News: Former Qinghai CCPSC member and Executive Vice Governor Wang Yubo (王予波) was appointed Yunnan Vice Party Secretary today. Quick Take: Before the appointment today, Wang has spent his entire career in Qinghai since 1984. He was appointed Qinghai CCPSC member and Secretary-General in April 2015, and was again promoted to Qinghai Executive Vice Governor in March 2017. Wang’s predecessor Li Xiuling (李秀领) has departed for another post as Inner Mongolia CPPCC Chairman in January 2019.
News: Former Fujian Vice Governor Yang Xianjin (杨贤金) was appointed Fujian CCPSC member and Organization Department Chief today. Quick Take: Yang is a technocrat with a solid background in biomedical engineering, and started his career in Tianjin University in 2001. He then worked in East China University of Science and Technology and Tongji University respectively, before officially entering active politics in 2017 as Fujian Vice Governor. Following the appointments of Chen Anli (陈安丽) and Shi Dai (石岱), this is already the third personnel adjustment in the past three days at the provincial Organization Chief position, and the 7th since the beginning of 2019. More interestingly, we noticed that many of the recently appointed provincial CCPSC members were transferred from Vice Governor seats, with a large majority appointed in January 2018. Some examples include Heilongjiang Organization Chief Chen Anli, Hunan Political and Legal Affairs Commission Chief Li Dianxun, and Yang Xianjin today.
News: Former Ministry of Science and Technology (MST) official Xia Mingjiu (夏鸣九) was appointed Minister-Counselor of the Chinese embassy in Japan today, with a vice-ministerial ranking. Quick Take: Traditionally, different Ministries under the State Council will assign officials to Chinese embassies as counselors to assist ambassadors with different areas of work, including culture, commerce, technology, education, etc. However, Xia’s appointment is quite intriguing, in that previous minister-counselors assigned from MST were only afforded a departmental ranking, while Xia’s ranking is specifically lifted upon his appointment. This may indicate a potential elevation of science and technology in China’s foreign affairs arena.
News: Former Hubei Vice Governor Chen Anli (陈安丽) was appointed Heilongjiang Organization Department Chief today. Quick Take: A Hubei local, Chen spent her entire career in her home province since 1984. Most of her work experiences are concentrated in the education industry, during her term for more than a decade in Hubei Department of Education. Chen also served in Huanggang and Suizhou respectively before being appointed Hubei Vice Governor in January 2018. Upon her appointment to Heilongjiang today, Chen will take up the vacancy left by Wang Aiwen (王爱文), who left the post on 14 May to become vice minister at the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
News: Former All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) Vice Chairwoman Shi Dai (石岱) was appointed Ningxia Organization Department Chief today. Quick Take: Shi has more than 20 years of experiences working in SOEs, with 13 years in Sinochem. She entered active politics in 2017 by joining ACFTU, and became its Vice Chairwoman in October 2018. Shi’s predecessor Sheng Ronghua (盛荣华) has departed for another post as Cyberspace Administration of China General Office Deputy Director on 16 May. Up till now, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Jiangxi and Fujian are still lacking their Organization Chiefs.
On Sunday, June 2, the State Council Information Office (SCIO) published China’s position paper on trade talks with the U.S. Here’s the link to the full-text. Our quick take: 1) This is the first time that China attributed setbacks in the trade talks to U.S. backtracking – in fact, the position paper listed three U.S. breaches of commitment, calling it the “first, second and third U.S. backtracking”. The intention is clearly to rebut U.S. claim that China backtracked in the days leading up to the 11th round of talks in early May, laying blame on the U.S. side as an effort to reassure both domestic and international audiences that it wasn’t China’s fault that the talks broke down. 2) No surprises in the rest of the criticisms of the U.S. and in the defensive talking points. However, the position paper did make it clear that it was U.S. “exorbitant demands” which included “mandatory requirements concerning China’s sovereign affairs” that resulted in the breakdown of talks. 3) What’s most interesting in this position paper is the use of the phrase “China is looking forward, not backward” in the conclusion paragraph. In the weeks following the 1999 U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Chinese leaders used similar phrases after a period of heightened tensions with the U.S. We believe that the message China is hoping to convey to the Trump White House through this position paper is that as long as the “exorbitant demands” are lifted, China remains willing to commit to the reform promises it had already made in the agreement.
