BRICS Summit - Global Development Dialogue - Guidelines for Internet Streamers - China-Nepal-US Triangle - HK's 25th Anniversary - Xu Zhiyong's Trial - Wang Yi Meets Indian Amb. - Xi on Data Systems
I. The BRICS Summit & Wang Yi Meets Indian Amb.
Late in the week, we saw the 14th BRICS leaders summit being held, with Xi Jinping chairing the meeting. The summit meeting was bookended by the BRICS Business Forum and the High-level Dialogue on Development that China hosted. In this section, I am doing a detailed breakdown of the summit. Xi’s speech pushed China’s development and security agenda. Xi said:
“Our world today is living through accelerating changes unseen in a century and continued spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. They confront humanity with unprecedented challenges and usher in a new phase of instability and transformation for global development.” He talks about BRICS’ development over the years and says that it must “keep in mind why we established BRICS in the first place, and look forward to a shared future of a more comprehensive, close, practical and inclusive high-quality partnership.”
Xi then made four points:
uphold solidarity and safeguard world peace and tranquillity. “Our world today is overshadowed by the dark clouds of Cold War mentality and power politics, and beset by constantly emerging traditional and non-traditional security threats. Some countries attempt to expand military alliances to seek absolute security, stoke bloc-based confrontation by coercing other countries into picking sides, and pursue unilateral dominance at the expense of others' rights and interests. If such dangerous trends are allowed to continue, the world will witness even more turbulence and insecurity.” Therefore, the BRICS must “support each other on issues concerning core interests, practice true multilateralism, safeguard justice, fairness and solidarity and reject hegemony, bullying and division.” In this context, he spoke about the Global Security Initiative, adding that “China would like to work with BRICS partners to operationalize the GSI and bring more stability and positive energy to the world.”
He talked about the pandemic and the “Ukraine crisis” resulting “in disruptions to global industrial and supply chains, sustained hikes of commodity prices, and weaker international monetary and financial systems.” He said that the BRICS had this year launched the “BRICS Initiative on Enhancing Cooperation on Supply Chains and the Initiative on Trade and Investment for Sustainable Development, adopted the Agreement on Cooperation and Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters and the Strategy on Food Security Cooperation, and held a High-level Meeting on Climate Change for the first time,” calling for using these mechanisms effectively. He also called for admitting new members to the New Development Bank and expanding BRICS cooperation on cross-border payment and credit rating. Also, Xi said: “China stands ready to work with BRICS partners to add more substance to the GDI and contribute to stronger, greener and healthier global development.”
The next point is about the economy of the future. Xi said: “Those who seize the opportunities of the new economy, such as big data and artificial intelligence, are in sync with the pulse of the times. Those who seek to create monopoly, blockade and barriers in science and technology in order to disrupt other countries’ innovation and development and hold on to their dominant position are doomed to fail.”
Finally, he talked about the BRICS+ system and formal expansion of BRICS. He said: “BRICS countries gather not in a closed club or an exclusive circle, but a big family of mutual support and a partnership for win-win cooperation. “In recent years, many countries have asked to join the BRICS cooperation mechanism. Bringing in fresh blood will inject new vitality into BRICS cooperation and increase the representativeness and influence of BRICS. This year we have, on separate occasions, had in-depth discussions on the question of membership expansion. It is important to advance this process to allow like-minded partners to become part of the BRICS family at an early date.”
The summit ended with the Beijing Declaration. The key to reading these documents is to compare them to previous joint declarations, and doing that, one realises that there’s nothing that’s truly remarkable or surprising in this one. That said, there are some things to note, which I’ve compiled in the thread below.
But the one thing that I’d like to highlight is that BRICS expansion appears to be some way away, if we go by what’s in the joint statement:
“We support promoting discussions among BRICS members on BRICS expansion process. We stress the need to clarify the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures for this expansion process through Sherpas’ channel on the basis of full consultation and consensus.”
