A RPC, a Lituânia e o problema de Taiwan - opinião da CGTN

 O nacionalismo chinês — aqui expresso pela CGTN — se opõe à “ideologia ocidental” que pretende separar Taiwan da integridade de sua jurisdição soberana, como pretende fazer a “política externa baseada em valores” da Lituânia. O problema de Taiwan é, provavelmente, o mais grave na agenda de política externa da RPC.

Paulo Roberto de Almeida 

CGTN Opinion 18:29, 11-Aug-2021

Lithuania courting danger with 'values-based foreign policy'

First Voice

Editor's note: CGTN's First Voice provides instant commentary on breaking stories. The daily column clarifies emerging issues and better defines the news agenda, offering a Chinese perspective on the latest global events. 

Lithuania's provocative move to allow the opening of a "representative office" under the name of "Taiwan" threatens a permanent rift in the relationship between Lithuania and China. It also shows the insidious threat of so-called values-based diplomacy to international peace and stability.

After a shift in government in October 2020, Lithuania adopted an outspoken, hostile attitude toward China. There are several reasons behind this abrupt change in policy, driven by domestic political imperatives.

The most obvious is that the new center-right coalition is driven by Western ideology. The main coalition partner, the Homeland Union, was a key backer of the discredited austerity measures put in place after the global financial crisis. It seeks closer economic ties with Washington and a stronger EU.

The Homeland Union was formed to challenge the Communist Party of Lithuania after the breakup of the Soviet Union and has defined itself by strongly supporting nationalism. Today's Homeland Union leaders have drawn a historically inaccurate but emotionally powerful parallel between Lithuania's decision to claim independence and separatist movements in Taiwan.

Although this false comparison falls apart when looking at the concrete specifics of the historical situations, it has emotionally resonated with the public and been a savvy political maneuver. For this reason, defending Taiwan separatism makes for good domestic politics.

But most importantly, the provocative move is designed to curry favor with the Biden administration, which Lithuania relies on for its security.

The Lithuanian coalition government has pledged to follow a "values-based foreign policy," the same language used by U.S. President Joe Biden as he attempts to form an anti-China coalition, cajoling countries into choosing between Washington and Beijing.

U.S. President Joe Biden walks to the Oval Office of the White House after arriving on Marine One in Washington, D.C., U.S., Aug. 10, 2021. /Getty

It may have a principled ring to it. But, in practice, the term "values-based foreign policy" means rejecting any political, judicial or economic system that doesn't mimic one of those in the Western countries. It comes from the assumption that there are universally applicable standards for all political, economic and social development when, in fact, every country has its own tradition and development path.

Any effort to impose an alien system of government at gunpoint is doomed to fail, as have been seen with the U.S.' futile attempts. It is arrogant and unrealistic.

Politics has made it advantageous for Lithuania's ruling coalition to lash out at China. But the decision to play domestic politics by encouraging Taiwan separatism is destabilizing and irresponsible.

For Lithuania and the rest of the "values-based" coalition against China President Biden is attempting to form, Taiwan may just be a piece in a giant chess game to contain China's rise. But this is not how China views the matter. The bedrock of China's ties with any country and the United Nations is the one-China policy, which acknowledges that Taiwan is part of China. It is the cornerstone of China's international relationships and the basis for mutual trust. Any efforts to undermine China's sovereignty on this issue are extremely dangerous. 

Supporting Taiwan separatism to obtain a domestic political advantage or pressure China will not only fail but could trigger a chain of events that could lead to wholly unnecessary conflicts.

For reasons that may have to do with nostalgic colonial arrogance or a racist tendency to consistently underestimate the Chinese people's ability and resolve, the West seems unable to process the fact China will not accept meddling in its domestic affairs and challenges to its territorial integrity. Moves such as Lithuania's are simply encouraging a downward spiral that leads to a dead end.

