That’s what Xi said: An analysis of Governance of China Volume 3

Introduction

After I reading Governance of China Volume 2 and publishing my summarization, I was left with the feeling that despite there being a third volume that I hadn’t touched, that it could possibly be as eye-opening. That feeling was more or less accurate, but only in the sense that Volume 2 was so immense in its insight that the third volume was left to cover the same topics yet again, with little new to say. However, there are still new things to say, and that we can learn from. While they weren’t particularly prominent in the last volume, topics on Cyberspace, culture, stand out this time around, with updates on China’s quest to develop into a first-rate country that leads the world and to achieve an equilibrium with nature.

Despite Covid-19 becoming a recent development in world affairs, it isn’t talked about in this book. Neither is the topic of Xinjiang or Hong Kong riots broached. Instead the majority of it is focused on completing the construction of a “Moderately Prosperous Society In All Respects” and to begin shifting focus towards the future and attaining their second centenary goal of building China into a “Modern Socialist Country.” The future weighs heavy in the background of the book. China’s 13th Five year plan is due to conclude by this year and there is more than one speech already referencing the goals of the 14th Five year plan, that is no doubt being refined before official publication.

As the trade war with the US intensifies, and a second cold war seemingly on the horizon, it is evident that, for better or worse, the eyes of the world are on China now.

Secure a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and strive for a great success in building socialism with chinese characteristics for a new era (Report to the 19th CPC National Congress)

Socialism With Chinese Characteristics has entered a new era, the challenge facing Chinese society has evolved. What they now face is inadequate and unbalanced development. The period between the 19th and 20th national congress is the period where the time frames of the two centenary goals converge. They must finish building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and simultaneously begin building china into a modern socialist country.

By 2035 they hope to have:

• Strengthened China technologically and economically and made China into a global leader in innovation.
• Establish the rights of people to participate and develop as equals is protected
• Social etiquette and civility will be enhanced and their soft power increased.
• The middle income group will have grown significantly
• A modern social governance system will have taken shape with people leading harmonious and orderly lives
• As well as fundamental improvement to the environment

To do this, they plan to raise total factor productivity, build an industrial system that promotes coordinated development of the economy, technological innovation, modern finance and human resources.

Generally speaking they plan to improve infrastructure and protect entrepreneurship

China does not intend to close its door on the world, but only intends to open up wider.

They plan on improving their social assistance programs and putting an end to hospitals funding their operations with over-priced drugs, and improving the medicine system in general.

Xi affirms that they will protect their sovereignty, stop separatist activity, and never allow China to be separated.

Xi says that Corruption is the greatest threat to the CPC and links it to China’s history of governments rising and falling. He reaffirms that they will continue to combat corruption by addressing the root causes.

Media and Culture

Advance the rule of law under Chinese socialism

In advancing the rule of law, they must bear in mind their own national context and realities and take the path best suited to their conditions. “Under no circumstances should we imitate the models and practices of other countries or adopt the western models of ‘Constitutionalism’, ‘separation of powers’, and ‘judicial independence’.”

Heighten a sense of Chinese identity

“All ethnic groups as one family — this is one of the fundamental guarantees for the rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation.”

“First, we must uphold the CPC leadership, unite all ethnic groups, and lead them forwardd on the path of Chinese socialism.”

He says that they must take the correct approach to addressing ethnic problems, improve regional and ethnic autonomy, strengthen education on the party’s theories and policies concerning ethnic groups and solidarity. They want to cultivate in all ethnic groups a growing sense of national identity.

“Second, we must work to create a better life for all ethnic groups, and ensure that ethnic minority groups and the areas they inhabit achieve moderate prosperity and modernization together with the rest of the country. The Chinese nation is a big family; everyone in the family deserves a good life. We cannot have across-the-board moderate prosperity and modernization if ethnic minority areas are left behind.”