Argentina in particular has expressed the desire to join the BRICS. It was among the 13 countries - Algeria, Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Senegal, Uzbekistan, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Malaysia and Thailand - invited to the summit meeting.
I also recommend going through:
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brief opening remarks. His focus was only on issues of governance of the global economy and its recovery, mutually-beneficial economic cooperation, Covid-19-related challenges, the BRICS NDB and people-to-people exchanges.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s remarks. His focus was also largely on development issues, equitable access to vaccines, BRICS’ economic partnership, and the global economic recovery. He also said this: “In line with our foreign policy principles, South Africa continues to call for dialogue and negotiation towards a peaceful resolution of conflicts around the world. We are concerned that the focus and resources of the international community have been diverted from other concerning conflicts and humanitarian crises. Urgent global issues like climate change and sustainable development are not being effectively attended to.”
“We have repeatedly said that challenges like conflict settlement, the fight against terrorism and organised crime, including the criminal use of new technologies, climate change, and the spread of dangerous infections, can only be addressed through joint efforts. And, of course, it is only on the basis of honest and mutually beneficial cooperation that we can look for ways out of the critical situation that has emerged in the world economy because of the ill-conceived and selfish actions of certain states, which, by using financial mechanisms, are actually shifting their own macroeconomic policy mistakes onto the rest of the world. We are confident that today, as never before, the world needs the BRICS countries’ leadership in defining a unifying and positive course for forming a truly multipolar system of interstate relations based on the universal norms of international law and the key principles of the UN Charter. In this context, we can count on support from many states in Asia, Africa and Latin America, which are seeking to pursue an independent policy.”
Also note Putin’s comments earlier at the BRICS Business Forum. He lashed out at the West for imposing “politically motivated sanctions”; “neglect(ing) the basic principles of market economy, free trade, and inviolability of private property”; and pursuing “an irresponsible macroeconomic course, including the launch of the ‘printing press’ – uncontrolled emission and accumulation of unsecured debts.”
He added: “Contacts between Russian business circles and the business community of the BRICS countries have intensified. For example, negotiations are underway to open Indian chain stores in Russia, increase the share of Chinese cars, equipment, and hardware on our market. In its turn, Russia’s presence in the BRICS countries is growing. There has been a noticeable increase in the exports of Russian oil to China and India.” And he said that: “Together with BRICS partners, we are developing reliable alternative mechanisms for international settlements. The Russian Financial Messaging System is open for connection with the banks of the BRICS countries. The Russian MIR payment system is expanding its presence. We are exploring the possibility of creating an international reserve currency based on the basket of BRICS currencies.”
It’s worth noting that the joint statement issued after the summit said that “We underscore the importance of continued work under the existing work streams, including information security in the financial sector, and the BRICS Payments Task Force (BPTF) as a platform for exchanging experience and knowledge, and welcome the central banks’ further cooperation on the payments track.” Compare this to the 2021 post-summit joint statement: “We acknowledge the fruitful cooperation under the BRICS Payments Task Force (BPTF) through dialogues and discussion. We take note of the progress achieved in the ‘BRICS Local Currency Bond Fund’ initiative and look forward to its operation.” — Essentially, nothing new has been agreed upon, it seems.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s remarks. He talked about the need for the greater representation of emerging and developing economies in international organizations, such as the World Bank, the IMF and the United Nations system, especially its Security Council, along with the need to focus on job and income generation for the populations of BRICS countries.
Summing this up: Reading all this and the joint statement, there is clearly a deepening contradiction at the heart of the BRICS grouping. The way I see it, even though there are differences in their perspectives, India Brazil and South Africa largely view the BRICS from the prism of development as opposed to security. Of course, there are meetings of BRICS Foreign Ministers and NSAs. But those have generally been more about reaffirming shared perspectives on reforming global governance and coordinating positions on shared concerns as opposed to operationalising new initiatives on security. In contrast, increasingly it appears that Beijing and Moscow would like to infuse a new security dynamic into the grouping. This, in many ways, is not in line with the original aspiration - to use Xi’s phrasing - of the grouping. Doing so is neither going to be easy or straight-forward.
