WMCC Meeting on LAC Friction - The History Resolution - The Two Establishes - 20th Party Congress Election - Biden-Xi Summit Analysis - National Security
Dear subscribers,
Before we begin, I’d like to highlight this latest piece from my colleague Suyash Desai for The Jamestown Foundation. The piece discusses the state of PRC infrastructure development in Tibet and its implications in terms of the boundary dispute with India.
I. India-China Ties
This is going to be a brief section this week, just focussing on the big developments. First, we had the 23rd Meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs. Both sides issued separate statements. Both confirmed that there will be a 14th round of Corps Commander-level talks, but there’s one big difference in their readouts. The Indian readout talks about resolving “the remaining issues along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh”; the Chinese readout talks about the need to “further ease the situation in the border area and strive to switch from emergency response to normalized management and control.”
The MEA said that:
The “two sides had candid and in-depth discussions on the situation along the LAC in Western Sector of India-China Border Areas and also reviewed the developments since the last meeting of the Senior Commanders of both sides which was held on 10th October 2021. In this regard they agreed on the need to find an early resolution to the remaining issues along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols so as to restore peace and tranquility. The two sides also agreed that both sides should in the interim also continue to ensure a stable ground situation and avoid any untoward incident. It was agreed that both sides should hold the next (14th) round of the Senior Commanders meeting at an early date to achieve the objective of complete disengagement from all the friction points along the LAC in the Western Sector in accordance with the existing bilateral agreements and protocols.
In contrast, China’s Foreign Ministry said that:
The two sides said that in accordance with the spirit of the consensus reached by the two foreign ministers in their meeting in Dushanbe, they will continue to further ease the situation in the border area and strive to switch from emergency response to normalized management and control as soon as possible. The two sides had candid and in-depth exchanges of views on the recent situation in the China-India border area. They agreed to consolidate the existing disengagement outcomes, strictly abide by the agreements and consensus reached between the two sides, and avoid flare-ups in the situation on the ground. The two sides agreed to maintain dialogue and communication through diplomatic and military channels, actively prepare for the 14th round of military commander-level talks, and make efforts to resolve the remaining issues in the western section of the China-India border.
Also this week, we had India’s foreign minister, S Jaishankar, speaking at the Bloomberg New Economic Forum. He said:
“We are going through a particularly bad patch in our relationship (with China) because they have taken a set of actions in violation of agreements for which they still don’t have a credible explanation and that appears to indicate some rethink about where they want to take our relationship, but that’s for them to answer.”
Second, in an attempt to strengthen posturing with regard to India, SCMP reported this week that the PLA had deployed at least one long-range strategic H-6K bomber to its borders with India. The report has analysts saying that the move meant as a warning to the Indian military not to escalate tensions over winter.
Third, Shishir Gupta reports that India is expected to induct at least two regiments of S-400 air defence systems along its northern and eastern borders by early 2022. He writes that the two S-400 systems will be operational by early 2022 to match the Chinese deployment of the same Russian system across the Ladakh and Arunachal LAC. Two Indian military teams, trained in Russia, are ready to operate the S-400 system, which has a reach of nearly 400 km into enemy territory.” Krishn Kaushik has a nice explainer in the Indian Express on the S-400.
Fourth, an interesting piece by Ananya Bhattacharya in Quartz on Chinese investments in the Indian start-up ecosystem. She writes that:
“China’s headline-grabbing investments in India’s startup ecosystem are still tiny in the grand scheme of things…China’s total investment has been unremarkable. It comprised only around 5% of the $148 billion private equity/venture capital funding India attracted between 2014 and 2019. In the last five years, Chinese firms invested in far fewer Indian companies than their American or Indian counterparts, data from Tracxn show.”
The report later says that “even without Chinese money, total funding for Indian startups has had a record-breaking year, thanks to foreign VCs and a small but growing local industry.”