And the U.S.' open support of Lithuania on the Taiwan matter just shows the world how far-reaching and dangerous this "value-based foreign policy" is turning out to be.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)

A China eliminou a pobreza extrema: um feito admirável em qualquer época histórica - CGTN; nota introdutória: Paulo Roberto de Almeida

 Sobre a eliminação da pobreza na China

Paulo Roberto de Almeida

Gostaria de chamar a atenção para esse feito extraordinário na história econômica de toda a Humanidade. Começo esclarecendo que não defendo o regime comunista ou a ditadura do PCC, nos últimos 71 anos à frente do povo chinês. Apenas constato a realização de algo excepcional na história de qualquer outro povo, em qualquer outra época dos últimos DEZ MIL ANOS. 

A pobreza, ou a penúria, é um traço inerente à história humana desde os albores da humanidade. Os povos que se alçaram à condição de uma razoável situação de bem-estar o fizeram ao longo de um lentíssimo processo de melhorias graduais, convivendo ainda com muitos pobres, ou mesmo miseráveis, até uma data ainda recente da história humana, basicamente a partir da segunda revolução industrial, no arco civilizatório da Europa ocidental e seus off-shots na América do Norte e em algumas outras poucas partes do mundo.

Nenhum país periférico ou “subdesenvolvido”, ex-colônia, tutelado ou “dependente”, conseguiu eliminar a miséria extrema ou a simples pobreza “normal”, por suas próprias forças, com pouquíssimas exceções (Coreia do Sul, Singapura, um ou outro da Europa central). 

A China sempre foi a nação mais avançada da Humanidade — quando metade do mundo vivia na pobreza extrema, inclusive a Europa pós-Império romano, a despeito das elites privilegiadas —, mas falhou a primeira e a segunda revolução industrial, e manteve-se atrasada durante a maior parte do século XX, inclusive e principalmente sob o maoísmo demencial, um experimento comunista que fracassou como todos os demais empreendimentos comunistas. 

Quando o PCC se converteu ao capitalismo e liberou as energias do povo chinês, o país se desenvolveu, sob um capitalismo administrado, como são, aliás, as democracias de mercado avançadas, com a única diferença que o governo da China é administrado por um Partido formalmente comunista (ou até leninista), uma ditadura que para legitimar-se conduziu esse processo de redução administrada da pobreza , combinando mecanismos de mercado e indutores estatais. 

Os mandarins do PCC fizeram um bom trabalho nessa área, algo absolutamente inédito e excepcional, volto a dizer, na história da Humanidade. Pode até ser propaganda exagerada do governo comunista, mas é algo que pode ser facilmente verificado por observadores independentes e burocratas de organismos internacionais.

Não estou louvando o PCC ou a ditadura comunista pelo feito, e sim a energia do povo chinês. Os mandarins do PCC fizeram o que todo governo decente deveria fazer: garantir um quadro de estabilidade relativa (num processo extraordinário de reformas radicais, para sair do comunismo), oferecer toda a infraestrutura necessária para sustentar um processo de crescimento sustentado (e agora, finalmente, sustentável) e uma grande ousadia (fácil, sob uma ditadura) para inserir decisivamente a economia chinesa na interdependência global. 

Teria sido muito melhor se tudo isso tivesse sido feito em condições de liberdades e governança democrática, mas processos políticos obedecem a uma lógica própria, que não necessariamente corresponde às dinâmicas da vida econômica. 

Em todo caso, viva o povo chinês, por estar, mais uma vez, na vanguarda da Humanidade, como já esteve desde milhares de anos no passado, e ainda estará no futuro previsível neste século.

Paulo Roberto de Almeida 

Brasília, 25/02/2021

Transcrevo, sem acreditar em tudo, algumas matérias de opinião e reportagens factuais da CGTN, uma boa agência de notícias, controlada pelo governo do PCC (eu sei distinguir verdade e mentira, propaganda e relato objetivo).

