民族工作的历史方位，以实现中华民族伟大复兴为出发点和落脚点，统筹谋划和推进新时代党的民族工作。

二是必须把推动各民族为全面建设社会主义现代化国家共同奋斗作为新时代党的民族工作的重要任务，促进各民族紧跟时代步伐，共同团结奋斗、共同繁荣发展。

三是必须以铸牢中华民族共同体意识为新时代党的民族工作的主线，推动各民族坚定对伟大祖国、中华民族、中华文化、中国共产党、中国特色社会主义的高度认同，不断推进中华民族共同体建设。

四是必须坚持正确的中华民族历史观，增强对中华民族的认同感和自豪感。

五是必须坚持各民族一律平等，保证各民族共同当家作主、参与国家事务管理，保障各族群众合法权益。

六是必须高举中华民族大团结旗帜，促进各民族在中华民族大家庭中像石榴籽一样紧紧抱在一起。

七是必须坚持和完善民族区域自治制度，确保党中央政令畅通，确保国家法律法规实施，支持各民族发展经济、改善民生，实现共同发展、共同富裕。

八是必须构筑中华民族共有精神家园，使各民族人心归聚、精神相依，形成人心凝聚、团结奋进的强大精神纽带。

九是必须促进各民族广泛交往交流交融，促进各民族在理想、信念、情感、文化上的团结统一，守望相助、手足情深。

十是必须坚持依法治理民族事务，推进民族事务治理体系和治理能力现代化。

十一是必须坚决维护国家主权、安全、发展利益，教育引导各民族继承和发扬爱国主义传统，自觉维护祖国统一、国家安全、社会稳定。

十二是必须坚持党对民族工作的领导，提升解决民族问题、做好民族工作的能力和水平。我们党关于加强和改进民族工作的重要思想，是党的民族工作理论和实践的智慧结晶，是新时代党的民族工作的根本遵循，全党必须完整、准确、全面把握和贯彻...

"习近平强调，铸牢中华民族共同体意识是新时代党的民族工作的“纲”，所有工作要向此聚焦

围绕铸牢中华民族共同体意识强化政治监督————头条——中央纪委国家监委网站

Discipline inspection and supervision cadres learn and understand the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech at the Central Ethnic Work Conference - Strengthening political supervision around casting the consciousness of the Chinese nation community

Xi Jinping signals bigger role for China in global fight against terror | South China Morning Post

Wrapping the first conference of its kind in seven years, Xi told the attendees on Saturday to “firmly prevent major risks and hidden dangers in ethnic affairs”, according to state news agency Xinhua.

“[We] should hold the ground of ideology. [We] should actively and steadily address the ideological issues that involve ethnic factors, and continue to eradicate poisonous thoughts of ethnic separatism and religious extremism,” Xi was quoted as saying.

“International anti-terrorism cooperation should be also intensified, working with major countries, regions, international organisations and overseas Chinese ethnic minorities.”..

Li Wei, a researcher with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said the warning meant China would ramp up its international efforts to combat terrorism.

3. More anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition regulation coming

Xi stresses anti-monopoly regulation, anti-pollution fight, better reserve system - Xinhua

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday stressed efforts to strengthen anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition regulations, improve the country's reserve system and fight against pollution.

Xi...made the remarks while presiding over the 21st meeting of the central committee for deepening overall reform....

The meeting reviewed and approved a series of guidelines, including those on strengthening anti-monopoly regulation and promoting fair competition, those on improving the reserve system for materials of strategic importance or for emergency use, those on fighting pollution and those on giving better play to the supervisory role of statistical work.

The implementation of anti-monopoly regulations and policies promoting fair competition is an intrinsic requirement for improving the socialist market economic system, Xi said, underlining efforts to foster a level playing field, create broad development space for all types of market entities and better protect the rights and interests of consumers in accordance with the strategic vision of fostering a new development paradigm, and promoting high-quality development and common prosperity.

Xi also called for efforts to optimize the mechanisms for the storage and management of strategic and emergency response supplies to strengthen the country's capability to guard against major risks.

The country's anti-pollution achievements should be further consolidated, Xi said, stressing targeted, scientific and law-based measures in the fight against pollution.

He also underlined the supervisory role of statistical work, better data quality and faster construction of a statistical supervision system that is complete, efficient and effective...

China has stepped up anti-monopoly supervision, investigated and punished relevant platform enterprises with behaviors of monopoly and unfair competition in accordance with the law, the meeting said, noting initial progress on preventing the disorderly expansion of capital and the steady improvement of fair competition in the market.

Comment: "Initial progress 稳步向好" means expect much more to come

The anti-monopoly mechanism should be improved and the anti-monopoly supervision force should be strengthened, the meeting said.

China's state reserves and emergency response capacity should match its status as a major country, said the meeting, which urged efforts to shore up weak links in the reserves of key materials and establish a unified system for providing strategic and emergency response supplies.

The meeting decided to improve the mechanism of market adjustment for strategic reserves, strengthen the ability to reserve and adjust bulk commodities and have the strategic reserves play a better role in stabilizing the market...

Question: Is China building a strategic semiconductor reserve?

Statistical supervision work should focus on the evaluation of the implementation of China's major development strategies, the handling of major risks and the solution of prominent problems that are of great concern to the people, it said.

In terms of environmental protection, the meeting decided that the ecosystem should be taken into consideration as a whole, and the formation of an integrated plan for reducing pollution and carbon emissions should be accelerated.

As always the Chinese-language readout is more interesting - 习近平主持召开中央全面深化改革委员会第二十一次会议强调 加强反垄断反不正当竞争监管力度 完善物资储备体制机制 深入打好污染防治攻坚战 李克强王沪宁韩正出席--时政--人民网

In view of the outstanding problems such as barbaric growth and disorderly expansion of some platform enterprises, we strengthened anti-monopoly supervision, investigated and dealt with the monopolistic and unfair competition behaviors of relevant platform enterprises according to law, prevented the disorderly expansion of capital and achieved initial results, and the market fair competition order steadily improved.

The meeting stressed that it is necessary to make overall plans for development and security, efficiency and fairness, vitality and order, domestic and international, adhere to regulatory norms and promote development, pay equal attention to both hands, clarify rules, draw the bottom line, set up "traffic lights", guide and urge enterprises to obey the leadership of the Party, obey and serve the overall situation of economic and social development, and encourage and support enterprises to play an active role in promoting scientific and technological progress, prospering the market economy, facilitating people's lives and participating in international competition ... It is necessary to improve the anti-monopoly system and mechanism and enrich the anti-monopoly supervision force.