Also Read:
More evidence of China building villages in disputed areas along borders with India, Bhutan
China has invested a lot less in Indian startups than you think it did
Containers believed to carry radioactive substances from Pak to China seized
II. The History Resolution
The Communist Party put out the full history resolution, approved during the 6th Plenum, in Chinese and English.
The big message from the document and the propaganda that has followed is that for the future, what matters are the two establishes/or the two things that have now been established 两个确立. This refers to the establishment of Xi’s position as the core of the Central Committee and the core of the Party and the establishment of the guiding position of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era. Party propaganda repeatedly told us through this week that both of these are of “decisive significance.”
The history resolution is a really long document and rather than doing a breakdown of all elements, I’d like to point you to some pieces that you should read:
And this thread below:
Also published with the resolution was an explanatory note by Xi Jinping — Chinese text/ English text). I did a full breakdown of Xi’s note in my People’s Daily tracker. You can find it here.
Two other related pieces that I’d like to point to:
First, Zhao Leji, who was one of the deputies in drafting the history resolution and is PBSC member, wrote about the resolution and self-revolution. This essentially covers discipline issues. My breakdown of the piece here.
Second, Ding Xuexiang, believed to be a close confidant of Xi, wrote in PD about the resolution in the context of the importance of ideals and beliefs for cadres. My breakdown of the piece is here; but there is one important paragraph that I want to reproduce:
in Party history, “there were a small number of Party members who backed down in the face of difficulties and obstacles” and who became “disgraceful traitors in the face of the enemy’s threats and inducements. Among the Party’s major representatives, there were those who abandoned their faith, lost their original aspiration and went against the Party and the people. In reality, some party members and cadres engage in double-dealing. They do not believe in Marxism-Leninism. Instead, they believe in ghosts and gods; they do not serve the common people but only themselves, degenerating into corrupt elements. These are typical manifestations of disloyalty to the Party.
During the revolutionary war of liberation, the test of loyalty to the Party was whether one would risk one’s life for the people. Today, the measure is whether one can adhere to the leadership of the Party, firmly maintain the authority of the centralised and unified leadership, and consciously maintain a high degree of consistency in ideological and political actions with the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core. Can we resolutely implement the party's theory, line, principles and policies, and implement the decision-making arrangements of the Party Central Committee to the letter; Can you strictly abide by the party's political discipline and rules, and be politically sensible and honest; Can we insist that the cause of the party and the people is above everything else, consciously implement organisational decisions and obey organisational arrangements? Among these, the most important thing is to see if we can achieve two safeguards’...历史上也有少数党员,面对前进道路上的艰难险阻打了退堂鼓,面对敌人的威逼利诱成了可耻叛徒,党的一大代表中就有的背弃信仰、丢掉初心,走向党和人民的对立面。现实中,一些党员干部搞两面派、做两面人,不信马列信鬼神、不为苍生只为己,堕落为腐败分子。这些都是对党不忠诚的典型表现。党员干部对党是不是忠诚,革命战争年代主要看能不能为人民解放事业冲锋陷阵、舍生忘死,今天主要看能不能坚持党的领导,坚决维护党中央权威和集中统一领导,自觉在思想上政治上行动上同以习近平同志为核心的党中央保持高度一致;能不能坚决贯彻执行党的理论和路线方针政策,不折不扣把党中央决策部署落到实处;能不能严守党的政治纪律和政治规矩,做政治上的明白人、老实人;能不能坚持党和人民事业高于一切,自觉执行组织决定,服从组织安排。而这其中,最重要的就是看能不能做到“两个维护”。只有始终以党的旗帜为旗帜、以党的方向为方向、以党的意志为意志,不断提高政治判断力、政治领悟力、政治执行力,坚定不移听党话,矢志不渝跟党走,才能永葆对党忠诚的政治品格
III. Race to the 20th Party Congress
This week, we had a report (English report) about the Central Committee issuing a circular on the election of delegates to the 20th Party Congress. The election will run from now on until the end of June 2022.