Special coverage on China's accomplishments in poverty eradication

Politics 08:02, 25-Feb-2021

Xi to attend event marking China's poverty eradication, award role models

CGTN

449

Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend a gathering in Beijing Thursday to mark the country's accomplishments in poverty eradication.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, will present awards and certificates to national honorary title recipients for their contributions to the poverty alleviation work. He will also deliver a speech.

Stay tuned to CGTN's special coverage.

Click here for more about China's poverty alleviation efforts.

Updated 21:16, 24-Feb-2021

1,146

 Beijing, China

Over the past 40-plus years of reform and opening up, more than 700 million people in China have been lifted out of poverty, contributing to more than 70 percent of global poverty reduction. By the end of 2020, nearly 100 million impoverished rural residents had escaped poverty since 2012, and all 832 national-level poverty-stricken counties had shaken off poverty. 

A grand gathering to review China's decades-long journey towards eliminating poverty and outline the tasks ahead takes place in Beijing on Thursday morning. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, delivers a keynote speech after presenting awards to outstanding contributors to the poverty alleviation cause.

Opinion 11:32, 22-Feb-2021

How to eradicate extreme poverty: Part 1 - China's governing system

Keith Lamb

523

Editor's note: Keith Lamb is a University of Oxford graduate with an MSC degree in Contemporary Chinese Studies. His primary research interests are China's international relations and "socialism with Chinese characteristics." The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

In November 2020 China announced it has lifted its remaining 5.51 million citizens out of absolute poverty. This was a monumental achievement considering that the country has helped over 850 million people shake off poverty over the last 40 years, according to World Bank data.

Considering that absolute poverty remains a severe problem in the Global South and the U.S. now has over 567,000 homeless people, China's unprecedented accomplishment and the methods it used to eradicate absolute poverty demand attention.

China's success against poverty is multifaceted comprising of both macro and micro factors. All factors though are intricately interwoven with China's governing and philosophical system which acts as the macro foundation for China's success in alleviating extreme poverty.

For example, China's principle of non-interference in sovereign affairs works two ways. China does not demand political and economic changes in other states and it likewise rejects external interference into its own system. This means China has the ability to act independently of external foreign powers and implement policies suited to its own needs based on its own judgement.

Hence, China's cooperation with foreign capital has led to employment and the acquiring of capital and technology needed to implement poverty alleviation. However, concurrently China's marketization was not allowed to be dictated by the neoliberal Washington consensus which has led to the ruin of many economies in the Global South.

As such, China implemented market reforms but kept its large state-owned enterprises which allows China to redistribute resources accordingly. Furthermore, the players in the market are not allowed to bite the hand that feeds them. They are subject to the laws of central government rather than making the laws for themselves which leads to cannibalizing the principle of free-market competition and eventually the market itself.

China's specific political form allows for long-term economic planning which has been crucial for drawing up strategies for extreme poverty alleviation. Had China fallen victim to a foreign-imposed liberal democratic system then long-term planning for all would be negated by the vested interests of capital which overshadow liberal systems.

Take universal health care, which feeds into poverty alleviation, as an example. Despite the vast wealth of the U.S., socialized health care falls behind other developed states. Even the right of social health care is still undemocratically contested by big pharmaceutical businesses who lobby on Capitol Hill.

In contrast, for China, socialized health care is not a question of "if" but "how and when." In 2009 China launched health care reforms towards building universal health coverage. This led to basic health coverage increasing from 22.1 percent of the population in 2003 to 95.1 percent in 2013. During this time life expectancy increased from 72 to 76.4 years and maternal mortality dropped from 59 to 29 per 100,000 live births.

Continuing on from China's advances in providing universal healthcare is the "Health China 2030" strategy which aims to solve China's identifiable health care problems. This includes improving service quality, strengthening financial protection, and increasing the quality of medical care.