They should accelerate the development of ethnic minority groups and the areas that they inhabit. They should ensure that they have equal access to basic public services and help them turn natural resources into economic gains. They should have a growing sense of happiness, gain, and security.

Xi says that they should improve different policies for different regions.

“Third, we must uphold the core socialist values in building a cultural home shared by all ethnic groups. Culture is the soul of a nation, and cultural identity is the root of ethnic unity. All ethnic groups should respect and appreciate each other’s culture and learn from each other.”

“We should preserve and pass down ethnic cultures through updating and integration, and establish and highlight China’s cultural symbols shared by all its ethnic groups and the collective image of the Chinese nation, so that people from all ethnic groups identify more with chinese culture.” They also intend to strengthen education on standard spoken and written chinese, place an emphasis on patriotism.

Fourth, uphold the unity of the Chinese nation, and enhance communication and integration between ethnic groups. “Han chauvinism and local ethnic chauvinism are both enemies of ethnic unity and must be opposed.”

Fifth, handle ethnic affairs in accordance with the law, and ensure that citizens of all ethnic groups are equal before the law. “We should improve laws and regulations concerning ethnic minority groups, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of all groups by law. He continues that they must guard against infiltration, sabotage, subversive activities, violence, terrorism, ethnic and religious separatism.

A nation must have a soul

“In producing literary and artistic works and conducting research in philosophy and social sciences, we must know who we are creating and speaking for. This is a fundamental issue. The people are the source of inspiration for literary and artistic creations. Only through a people-centered approach can we draw inexhaustible inspiration… Philosophy, social sciences, literature, and art must respond to reality and analyze social problems. Before prescribing the right solutions for our country, we must first have an idea of its health and then identify the ailments and their causes. How can we treat ailments without a sound diagnosis.”

remove institutional barriers to educational development

Xi says that despite their education system conforming to their national conditions and their needs for economic and social development, it still needs to be reformed. He lists several shortcomings:

1. pressure which damages physical and mental health
2. the need to improve the quality of higher educational
3. the current method which he says imparts knowledge to the detriment of student’s all round development and
4. the need to enhance the party’s leadership over education and strengthen political educational

Among other things like, supporting deeper reform, improving the capacity of education to serve economic and social development, and opening wider to the outside world, he also says that they should promote education on values and moral integrity to correct the “warped” evaluation system that guides the development of education. He points the finger at the pressure on primary and secondary school students, which he ascribes to “short sighted and utilitarian thinking.” “In the final analysis, the problem is the requirement for education to foster values and moral integrity has not been fully implemented in the education system — the yardstick for education is scores and admission rates for primary and secondary schools, and research papers for colleges and universities. There is no proper place or sound evaluation system for moral education and education for all-round development, which is a long-standing problem we must solve. We should get rid of this obsession with scores, enrollment rates, diplomas, academic papers and professional titles, remove their excessive influence on the evaluation of the education system and reverse the utilitarian trend in education.” He supports building institutions which not only meet their educational needs, while also promoting physical and mental health and their all-round development.

Enhance Cyber capabilities through innovations

Xi says that they should improve the governance of cyberspace and build a framework of which Party committees will take leadership, government depts. Will perform administrative functions, internet enterprises will fulfill their responsibilities. They should strengthen positive publicity online, maintain the correct political direction, guide public opinion, advocate positive values. Internet operators must take on the primary responsibility for preventing the internet from becoming a platform to spread pernicious information or rumors.

“Without Cybersecurity we can ensure neither national security, nor economic and social stability, nor the interests of the people.”

Internet companies should shoulder the main responsibility because they are the operators, and the government takes the role of supervision and regulation. They want to crack down on online-crimes like hacking, fraud, invasion of individual privacy, amongst other things. They plan to do this by cutting of profit chains of online-crime.

Public communication in the new era

Xi says that they should encourage cultural workers to produce work drawing inspiration from every day life and the experiences of the people. Particularly he wants to see more work that tell the stories of the party, the country, the people, their heroes, and the historic progress of the country.