Finally, here’s the full Chair’s statement at the High-level Dialogue on Global Development. The statement lists 32 deliverables. Some of these include:
Setting up a Global Alliance for Poverty Reduction and Development
100,000 training opportunities to be provided by China for other developing countries to facilitate post-COVID economic recovery and social development
Training programs for Pacific Island Countries on food production, eco-agriculture and other areas
Establishing an International Vaccines Research, Development and Innovation Alliance
Officially launching the China-FAO South-South Cooperation Trust Fund Phase III of 50 million U.S. dollars
Upgrading China's South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund into the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, with an additional input of 1 billion U.S. dollars on top of the existing 3 billion U.S. dollars
Launching the Bamboo as a Substitute for Plastic Initiative
Launching a Sustainable Development Satellite Constellation Plan, developing and sharing data and information for Sustainable Development Goals monitoring
Finally, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with the new Indian Ambassador to China Pradeep Kumar Rawat. Xinhua reported:
“Wang said that China and India's common interests far outweigh their differences, adding that the two sides should support rather than undermine each other, strengthen cooperation rather than guard against each other, and enhance mutual trust rather than be suspicious of each other. The Chinese foreign minister said the two sides should meet each other halfway to push bilateral relations back onto the track of stable and healthy development at an early date, jointly address various global challenges, and safeguard the common interests of China and India as well as the vast number of developing countries. He called on both sides to adhere to the important strategic consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, insist on placing the border issue in a proper position within bilateral ties, and seek solutions through dialogue and consultation. China and India should also give full play to their traditional advantages in people-to-people and cultural exchanges, continuously expand mutually beneficial cooperation, and work together to create a better future for mankind, he added.”
The Indian Embassy’s readout after the meeting said that the ambassador “emphasised the criticality of maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas for realizing the full potential of this consensus (i.e., the importance of bilateral relations for Asia and the world). H.E. Wang Yi said that the border issue is important and we should stay committed to peacefully addressing it through consultation and coordination. H.E. Wang Yi recalled his meeting with EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar during his visit in New Delhi in March 2022 and mentioned that the Chinese side attached importance to the Indian side’s concerns regarding return of Indian students and that he hoped to see early progress on this. He also referred to discussions on resumption of direct flight connectivity between the two sides. Ambassador Rawat conveyed that the relevant agencies in India are seized of the matter and we may see progress in the matter soon. There was agreement that the two sides should make full use of the opportunities provided by multilateral meetings to continue their exchange of views including between the two Foreign Ministers.”
Apart from the issues of students, visas and connectivity, it’s important to watch if there is any movement along the LAC during the next round of Corps Commander-level talks and I wonder whether the issue of China blocking LeT’s Abdul Rehman Makki’s listing as a UN designated terrorist was discussed. That said, if you haven’t read Amb. Vijay Gokhale’s book The Long Game, please do. The chapter on negotiations on Hafiz Saeed’s listing is critical to understanding how Beijing deals with such issues.
Also Read:
Imports from China increased by 45.51 per cent in FY22 to Rs 7.02 trillion: Commerce Ministry data
‘No good outcome can arise from an India-China conflict’: Singapore foreign min
China is the largest security anxiety for Australia and India: Richard Marles
India Will Not Tolerate Any Transgression By China: NSA Ajit Doval
II. Regulating Cadres' Relatives' Business Dealings
This week, there was a report on a new regulation issued by the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee on the business activities of relatives of leading cadres.