针对一些平台企业存在野蛮生长、无序扩张等突出问题，我们加大反垄断监管力度，依法查处有关平台企业垄断和不正当竞争行为，防止资本无序扩张初见成效，市场公平竞争秩序稳步向好。

会议强调，要统筹发展和安全、效率和公平、活力和秩序、国内和国际，坚持监管规范和促进发展两手并重、两手都要硬，明确规则，划出底线，设置好“红绿灯”，引导督促企业服从党的领导，服从和服务于经济社会发展大局，鼓励支持企业在促进科技进步、繁荣市场经济、便利人民生活、参与国际竞争中发挥积极作用...要加大监管执法力度，加强平台经济、科技创新、信息安全、民生保障等重点领域执法司法。要完善反垄断体制机制，充实反垄断监管力量...

The meeting emphasized that China is a big country, and it must have national reserve strength and emergency response capability consistent with its status as a big country. It is necessary to make overall plans to solve the problems of "what to store", "who will store" and "how to store", systematically plan and scientifically optimize the category, scale and structure of reserves, and speed up filling up the shortcomings of key categories of materials. It is necessary to speed up the improvement of a unified strategic and emergency material reserve system, adhere to government-led, social co-construction, and multi-complementarity, improve the reserve mechanism combining central and local, physical and production capacity, and government and enterprise reserves, optimize the production capacity guarantee and regional layout of important materials, implement the reserve responsibility by classification, improve the reserve mode, and innovate the reserve management mechanism. It is necessary to improve the regulation mechanism of the strategic reserve market, enhance the capacity of bulk commodity reserve and regulation, and give full play to the stable market function of the strategic reserve. It is necessary to strengthen the supervision of national reserves and bring into play the joint efforts of professional supervision, industry supervision and territorial supervision.

会议强调，我国是大国，必须具备同大国地位相符的国家储备实力和应急能力。要统筹解决好“储什么”、“谁来储”、“怎么储”的问题，系统规划、科学优化储备的品类、规模、结构，加快补齐补足关键品类物资短板。要加快健全统一的战略和应急物资储备体系，坚持政府主导、社会共建、多元互补，健全中央和地方、实物和产能、政府和企业储备相结合的储备机制，优化重要物资产能保障和区域布局，分类分级落实储备责任，完善储备模式，创新储备管理机制。要完善战略储备市场调节机制，增强大宗商品储备和调节能力，更好发挥战略储备的稳定市场功能。要加大国家储备监管力度，发挥专业监管、行业监管、属地监管合力。

China's market regulator to tighten oversight of sharing economy | Reuters

China's market regulator said on Monday it would step up oversight of the so-called sharing economy, where consumers share access to goods and services often with the help of an online platform.

4. US Origins review does not find anything conclusive

So no progress, more recriminations, no prospects for improvement in cooperation

Intelligence Review Yields No Firm Conclusion on Origins of Coronavirus - The New York Times

The nation’s spy agencies, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said, are unlikely to reach a conclusion without more cooperation from China or new sources of information...

“We will do everything we can to trace the roots of this outbreak that has caused so much pain and death around the world, so that we can take every necessary precaution to prevent it from happening again,” Mr. Biden said. “Critical information about the origins of this pandemic exists in the People’s Republic of China, yet from the beginning, government officials in China have worked to prevent international investigators and members of the global public health community from accessing it.”..

After the review, the National Intelligence Council and four other intelligence agencies reported that they believed the virus that causes Covid-19 was most likely created by “natural exposure to an infected animal through an animal infected with it, or close progenitor virus.”

Before the review was conducted, only two agencies favored the natural exposure theory.

The declassified summary PDF

Statement by Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu on Release of US Intelligence Report on COVID-19 Origins

The US, however, disregards science and facts. It is instead obsessed with political manipulation and origins tracing by the intelligence community. Without providing any evidence, the US has cooked up one story after another to defame and accuse China. The aim is to use origins tracing to shift blame onto China and spread the political virus. The deployment of the intelligence community in origins tracing is in itself a compelling evidence of the politicization of the issue.

The US accuses China of not being transparent or cooperative on origins tracing. This is sheer nonsense. China attaches great importance to international scientific cooperation on origins tracing, and has taken an active part in such cooperation. Acting on the principles of science, openness and transparency, we have twice invited WHO experts to China for origins tracing research. Early this year, a WHO-China joint study team of leading international and Chinese experts conducted a 28-day research in China and released a Joint Report containing authoritative, professional and science-based conclusions. This is a good foundation for international cooperation on origins tracing. We have been supporting science-based efforts on origins tracing, and will continue to stay actively engaged. That said, we firmly oppose attempts to politicize this issue.

It is actually the US that is not being transparent, responsible and cooperative on this issue. The US has been refusing to respond to the international community's reasonable doubts on the Fort Detrick biolab and the over 200 overseas bases for biological experiments, trying to cover up the truth and avoid being held responsible. The onus is on the US to give the world an answer.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on August 27, 2021

China Review News: According to reports, a senior US official said that "China continues to obfuscate and deny the international community the needed access" to COVID-19 information. "If there were sound, technically credible reasons for a US investigation, we would of course support it. But there are none," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Do you have any comment?

Zhao Lijian: Origins tracing is a matter of science. China always supports and will continue to participate in the science-based origins study.

Instead of thinking about how to control the epidemic in the US and save people's lives, some US politicians and officials are trying in vain to shift the blame for their own failure in fighting the virus onto China with a report drafted by the intelligence agencies. This will only disrupt and undermine international cooperation in the origins study and epidemic response. The allegation that China refuses to provide "needed access" is nothing but an excuse to cover the US' own failed intelligence-led origins tracing.

The US side said they need "reasons" to support an investigation in the US. Then, please answer the following questions. First, patients of the EVALI outbreak in July 2019 in Wisconsin in the US had symptoms highly similar to that of COVID-19. Isn't this a reason? Second, according to the US NIH website, research has shown that evidence of infection in five states appeared back in December 2019. Isn't this a reason? Third, the US government sealed blood samples collected before January 2, 2020 from further testing on the ground that it interferes with the origins tracing agenda and is detrimental to US national security. Isn't this a reason? Fourth, Florida Department of Health once removed data from its website that showed 171 patients had coronavirus symptoms or positive test results in January and February, 2020. Isn't this a reason? Fifth, many comments on social media like Facebook indicate that more than 200 people in the US or countries having close ties with the US said publicly people they know or they themselves had suspected infection of the novel coronavirus as early as in November 2019, with COVID-like symptoms. Isn't this a reason? Sixth, 12 countries including Costa Rica and Kenya publicly said that their "patient zero" of COVID-19 came from the US. Isn't this a reason? Seventh, Fort Detrick and the University of North Carolina (UNC) have a dark chapter in history and poor safety records of coronavirus researches. The US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, which is based in Fort Detrick, was shut down by the US CDC because of serious safety incidents in the fall of 2019, before the outbreak of COVID-19. Isn't this a reason?