“In promoting the cultural sector, we must always put social benefits first… cultural workers should enhance their moral integrity and firmly resist unhealthy tendencies in literary and artistic creation. They should aim to set an example with their works and personal conduct to refine character, inspire minds, and shape social trends. They should produce more wholesome and inspiring online works.”

Xi also says that they should ensure equal access to public cultural services. This will involve the government stepping in a greater capacity, as well as the growth of new businesses.

Accelerate media integration

“No Cybersecurity, no national security. I have said this on many occasions. If we fail to adapt to the internet, we will not be in power for long… we need to accelerate media integration, so that our mainstream media will have more extensive coverage, stronger guidance, higher public turst, and more influence. The aim is to create concentric circles of diffusion, online and offline, within which all the people will be united on the basis of common ideals, convictions, values, and moral standards, so that positive energy and mainstream values prevail.”

It is difficult for some to fathom why the unregulated internet could be such a threat. It seems very paranoid that it would destroy the whole CPC like Xi believes, but I happen to agree with Xi. His view is one informed by history. In the USSR, after many of Gorbachev’s reforms, the media skewered the perception of the CPSU and of socialism. This, among other factors did lead to the dissolution of the USSR and many ordinary people learned firsthand that the grass really wasn’t greener. I think it is exactly this kind of disaster that Xi fears could take place if they let cyberspace run amok. If they really wish to secure their sovereignty and the happiness of their people in the long term, then these are indeed necessary steps. In the United States we have seen first hand what the lack of regulation over the internet causes, particularly with Facebook.

Development

Coordinated quality development across regions

Because of policies begun after the reform and opening up, different parts of China have developed faster and better than others, namely the south. As a result, they now have to fix this trend.

The 14th Five year plan will take measures to promote comprehensive revitalization in the Northeast.

Promote rural revitalization

Agricultural and rural development has lagged behind industrialization and urbanization. Agriculture will be supported with industry and rural areas with urban development. Agriculture will always need to develop. Urban and Rural areas will continue to co-exist for a long time. If they abandon the rural areas, then they will not have achieved real modernization, which is not in line with the party or the requirements of socialism. Though they have made advancements in the modernization of agriculture, they need to develop from a country of high agricultural output to one with a leading edge.

China has a large population and suffers from a shortage of arable land. Arable land per household is 1/40th of the EU and 1/400th of the US. Many farmers work on small patches of land and individual households don not have enough land to till, which Xi says makes it impossible to develop large scale agriculture like that in the US and Europe. They need to encourage small household farmers to engage in modern agriculture by improving agricultural service systems. “Now and in the foreseeable future, we need to focus on farmers’ cooperatives and family farms — two types of agricultural businesses that emerged in line with the two-tier system combining unified collective land management and individual household operations — to make agri-businesses more efficient.”

Principle to apply in protecting the eco-envirionment

Xi says that they must protect the environment with the strictest regulation and laws. He says that the problems they encounter are due to incomplete systems, lack of appropriate rules and enforcable laws, inadequate implementation, and ineffective punishment. He says that regulations must be mandatory in order to be successful deterrents. He urges that the “blinding force and authority must be firmly established.” “It is necessary to implement the accountability system among leading officials for protecting our Eco-environment, and strictly asses their performance. Those who make ill-judged decisions that cause harmful consequences must be held accountable, and for life… We must never be lenient in punishing actions that damage our eco-environment. We will strike hard at typical cases that cause damage to the eco-environment and send out the signal that the perpetrators will be severely punished. Anyone who damages the environment — no matter when or where — shall face the consequences. The institutions must not become a ‘paper-tiger.’”

