Peking Playbook 20241124
Not Politico's work
Politico runs its playbooks across North America and Western Europe, but not Beijing. The following is just for fun - at least for now.
Zhongnanhai Zoom
Headlining Monday’s People’s Daily, the People’s Liberation Army has published and distributed within the PLA the Excerpts from Xi Jinping’s Important Statements on Governing the Military by Law, a compilation of Xi’s speeches and writings from November 2012 to June 2024 on military legal governance. (Xi took the leadership position in November 2012.) The PLA is called on to read the book seriously.
Xi’s recent trip to APEC in Peru and G20 in Brazil filled up the rest of the front page of the People’s Daily, highlighting China “stands on the right side of history” with Xi’s public commitment to stick with reform and opening up, and China “understands global trends from a long historical perspective” since it practices “true multilateralism,” promotes “equitable and orderly multipolarization,” and “advance inclusive and beneficial economic globalization.”
Xi returned to Beijing on the morning of Saturday, November 23, per the People’s Daily Sunday headline, after a technical stop at Morocco, where he met the Moroccan Crown Prince Moulay Hassan.
On Sunday, there is no official readout on any senior Chinese leader, namely the seven-member Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
Zhao Leji, the No.3 on the Standing Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the Chinese legislature, visited Portugal from Thursday to Saturday, November 21-23.
Wang Huning, the No.4 and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the Chinese political advisory body, received Erlan Karin, state counselor of Kazakhstan, in Beijing on Saturday, November 21.
Chang’an Avenue Chronicles
The Supreme People’s Court (SPC) held a meeting on Saturday, November 23, following a recent meeting of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee emphasizing maintaining social stability.
The apparent but unmentioned background is the recent spate of mass casualty attacks in China. Zhang Jun, head of the SPC, said “for heinous crimes, strict and severe punishment must be applied according to the law, with timely trials and verdicts to ensure that the public genuinely feels fairness and justice.” So, expect death penalties to be issued promptly in those attacks.
Zhang also said, “For crimes arising from escalated civil disputes or minor offenses occurring in social life or business operations, where the defendant admits guilt, accepts the punishment, and has obtained the victim’s forgiveness, lenient punishment may be applied in accordance with the law.” So, to discourage minor offenders from becoming mass murderers, there will be leniency for them.
The Ministry of Justice also held a meeting on the subject.
Ten ministries spearheaded by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security issued a joint document to promote services for China’s discriminated 300 million migrant workers, 190 million of which work and live out of their home provinces. The document reiterates promises Beijing has repeatedly made in the past, including further relaxing hukou/household registration restrictions and strengthening the provision of education to migrant workers’ children, but without committing to hard targets. One bright point seems to be an “encouragement” to municipal governments that gradually include migrant workers with stable employment and living records in the cities’ subsidized housing programs. But good luck with local governments that can’t even pay its own employees now.
The Cyberspace Administration of China disclosed on Sunday, November 24, that together with three other ministries, including the Ministry of Public Security, it launched a nationwide campaign until February 14, 2025, to address algorithms employed by Chinese internet platforms. The three-month campaign ambitiously aims to “prohibit the push of overly homogeneous content that induces user addiction,“ “fully disclose the principles behind algorithms that decide what is on a trending list to enhance transparency and explainability,” “prevent excessive focus on profit that compromises the rights of gig economy workers, such as requiring overly tight delivery times that lead to higher rates of delays, traffic violations, or accidents,” “prohibit the use of algorithms to implement differential pricing for the same products based on user attributes like age, occupation, or spending power.”
That is to say, after some cat videos, the Cyber Czars wouldn’t want you to be trapped in an “information cacoon” of cats, so the Chinese version of TikTok gotta serve some dog videos. Or capybaras. And Meituan and Eleme, the Chinese versions of Uber Easts, must not push their delivery workers too hard.
The State Taxation Administration of China says nearly all fapiao - invoices - will be available digitally starting December 1st.
Lee Hsien Loong, the former Prime Minister of Singapore, is visiting three Chinese cities in a six-day trip starting Sunday, November 24.
Hutong Heartbeat
Florence Chia-ying Yeh, a widely-celebrated Chinese-born Candian poet and sinologist, died on Sunday at 100, according to Nankai University, where she held a teaching post. Chinese social media are mourning the doyenne of Chinese poetry.
That Brussels and Beijing are nearing a solution over tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports into the bloc is all over the news in China. The only source is the Reuters report that Bernd Lange, the chair of the trade committee of the European Parliament, told a German broadcaster "We are close to an agreement: China could commit to offering e-cars in the EU at a minimum price…This would eliminate the distortion of competition through unfair subsidies, which is why the tariffs were originally introduced." The Ministry of Commerce hasn’t commented.
Jensen Huang, the Taiwan-born founder and CEO of U.S. chipmaking giant Nvidia, was greeted with an honorary doctorate at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His speech there was soon transcribed and circulated widely on the mainland.
And treated to a meal by Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po and other heavyweights on Saturaday.
Wu Liufang, an award-winning former Chinese gymnastics team member, recently uploaded dance videos on Douyin, the Chinese elder sister of TikTok. The platform has restricted her account from being followed after many found her costumes and dances too sexy.
A Zhejiang University student receiving financial aid traveled across China, Japan, and South Korea. He was disciplined.
From Beijing With Love
Earlier in the week, China significantly expanded its inbound visa-free travel program. Passport holders from 38 countries can now enter China visa-free and stay 30 days. Crucially, Japanese passport holders have been included as bilateral tensions ease. Notable exceptions, given that almost all EU member states have been afforded the privilege, include Sweden and Lithuania. Better reflect on yourselves! China has surged in the list of tourist destinations in many countries’ online searches, China Central Television rejoiced.
China’s domestically developed 075-class amphibious assault ship Hainan and the 052D-class missile destroyer Changsha visited Hong Kong from November 21 to 25 for a five-day mission, featuring a series of public events for Hong Kong and Macau residents. This marks the first time the 075-class amphibious assault ship has been open for public tours. Experts interviewed by the Global Times highlighted that this visit underscores the nation’s strong emphasis on its connection with Hong Kong and Macau residents and the deep bonds between the mainland and these regions.
“Without Chinese technology and equipment, we can no longer make a profit,” (“没有中国技术设备参与，我们已无法实现盈利”) Guancha, the influential news site based in Shanghai, proudly declared in the headline of its homepage, recycling a Sunday report from the Financial Times.
Several scrolls down, Zhang Weiwei and Jin Canrong, two celebrity pundits in China, shared their secret behind “Our forecast from four years ago: Donald Trump will come back.” Nate Silver must watch it.
On the other hand, George Yeo, the former Singaporean foreign minister, has said, “It will take the United States 20 to 30 years to truly understand China,” according to Guancha.
But will the U.S. even have China scholars in 20 to 30 years?
Speculation Mounts Over Revival of Ant Group’s IPO, Caixin reported on Friday, when The Shanghai Composite lost more than 3%.