Given that the US is confident that it has nothing to hide, then it should face up to the questions of the international community by inviting the WHO to do the origins study in Fort Detrick and the UNC, and release the raw data on early cases in the US. Should the US refuse to cooperate, it would only further expose its true intention of politicizing origins study.

Xinhua Commentary: U.S. attempt to pressure China by politicizing COVID-19 origins-tracing doomed to fail

The U.S. intelligence community's "report" is based on a presumption of guilt on the part of China, seeking to scapegoat China for the U.S. side's failure to effectively protect its citizens from the virus.

With its rich medical resources, the United States has, however, registered the most infections and death cases from COVID-19 across the globe.

The U.S. side has been shying away from tracing the virus origins at home and closing the door on any such possibility. If the U.S. side insists on the lab leak theory, it should invite WHO experts to investigate military bio-lab Fort Detrick.

Exclusive: China CDC experts suggest survey on cold-chain suppliers to Wuhan in WHO’s 2nd-phase probe on virus origins - Global Times

Amid the consensus among worldwide scientists that the second phase of the study on coronavirus origins should be carried out in multiple places, officials and experts from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) suggested that the WHO should take cold chain as a key clue and directly probe the countries where the virus had been found on samples of their cold-chain products and conduct epidemiological survey on cold-chain workers from countries that shipped products to Wuhan in 2019.

5. Wang Yi and Tony Blinken have a chat

Comment: Quite interesting to see the long PRC readout compared to a once sentence from the US side.

Chinese FM holds phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State - Xinhua

During the conversation, Blinken said that at a critical moment when the U.S. military withdrawal and evacuation from Afghanistan is nearing the end, Washington believes that the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) should speak in a clear and unified voice to show that the international community expects the Taliban to ensure the safe evacuation of foreign citizens and the Afghan people's access to humanitarian assistance, and to guarantee that Afghan territory cannot become a hotbed of terrorist attacks or a safe haven for terrorism.

Wang said that the situation in Afghanistan has undergone fundamental changes, and it is necessary for all parties to make contact with the Taliban and guide it actively.

The United States, in particular, needs to work with the international community to provide Afghanistan with urgently-needed economic, livelihood and humanitarian assistance, help the new Afghan political structure maintain normal operation of government institutions, maintain social security and stability, curb currency depreciation and inflation, and embark on the journey of peaceful reconstruction at an early date, he said.

Facts have proved again that the Afghanistan war never achieved the goal of eliminating terrorist forces in Afghanistan, Wang said, adding that the hasty withdrawal of the U.S. and NATO troops is likely to offer an opportunity to various terrorist groups in Afghanistan to resurge...

If the U.S. side also hopes to bring bilateral relations back on the right track, it should stop blindly smearing and attacking China, and stop undermining China's sovereignty, security and development interests, Wang said.

The U.S. side should take seriously the two lists China has put forward to the United States during the talks in Tianjin, as well as the three basic demands as bottom lines that China firmly upholds, Wang said.

Wang noted that China resolutely opposes the so-called investigation report on COVID-19 origins produced by the U.S. intelligence community recently.

Politicizing origins tracing is a political burden left by the former U.S. government, Wang said, adding that the sooner the U.S. side unloads this burden, the easier it will get out of the current predicament...

Blinken said the United States has no intention of blaming any country for the origins tracing of COVID-19. As major countries, both the United States and China have responsibility to provide all necessary information, thoroughly investigate the origins of the virus and avoid the recurrence of a pandemic.

Secretary Blinken’s Call with People’s Republic of China State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi - United States Department of State

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with PRC State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi about the importance of the international community holding the Taliban accountable for the public commitments they have made regarding the safe passage and freedom to travel for Afghans and foreign nationals.

6. PRC Special Envoy Yue Xiaoyong talks about Afghanistan

China’s special Afghan envoy optimistic about future relations with ‘friendly’ Taliban | South China Morning Post

Yue Xiaoyong, who was appointed to the post last month, told the Chinese news portal Guancha.cn that Beijing was ready to take part in the peaceful reconstruction of Afghanistan and repeatedly stressed the importance of maintaining communications with the militant group...

Yue, who was speaking from Pakistan, continued: “From a long-term and constructive perspective, China is ready to be part of the peaceful reconstruction of Afghanistan. We are not only ready to open, develop and build our own country, we are also willing to develop a win-win situation with them…

“For us, the best way forward is to communicate and be in touch with them, and work with them towards a peaceful reconciliation to build a widely accepted government, work towards combating terrorism, and build Afghanistan into a country that is friendly to its neighbours, the region and the international community,” he said.

Yue said “up to now, we have seen some positive trends from how the Taliban entered Kabul” and took over most of the country with problems in just a “few locations”.

“This is a continuous progress, and this is why we are going to keep up our exchanges with the Taliban and other interested parties to make sure that we, as neighbouring countries, can help them build an environment and conditions that can help Afghans to really take charge of their country’s future.

The full interview with Yue - 李世默专访中国阿富汗事务特使岳晓勇：一旦阿富汗人民抓住机会，他们会发展得很好

Yue Xiaoyong: Thank you. This is a good description of the situation in Afghanistan and a good question. Let me put it this way: the irresponsible withdrawal of the United States and NATO is indeed the main reason for the disaster and crisis and the chaotic situation in Afghanistan. This is indeed a good lesson. I think the United States should learn from the lessons of the past 20 years. They have invested a lot of resources and spent a lot of money in Afghanistan, with more than two trillion dollars and thousands of casualties, but now there is such a chaotic situation. This is not only a military failure, but also a failure of international politics and American credibility.

We hope that when I talk with my American counterparts face to face, I also say bluntly that the United States should learn lessons and correct mistakes earnestly. Now, when trying to solve the Afghan crisis, and when we deal with the Afghan problem together with the international community in the future, we should avoid repeating the same mistakes. The United States is still an important participant in solving the Afghan problem and one of the extraterritorial countries. We sincerely hope that they can learn this heavy lesson. They have failed in military, political and national credibility.