The report says that the regulation “implements the Party’s organisational line in the new era, sums up practical experience, and clearly defines the applicable objects and circumstances, working measures and disciplinary requirements concerning cadres’ spouses, children and their spouses who run businesses or enterprises.” The regulation is of “great significance” for standardising and restricting the operation of power, preventing the risks to clean government from the source, and promoting the building of leading cadres’ family style. 加强对领导干部配偶、子女及其配偶经商办企业管理,是全面从严治党、从严管理监督干部的重要举措。《规定》贯彻落实新时代党的组织路线,总结实践经验,对领导干部配偶、子女及其配偶经商办企业管理的适用对象和情形、工作措施、纪律要求等作出明确规定,对于规范和制约权力运行,从源头上防范廉政风险,促进领导干部家风建设,具有重要意义.
The regulations are primarily aimed at leading cadres at the bureau level or above across Party and government organs, mass organisations, enterprises and institutions or those at equivalent positions. The business activities covered by the regulation include investing in and establishing start-ups, holding senior positions in private enterprises or foreign-funded enterprises, investing in or working for private equity funds, engaging in paid social intermediary and legal services, etc. The regulation sets different prohibitions on business activities of relatives of officials at different levels and sectors. The regulations are stricter for those at higher levels. (Unfortunately, the report does not inform what these prohibitions are.)《规定》明确,领导干部配偶、子女及其配偶经商办企业管理的适用对象,主要是党政机关、群团组织、企事业单位厅局级及相当职务层次以上领导干部;经商办企业情形,主要是投资开办企业、担任私营企业或外资企业等高级职务、私募股权基金投资及从业、从事有偿社会中介和法律服务等行为。《规定》对不同层级、不同类别领导干部配偶、子女及其配偶经商办企业分别提出了禁业要求,领导干部职务层次越高要求越严,综合部门严于其他部门.
The next paragraph says that cadres are required to report business activities of their relatives every year. There will be random spot checks carried out after the reporting. If discrepancies or violations are found, then cadres will be asked to explain and could be asked to withdraw from their official positions and their relatives could be asked to withdraw from the enterprises. There would also be punishments handed out, as the case may be.
The final paragraph says that those who do not truthfully report or in cases where the prohibitions are violated through entrustment shareholding or anonymous investments or in instances where cadres are found using their authority to provide benefits for their relatives or in case they do so for personal gain, then they will invite strict punishment.
After the regulations were issued, there was a report providing detailed background, summarising the work done over the years since the 18th Party Congress with regard to regulating the behaviour of leading cadres’ spouses and children, and their business engagements. It informed that since 2015, pilot projects have been carried out in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong, Chongqing and Xinjiang. In 2019, it was part of the special education and rectification campaign ‘staying true to our original aspiration and founding mission’ which covered all regions; it was also piloted in eight central government units. In 2022, 20 central units were covered and then in 2021, this effort was rolled out across all central units. 2015年起,先后在上海、北京、广东、重庆、新疆5个省区市开展试点;2019年,列入“不忘初心、牢记使命”主题教育专项整治,在各省区市、新疆生产建设兵团全面推行,同时在8家中央单位开展试点;2020年上半年,增加20家中央单位扩大试点;2021年1月起,在中央单位全面推开。集中规范工作按照“先试点再推广,先地方再中央单位”的路径,历时近7年,不断在摸索中发展,在实践中前行,以坚韧不拔、循序渐进的定力和决心,有效破解了过去一直想解决而没有解决好的难题,赢得广大干部群众的拥护支持.
III. NRTA Guidelines for Internet Streamers
by Megha Pardhi
China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism (中华人民共和国文化部) and National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) (国家广播电视总局) jointly released guidelines for internet streamers (网络主播行为规范).
The guidelines released on 22 June aim to 'standardize the professional behavior' of online streamers. The guidelines have a total of 18 articles that also apply to virtual anchors and content streamed using AI.
Internet streamers have to provide verified identity while registering on a platform and follow all norms and standards of platforms as guided by regulations.