Xinhua English reported:
“The congress comes at an important time when the CPC has embarked on a new journey to build a modern socialist country in all respects and to realise the Second Centenary Goal. It will be a highly important meeting and an event of great political significance for both the Party and the country, said the statement. The election of the delegates will lay an important foundation for the success of this congress, it said.”
The PD report informs that Xi Jinping chaired a PBSC and Politburo meeting “to conduct a special study, and determined the general requirements, objectives and tasks for doing this work (election work) well, requiring Party organizations at all levels to earnestly assume political responsibilities, conscientiously perform their duties, carefully organise and implement the election of deputies, and ensure the successful completion of the election of deputies.” 党中央对做好二十大代表选举工作高度重视,习近平总书记主持召开中央政治局常委会会议和中央政治局会议专门研究,确定了做好这项工作的总体要求和目标任务,要求各级党组织切实负起政治责任,认真履行职责,精心组织实施,确保代表选举工作圆满完成.
A total of 2,300 delegates will be elected by 38 electoral units across the country. PD reports that in order to ensure the successful election of deputies/ or to do a good job in regard to the election, “we must follow the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, follow the Party Constitution as the fundamental principle, uphold the nature and purposes of the Party, uphold and strengthen overall Party leadership, fully promote intra-Party democracy, strictly enforce qualification requirements, follow strict selection procedures and strict election discipline. This is important to ensure that the composition of the delegates is well structured, and the delegates come from a broad spectrum with the support of other Party members. 党中央确定,二十大代表名额共2300名,由全国38个选举单位选举产生。做好二十大代表选举工作,要坚持以习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想为指导,坚持以党章为根本遵循,坚持党的性质宗旨,坚持和加强党的全面领导,充分发扬党内民主,严格资格条件,严密产生程序,严肃选举纪律,确保选出的二十大代表素质优良、结构合理、分布广泛、党员拥护.
The next paragraph talks about the qualities of candidates. It says that delegates should be outstanding Party members. It adds that “political standards must be prioritised when selecting candidates. The candidates’ commitment to ideals and convictions should be considered first, as well as their political character and moral traits.” PD talks about focusing on “understanding a candidates’ political judgment, political understanding and political execution” in the selection process and “veto the politically unqualified.” 对政治上不合格的一票否决. In this context, the paragraph also talks about the four consciousnesses, four self-confidences and two safeguards. In addition, the paragraph talks about candidates who are clean and honest.
The statement then also stressed “improving the composition of delegates, with a certain proportion for front-line workers maintained. Efforts must be made to recommend model workers, farmers and professionals to stand for delegate elections. Women and people from ethnic minorities should constitute a certain proportion of the delegates. People from economic, sci-tech, national defense, political and legal affairs, education, communication, culture, health, sports and social management, among others, should have representations. Grassroots Party members and organizations should be extensively mobilised to take part in the nomination of candidates.”
The next paragraph says that extensive “publicity and education should be carried out, and community-level Party organizations and Party members should be encouraged to actively participate in the recommendation and nomination of candidates for deputies, and candidates should be selected on a step-by-step basis based on the opinions of the majority of Party organizations and Party members.”
The paragraph also talks about strict supervision of the election process, and it says this: 要认真搞好会议选举,代表实行差额选举,差额选举的比例应多于15%. Xinhua English basically translates this as: “The statement said the delegates should be elected from among over 15 percent more candidates.” - Initially, I struggled with this. But after some inputs from readers of my tracker, I think this means that at the minimum there must be a total of 115% of candidates for 100% of the seats.