岳晓勇：谢谢。这是对阿富汗形势很好的描述，也是一个很好的问题。我这么说吧，美国以及北约不负责任地撤军，这确实是引发灾难和危机、导致阿富汗混乱局势出现的主要原因。这确实是一个很好的教训，我认为，美国应该吸取过去20年的教训。他们在阿富汗投入了大量资源，花费了大量资金，超过两万亿美元，并有数千人伤亡，现在却出现了这样一个混乱的局面。这不仅仅是军事上的失败，这也是国际政治和美国信誉的失败。

我们希望，我在与美国同行面对面交流时也直言不讳地说，美国应该吸取教训，切实纠正错误。现在在努力解决阿富汗危机时，以及在今后我们与国际社会一道处理阿富汗问题时，要避免重蹈覆辙。美国仍然是解决阿富汗问题的重要参与者和域外国家之一，我们真心希望他们能吸取这个沉重的教训，他们在军事、政治和国家信誉方面都失败了。

7. More rectification ahead for entertainers

Ministry of Culture and Tourism Department issues a notice on 8.30: Standardize the commercial behavior of entertainers and never provide a stage for those who violate laws and regulations -文旅部：规范演职人员商业行为，决不为违法违规人员提供舞台

Deeply study the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's series of important expositions on literature and art work. It is necessary to improve the political position, constantly strengthen the "four consciousnesses", strengthen the "four self-confidences" and achieve the "two maintenance", and deeply understand that literature and art is an important cause of the party and the people, and the literature and art front is an important front of the party and the people. It is necessary to organize the vast number of literary and art workers to profoundly understand the rich connotation and spiritual essence of General Secretary Xi Jinping's series of important expositions on literary and art work through various forms such as special theoretical study, concentrated discussion and exchange, and sharing experiences, and unify thoughts and actions into the spirit of exposition. It is necessary to guide the vast number of literary and art workers to consciously take Xi Jinping's socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era as the guide, undertake the mission of raising the banner, gathering people's hearts, cultivating new people, developing culture and showing their image, stress taste, style and responsibility, constantly improve their ideological and moral cultivation, professional ethics and humanistic art cultivation, and strive to be literary and art workers with both morality and art.

深入学习习近平总书记关于文艺工作的系列重要论述精神。要提高政治站位，不断增强“四个意识”，坚定“四个自信”，做到“两个维护”，深刻认识文艺事业是党和人民的重要事业，文艺战线是党和人民的重要战线。要组织广大文艺工作者通过专题理论学习、集中研讨交流、分享心得体会等多种形式，深刻领会习近平总书记关于文艺工作系列重要论述的丰富内涵和精神实质，把思想和行动统一到论述精神上来。要引导广大文艺工作者自觉以习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想为指导，承担起举旗帜、聚民心、育新人、兴文化、展形象的使命任务，讲品味、讲格调、讲责任，不断提高思想品德修养、职业道德素养和人文艺术涵养，争做德艺双馨的文艺工作者。

Shares Linked to China’s Second-Largest Broadcaster Plummet Amid Star’s Sexual Assault Scandal - Caixin

The stock of Mango Excellent Media, one of the listed companies controlled by China’s second-largest television network Hunan Broadcasting System, has shed 13.74% since Friday morning to hit the lowest level of the year, after the Alibaba-backed firm terminated its cooperation with Qian Feng...

Last month a celebrity who appeared on online platform Mango TV, Huo Zun, saw content he was in ripped from major Chinese video streaming sites such as Tencent Video and Alibaba-owned Youku, after the less serious allegation that he had cheated on his partner.

Platforms clean up ‘fan circle’ content amid fierce crackdown against irrational idol worship - Global Times

The Global Times found on Sunday that QQ Music under Tencent has banned users from purchasing more than one piece of the same album at a time.

The price of one digital album usually ranged from 20 to 50 yuan ($6.50) on QQ Music. Previously, the platform did not limit how many times a user could pay for one album or one song and it is not unusual for Chinese fans to buy more than 100 pieces at once albums to support their idols.

8. Ministry of Education announces more measures to reduce student and parent burdens

China eases student pressure with 'strongest moves in decades,' but concern about new inequality lingers - Global Times

China's new school year will begin after the Ministry of Education on Monday issued new requirements, including limiting the number of exams among students, as part of China's ongoing "strongest moves in decades" to ease the burden on students.

At a Monday conference, the ministry said that first and second graders should not be given written examinations. For other grades, schools should give only one final examination every semester, compared with previous routines for schools of jamming multiple exams into a semester.

Education officials on Monday reiterated a ban on schools setting up "priority" classes for gifted students. 

The ministry added that difficulties of exams should be set within a reasonable scale, and any question beyond the normal teaching schedule must be avoided. Midterm and final exam results should be given by grades instead of scores. 

A Is for Anxiety: Tutoring Clampdown Tests China’s Parents - SixthTone

a set of new government policies announced this summer has turned both the industry and the lives of parents like He upside down. Called shuangjian, or “double reduction,” the policy package aims to decrease the amount of time children in grades one through nine spend on homework and extracurricular classes, and follows other recent efforts to lighten Chinese couples’ childcare burdens and boost the country’s ebbing birth rate.

So far, however, many parents tell Sixth Tone the reforms have brought them nothing but anxiety. As their children’s schedules are more exhausting than ever, parents themselves are in a frenzied free-for-all to secure spots at a shrinking number of extra-curricular classes. To many, actually reducing their child’s after-school activities is not an option.

Megacities Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou have been designated as the first cities to pilot the shuangjian reforms. Their ultimate goal is to convince parents their children can do with fewer classes in subjects they’re already taught at school. But in interviews with nearly 30 families in Shanghai and Beijing, Sixth Tone found the vast majority (92%) vowed to continue seeking out extra courses for their children. Three out of four said that the policies, instead of making it easier to raise children, have only made their lives more stressful.

教育部办公厅关于加强义务教育学校考试管理的通知 - 中华人民共和国教育部政府门户网站

Notice from the Ministry of Education

接替陈宝生后，新任教育部部长怀进鹏首次亮相，透露新信号_腾讯新闻

教育部基础教育司司长吕玉刚说，新学期开学后，义务教育学校要严格执行均衡编班的法律规定，不得以任何名义设置重点班，切实做到均衡配置师资。

“严格执行教学计划，不得随意增减课时、改变难度、调整进度，不得利用课后服务时间讲新课。严格执行作业管理规定，严禁给家长布置或变相布置作业，严禁要求家长检查、批改作业，杜绝重复性、惩罚性作业，不得要求学生自批自改作业。严格执行考试管理规定，不得违规组织考试，考试结果不排名、不公布并以适当方式告知家长和学生，不得按考试结果给学生调整分班、排座位、‘贴标签’。”

Business, Economy and Trade

State Council unveils plan to boost employment - State Council By 2025, the employment situation should be stable overall, with newly added urban jobs reaching over 55 million and the surveyed urban unemployment rate kept within 5.5 percent, according to the circular. The quality of employment will be improved steadily, with a better social security system covering urban and rural labors and a further guarantee of labor rights and interests. Higher quality in human resources will meet the demand of industrial transformation and upgrading, as well as high-quality development. The average education years of the working-age population will reach 11.3, and 55 percent of the newly added labor force will receive higher education.