Now, the provision in Article 4 is interesting. It says, "Internet streamers shall adhere to the correct political orientation, public opinion orientation and value orientation, establish a correct world outlook, outlook on life, and values, actively practice the core socialist values, uphold social morality, abide by professional ethics, and cultivate personal morality." This basically means that streamers have to adhere to the socialist party line and cannot stray away from what the Communist Party of China (CPC) holds as 'good behaviour.' Article 5 of the guidelines have similar provisions which essentially ask streamers to 'excellent traditional Chinese culture, spread positive energy.' This comes with the expectation of moral behavior from influencers and a guideline to abandon 'vulgar interests', 'fanquan' (饭圈) culture, money-oriented streams, and promotions. Essentially, any behavior which can harm the goals of building a 'digital civilisation' or 'civilised internet' should be abandoned.
Article 14 of the guidelines lists 31 types of acts that the streamers are prohibited from. Some of them are given below. Refer to the document for other acts prohibited under the new guidelines.
Internet streamers should not engage in:
Publishing content that weakens distorts, or denies the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the socialist system, and reform and opening up (发布削弱、歪曲、否定中国共产党的领导、社会主义制度和改革开放的内容).
Publishing content that denigrates the fine cultural traditions of the nation, incites national hatred and discrimination, distorts national history or figures in national history, hurts national feelings, undermines national unity, or violates national customs and habits (发布诋毁民族优秀文化传统,煽动民族仇恨、民族歧视,歪曲民族历史或者民族历史人物,伤害民族感情、破坏民族团结,或者侵害民族风俗、习惯的内容).
Spoofing, slandering, distorting, or displaying Chinese excellent traditional culture, revolutionary culture, and advanced socialist culture in an inappropriate way (恶搞、诋毁、歪曲或者以不当方式展现中华优秀传统文化、革命文化、社会主义先进文化).
Damage the public image of the people's army, police, judges, and other specific occupations and groups (损害人民军队、警察、法官等特定职业、群体的公众形象).
Fabricating or deliberately spreading false terrorist information, false dangers, epidemics, disasters, and police situations, disrupting social security and public order, and undermining social stability (编造、故意传播虚假恐怖信息、虚假险情、疫情、灾情、警情,扰乱社会治安和公共秩序,破坏社会稳定).
Displaying or hyping up a large number of luxury goods, jewelry, banknotes, and other assets, displaying uncontrolled extravagant life, and belittling low-income groups to show off their wealth (展示或炒作大量奢侈品、珠宝、纸币等资产,展示无节制奢靡生活,贬低低收入群体的炫富行为).
Apart from behavioral and content guidelines, the streamers are also expected to fulfill their tax obligations. On failure to follow the guidelines, the streamers will be blacklisted or given a warning or other more serious actions will be taken. Serious violators will be banned from streaming platforms and won't be allowed to make another account on the same platform or any other platform.
These guidelines are in a series of regulations and crackdown on the internet celebrity and idol culture in China. Which again is part of a larger campaign to regulate the behavior of people on social media and other internet platforms. The Party has been trying to tame the internet fandom culture and model a positive and ideal internet behavior for many years now. Even since the rise of internet applications and forums, Chinese netizens have been trying to push against such attempts to 'sanitize' the internet. Some are successful, some are not. Here is a very good explainer by Brookings on why CPC is cracking down on fandom culture.
Also Read:
IV. Data & Payments Companies Reform
Xi Jinping chaired the 26th meeting of the central commission for deepening overall reform this week. The meeting cleared two guidelines, i.e., on accelerating the construction of basic systems for data and improving the work on administrative divisions, along with work plans to conduct pilot reforms of scientific and technological personnel evaluation and strengthen supervision over major payment platform enterprises.
Xi chaired the meeting. He said that:
He said that the “construction of the data infrastructure system is related to the overall situation of national development and security. It is necessary to maintain national data security, protect personal information and commercial secrets, promote the efficient circulation and use of data, empower the real economy, and make overall plans to promote data property rights, circulation transactions, income distribution, security governance, and speed up the construction of data infrastructure systems.”