Officials who led the poverty-relief work visit a resident's house in Nanping City, Fujian Province, September 14, 2017. /Xinhua

Evidently, then, in China's case, working outside of the four-year cycle of liberal democracy has benefits. Contest this if you will but no other political-economic system has lifted so many people out of poverty so quickly. Should China be successful in its long-term 2030 healthcare plan then it will make huge strides not just in alleviating extreme poverty but also in making sure people don't fall back into it.

China's ability to eradicate extreme poverty comes down not only to the body of its governing system, which allows for certain measures to be implemented. The spirit within the system which is China's governing philosophy also plays a significant role.

This is in contrast to capitalism which sees life as a Darwinian struggle where the poor inherently deserve to be poor. Such an attitude can alleviate the government's responsibility for poverty which becomes seen as a natural phenomenon.

The spirit or the identity of a nation's political-economic system is reflected in its mass media. In the West, news revolves around whom to punish, invade and sanction. In contrast, in China news media is predominantly focused on improving the livelihood of China's citizens and the development of the country as a whole.

Such media shapes the very conception of what is possible and holds governments to account. For example, Donald Trump, compared to other presidents, is praised for not starting any new wars and only continuing with existing conflicts. In contrast, Chinese citizens who are well aware of poverty alleviation plans use these plans to hold both local and central governments to account.

As such, the goal of alleviating extreme poverty by 2020 was taken seriously and all manner of measures were implemented to achieve this aim. Tragically, being trapped in cages of limited possibilities, in the West populations do not dare to even imagine such lofty expectations from their governing systems.

In the West, people are seen as surplus to the historical process. They are "human beings" where history acts objectively upon them but is not part of them. Thus, history is conceived as an invisible and objective universal force that brings "enlightenment."

In contrast, in China, the human is conceived as the maker and the creator of history. They are "human makers" who have the inherent capacity to transform their social conditions for the better. In this conception of man's place in the world poverty is not something that exists forever as a natural state rather it is something which man has the inherent capacity to overcome.

This conception of the world may seem trivial but without it no poverty alleviation could take place. This is because if one is stuck in the dogma of believing one is unable to alter their material state then a self-fulfilling prophecy of material stagnation ensues.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)

China 11:02, 25-Feb-2021

Xi Jinping announces China's eradication of extreme poverty

CGTN

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday announced China's eradication of extreme poverty at a national commendation conference.

Xi first raised the concept of "targeted poverty alleviation" in November 2013, during an inspection tour of central China's Hunan Province.

Through eight years of sustained work, China has lifted the remaining 100 million rural poor people, under the current standard, out of extreme poverty.

O submundo da violência política criada pelo criminoso Trump - CGTN

 Opinion 12:09, 12-Jan-2021

CGTN

Why Trump ban is a band-aid to a bullet wound

Updated 14:55, 12-Jan-2021

CGTN Insight

An armed simpleton who invades a pizza restaurant to break up an imaginary pedophile ring he read about online is a national punchline.

Thousands of armed believers launching a deadly attack on Congress is a national security threat.

The mob that stormed Congress on January 6 was not simply whipped into a frenzy by President Donald Trump's speech in front of the White House earlier that day.

Rather, the participants had coalesced over time around conspiracies alleging a Democratic child sex ring and mass election fraud, and started organizing online in December, after the president had started hyping the rally, tweeting to followers, "Be there, will be wild!"

The violence that ensued was organized online, complete with GoFundMe pages and advice to bring zip ties and weapons to arrest lawmakers – or rope to hang them.

Calls for violence occurred on mainstream sites like Twitter and TikTok. On niche web sites and platforms like Parler and Gab, people talked in detail about plans to violently storm the Capitol.

Insurrectionists are continuing their online planning. Some have called for an armed march on all U.S. state capitols on January 17. There are calls for a Million Militia March in Washington on January 20, the day of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration.

In response to the looming storm, Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms have banned Trump. The right wing social media platform Parler has been driven offline for the time being.

Screenshot of an official blog post by Twitter explaining the reason for the suspension of U.S. President Donald Trump's Twitter account.