The last paragraph warns that “we should take political discipline, organisational discipline and election discipline seriously, make full use of cases of canvassing, bribery and sabotage of elections in Hengyang, Hunan, Nanchong, Liaoning, Sichuan and other places, carry out warning education, draw lessons from them and learn from them. Strengthen the whole-process supervision of the election of deputies and have ‘zero tolerance’ for violations of laws and regulations. Once found, resolutely investigate and deal with them to ensure that the atmosphere is clean and upright.” 要严肃政治纪律、组织纪律和选举纪律,充分运用湖南衡阳、四川南充、辽宁等地拉票贿选、破坏选举案件,开展警示教育,汲取教训,引以为戒。加强对代表选举工作的全程监督,对违规违纪违法问题“零容忍”,一经发现坚决查处,确保风清气正.
Then it calls for doing a good job in the election, so that the process itself “can become a process of in-depth study and implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era, a process of implementing the general requirements of Party building in the new era and the Party’s organisational line in the new era, a process of education in ideals and beliefs, Party spirit, Party style, Party discipline and Party history education, a process of vivid practice of political life within the Party and education in democratic centralism. It should further enhance the Party’s creativity, cohesion and combat effectiveness, and mobilise the broad masses of Party members and cadres to unite more closely around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core, keep in mind the original intention…” 要通过做好学习宣传、组织动员、推荐提名、会议选举、严肃纪律等各项工作,使代表选举产生过程成为深入学习贯彻习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的过程,成为贯彻落实新时代党的建设总要求和新时代党的组织路线的过程,成为理想信念教育和党性党风党纪党史教育的过程,成为党内政治生活生动实践和民主集中制教育的过程,进一步增强党的创造力、凝聚力、战斗力,动员广大党员、干部更加紧密地团结在以习近平同志为核心的党中央周围,不忘初心、牢记使命,攻坚克难、开拓奋进,为全面建设社会主义现代化国家、夺取新时代中国特色社会主义伟大胜利、实现中华民族伟大复兴的中国梦作出新的更大贡献.
Also Read:
Xi Jinping faces power struggle before Party Congress 2022: Report
Chinese Communist Party formally starts process of selecting delegates for next year’s congress
IV. It’s all about National Security
The Politburo met on Thursday, its first meeting since the 6th plenum. During the session, they reviewed the National Security Strategy (2021-2025), regulations on awarding military honours, and the 2021 advisory report of the national science and technology advisory commission. On national security, the meeting said:
To safeguard national security under new circumstances, it is necessary to firmly develop an overall national security concept and speed up the building of a new security structure...We must uphold the Party’s absolute leadership, improve the centralized, unified, efficient and authoritative national security leadership system, and realize the unity of political security, people’s security and the supremacy of national interests. Insist on national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and maintain stability and order around the frontiers, border, and surrounding areas; pursue development security and high-quality development; adhere to an overall strategy of balancing traditional and non-traditional security; and stay committed to the path of peaceful development and coordinate our own security and common security. 会议指出,新形势下维护国家安全,必须牢固树立总体国家安全观,加快构建新安全格局。必须坚持党的绝对领导,完善集中统一、高效权威的国家安全工作领导体制,实现政治安全、人民安全、国家利益至上相统一;坚持捍卫国家主权和领土完整,维护边疆、边境、周边安定有序;坚持安全发展,推动高质量发展和高水平安全动态平衡;坚持总体战,统筹传统安全和非传统安全;坚持走和平发展道路,促进自身安全和共同安全相协调. -- Quick Thought: Maintaining stability and order along the border areas doesn’t imply playing nice. The presence of this comment probably suggests that the leadership believes that challenges along the land boundary, for one, are much more pronounced than they were.