十四五就业规划强化就业优先 增加一线劳动者的劳动报酬—搜狐“劳动报酬” “labour income” appears six times in a latest action plan on employment during the 14th Five-Year Plan, as policymakers pledge to increase incomes for “front-line” workers 一线劳动者. Research from Zhejiang University shows that the ratio of labour income of all income sources dropped from 53% to 40% between 1998-2007. It had improved slightly in the years since, but has remained lower than the average level in the 90s. 特别在1998~2007年的十年间，劳动报酬份额从53%下降到不足40%。从2007年至2012年，劳动报酬份额从39%回升到46%，仍明显低于上世纪90年代中期的水平。

Meituan chief adopts Xi’s wealth redistribution rhetoric | Financial Times $$ Wang Xing, the founder and chief executive of the Beijing-based food delivery service, told investors on Monday that “common prosperity” was “built into the genes” of his company

一线城市房贷收紧：放款需排队 首付来源遭严查—中国证券报Many first-tier Chinese cities have tightened mortgage rules, with many banks applying stricter scrutiny to the source of down payments. One unnamed bank mortgage manager in Guangzhou told the China Securities Journal, “(We) will check the source even if the home fund comes from parents. It must be capital that is self-owned, and loans for (mortgage down payment) are not permitted.”

西安楼市调控升级 限购范围扩大 _ 证券时报网 Xi’an expands housing purchase restrictions

财政政策“风向标”：下半年将加快支出稳增长 适度提速地方政府专项债券发行—21世纪经济报道A report released by the finance ministry last week called for the acceleration of the issuance of special local government debt in the latter half of the year in a bid to “stabilize investment and growth.” 

African swine fever is spreading rapidly in China, again | The Economist The government is even being secretive about market data. Recently it has ordered news outlets only to use official figures relating to the prices, supply and consumption of pork. These are often unreliable. Two Chinese consultancies, Cofeed and jc Intelligence, which had supplied more widely trusted numbers, have been closed in recent months with little explanation. Some of their employees have reportedly been detained. It is a vicious circle. A lack of good information is making it hard for farmers to make sound decisions about breeding and selling. That causes fluctuations in supply, which in turn makes the market even murkier.

China cracks down on illegal online financial information accounts to ensure market stability - Global Times In the latest high-profile case, Huang, a shareholder of online P2P lending platform Xitouwang, was arrested by the police on August 18, after the platform was suspected of illegally taking public deposits, the Futian branch of the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau said in an announcement on Saturday. Xitouwang owes 662 million yuan ($102.3 million) to 5,635 people. Huang has been known to the public as a top financial blogger in China, with more than 3 million followers on his Sina Weibo account "Huang Sheng Studies Finance." He also has more than 2 million followers on his WeChat account and 1.41 million followers on short-video platform Douyin.

WeChat, Douyin and Weibo Commit to "Purifying the Internet" of Fake Financial News - China Banking News WeChat, Douyin and Weibo all issued public statements on 28 August declaring that they would engage in “specialist rectification and purification of the Internet environment,” targeting behaviour including the “release of economic and financial news in breach of regulations and the distorted interpretation of economic policy.” Other behaviour that will be targeted includes the “short singing and doom singing of financial markets,” serving as “black mouths” to attract attention from readers; the fabrication and spreading of rumours and intimidation or blackmail activity.

Inside the Huarong Bailout That Rocked China’s Financial Elite - Bloomberg Its long-delayed financial results -- at the time, still unknown to the wider world -- reached Chinese officialdom in mid-July. The figures were so dire that regulators were hesitant to sign off on them. They feared any association with Huarong might hurt their careers.

财政部原部长金人庆因家中失火去世，77岁_经济频道_财新网 Former Chinese Finance Minister Jin Renqing died in a fire at his home in Beijing - Caixin--"According to CCTV news, at 23:47 on August 27, books caught fire on the balcony of apartment 101, unit 1, Building 19, Yard 9, Yuyuantan South Road, Haidian District, Beijing. The fire department quickly arrived at the scene and the fire was extinguished at 0:17 on the 28th with an area of 2 square meters. An elderly injured person was rescued at the scene and later sent to Fuxing Hospital, where he passed away after rescue."

Former Chinese finance minister Jin Renqing dies after fire at home: report | South China Morning Post Citing sources close to the Ministry of Finance, news outlet Caixin identified the victim as Jin, who was confined to a wheelchair. Caixin also reported that Jin’s wife died 10 days ago and he was burning paper offerings for her on his balcony.

China's FX regulator surveyed banks, companies on yuan risk - sources | Reuters The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) surveyed "how companies in different sectors managed their FX exposure and how they used hedging tools", said one of the sources, who was directly involved in the survey. The SAFE did not give a reason for the survey,

China regulator probes Ping An Insurance's property investments -sources | Reuters China's banking and insurance sector regulator is probing Ping An Insurance Group Co of China Ltd's investments in the property market, two people with knowledge of the matter said, after the firm took a big profit hit from a soured bet. The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) has also ordered the insurer to stop selling alternative investment products, which are typically tied to the property market, said the people, who declined to be identified as the information is not public... in February disclosed a 54 billion yuan ($8.4 billion) exposure to the indebted China Fortune Land Development Co Ltd

Rich Friends Who Helped Evergrande Tycoon Count Their Losses - Bloomberg Strategic investors who spent a combined $3.4 billion buying shares in China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group in its January placement have seen the value of their investments plunge more than 70%. They’ve been unable to sell due to a lock-up agreement. Evergrande sold another $1.4

Investors shun Chinese high-yield debt after Evergrande shock | Financial Times $$ Interest rates on Chinese high-yield bonds issued offshore were 13.3 per cent last week, according to an index from ICE and Bank of America, up from less than 10 per cent in June and close to levels when the onset of the coronavirus pandemic dragged down bond prices at the start of 2020. The recent peak in late July was more than 14 per cent. // Comment: Still seems low

George Soros: Investors in Xi’s China face a rude awakening | Financial Times $$ In MSCI’s ACWI ESG Leaders Index, Alibaba and Tencent are two of the top 10 constituents. In BlackRock’s ESG Aware emerging market exchange-traded fund, Chinese companies represent a third of total investments. These indices have effectively forced hundreds of billions of dollars belonging to US investors into Chinese companies whose corporate governance does not meet the required standard — power and accountability is now exercised by one man who is not accountable to any international authority...The US Congress should pass a bipartisan bill explicitly requiring that asset managers invest only in companies where actual governance structures are both transparent and aligned with stakeholders. This rule should obviously apply to the performance benchmarks selected by pensions and other retirement portfolios.

