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Download this week’s newsletter as a PDF here: CPW No. 93

Dear friends and colleagues,

I’m off on vacation for the next two weeks, so it will be a while before the next issue. Apologies for the sporadic publishing schedule of late. Your comments and feedback are always welcome. Old issues are always available at www.chinapoliticsweekly.com. Sign up or unsubscribe by sending an email to info@chinapoliticsweekly.com.

Xi is the real authority

Monday’s People’s Daily article by an “authoritative figure” has gotten all the press, but arguably more important was the speech by Xi published the next day in the same paper. Delivered in January to top officials, the 20,000 character speech is Xi’s most extended and detailed statement on the economy since coming to power.

Unfortunately, it is also a mess. The majority of the speech is dedicated to Xi’s vague “new development concepts”: innovation, coordination, green, open and sharing. He complains about a lack of implementation, but the real problem, in our opinion, is the lack of a coherent vision from Xi himself.

Monday’s piece by the “authoritative figure” on the other hand, was striking for its sober assessment of China’s economic ills and its advocacy of aggressive reform measures to deal with debt and overcapacity. By all accounts the article was written under the aegis of Xi’s top economic advisor Liu He. Some have interpreted the critical nature of the piece as directed at Li Keqiang and the State Council bureaucracy, but we see no evidence for this. The more likely interpretation is that Liu is fighting for influence within Xi’s camp for the attention of the leader. Let’s hope he gets it.

If readers have any further insight into the article, please get in touch. I look forward to hearing from you.

PBSC Week in Review
Xi Jinping

Party General

May 13 Xi met with delegates of the 7th national conference on people’s air defense.
Secretary; PRC President;Chairman of Central Military May 12 Xi sent a congratulatory message on the opening of the ministerial meeting of the China-Arab State Cooperation Forum.

 

Commission May 11 Xi held talks with King Mohammed VI of Morocco.

They signed a joint statement establishing a strategic partnership between the two countries.

 

  May 9 Xi congratulated Kim Jong Un on election as chairman of the Worker’s Party of Korea.

 

  May 8 XI sent an instruction urging rescue operations after a landslide in Fujian Province.

 

  May 6 Xi sent a written instruction to a seminar on implementing a guideline on reform of the human resource system.

 

  May 5 Xi met with Bob Iger, vice chair of US-China Business Council and chairman and CEO of Walt Disney.

 

    Xi met with Sergei Naryshkin, head of the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament.

 

May 4 Xi sent a message of congratulations to a conference for international judicial cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries held in Suzhou, China.

 

  May 3 Xi held talks with Lao President Bounnhang Vorachit.

 

    Xi appointed and dismissed ambassadors.

United Nations, the Netherlands, Australia and Suriname.

 

Li Keqiang

Premier

May 13 Li addressed the 7th national conference on people’s air defense.

 

    Li met with delegates of the 7th national conference on people’s air defense.

 

  May 12 Li met with King Mohammed VI of Morocco.

 

    Li held talks with French Prime Minister Manuel Valls over the phone.

 

  May 11 Li chaired an executive meeting of the State Council.

The meeting decided to upgrade the consumer goods industry, further streamline administration and improve public services, and approved a city cluster plan for the Yangtze River Delta region.

 

  May 9 Li attended and spoke at a national teleconference on advancing government reform and improving public services.

 

  May 8 Li issued a written instruction calling for full efforts for search and rescue after a landslide in Fujian Province.

 

  May 6 Li inspected the Ministry of Human Resources and Social security.

 

  May 4 Li chaired an executive meeting of the State Council.

The meeting took action to expand private investment, deepen integration of the manufacturing industry and the internet, and develop the house leasing market.

 

    Li met with Lao President Bounnhang Vorachit.

 

    Li sent a congratulatory message to a 16+1 business forum held in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 

Zhang Dejiang

Chair of the

May 12 Zhang met with King Mohammed VI of Morocco.

 

National People’s Congress May 7-9 Zhang inspected enforcement of the Food Safety Law in Inner Mongolia.

 

  May 5 Zhang held talks with Sergei Naryshkin, head of the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament.

 

  May 4 Zhang met with Lao President Bounnhang Vorachit.

 

Yu Zhengsheng

Chair of the Chinese People’s Political

May 10 Yu chaired and spoke at a CPPCC symposium on deepening reform of China’s medical and health care system.

 

Consultative Conference    
Liu Yunshan

Head of Party Secretariat; Head

May 6 Liu chaired a seminar on implementing a guideline on reform of the human resource system.

 

of Propaganda May 4 Liu met with Lao President Bounnhang Vorachit.

 

Wang Qishan

Secretary of the Central Commission for

   
Discipline Inspection    
Zhang Gaoli

Executive Vice Premier

May 13 Zhang met with delegates of the 7th national conference on people’s air defense.

 

  May 11 Zhang spoke at the opening ceremony of the OECD Forum on Tax Administration.

 


 

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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