The next paragraph says that political security must be given top priority and national security work in political security, economic security, social security, science and technology security, security work in new areas and key fields must be coordinated. The following are then listed as must do items:
firmly safeguard the security of state power, system and ideology, and strictly guard against and resolutely crack down on all kinds of infiltration, subversion and sabotage -- Quick thought: I would view this is terms of domestic political, security and information environment more than external threats like terrorism.
make our industries more resilient to shocks, set a bottom line to prevent systemic financial risks, ensure food security, energy and mineral resources security, and security of important infrastructure, and strengthen protection of our overseas interests -- Quick thought: I wonder if the bottom line signals more discipline for the property sector and large, indebted SoEs?
strengthen the role of science and technology in supporting national security and development
actively safeguard social security and stability, prevent and reduce social conflicts at the source, prevent and contain major workplace accidents, and improve the safety of food, drugs and other products and services that affect people’s health
accelerate the improvement of governance capabilities in the fields of biosafety, network security, data security and artificial intelligence security
actively foster a favourable external environment, adhere to independence, never give in on issues of national core interests and national dignity, and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests
foster a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable global security, strengthen security cooperation, maintain global strategic stability, jointly address global challenges and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind -- Quick thought: Reading the above two points together basically informs that the path to fostering a favourable external environment isn’t necessarily being flexible and open to others concerns.
comprehensively improve national security capabilities, pay more attention to coordination and efficiency, pay more attention to the rule of law, pay more attention to science and technology and pay more attention to the grassroots.
continue to take political construction as the guide and build a strong contingent of national security cadres
strengthen education on national security awareness and promote the deep integration of development and security
会议强调,必须坚持把政治安全放在首要位置,统筹做好政治安全、经济安全、社会安全、科技安全、新型领域安全等重点领域、重点地区、重点方向国家安全工作。要坚定维护国家政权安全、制度安全、意识形态安全,严密防范和坚决打击各种渗透颠覆破坏活动。要增强产业韧性和抗冲击能力,筑牢防范系统性金融风险安全底线,确保粮食安全、能源矿产安全、重要基础设施安全,加强海外利益安全保护。要强化科技自立自强作为国家安全和发展的战略支撑作用。要积极维护社会安全稳定,从源头上预防和减少社会矛盾,防范遏制重特大安全生产事故,提高食品药品等关系人民健康产品和服务的安全保障水平。要持续做好新冠肺炎疫情防控,加快提升生物安全、网络安全、数据安全、人工智能安全等领域的治理能力。要积极营造良好外部环境,坚持独立自主,在国家核心利益、民族尊严问题上决不退让,坚决维护国家主权、安全、发展利益;树立共同、综合、合作、可持续的全球安全观,加强安全领域合作,维护全球战略稳定,携手应对全球性挑战,推动构建人类命运共同体。要全面提升国家安全能力,更加注重协同高效,更加注重法治思维,更加注重科技赋能,更加注重基层基础。要坚持以政治建设为统领,打造坚强的国家安全干部队伍。要加强国家安全意识教育,自觉推进发展和安全深度融合.
The next bit is about the regulations regarding military honours. Xinhua English says that “The regulations on awarding military honours aim to inspire all service personnel to strive for the centenary goal of strengthening the armed forces” The PD paragraph on this is much more emphatic, talking about educating officers to carry forward the army’s “fearless heroism and brave and tenacious fighting style.” The next paragraph talks about maintaining the Party’s absolute leadership over the forces, implementing the Chairman Responsibility System and cultivating “revolutionary soldiers with “soul, ability, blood and integrity” in the new era.
The final paragraph says that since its establishment, the National Science and Technology Advisory Commission has actively offered suggestions to the Central Committee on science and technology planning, COVID-19 response, development of scientific and technological talents, and scientific and technological support for the pursuit of carbon neutrality.
It talks about science and technology essentially being “the main economic battlefield.” “It is important to conduct in-depth studies on the national science and technology strategies, build scientific and technological innovation paths suited to China’s national conditions, deeply study and optimise the layout/distribution of scientific and technological forces, and deeply study and provide scientific and technological support for major urgent issues such as epidemic prevention and control and green and low-carbon development.” 要准确研判国际国内科技发展趋势,面向世界科技前沿、面向经济主战场、面向国家重大需求、面向人民生命健康,深入研究国家科技战略,深入研究构建符合国情的科技创新路径,深入研究优化完善科技力量布局,深入研究为疫情防控和绿色低碳发展等重大紧迫问题提供科技支撑。
V. The Biden-Xi Summit
Joe Biden and Xi Jinping held their first virtual summit this week. The Chinese readout from the meeting was extremely long and details. coverage of the Xi-Biden meeting (English report). This was reportedly a three-and-a-half-hour-long meeting.