These responses seem like applying a band-aid to a bullet wound.

First, they won't work. If U.S. authorities are incapable of acting on danger signs posted on Facebook, will banning Trump and closing one of many social media platforms improve their capability?

This leads to the second problem. Big tech corporations have chosen to ban Trump and Parler to solve public relations problems and protect their shareholders.

They don't care about online extremism, because until now it has not been a threat to their bottom line.

As part of Trump's feud with big tech, the outgoing president and his allies want to revoke the law known as Section 230, which protects internet companies from being liable for content published by a third party.

The aspect of this law that the right wing dislikes protects tech companies from getting into trouble for the political decisions behind their moderation decisions.

Many right-wingers want content on the internet to be unregulated unless it violates a law. In this view, hate speech, which is legal in the U.S., could not be banned by a company like Facebook.

However, more generally, Section 230 also removes any liability for extremist content, making it safe for big tech to allow people to advocate views that could hurt society or lead to violence to flourish.

This protection from liability is why big tech is not particularly worried about its impact on U.S. national security. This was highlighted by the response to threat of alleged foreign interference in national elections – first ignoring it, then doing as little as possible.

This is also why tech companies make a big deal of banning Trump, but take no responsibility for fomenting the January 6 violence, and no substantive action to prevent it from happening again.

Exceptions to Section 230 have been carved out for child exploitation and prostitution. So why hasn't Section 230 been revised to hold big tech responsible for allowing calls for violent extremism?

The prosaic answer is that this kind of moderation would cost a lot of money and hurt tech companies' bottom line. More broadly, this could push Big Tech into shortcuts and workarounds that would chill free speech, raising First Amendment issues.

As the threat to the U.S. government changes from an abstraction to attacks being planned for later to this month, the rules around online content are dangerously broken, with no fix in sight.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.) 

Os cinco anos do acordo de Paris, segundo Beijing (CGTN)

 Climate 18:39, 12-Dec-2020

Paris climate accord turns 5: Is the world doing enough to save itself?

Updated 12:35, 13-Dec-2020

Zeng Ziyi , Wang Xiaonan

Hours before the Paris Agreement came to fruition, there were still doubts if it was going to happen.

After all, too many things could go wrong in any treaty that involves 196 countries, especially with the failure of the last conference held in Copenhagen fresh on the mind. Even tiny nuances in wording could send the decades-long negotiations back to the drawing table, again.

The grueling process that led up to the landmark climate deal was often compared to running a marathon. For two weeks, diplomats huddled in the town of Le Bourget on the outskirts of Paris, holding hotel room meetings late into the night while scanning details as small as a punctuation mark within the mountains of documents.

The exhausting days and nights culminated on Saturday, five years ago, when French foreign minister Laurent Fabius finally appeared on stage after a two-hour delay and banged down the small green-topped gavel that signified global cooperation – the deal that involved every nation on Earth was approved.

In the most ambitious climate deal in history, all countries are required to limit greenhouse gas emissions in order to achieve the overarching goal of bringing global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and constraining temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

If the 2-degree-Celsius threshold is breached, argued the world's top scientists, a series of natural disasters such as the sea-level rise and prolonged flood and drought would set the world on an irreversible course to climate catastrophe and lead to some 1.2 billion people being displaced by 2050, according to a recent analysis by the Institute for Economics and Peace.

06:42

Diverged paths

After the deal was reached, China and the United States – the world's biggest and second-biggest polluters – have taken drastically different paths in responding to the threat of climate change.

Riding on a wave of populism, U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly cast doubt on global warming, calling it an "expensive bullshit" and a "hoax" created by the Chinese to "make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive." After rolling back nearly 100 environmental initiatives enacted under his predecessor Barack Obama, Trump ultimately fulfilled his campaign promise of withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Agreement earlier last month.

"The Paris Agreement handicaps the United States economy in order to win praise from the very foreign capitals and global activists that have long sought to gain wealth at our country's expense," Trump stated after the decision. "They don't put America first. I do, and I always will."