People’s Daily, one of China’s official newspapers, published yet another series of nine op-eds, accusing the U.S. for inflicting the trade war. Similar to the previous nine commentaries published just a week ago, the new series or articles all follow the same format, each highlighting a specific area where the U.S. is “bound to fail” (必将失败). Quick take: Unlike the previous series, the new op-eds are much more aggressive in calling out the U.S., striking an offensive, rather than defensive tone seen in the previous commentaries. Furthermore, the first batch of nine commentaries was published in sequence – from 14-22 May, whereas the new ones were published simultaneously, taking up a full page in People’s Daily. Below are the verbatim translations of the titles of all nine commentaries. We’ve also included a few English translations done so far by People’s Daily. Note the nuance in the official translation, where the translators softened the tone of some of the more aggressive phrases. The international order cannot tolerate reckless and capricious behavior – Disregarding the rules is bound to fail Fair cooperation is the only right choice – Zero-sum games are bound to fail A storm cannot overturn the ocean – Going against the trend is bound to fail Hegemony in science and technology hinders development and progress – Rejecting competition is bound to fail Abusive use of power toward an unjust cause is doomed to lose support – Supremacy and arrogance is bound to fail American exceptionalism is a toxic theory of civilization superiority – double standards are bound to fail [Official translation]: American exceptionalism argument harmful to the world Bankruptcy of credibility is the most destructive form of bankruptcy – Breaking one’s own word is bound to fail [Official translation]: US faces severe credibility crisis as it frequently breaks promises Why insist on hitting the point of no return – Marching toward a dead end is bound to fail [Official translation]: US should wake up and pull back before it’s too late Clever calculations will lead to nothing – Petty tricks are bound to fail
News: Chongqing NDRC Chief Xiong Xue (熊雪) was promoted to Chongqing Vice Mayor today. Quick Take: A Chongqing local, Xiong has never left his home city during his career. He entered active politics in 1982 as a Communist Youth League official, and was appointed Chongqing NDRC Chief in March 2018. Two of Chongqing’s previous vice mayors Liu Guiping (刘桂平) and Li Dianxun (李殿勋) have already departed for other posts this year—the former was appointed China Construction Bank President on 20 March, and the latter was appointed Hunan Political and Legal Affairs Commission on 29 May.
News: Former Central Propaganda Department Vice Secretary-General Zheng Hongfan (郑宏范) was appointed Vice Chairman of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region today. Quick Take: Before the appointment today, Zheng has had a long career in propaganda-related works—he spent 12 years working in People’s Daily, the most prestigious mouthpiece of CCP, and was transferred to Central Propaganda Department as General Office Deputy Director in January 2004. Then in April 2014 he became Central Propaganda Department Vice Secretary-General. Zheng’s political career has been completely based in central offices up till today, and he is to take the seat left by Zhang Shaochun (张韶春), who was appointed the region’s CCPSC member and Secretary-General on 21 May.
News: Xi’an CCPSC member and Executive Vice Mayor Lv Jian (吕健) resigned from Shaanxi NPC today. Quick Take: A Shaanxi local, Lv’s political career is completely based in the province since 1996. He became a CCPSC member of his home city Xi’an in 2012, and was appointed Xi’an Executive Vice Mayor in July 2016. Lv’s resignation is very likely related to the province’s notorious Qinling illegal villa construction scandal in July 2018, which has already caused a number of ousters and demotions, including former Shaanxi Party Secretary Zhao Zhengyong (赵正永) who was taken down in January 2019.