He called to “enhance the centralised and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee on work regarding administrative divisions, ensure solid overall planning and avert unregulated and disorderly acts.”
On tech talents, he spoke about the importance of building an evaluation system for scientific and technological personnel that is oriented toward innovation, capability and contribution.
On payments platforms, Xi said that it is important for these entities to to return to their roots, improve regulation, strengthen institutional weak links, ensure the security of payment and financial infrastructure, and guard against and defuse potential systemic financial risks; he called for support for platform companies in playing a bigger role in serving the real economy and smoothing the ‘dual circulation’ of domestic and international markets.
习近平在主持会议时强调,数据基础制度建设事关国家发展和安全大局,要维护国家数据安全,保护个人信息和商业秘密,促进数据高效流通使用、赋能实体经济,统筹推进数据产权、流通交易、收益分配、安全治理,加快构建数据基础制度体系。要加强党中央对行政区划工作的集中统一领导,做好统筹规划,避免盲目无序。要遵循科技创新规律和人才成长规律,以激发科技人才创新活力为目标,按照创新活动类型,构建以创新价值、能力、贡献为导向的科技人才评价体系,引导人尽其才、才尽其用、用有所成。要推动大型支付和金融科技平台企业回归本源,健全监管规则,补齐制度短板,保障支付和金融基础设施安全,防范化解系统性金融风险隐患,支持平台企业在服务实体经济和畅通国内国际双循环等方面发挥更大作用.
On data, the meeting “called for establishing a data property right system, as well as mechanisms concerning the circulation, transaction and revenue distribution of data factors. Security should be emphasised throughout the whole process of data governance, it stressed, saying that the country will build a multi-party data governance pattern involving government, enterprises and society, and tighten industry-specific and cross-industrial regulations.”
The PD report adds that the meeting said that the data property rights system must entail classification and grading of public data, enterprise data, and personal data, along with rules for holding, processing and using data. 要建立数据产权制度,推进公共数据、企业数据、个人数据分类分级确权授权使用,建立数据资源持有权、数据加工使用权、数据产品经营权等分置的产权运行机制,健全数据要素权益保护制度.
Further on fintech and platform companies, the report says that:
“It is necessary to strengthen the supervision of financial holding companies, the supervision of platform enterprises participating in financial holding institutions, and the supervision of internet financial services including deposits, loans and insurance. It is necessary to protect the legitimate rights and interests of financial consumers, strengthen the anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition supervision of platform enterprises, strengthen the supervision of platform enterprises engaging in data accumulation/capture (沉淀数据), and regulate the misuse of big data and algorithm-based discrimination.
V. Region Watch
by Shibani Mehta
After Nepal ratified a US$500 million grant from a US government aid agency, Beijing was on alert over Washington’s efforts to counter its rising power in the region. Beijing was, therefore, relieved to know that Nepal had rejected the US’s security partnership - State Partnership Programme (SPP). The decision was made last week following widespread criticism from various quarters, including the main opposition CPN-UML, a House committee, coalition partner as well as Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s own party, Nepali Congress. A few days later, China commended Nepal’s decision and promised its continued support to Kathmandu’s “independent foreign policy”. The SPP, administered by the US National Guard Bureau, was set up in the 1990s and now serves as “a key US security cooperation tool” that includes partnerships with 93 countries. Nepal first applied to join the SPP in 2015 as it wanted humanitarian assistance after a devastating earthquake that year and was accepted in 2019. According to the US National Security Gaurd Bureau, it “conducts military-to-military engagements in support of defence security goals but also leverages whole-of-society relationships and capabilities to facilitate broader inter-agency and corollary engagements spanning military, government, economic and social spheres” under the SPP.
Meanwhile, Minister of the International Liaison Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, held video calls with the top brass of Nepal’s politics.