Next, Xi says that they must work together to promote a global eco-civilization. “China will be heavily involved in global environmental governance, have a bigger say and greater influence, play an active part in the transformation of the international order, and help form global solutions to eco-environmental protection and to sustainable development… We will promote the philosophy and practice of eco-environmental progress in the Belt and Road initiative to benefit the peoples of all countries along the belt and road.”

win the battle against pollution

Xi says that “by 2035 we will put in place a land-use planning system, industrial structure, mode of production, and way of life, all of which are resource-saving and environment-friendly. The eco-environment will be much better, the basic modernization of China’s eco-environmental governance system and capacity will be achieved, and the goal of building a beautiful China will be generally realized.”

He says that they should push for green-development across the board. “The goal is to change the traditional economic model characterized by massive production, massive consumption and massive emission, so that resources, production and consumption are in balance. As a result, social and economic development can operate in tandem with environmental protection, and humanity and nature can coexist in harmony.”

He says that a green development model is the only solution to pollution. “Only by reducing pollutant discharges at the source can we make significant improvements to the eco-environment.” Additionally, they should foster stronger energy saving industries, clean production industries, clean energy industries, highly efficient agriculture, advanced manufacturing, and modern service industries. They should also encourage conservation across the board and in everyday life. He advises restructuring industries, reducing excessive and outdated capacity and creating new growth drivers. This means shuttering some enterprises, reforming others, and others having to move to industrial parks.

They also plan to change their energy mix. They want to reduce coal and develop clean energy. Specifically, they have resolved to provide heating and energy from clean energy, replacing coal with electricity or natural gas. Xi urges that they establish a system of production, supply, storage and sale of natural gas as soon as possible and optimize distribution. They plan to provide subsidies and ensure favorable prices for these resources. Additionally, they will make greater efforts to eliminate individual coal-fired burners and suspend operations of outdated coal-fired power plants and quicken the pace of their transformation and upgrading.

The means of transport also needs to change. They want to reduce the use of road and increase rail, and particularly to cut down on diesel-powered freight.

Water pollution will also be fought by cleaning and protecting bodies of water, and by improving their disposal and sewage networks.

In regards to soil pollution, they will reduce chemical fertilizer and pesticides, and improve recycling.

The Belt and Road Initiative and International Relations

China will open even wider

China will enhance alignment with international economic and trade rules, increase transparency, strengthen property rights protection, uphold law based governance, encourage competition, and oppose monopoly.

They will strengthen protection of intellectual property rights. This will improve the competitiveness of China’s economy.

Make China a global center for science and innovation

The Belt and Road initiative will become an initiative of innovation. They will cooperate with participating countries to build scientific and technological innovation alliances, and bases, and create more opportunities and platforms for common development.

Towards a stronger China-Africa community of shared future

“China will work with Africa to pursue green, low-carbon, circular and sustainable development and protect our lush mountains and lucid waters and all living beings on our planet. China will strengthen cooperation with africa on climate change, clean energy, prevention and control of desertification and soil erosion, protection of wildlife, and other areas of ecological and environmental preservation… China supports Africa in achieving general food security by 2030, and will work with Africa to formulate and implement a program of action to promote China-Africa cooperation in agricultural modernization.”

Besides these things, they plan to increase infrastructure development, increasing imports of African goods and non-resource products.

China also plans to start a healthcare initiative. They will upgrade 50 medical and health aid programs for Africa. China will train more medical specialists for Africa and continue sending medical teams to meet Africa’s needs. More mobile medical services will be provided and targeted health care services for women and children in vulnerable groups in Africa.

More African culture centers will be opened in China and more Chinese culture centers will be opened in Africa.

He also promises to write off many of the interest free loans given to disadvantaged areas.

Promote high quality belt and road cooperation

“Infrastructure is the bedrock of connectivity — it is the lack of infrastructure that has held up the development of many countries. High-quality, sustainable, resilient, affordable, inclusive and accessible infrastructure projects can help countries fully leverage their resources, better integrate into the global supply, industrial and value chains and realize interconnected development… In the context of the BRI, we must always take a development-oriented approach and see that sustainability features in the entire process of project selection, implementation and management. We need to strengthen international development cooperation so as to create more opportunities for developing countries, and help them eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development. To this end, China and its partners have set up the Belt and Road Sustainable Cities Alliance and the BRI International Green Development Coalition, formulated the Green Investment Principles for the Belt and Road, and launched the Declaration on Accelerating the sustainable development goals for children through inclusive development.”

