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Download this week’s newsletter as a PDF here: CPW 87
Dear friends and colleagues,
A week in Wuhan offered a different perspective to the negativity in Beijing. Wuhan looks and feels very much like the go-go China we have known for the past 15 years. It was hard to find many people who were worried about social stability or the economy, despite the recent announcement that Wuhan Iron and Steel is poised to lay off 50,000 workers.
It’s not to say that all was light and sunshine. Everybody is feeling the effects of the slowdown- particularly those in heavy industry. But overall, most companies we talked to are still making money and feel that they can successfully adapt to the new normal.
Politically, we found more liberal-minded contacts to be anxious, but resigned to Xi’s leftist tendencies. On the whole, we found Xi to still be very popular, and were surprised at the positive impressions that many had of their interactions with local government.
It was refreshing to find so much relative optimism (or perhaps relative lack of pessimism) in Wuhan. However, while Beijing may be overly focused on the negative, we think those in Wuhan are probably giving too little heed to the underlying problems that are increasingly evident in China’s political economy. When asked about some of the big questions of the day- debt, unemployment and political tensions- few could articulate how these problems would be ameliorated.
So who is right- the Cassandras in Beijing or the Pollyannas in Wuhan? The answer is…Both! Things are heading in the wrong direction, but we are not near imminent catastrophe.
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| PBSC Week in Review | ||
| Xi Jinping
Party General Secretary; PRC |
Mar 18 | Xi heard a report on the preparation of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games.
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| President; Chairman of | Mar 16 | Xi attended the closing meeting of the NPC annual session.
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| Central Military Commission | Mar 15 | Xi sent a congratulatory message to Htin Kyaw on his election as president of Myanmar.
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| Mar 14 | Xi attended the closing meeting of the CPPCC annual session.
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| Li Keqiang
Premier |
Mar 18 | Li chaired an executive meeting of the State Council.
Meeting laid out 50 key reform tasks in 10 sectors including government function transformation, tax and finance, SOEs, agriculture and rural areas, opening up, and social services.
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| Mar 16 | Li gave a press conference after the closing meeting of the NPC annual session.
Full text of the press conference Q&A (in English). Full text of the government work report (in English).
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| Li attended the closing meeting of the NPC annual session.
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| Mar 14 | Li attended the closing meeting of the CPPCC annual session.
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| Zhang Dejiang
Chair of the National People’s |
Mar 18 | Zhang left Beijing for Zambia.
Zhang will also visit Rwanda and Kenya.
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| Congress | Mar 16 | Zhang chaired the closing meeting of the NPC annual session.
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| Mar 15 | Zhang chaired the fourth presidium meeting of the NPC annual session.
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| Zhang chaired the third presidium meeting of the NPC annual session.
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| Zhang chaired the second presidium meeting of the NPC annual session.
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| Zhang toured the Xinhua News Agency news center and praised journalists’ coverage of the two sessions.
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| Mar 14 | Zhang attended the closing meeting of the CPPCC annual session.
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| Yu Zhengsheng
Chair of the |
Mar 16 | Yu attended the closing meeting of the NPC annual session.
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| Chinese People’s Political Consultative | Mar 14 | Yu chaired and spoke at the closing meeting of the CPPCC annual session.
Full text of his speech (in Chinese).
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| Conference | Yu chaired a meeting of the CPPCC Standing Committee.
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| Yu visited and praised news workers’ coverage the CPPCC annual session.
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| Liu Yunshan
Head of Party |
Mar 19 | Liu met with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
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| Secretariat; Head of Propaganda | Mar 16 | Liu attended the closing meeting of the NPC annual session.
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| Mar 14 | Liu attended the closing meeting of the CPPCC annual session.
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| Mar 13 | Liu joined group deliberations with NPC delegates from Jiangxi Province.
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| Wang Qishan
Secretary of the |
Mar 16 | Wang attended the closing meeting of the NPC annual session.
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| Central Commission for Discipline Inspection | Mar 14 | Wang attended the closing meeting of the CPPCC annual session.
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| Zhang Gaoli
Executive Vice |
Mar 17 | Zhang met with United States Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.
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| Premier | Mar 16 | Zhang attended the closing meeting of the NPC annual session.
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| Mar 14 | Zhang attended the closing meeting of the CPPCC annual session.
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| About CPW
China Politics Weekly aims to keep business leaders, investors, diplomats, scholars and other China hands up to date on important trends in China. It is produced by Trey McArver, a London-based consultant providing advice and intelligence to firms and investors engaged in China and the region. You can find out more about Trey and CPW in this interview.
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