Trump's brazen cynicism in the face of a pending global crisis was criticized by world leaders, including U.S. allies such as France and Canada. Nonetheless, U.S. emissions somewhat decreased "because the forces of the market and businesses are going in the opposite direction," said Erik Solheim, former UN Environment Executive Director, during an interview with CGTN. "Big U.S. companies are far ahead of politics."

Meanwhile, China and other nations have stepped up their effort in developing renewable energy and reduced their reliance on fossil fuels, from government policies to market forces. China's forest area has expanded fast for the past decade, leading the world in forest growth. The country has also contributed massively in clean R&D, reaching $6.3 billion – the first among all member states. Half of the world's solar panels are sourced from China, according to Solheim, also former UN under-secretary-general.

The European Union (EU), the planet's third-largest emitter, provided the most public climate fund to developing nations, and in the meantime spent 20 percent of its budget on curbing global warming between 2014 and 2020.

In the southern hemisphere, Australia has been developing the fuel of the future that won't produce any CO2 – hydrogen.

"Five years on, it's clear the Paris Agreement is driving climate action," said Professor Niklas Höhne of NewClimate Institute. "Not only is our warming projection for government climate pledges falling to just over two degrees, a level that puts the Paris Agreement 1.5 Celsius target within reach, but we're also seeing a drop in projects for real world action."

In the absence of the U.S., the EU, China, India, and several other large emitters launched the International Platform on Sustainable Finance to mobilize private investment into environmental sustainability.

Adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015, Paris, France. /Reuters

Looking to work in unison

Fighting climate change is a long-haul one, requiring effort from all parties involved – governments, businesses, academics, and the public. According to data from the Climate Action Tracker in December 2020, "2.9 is the median of the low and high ends of current policy projections." The slight fall from 3.6 degrees Celsius, it predicted five years ago, could partly be attributed to the historic climate agreement.

But the world could have done more. If countries had taken action a decade ago, they would have needed to cut emissions by 3.3 percent every year, according to the 2019 emissions gap report released by the UN Environment Program. Now they have to meet an annual reduction of 7.6 percent till 2030, a threshold most countries find out of reach with their current climate action plans.

"Now we are at the moment in history when all the forces are going at the same time in the right direction," Solheim noted. "But the speed is too slow."

One of the major obstacles came from the absence of the world's biggest historical emitter and second-largest emitter currently. But with a Joe Biden presidency approaching, climate cooperation among major polluters is set for a seismic shift. Biden appointed John Kerry – the key U.S. official in shaping the Paris climate accord – the U.S.'s first climate envoy, expected to take the country out of the climate change limbo by facilitating a transition away from coal, oil, and natural gas toward renewable energy. "Five years ago today, the world gathered to adopt the Paris Agreement on climate change. And in 39 days, the United States is going to rejoin it," Biden tweeted on Saturday. 

Read more: Climate cooperation could signify return to China-U.S. diplomacy

Across the pond, China has committed to leveling off carbon emissions no later than 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2060. "China will scale up its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions by adopting more vigorous policies and measures," said Chinese President Xi Jinping, who called for a "green revolution" during the 75th session of United Nations General Assembly held in September. He reiterated on Saturday some commitments for 2030, including lowering CO2 emissions per unit of GDP by over 65 percent from the 2005 level, and increasing the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 25 percent.

Read more: Full text: Xi Jinping's speech at Climate Ambition Summit 2020

"By the term 'green revolution,' it means we have to undergo a revolution of not just production mode but also lifestyle," Fang Li, China director of the World Resources Institute, told CGTN. Consumers are both contributors and victims to emissions and hence must be involved in this "revolution." Her institute estimates that the water used to produce food that has been wasted could sustain Beijing for eight years.