“China is willing to work with Nepal to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, deepen political mutual trust, actively promote major projects and practical cooperation in various fields under the framework of the Belt and Road, and push the friendship across the Himalayas to a new height,” said Liu Jianchao, the new head of the CPC’s International Liaison Department. This at a time when the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Center) the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist) are attempting an alliance as the Himalayan nation heads toward federal and parliamentary elections.
In another display of agency, Bangladesh gave a sharp rebuttal to Chinese claims about its biggest infrastructure project being part of BRI. The Embassy of China in Dhaka announced an event titled ‘The Padma Bridge: An Example of Bangladesh-China cooperation under Belt and Road Initiative’ a few days prior to the launch of the country’s longest bridge (6.51km). While Beijing sees it as a milestone for cooperation with Bangladesh, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs categorically asserts that the Padma Multipurpose Bridge has been entirely funded by the Government of Bangladesh and no foreign funds from any bilateral or multilateral funding agency have financially contributed to its construction,"
While this is true, it has been pointed out that the bridge was built by the China Major Bridge Engineering Company Ltd. The China Railway Group has also claimed the Padma Bridge will later feature a rail network that connects with other BRI projects, serving as an important link between China and a pan-Asian rail network.
Both Nepal and Bangladesh have pursued better understanding and placed their considerations at the centre of all development strategies. Meanwhile, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) received a deposit of $2.3 billion from China to boost Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves that stood in single digits at $8.24 billion.
In other news, Pakistan Navy ship ‘Taimur’ was commissioned at the Hudong Zhonghua shipyard in China. Official statement claims that Taimur is technologically advanced and a highly capable sea asset. These ships, it added, will provide a sustainable boost to the combat capability of the Pakistan Navy and enable it to meet emerging challenges in the domain of maritime security and regional peace.
Also Read:
Is China anyone’s ‘all-weather’ friend? Sri Lanka’s experience suggests otherwise
China can turn debt trap of its own making into historic opportunity
VI. The Long & Short of It…
a. Probe into CNKI
WSJ reports that China cybersecurity investigators launched a probe of the operator of the country’s biggest academic database. “The database operator, Tongfang Knowledge Network (Beijing) Technology Co., manages a cache of personal information and data for key industries that include defense, telecommunications, transportation and natural resources, the Cyberspace Administration of China, which oversees internet regulation, said Friday. The database, known as China National Knowledge Infrastructure, also contains sensitive information about the country’s major research projects and its scientific and technological development, said the internet watchdog, which leads such investigations. The probe is aimed at pre-empting risks related to the security of national data and protecting national security, the regulator said.”
b. Xu Zhiyong’s Secret Trial
SCMP reported that the Chinese government has tried two of the country’s most prominent civil rights leaders, Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi, through closed-door state subversion trials this week amid tight security. “No family members or supporters were allowed to attend Xu’s trial held in the Linshu County People’s Court in Shandong province on Wednesday morning. The activist’s legal representatives declined to comment. It is understood the lawyers have been asked to sign confidentiality agreements barring them from speaking to the media or risk severe consequences. The trial ended early on Wednesday evening and no information relating to the court proceeding has been made public. A verdict will be announced at a later date.” Ding’s case was scheduled to be heard in the same court on Friday morning. “Xu, 49, and Ding, 54, have been long-standing advocates for civil rights, making them frequent targets of the state. In recent years, China has zeroed in on organised political activism in all forms, including moderate dissidents, to effectively wipe it out.”
c. 25th Anniversary of HK’s Handover
July 1 will mark the 25th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to Chinese rule. Xi Jinping will be traveling to HK for the day, which will also see the inauguration ceremony of the sixth government of the HKSAR. This is Xi’s first visit outside the mainland since the pandemic began. Throughout this week, state media coverage has been highlighting the significance of the 25th anniversary. The incoming Chief Executive of Hong Kong, John Lee, has also been speaking to media, discussing his priorities. For instance, there was an interview-based report in the People’s Daily, discussing Lee’s career and policy focus. The English version contained the policy-relevant bits:
Over the next five years, the HKSAR government will focus on economy and people's livelihood, trying to solve the problems accumulated over the past years, while remaining vigilant about safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests
“From my point of view, development is the key to solving problems in Hong Kong,” Lee said, adding that the focus of the new HKSAR administration is to promote development to benefit Hong Kong residents, so that the issues long plaguing the Hong Kong society will be gradually solved.