China vows to scrub out illegally published financial content -Caixin The CAC will work with other departments, such as the Ministry of Finance and the China Securities Regulatory Commission, to carry out the campaign, aiming to curb the "chaotic" spread of financial information online and create a "healthy" public opinion environment on the internet, the statement said. The CAC said that several online platforms and social media accounts had "repeatedly" violated laws and regulations by publishing distorted interpretations of economic policies, spreading rumors and committing extortion.

China venture capital deals shrink amid regulatory concerns - Nikkei Asia Chinese startups have raised $32.6 billion from 634 deals that included foreign VCs this year as of Aug. 25, compared with $18.9 billion from 453 in the first eight months of 2020. So far in August, however, just $800 million has been raised from 67 deals with foreign participation, down from $4.7 billion in July. While several days remain in August, $800 million would be a new low for the pandemic period, PitchBook data shows. The previous low of $900 million was in January 2020, when COVID-19 first hit China and the country began a monthslong lockdown.

Chinese Regulator Vows to Crack Down on Private Equity Funds - Bloomberg The China Securities Regulatory Commission will work to root out so-called private equity funds that are actually sold to the general public instead of targeted investors, Chairman Yi Huiman said in a speech to a fund-industry association posted by the CSRC...The warning comes just weeks after China said it was halting private equity funds from raising money to invest in residential property developments, turning off the spigot on one of the last stable funding resorts for the struggling sector. // 易会满详述基金业高质量发展 提出五个“更加突出”原则_领导活动_中国金融新闻网

Yicai - Just 15% of China’s 2020 Small Town Undergrads Chose to Work in First-Tier Cities, Report Finds That compared with 18 percent in 2019 and 21 percent in 2016, the report released today by MyCOS, a Chinese higher education data and consulting firm, showed. The decline was attributed to high living costs in first-tier cities and the increased attractiveness of other cities. ‘Small towns’ refers to administrative districts at county-level cities and below. The latest survey, conducted in 30 provincial-level administrative areas and finished in early March, polled 124,000 undergraduates in 582 occupations and 330 industries.

Politics and Law

徐立毅 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 Rumors that Zhengzhou Party Secretary Xu Liyi will be replaced by Fei Dongbin. Xu served as Party Secretary of Wenzhou and then Mayor of Hangzhou before moving to the Zhengzhou job in 2019. If he is taken out, not clear if due to mishandling of July floods or tied to Hangzhou Party Secretary Zhou Jiangyong case

国家安全部：这个领域，去年破获的间谍案是5年前7倍|国家安全部_新浪科技_新浪网 The second press conference on the education and rectification of the national political and legal team was held, and the first batch of relevant information on the education and rectification was reported. Dong Jingwei, member of the Party Committee and Vice Minister of the Ministry of State Security, said at the press conference that according to the unified arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the Central Political and Legal Committee, all the city and county agencies of the state security organs participated in the first batch of education rectification...Dong Jingwei said that the number of espionage cases uncovered in the economic and financial fields last year was seven times that of five years ago. At the same time, the state security organs have strengthened their work in non-traditional fields such as biosafety, network security and data security, and achieved fruitful results. The state security organs insist on catching both foreign spies and "traitors". They are determined to fight bravely and be good at fighting by strong means and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests. // Comment: Interesting there was such an increase in economic and cases, also interesting that Dong Jingwei, the subject of feverish defection rumors a few months ago, makes another appearance

国家安全部召开深入贯彻习近平总书记重要训词精神推进会-中国长安网 On August 25, the Ministry of State Security held a meeting to thoroughly implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions, summarizing the study and implementation of the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions by the state security organs since the flag-conferring ceremony of the Chinese People's Police one year ago, and demanding that all police officers faithfully practice the leader's instructions, firmly fulfill the mission of the times, and continuously lead the study and implementation work in depth. Chen Wenqing, Party Secretary and Minister of the Ministry, attended the meeting and delivered a speech.

Tencent's messaging platform blocks LGBTQ search terms - Protocol — The people, power and politics of tech QQ, the Tencent-owned messaging platform used by over half a billion in China, now blocks search terms like "gay" or "LGBTQ," Protocol has learned. The software, available on both mobile and PC, allows users to find strangers and public group chats with key words. On Aug 30, searches with words like "gay," "lesbian," "LGBTQ," and "蕾丝" (a Chinese slang term for lesbian) come back with a notice: "Use the Internet in a civil manner. Say no to harmful information." QQ shows the same notice when users search for pornographic content. For other words like "同志 (Chinese slang for gay)," QQ only blocks the search results of group chats and doesn't show the notice. This practice could have started as early as in March 2021, when a Zhihu user posted a screenshot of a similar search result.

China’s Youngest Provincial Capital Chief Shows Growing Regional Role of Female Officials Shi Xiaolin (施小琳), a former Shanghai official and Communist Party standing committee member in Jiangxi province, has been named party chief of Sichuan’s Chengdu, becoming the latest in a string of female leaders to be promoted to senior regional party roles this year in a move which makes her the youngest figure to hold that position in any provincial capital...Born in 1969 in eastern China’s Zhejiang province, Shi has studied and worked in Shanghai for more than three decades. She holds a master’s degree in business administration from the city’s Tongji University.

Caixin｜浙江51岁副省长刘小涛改任温州书记_政经频道_财新网 51 year old Liu Xiaotao moved from vice governor of Zhejiang to Party Secretary of Wenzhou. He was trained as a labor economist, spent much of his career in Guangdong

It is vital and necessary for the Communist Party to keep its grip on data, writes boss of Chinese central enterprise | South China Morning Post The Communist Party of China must keep a firm grip on the country’s data just as the ruling party controls its military and the media, as data is a fundamental resource for the party’s rule, the chairman of a state-owned enterprise has written in an opinion piece. In an article published on the website of the Chinese Communist Party on Monday, Ou Li, chairman and party secretary of state-owned electronics maker China Hualu Group, wrote that data is not only an important production resource, but also a political tool as important as the “gun” and the “pen”. “It has critical importance for the party’s long and stable rule of the country and China’s overall competitiveness,” Li said.