"The declaration made by Xi that China will go carbon neutral by 2060 sent shockwaves into the entire global environmental system," Solheim said. Japan and South Korea, which heavily rely on fossil fuels, followed up to make carbon-neutral pledge by 2050.

India – the fourth largest emitter – intends to cut emissions intensity by 33 to 35 percent below 2005 levels, along with generating 40 percent of electricity from non-fossil-fuel resources by 2030.

"It's widely anticipated that China, the U.S., the EU, and other member states can sit at the table and look for feasible solutions in the next few years," Fang added. Both she and Solheim agree that constructive competition will probably dominate future climate actions. "There's nothing bad if we have a green competition on the verge of irreversible climate change," said Solheim.

(Video editor: Chen Shi)

China debate mais um plano quinquenal de desenvolvimento - CGTN

 A China insiste em ter planos de desenvolvimento, o que não é desconhecido no Brasil: nós temos os nossos PPAs, por exemplo, nas eles não parecem servir para grande coisa.

A questão principal é que a China tem um governo autoritário que acredita nos seus planos, e tem meios de implementá-los, mas não apenas por ter um Estado autocrático, e sim por ter mandarins instruídos e guiados basicamente pela ideia do desenvolvimento, o que também já foi uma obsessão nacional (mas deixou de ser, há muito tempo).

Esquecendo essa mistificação do “socialismo com características chinesas” (que representa apenas uma legitimação para a ditadura do PCC), o fato é que a China conduziu e conduz o mais impressionante processo de modernização mais impressionante da história mundial, numa escala e dimensões jamais conhecidos na história humana e na economia mundial.

Esta matéria da CGTN explica um pouco o que está em jogo nesta conjuntura e nos próximos 15 anos. Não tenho nenhuma dúvida de que a China já venceu a presente Guerra Fria econômica — que não foi ela que iniciou — e que, infelizmente, o mundo em geral e os países pobres em particular não vão se beneficiar de uma possível e necessária cooperação (e mesmo integração econômica) entre a China e os EUA. Ficará para o futuro, quando os EUA tiverem lideranças mais esclarecidas, ou quando eles tiverem decaído bem mais, ao ponto de se tornarem mais humildes. Aposto mais nesta segunda hipótese...

Paulo Roberto de Almeida

China CGTN10:55, 26-Oct-2020

How will China shape its new journey for the coming five years?

Updated 21:19, 26-Oct-2020

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China is holding the widely-anticipated fifth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Beijing starting from Monday, with a focus on the blueprint for the country's future.

Undoubtedly, China will keep upholding the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC and staying on the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, but on the future prospects of the world's second-largest economy as it prepares economic and social development plans for the next five years, questions remain.

How will China navigate this new stage of development? What will China's economic and social roadmap be in the post-epidemic era? The following is a comprehensive guide for you to catch the pulse of the meeting.

Why does the meeting matter?

The highest decision-making bodies of the CPC, China's ruling party, are composed of two parts: the CPC National Congress, and the CPC Central Committee elected by its national congress.

Here is a review of all such plenary sessions since late 2012:

The fourth plenary session last year reviewed and adopted the CPC Central Committee's decision on some major issues concerning how to uphold and improve the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and advance the modernization of China's system and capacity for governance.

According to the agenda of this year's session, the proposals for formulating the country's 14th Five-Year (2021-2025) Plan for Economic and Social Development and future targets for 2035 will be assessed.

Read more:

Designing the Future: China's Five-Year Plans since 1953

Drawn up every five years since 1953, the FYP is a major feature of China's governance system, setting growth targets and defining economic and social development policies to ensure national strategies keep pace with the times.

Since 1953, China has formulated and implemented 13 FYPs. This year, for the first time, a 15-year "long-term vision" is mentioned along with the 14th version of the FYP, aiming for 2035 when the country's socialist modernization is expected to be basically achieved.

Eyes on China's plan for coming years

Development goals set for the 13th FYP period (2016-2020) are about to be accomplished, which will mark a new and major step forward in China's economic and scientific power, as well as national strength.