My takeaways before you read through the detailed content from the readouts:
There is clearly an attempt at a thaw between the US and China. This is not surprising, really. I had argued this when Meng Wanzhou returned to China, too. There are serious challenges, however. The concept of establishing guardrails necessitates deeper communication and joint action, as does the notion that both sides need to work on transnational issues. The issue is whether the structural dynamics shaping the relationship will allow for a new, stable normal to emerge. Will this effort be sustainable? These dynamics are related to domestic politics on both sides, the nature of technology/economic competition and lack of political trust on both sides, and the Taiwan issue.
Beijing is saying that it must be treated as an equal. Among other things, this means that the US must not expand and potentially rollback human rights-related criticism and actions. A G2 framework, whatever that means practically, is what Beijing would prefer. And while it’s a long, long way to that end, reading through state media, there appears to be confidence that Beijing’s approach with Washington has reaped rewards, and it is Washington that is adjusting or has to adjust. I wonder if this this strengthen the leadership’s view that time and momentum are actually on its side? We are a long way away from any of these talks leading to a new balance, and I do think that there has to be engagement between the two sides. But I wonder if Beijing believes that its foreign policy approach is yielding desired outcomes, then where is the incentive to change course? And what does that mean for neighbouring countries, including India?
Third, there are so far few tangible outcomes from the meeting that have been reported from the Biden-Xi meeting. These are:
First, top leaders to direct the relationship.
Second, there’s a plan for easing visas for journalists, which is facing criticism in the US
Third, there will be some form of arms control talks — the Chinese side has been rather coy in confirming this. This is perhaps because the modalities and details are still unclear.
Fourth, there is talk of restarting multiple dialogue mechanisms, but there’s still a lack of clarity.
Zhao Ljian’s comments and Bloomberg’s reporting of this is important to note in this regard. Zhao said:
“The two heads of state can stay in touch with each other through multiple means to set the direction and inject more momentum into bilateral relations. The two countries, with broad common interests in a wide range of areas including economy, energy, mil-to-mil, law-enforcement, education, science and technology, cyber, environmental protection and sub-national interactions, should complement each other to make the cake bigger for China-US cooperation. The two sides could fully harness the dialogue channels and mechanisms between their diplomatic and security, economic and financial, and climate change teams, in an effort to advance practical cooperation and resolve specific issues.”
Bloomberg reported: “The White House is now defining a strategy on how to approach these engagements, including in the areas of cybersecurity, space and nuclear weapons, as well as testing and deployment issues of concern to the U.S., the person said. The discussions won’t be formal arms control negotiations of the kind that the U.S. previously held with the Soviet Union and Russia, according to the person, who said the exact format for the forthcoming military-to-military talks is still to be determined.”
Fifth, SupChina’s Lucas Niewenhuis reports that there’s also some sort of a prisoner swap deal.
Anyway, here’s my breakdown of the readouts:
Xinhua says that they had a “thorough and in-depth communication and exchanges on issues of strategic, overarching and fundamental importance” on bilateral ties and “issues of mutual interest.”
Xinhua’s broad takeaway from the meeting was:
“The two Presidents agreed that their meeting is candid, constructive, substantive and productive. It helps increase mutual understanding, adds to the positive expectation of the international community for this relationship, and sends a powerful message to the two countries and the world. The two sides agreed to maintain close communication in different forms and steer China-US relations back on the right track of sound and steady development, for the good of the people in both countries and around the world.”