Strive for China’s national rejuvenation and peaceful reunification

“China’s reunification is a historic trend and the right path, while ‘Taiwan independence’ goes against the tide of history and is a path that can only lead to a dead end… We will work with the greatest sincerity and exert our utmost efforts to achieve peaceful reunification, because this works best for the people on both sides and for our whole nation. We do not renounce the use of force and reserve the option of taking all necessary measures. This is to guard against external interference and a tiny number of separatists and their activities for ‘Taiwan Independence.’”

Fighting Corruption and Bureaucratism

Say no to form over substance and reject bureaucratism

“Bureaucratism comes from the obsession with official posts and power. It reflects misguided values and a distorted view of power. Those with this problem are inclined to rely too much on their own personal proclivities and subjective judgment, and distance themselves from reality and the people. These mindsets and behavior will hammer the implementation of the guidelines, principles, and policies of our party, disappoint the expectations of our people, and erode the foundations of the party’s governing status.”

remain true to our original aspiration and founding mission — an ongoing campaign

“A nation or a party that forgets where it comes from will not grow and prosper. It should be noted that in the course of our party’s long rule, elements undermining the Party’s progressive and wholesome nature are persistent, threats to our original aspiration, our founding mission, and the party’s foundation are ubiquitous, and impurities in thinking, political commitment, organization, and conduct in the party have not been completely eradicated.

A Marxist Party will not remain progressive and wholesome automatically over time, nor will a party member’s party consciousness deepen merely through length of service and promotion. Ther is a risk that our original aspiration will fade and disappear if it is neglected. Is is easy to forget why we started and where we are going; it is easy to wander off track and get lost. The fundamental reason why corrupt officials break laws and infringe discipline is that they have cast aside their original aspiration. All party members should constantly examine and analyze themselves to eradicate any impurities negative influence, and contamination.”

Conclusion

We’ve come to the end of these three books, and it is unknown whether there will be another. If there is a Governance of China Volume 4, it likely will not see the light of day for a number of years. The goal of the books was to demystify the policies of China and many of the goals they hope to accomplish. After reaching the end, what have we learned?

China is not only committed to creating a harmonious relationship with nature in their own country, but they also hope to lead the world in this regard and help other countries do so as well.

As China becomes stronger, so too do its allies and partners who work with it. China is developing the nations that have been crippled by war and colonized by the West, so that they may one day stand on their own.

China is still a developing country. While it has grown a great deal from its foundation, it still also has a long way to go, and will be plagued by contradictions for a long time. With that said, the CPC remains firm in its commitment to creating a rich and egalitarian society. The CPC has been so successful over the years that it even enjoys a staggering 90% approval rating by its people. With this in mind, it is clear that those people who claim to be for the Chinese people but against the government have revealed themselves to just be against China in general. No other system has worked for them as well as the one that they have now, and no idealistic western style democracy would live up to their standards.

The US in particular has a long history of demonizing its enemies with falsified evidence, drawing the country into conflict which goes against the interests of its people. Without the CPC the world will be thrown into chaos unlike anything since the fall of the USSR. With this in mind, this book series should serve as an opportunity for everyone who values peace to investigate for themselves what kind of enemy we are really dealing with.

If you would like to read about the previous volumes, you can follow this link to my analysis of Volume 1: https://www.reddit.com/r/communism/comments/hr4b0v/i_read_the_first_volume_of_xis_governance_of_china/

And follow this link to my analysis of Volume 2: https://medium.com/@bodhishevikbolsattva/a-summarization-of-xi-jinpings-governance-of-china-volume-2-444c3c0b818a