Caixin Editorial: What Is the Key to Establishing a Healthy Government-Business Relationship? Recently, the Hangzhou Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party and its Supervision Commission have rectified prominent problems affecting the formation of a cordial and clean government-business relationship. The rectification mainly focused on regulating the way that the spouses, children, and children’s spouses of leading officials run their businesses and enterprises. It covers not only active officials but also those who have retired in the last three years. Over the past few years, forming a cordial and clean relationship between government and business has remained a top priority for the central and local governments. This is necessary not only to create clean governments but is also a precondition for improving the business environment and promoting sound economic development.

A History of Common Prosperity – China Media Project Casting about for a scapegoat for what was clearly also a serious internal messaging problem, coming in conjunction with its recent string of sweeping purges of large private enterprises in China, the Xinhua release pointed a finger at reports outside of China, stressing that common prosperity was “by no means robbing the rich to help the poor as misinterpreted by some Western media.” But what “common prosperity” really means for Xi Jinping and the current leadership of the CCP is a question that will have to remain open for now. There can be little doubt that the changes suggested by the leadership would require, at the very least, as Professor Pan Helin (盘和林), argues in today’s China Youth Daily, require “a change in people’s ideas of self-interest.” And in the absence of a vibrant civic space, such changes to the ideas that underpin society are a difficult, and potentially intrusive, proposition. As with the development of this phrase in the past, the meaning of “common prosperity” will become clearer in future rhetoric as well as in future practice

Foreign and Defense Affairs

Xi calls for more fruitful practical cooperation with Ecuador - Xinhua In a phone conversation with Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso, Xi said China is willing to expand the scale of imports from Ecuador, further liberalize and facilitate bilateral trade and investment, and cultivate new growth points such as the building of a health Silk Road, a digital Silk Road and a green Silk Road...The vaccines provided by China have been a vital support for Ecuador in fighting against the pandemic, which the Ecuadorian people are grateful for and will never forget, Lasso said. Ecuador opposes politicizing and stigmatizing the pandemic and hopes to continue to deepen vaccine cooperation with China, he said, adding that the Ecuadorian side regards China as its most important comprehensive strategic partner and welcomes more Chinese enterprises to conduct investment and cooperation in Ecuador.

Xi says China willing to walk together with Cuba in building socialism - Xinhua Xi Jinping said Monday that China is willing to walk together with Cuba in building socialism and be good partners in pursuing common development in a phone conversation with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel...Cuba stands ready to work with China to deepen multilateral coordination, and jointly oppose hegemonism, power politics, and the politicization and stigmatization of the epidemic, he said. He said Cuba firmly adheres to the one-China policy and opposes interference in China's internal affairs, and will continue to unswervingly support China's positions on issues of core interests such as those related to Taiwan and Xinjiang.

China to require foreign vessels to report in ‘territorial waters’ - The Hindu While it remains unclear how, whether, and where China plans to enforce this new regulation starting Wednesday, the Maritime Safety Administration said in a notice “operators of submersibles, nuclear vessels, ships carrying radioactive materials and ships carrying bulk oil, chemicals, liquefied gas and other toxic and harmful substances are required to report their detailed information upon their visits to Chinese territorial waters,” the Communist Party-run Global Times reported. The newspaper quoted observers as saying “such a rollout of maritime regulations are a sign of stepped-up efforts to safeguard China’s national security at sea by implementing strict rules to boost maritime identification capability.”

China protests US Navy, Coast Guard ships in Taiwan Strait - AP China’s defense ministry protested Saturday the passage of a U.S. Navy warship and Coast Guard cutter through the waters between China and Taiwan, a self-governing island claimed by China.

China will soon surpass Russia as a nuclear threat –senior U.S. military official | Reuters U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General Thomas Bussiere, the deputy commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees the country's nuclear arsenal, said China's development of nuclear capabilities "can no longer be aligned" with its public claim that it wants to maintain a minimum nuclear deterrent. "There's going to be a point, a crossover point, where the number of threats presented by China will exceed the number of threats that currently Russia presents," Bussiere told an online forum.

Pentagon holds talks with Chinese military for first time under Biden, official says | Reuters Michael Chase, deputy assistant secretary of defense for China, spoke last week with Chinese Major General Huang Xueping, deputy director for the People's Liberation Army Office for International Military Cooperation.

Meth, Vanilla and ‘Gulags’: How China Has Overtaken the South Pacific One Island at a Time - POLITICO What’s happening in Tonga is a microcosm of China’s expanding global influence and why the United States is losing ground fast.

郑永年：在西方，中国研究濒临死亡_爱思想 Zheng Yongnian says that "China Studies" in the West is near death

黄坤明同越共中央宣教部部长阮仲义视频会谈--新闻报道-中国共产党新闻网 PRC and Vietnam Ministers of Propaganda have a chat - "China is willing to work with Vietnam to conscientiously implement the consensus reached by the top leaders of the two parties and countries, promote pragmatic cooperation in publicity and culture, and continuously enrich the content of comprehensive strategic partnership."

English tutors loved teaching kids in China. But they can no longer continue. - Protocol — The people, power and politics of tech Washington last year axed two critical programs that have for decades facilitated immersed people-to-people exchange between the U.S. and China: the Peace Corps and the Fulbright Program. Now it's Beijing cutting a cultural tie in the other direction. Its swift crackdown on the private tutoring sector will not only cause tens of thousands of language tutors to lose their jobs, but shut down a precious cultural exchange channel connecting people in China with people elsewhere.

Why are these state media artists disrespecting the CCP? - by Kevin Carrico - NSL can't cancel me Obviously aware of the burdensome associations that accompany the terms “Xinhua,” “CCTV,” “CRI,” and “state-affiliated media,” there is a growing cohort of state media artists who are using Twitter to present their CCP talking point as spontaneous everyman perspectives from a random “journalist in Beijing” who wants to help readers move beyond their bias to better understand “the real China.” The deployment of young and plausibly attractive faces for the purpose of marketing dictatorship on social media apps banned in China is a fascinating new front in CCP propaganda work that requires further research.

Hong Kong

State Media Calls on Hong Kong to Compensate For Tide of Emigration — Radio Free Asiaon Monday, a Chinese state media organization, CRNTT, was the first to acknowledge that highly skilled people are leaving in large numbers. In an Aug. 30 report, it was the first media organization under the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to admit the link between the ongoing exodus from Hong Kong and the national security law, which took effect from July 1, 2020."There is a high proportion of professionals -- 12 percent -- among those emigrating," the article said. "The Hong Kong government should pay close attention to the increase in the number of professionals emigrating, and set out a long-term response strategy," it said.