Analysts said that given growing uncertainties, the 14th FYP has attracted great attention, as it will be the first FYP after China accomplishes building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and realizing its first centennial goal in 2020, as well as making all-out efforts to achieve its second centennial goal – to build a great modern socialist country around 2049.

"The 14th Five-Year Plan will be a critical plan, drawn up at a critical time," said Wang Changlin, president of the Academy of Macroeconomic Research of the National Development and Reform Commission.

The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee has said that the FYP is a "vivid practice of China's socialist democracy." But how?

China has solicited public opinions online on compiling the 14th FYP since August 15, and by convening and presiding over a number of symposiums, Chinese President Xi Jinping has directly listened to opinions and advice on the country's economic and social development in the 2021-2025 plan period from all walks of society.

Read more:

Xi Jinping encourages public advice on China's 14th Five-Year Plan

01:56

After gathering suggestions widely, how will the blueprint be drawn up? 

Clues can be found from the Political Bureau's meetings, during which the following principles are stressed in making the 14th FYP – upholding the overall leadership of the CPC, maintaining and improving the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, putting people first, building a new development pattern, deepening reform and opening up and forestalling and defusing major risks and challenges.

Adhering to these key points, three aspects may be highlighted in the plan.

- Dual circulation

First introduced in May, the new development pattern known as "dual circulation," which takes the domestic market as the mainstay while letting domestic and foreign markets boost each other, has been placed high on the authorities' agenda.

In pursuing the new development pattern, scientific and technological innovation, especially making breakthroughs in core technologies, is widely regarded as the key to shaping domestic circulation.

Read more:

Guide to China's dual circulation economy

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When talking about what to expect for the next five-year plan, Bert Hofman, former World Bank Country Director for China, told CGTN during an interview that the dual circulation is a vital strategy in China's economic blueprint.

"Two elements of more domestic demand and more domestic capability and innovation are, I think, an important part of the dual circulation. It does not mean that China is going to close down," he said, and added that the domestic circulation is going to be more important than the international circulation when rebalancing towards more domestic capabilities.

"Over the past decade, China has increased household consumption in GDP a little bit, from 35 percent to about 40 percent but it has a long way to go," he said.

- High-quality development in economy

While chairing a meeting on the new plan in November last year, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stressed several principles of making the new plan, including to keep the economy running within a reasonable range, to promote high-quality development, to emphasize the vision of people-centered development and to highlight the role of reform and innovation in tackling difficulties.

Following the principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, all regions and departments have deepened the all-round reform, taken the initiative to further open up and maintained medium-high economic growth within a reasonable range, he said.

Read more:

China unveils guideline on improving the socialist market economy

Wang Tao, the chief China economist at UBS Investment Bank, predicted in his article that the 14th FYP will emphasize fostering structural changes domestically and improve the quality of growth.

"This means that the 14th FYP will likely set ambitious targets for urbanization (likely another 5-point increase in hukou urbanization rate), new urban employment growth (possibly another $50 million in 2021-25), increase in shares of consumption and services, improvement in the social safety net, and an increase in education and research and development spending," said the economist.

- People's sense of fulfillment, happiness and security

Aside from providing the general direction, the 14th FYP is more like "a super policy package" – setting quantitative indexes on many fields, including economic growth and environmental protection, and listing major programs and infrastructure projects affecting people's livelihood, Yan Yilong, a research fellow with the Center for China Studies at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times.

Meeting people's ever-growing needs for a better life has always been an important issue in China, and Xi Jinping has called for efforts in promoting the development of China's education, culture, health and sports sectors to reach the goal.

In this regard, policies concerning these areas will undoubtedly be covered in the 14th FYP.

Managing editor: Duan Fengyuan
Video editor: Zhang Rongyi 
Copy editor: Moosa Abbas
Chief editor: Chen Ran
Producer: Dang Zheng 
Managing director: Zhang Shilei