With regard to individual comments, Xi said:
As the world’s two largest economies and permanent members of the UN Security Council, China and the US need to increase communication and cooperation, each run their domestic affairs well and, at the same time, shoulder their share of international responsibilities, and work together to advance the noble cause of world peace and development. This is the shared desire of the people of the two countries and around the world, and the joint mission of Chinese and American leaders.
China and the US should respect each other, coexist in peace, and pursue win-win cooperation. President Xi expressed his readiness to work with President Biden to build consensus and take active steps to move China-US relations forward in a positive direction.
History is a fair judge. What a statesman does, be it right or wrong, be it an accomplishment or a failure, will all be recorded by history. It is hoped that President Biden will demonstrate political leadership and steer America's China policy back on the track of reason and pragmatism.
Xi then talked about three principles, i.e.,
First, mutual respect, which talks about respecting “social systems and development paths, respect each other’s core interests and major concerns…treat each other as equals, keep differences under control, and seek common ground while reserving differences.”
Second, peaceful coexistence.
Third, win-win cooperation. “The right thing to do is to choose mutual benefit over zero-sum game or the I-win-you-lose approach.”
He then talks about four priority areas:
First, “shouldering responsibilities of major countries and leading global response to outstanding challenges.”
Second, “spirit of equality and mutual benefit to move forward exchanges at all levels and in all areas and generate more positive energy for China-US relations.” Xi talks about areas where both sides can complement each other: economy, energy, mil-to-mil, law-enforcement, education, science and technology, cyber, environmental protection and sub-national interactions. He also says that the “two sides could fully harness the dialogue channels and mechanisms between their diplomatic and security, economic and financial, and climate change teams, in an effort to advance practical cooperation and resolve specific issues.”
Third, “managing differences and sensitive issues in a constructive way to prevent China-US relations from getting derailed or out of control.” —I guess this is Xi’s version of guardrails. Here, he says “China will certainly defend its sovereignty, security and development interests. It is important that the US properly handle the relevant issues with prudence.”
Fourth, “strengthening coordination and cooperation on major international and regional hotspot issues to provide more public goods to the world.” Here, Xi talks about the need to “safeguard a fair and equitable international order.”
“President Xi compared China and the US to two giant ships sailing in the ocean. It is important for the two sides to keep a steady hand on the tiller, so that the two giant ships will break waves and forge ahead together, without losing direction or speed, still less colliding with each other.”
Xi then reportedly told Biden that “the Chinese people’s aspiration for a better life is the biggest internal driver for China’s development and an inevitable trend of history. Any attempt to stop this historical trend will be rejected by the Chinese people, and will by no means succeed. President Xi said that as China’s leader, serving the 1.4 billion Chinese people and working with them for a better life is a great challenge and a great responsibility. ‘I shall put aside my own well-being and live up to people’s expectations,’ President Xi said.”
And then: “China has never started a single war or conflict, and has never taken one inch of land from other countries. China has no intention to sell its own development path around the world. On the contrary, China encourages all countries to find development paths tailored to their respective national conditions. President Xi stressed that opening-up is a fundamental state policy and a hallmark of China. China will not change its determination to open up at a higher level. China will not change its determination to share development opportunities with the rest of the world. And China will not change its determination to make economic globalization more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all.”
“President Xi highlighted China’s commitment to peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, which are common values of humanity. Drawing ideological lines or dividing the world into different camps or rival groups will only make the world suffer. The bitter lessons of the Cold War are still fresh in memory. We hope that the US side can meet its word of not seeking a ‘new Cold War’ with concrete actions.”
On the Taiwan issue, the report says that Xi “ascribed the tensions to the repeated attempts by the Taiwan authorities to look for US support for their independence agenda as well as the intention of some Americans to use Taiwan to contain China. Such moves are extremely dangerous, just like playing with fire. Whoever plays with fire will get burnt. The one-China principle and the three China-US Joint Communiqués are the political foundation of China-US relations. Previous US administrations have all made clear commitments on this question. The true status quo of the Taiwan question and what lies at the heart of one China are as follows: there is but one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing China. Achieving China’s complete reunification is an aspiration shared by all sons and daughters of the Chinese nation. We have patience and will strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification with utmost sincerity and efforts. That said, should the separatist forces for Taiwan independence provoke us, force our hands or even cross the red line, we will be compelled to take resolute measures.