The Last Memo | Bleak House Booksit is with great sadness that I need to announce that Bleak House Books will be closing. The last day the bookshop will be open to the public will be Friday, 15 October 2021, and the last day we will fulfill online orders placed with us will be Friday, 1 October 2021. The decision to close the bookshop follows another equally painful and sad decision, which is that my family and I will be leaving Hong Kong in the near future. As much as I would prefer not to have to disclose this in a public announcement, I believe I have a responsibility to the people who support the work that we do here at Bleak House Books to be honest and transparent about the reason for why I need to close the bookshop. The backdrop to these developments is, of course, politics.

Senior Beijing official was guest of honour at Hong Kong hotpot dinner that broke Covid rules - report | Hong Kong Free Press HKFPThe dinner at a Wan Chai private club, attended by three Hong Kong security officials and a Chinese real estate group executive on March 2, was to bid farewell to Song Ruan, then-deputy commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China in Hong Kong, Ming Pao reported on Monday. The dinner attended by Director of Immigration Au Ka-wang, Under Secretary for Security Sonny Au and Commissioner for Customs and Excise Hermes Tang was first disclosed by local media in July. It became the subject of public scrutiny because the officials were treated to a meal that could have cost over HK$2,000 in a members-only club, in the presence of Chen Fen, an investment executive with Chinese real estate group Evergrande. The presence of the officials came to light when police investigated rape allegations made against Chen by a woman who attended the dinner.

Taiwan

Facing China 'squeeze', Taiwan launches English-language news platform | Reuters Taiwan+, backed by T$775 million ($28 million) in government funding, will broadcast content online focusing on news, as well as features about Taiwan, from food and tourism to culture and technology. // https://taiwanplus.com/ is the new site

Tech and Media

China limits gaming time for under-18s to one hour a day on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays | South China Morning Post The National Press and Publication Administration (NAAP), China’s top watchdog for gaming and other forms of online media, formally issued the rules to combat gaming addiction among teenagers, according to a report by state media outlet Xinhua. The previous rules, introduced in 2019, limited the play time for minors to no more than 90 minutes each day and 3 hours on statutory holidays.

坚决防止未成年人沉迷网络游戏——国家新闻出版署有关负责人就《关于进一步严格管理 切实防止未成年人沉迷网络游戏的通知》答记者问-新华网 Xinhua Q&A with a responsible official on the new gaming restrictions

NetEase Games sets ambitious goals for global expansion- PingWestNetease, China's second-biggest gaming company, will allocate more money and focus on overseas markets as competition intensifies in the domestic market. Chinese regulators extend regulation storm from education to online games. "Overseas market will contribute 50% of our gaming revenue in the future, largely increase from only 10% now," said Hu Zhipeng, vice president at NetEase.

Alibaba Fires 10 for Leaking Sexual Assault Accusations - Bloomberg Alibaba announced internally last week it fired the group for sharing a harrowing account posted on an internal forum by a colleague surnamed Zhou, who accused a former manager of rape. Their offenses include sharing screenshots of the woman’s post in the public domain after removing watermarks that bore their IDs, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing an internal matter. Another three people have been reprimanded for making inappropriate comments in public forums, they added.

TikTok owner ByteDance acquires Pico and takes first step into VR -CNBC Pico was the third-largest virtual reality headset maker globally in the first quarter of 2021, with shipments growing 44.7% year-on-year, according to IDC.

Nokia pauses 5G project due to fear of US penalties – POLITICO Europe’s major telecoms operators are advocating for open RAN because it would break the market power of Ericsson, Nokia and — if it’s allowed by governments — Huawei. But the O-RAN Alliance also includes three Chinese firms that have been targeted with U.S. restrictions for posing a threat to U.S. national security, and for having close ties to the Chinese military: Kindroid, Phytium and Inspur. Chips company Kindroid and supercomputing firm Phytium are on the U.S. “entity list”

Yicai - China's Local State Cloud Platforms to Have Limited Market Impact, Industry Insiders Says Several provincial governments in China are building state-owned assets cloud platforms and have asked state-owned enterprises to move their cloud computing service businesses to these platforms. The move will have a limited impact on China’s existing cloud computing market, according to industry insiders...Industry insiders told Yicai Global that while the state-owned assets cloud platforms will benefit state-backed cloud service providers, their overall impact on China’s cloud computing market should be limited as the platforms will still need to rely on existing cloud computing vendors for their construction and operation.

The Semiconductor Heist Of The Century | Arm China Has Gone Completely Rogue, Operating As An Independent Company With Inhouse IP/R&D - by Dylan Patel - SemiAnalysis As part of the emphasis on the Chinese market, SoftBank succumbed to pressure and formed a joint venture. In the new joint venture, Arm Holdings, the SoftBank subsidiary sold a 51% stake of the company to a consortium of Chinese investors for paltry $775M. This venture has the exclusive right to license Arm’s IP within China. Within 2 years, the venture went rogue. Recently, they gave a presentation to the industry about rebranding, developing their own IP, and striking their own independently operated path. This firm is called “安谋科技”, and is not part of Arm Holdings... Arm has retaliated by halting the transfer of any new IP. The latest CPU IP Arm China has is the Cortex A77.

Society, Arts, Sports, Culture and History

Famous English language teacher exposed of home violence by ex-wife again, sparking heated discussion online - Global Times Li Yang, a famous English language teacher, was exposed by his American ex-wife of home violence again on Chinese social media platform on Sunday, after she exposed his physical assaults in 2011 and chose to forgive him in 2019. Li's ex-wife Kim Lee, with a Sina Weibo account @Linahua's Mom, released a video which seems to record Li's physical assaults toward his daughter.

Chinese snooker player Xiao Guodong accuses British competitor of abuse after match, enraging Chinese netizens - Global Times Chinese snooker player Xiao Guodong said on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo on Friday that he was abused by British rival, Peter Lines ,with swear words after winning a match. Xiao reported the rude behavior to the World Confederation of Billiards Sports (WCBS). "I do not make trouble but also am not afraid of any trouble," Xiao wrote. The incident has been considered "a very ungentle scene at a gentle event" on Sina Weibo and in media reports. Chinese netizens strongly condemned Lines for not accepting defeat and insulting Xiao.

Rural and Agricultural Issues

China cultivates 2-meter-high ‘giant rice,’ ‘dream coming true’ moment for deceased ‘father of hybrid rice’ - Global Times China has successfully cultivated the “giant rice,” which has grown to over two meters -- twice as tall as regular rice. Netizens called it a “dream coming true’’ moment for beloved “father of hybrid rice’’ Yuan Longping, who passed away this year. This unique type of rice was cultivated in Southwest China’s Chongqing for 15 mu (10,000 square meters) and is expected to be harvested in September, Chinese media reported.