According to the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development, Hong Kong is being supported in establishing itself as an international center for innovation and technology, a center in the Asia-Pacific region for international legal and dispute resolution services, a regional center for intellectual property trade, and a center for cultural and art exchanges with other countries. Hong Kong should give full play to its own advantages, enhance its international competitiveness, and better integrate into the country's overall development, Lee said.
It is the HKSAR's constitutional responsibility to achieve the Article 23 legislation under the HKSAR Basic Law. “We will do a full legal study to ensure that local legislation can handle the national security risks that may be encountered in the future,” he said.
Lee backed the one country, two systems, saying that Hong Kong had become “more resilient and dynamic” after weathering challenges
“We need to further improve the overall development of Hong Kong and heighten its international reputation to make the city more successful, Lee said. “This is the key objective of promoting the 'one country, two systems.”
He also talked about his comprehensive youth policy
In PD, there was chunk where Lee talks about his experience of watching the handover ceremony of 1997. He talks about how the handover ceremony is an unforgettable moment for him; how his blood boiled/the strong sense of emotion or passion 热血沸腾 that he experienced when he saw the PRC flag being hoisted along with the HKSAR flag.
Anyway, on the youth policy, do check out this SCMP report:
“Only 2 per cent of Hong Kong’s youth identify as “Chinese”, a drop from 5.4 per cent some six months ago, according to latest findings of a half-yearly tracking poll released on Tuesday. This was despite overall survey results showing an increase in recent years of residents’ sense of being “Chinese”, with the latest rating at 6.52 on a scale of zero to 10, up from 6.13 last time, also the highest since the poll in December 2018 when the rating was 6.6.”
Lee also had a wide-ranging interview with SCMP. You can check that out here.
d. Local Govts’ Misuse of Funds
China’s National Audit Office has found that 10 regions misused the proceeds of 13.66 billion yuan (US$2.03 billion) worth of special purpose bonds – which are allocated primarily for infrastructure spending – on business operations and personnel wages last year. It also found that with local authorities bearing the cost of coronavirus prevention measures such as mass screening, some 26 of China’s 31 provincial-level jurisdictions falsified information to obtain 543 million yuan of central government subsidies for people affected by the pandemic. In addition, a total of 28 provinces misused 1.431 billion yuan of funds for debt repayment and infrastructure projects.
The audit report also found that 21.7 billion yuan of special purpose bond funding in 33 regions had been idle for more than one year. Fitch Ratings expects local governments’ land concession revenue to decline in 2022, while capital expenditure is set to rise by 19 per cent year on year, as a part of the country’s countercyclical measure to stimulate the economy. The 23 small- and medium-sized banks surveyed in the report were found to have understated their non-performing loans by 170.96 billion yuan.
Other Stories:
Philippines abandons joint energy exploration talks with China
After Years of Acrimony, China and Australia Cautiously Reach Out/ China’s ambassador urges new Australian government to repair ties
China May oil imports from Russia soar to a record, surpass top supplier Saudi
Chinese military says U.S. plane in Taiwan Strait endangered peace/ China Sends Warplanes Near Taiwan After US Rejects Strait Claims
US lawmakers push for more money to counter China in Indo-Pacific
US-China relations: Beijing has own ‘trade weapons’ to counter Xinjiang ‘forced labour’ law
China waging dangerous assault on human rights in Tibet: Nancy Pelosi
China jobs: facing lean times, small businesses dial back summer hiring
It Looks Like China Did Have Access To U.S. TikTok User Data
Chinese security official calls for crackdown on gangs following Tangshan attack