Xi then shared his thoughts on democracy and human rights; on the latter, the report tells us that “China is ready to have dialogues on human rights on the basis of mutual respect, but we oppose using human rights to meddle in other countries’ internal affairs.” He also spoke about the “need to uphold the international system with the UN at its core.” Finally, a quick summary of points on bilateral ties:
Economic and trade issues between the two countries should not be politicized.
China takes seriously the wishes of US business community to travel to China more easily, and has agreed to upgrade fast-track arrangement.
The US should stop abusing or overstretching the concept of national security to suppress Chinese businesses.
He wants to to jointly protect global energy security, strengthen cooperation on natural gas and new energy, and work with other countries to keep global industrial and supply chains safe and stable.
On climate change, he said: “The issue of unbalanced and inadequate development still stands out. All countries need to uphold the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, and strike a balance between addressing climate change and protecting livelihoods. What the world needs is less finger-pointing or blame game, but more solidarity and cooperation.”
On public health: “China and the US need to call for the establishment of a cooperation mechanism for global public health and communicable disease prevention and control, and promote further international exchanges and cooperation.”
Then the report talks about Biden’s comments:
The two sides need to have open and candid dialogues to enhance understanding of each other's intentions, and make sure that competition between the two countries is fair and healthy and does not veer into conflict.
Apparently, as per Xinhua, Biden said that “China has been a major power since 5,000 years ago.”
Biden reiterated that the US does not seek to change China's system, the revitalization of its alliances is not anti-China, and the US has no intention to have a conflict with China. Biden reaffirmed the US government's long-standing one-China policy, stated that the US does not support ‘Taiwan independence’, and expressed the hope for peace and stability to be maintained in the Taiwan Strait.
Afghanistan, the Iranian nuclear issue, the situation on the Korean Peninsula, and other international and regional issues of mutual interest.
The White House’s readout and transcription of opening remarks also indicates a that the meeting was positive, but nothing about Biden talking about China’s 5000-year-old history. But, I must say that there was an acknowledgement in Biden’s comments of some sense of equality, which Xi would have likely appreciated.
“As I’ve said before, it seems to me our responsibility as leaders of China and the United States is to ensure that the competition between our countries does not veer into conflict, whether intended or unintended. Just simple, straightforward competition. It seems to me we need to establish some commonsense guardrails, to be clear and honest where we disagree, and work together where our interests intersect, especially on vital global issues like climate change. None of this is a favor to either of our countries –- what we do for one another -– but it’s just responsible world leadership. And you’re a major world leader, and so is the United States.”
The readout says that:
President Biden underscored that the United States will continue to stand up for its interests and values and, together with our allies and partners, ensure the rules of the road for the 21st century advance an international system that is free, open, and fair. He emphasized the priority he places on far-reaching investments at home while we align with allies and partners abroad to take on the challenges of our time. President Biden raised concerns about the PRC’s practices in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong, as well as human rights more broadly. — Quick thought: So, basically this bit was not really emphasised in favour of cooperation.
Biden spoke about a “free and open Indo-Pacific.” On Taiwan, he said that the US “remains committed to the ‘one China’ policy, guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances, and that the United States strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.” — Quick thought: There’s a clear difference on this, and it appears that the Taiwan issue will remain a serious sticking point between the two sides.
The readout says that Biden spoke about the need for guardrails and “specific transnational challenges where our interests intersect.” Health, climate change, global energy supplies are mentioned in the readout. DPRK, Afghanistan, and Iran are also mentioned.
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