Wang Qishan is a confidant of President Xi Jinping and his views tend to represent Politburo policy. Before being brought out of retirement, the 70-year-old vice-president ran the day-to-day operation of Xi’s anti-corruption campaign as secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
Known as one of China’s economic reformers, Wang is nevertheless a tough cookie who pushes the Party line.
On Tuesday, he warned about the dangers of “right-leaning populism” and “unilateralism” at a business forum in Singapore before reiterating Beijing’s view that a “solution” to the trade war with the United States can be found.
“The Chinese side is ready to have discussions with the US on issues of mutual concern and work for a solution [that is] acceptable to both sides,” Wang told more than 400 business and political leaders at Bloomberg’s New Economy Forum. “China will stay calm and sober-minded and embrace greater openness to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.”
Twenty-four hours earlier, buzzwords such as “mutual benefit” and “win-win” had echoed around the National Convention and Exhibition Center in Shanghai when Xi lifted the curtain on the inaugural China International Import Expo.
But while his speech was full of promises of further “opening” up the economy, Wang’s address contained a strong warning to President Donald Trump’s administration.
“China rejects Cold War mentality and power politics [and will not] be bullied and oppressed by Imperialist powers,” he said, referring to the “Century of Humiliation,” which started in 1840 and ended in 1948.
Familiar ring
Yet despite the thread of steel running through his speech, the message had a familiar ring just weeks ahead of Xi’s planned meeting with Trump at the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires.
Before then, the world’s two largest economies will hold high-level talks in Washington on Friday with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis sitting down with Chinese Politburo Member Yang Jiechi and Defence Minister Wei Fenghe.
Rising trade tensions will be close to the top of the agenda.
“We’re going to see these two sides continue to dig in their heels – both sides still think they have the upper hand,” Scott Kennedy, the deputy director of China studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, told Bloomberg Television.
“For President Trump, even though he’s signaling that it’s possible they want a deal, there’s actually no monster benefit to him economically or politically. So, I think they’ll continue to do this dance and all of us will continue to watch,” he added.
It is a different story for Xi with the economy now resembling a slow waltz as opposed to a quick-step following a raft of statistics.
Earlier this week, data showed that the pace of growth in the services sector was decelerating. Factory activity has also been hit while third-quarter GDP growth has fallen to levels not seen since the 2009 Great Recession.
Domestically, this comes at a time when Beijing is realigning the economy from low-cost production to high-tech manufacturing, coupled with an expansive services industry and a more sophisticated consumer sector.
Externally, the economy is being buffeted by tariffs on Chinese imports, worth more than US$250 billion, entering the US. Trump has also threatened to impose duties on the remaining goods and products worth another $258 billion, citing “unfair practices” and “intellectual property violations.”
In response to economic headwinds and a massive sell-off in mainland markets, Beijing has rolled out a stimulus-inspired package. During the past nine months, nearly $3 trillion has been wiped off the Shanghai Composite Index and $1.1 trillion off Shenzhen.
Spending power
This, in turn, has hit the spending power of more than 150 million middle-class investors and squeezed the services and retail industries.
Defrosting the Cold War has become a priority. “It is our firm belief that China and the US will both gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation,” Vice-President Wang said in Singapore.
Behind the scenes, Xi’s government is waging another battle, but this time against debt.
The People’s Bank of China in its 2018 Financial Stability Report revealed that 10% of the country’s 4,000 banks failed stress tests, illustrating the challenges facing the $45 trillion financial system.
“Future tasks remain formidable as institutional and structural adjustment take time to mitigate potential risks,” the report stated.
Local government and corporate debt problems have become a recurring nightmare for the PBOC, which is China’s de facto central bank, in a changing global landscape.
“In the days to come, the risk factors affecting and undermining global financial stability are mounting. In particular, the rise of trade protectionism worldwide, and economic and trade frictions initiated by the US. [They] will have negative repercussions on the macroeconomy and financial markets at home and abroad,” the study added.
Risks that Wang and his boss know only too well.
To quote Mao,""shooting the arrow at the target". As the arrow is to the target, so is Marxism-Leninism to the Chinese revolution""
It means the end goal is Revolution. Communism is just the tool or way to get there. Sun Yatsen had tried Western mass democracy didn’t work. Even Mao had reached out to USA many times for help. What is the Chinese revolution? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Principles_of_the_People
People=commoners, peasants, farmers.
In USA Constitution, People=WASP Land owners.
For u dumb fvcks equating Japan with China are beyond help.
For u dumb fvcks equating Japan with China are beyond help.
Just another laundry list of doomsday wishfull fallacies. Picked up ZTE and making %10 already. Start ease into good deals my friends. Still %210+ on SNP from previous doomsday era. ahahhaha
Just another laundry list of doomsday wishfull fallacies. Picked up ZTE and making %10 already. Start ease into good deals my friends. Still %210+ on SNP from previous doomsday era. ahahhaha
u are fvcking delusional.
1) Those are economic and political systems; nothing to do with genetics.
2) Grouping Mao/Zhou/Deng, among most rebellious/revolutionary in history against Empire/clan/family rule, with King and country, aka blind loyalty to family lineage, just fvcking shows u don’t fvcking understand any philosophy or basic human organization or society structure.
3) There were many attempts of reforms at the beginning of new dynasties, especially peasant formed. Most of them went too far and got pushed back by the status quote, aka reactionaries bourgeoisie. The most famous is Han dynasty founded by a peasant. Stop using crack.and start using your brain…
u are fvcking delusional.
1) Those are economic and political systems; nothing to do with genetics.
2) Grouping Mao/Zhou/Deng, among most rebellious/revolutionary in history against Empire/clan/family rule, with King and country, aka blind loyalty to family lineage, just fvcking shows u don’t fvcking understand any philosophy or basic human organization or society structure.
3) There were many attempts of reforms at the beginning of new dynasties, especially peasant formed. Most of them went too far and got pushed back by the status quote, aka reactionaries bourgeoisie. The most famous is Han dynasty founded by a peasant. Stop using crack.and start using your brain…
Houck you are correct. Watts is just a tiresome old hack with nothing of substance to say.
Houck you are correct. Watts is just a tiresome old hack with nothing of substance to say.
The Japanese have been living under the gun for 7 decades now. Their surrender was absolute in 1945. They rebuilt their society. But the one that arose is just as lacking in honor as the one that died. That is the Japanese tragedy.
If China gives up a little bit, they will be expected to give up everything. Just as the Japanese have.
The Japanese have been living under the gun for 7 decades now. Their surrender was absolute in 1945. They rebuilt their society. But the one that arose is just as lacking in honor as the one that died. That is the Japanese tragedy.
If China gives up a little bit, they will be expected to give up everything. Just as the Japanese have.
I believe the author needs to take a few days break for the insistent articles that are simply regurgitating the same thing. Yes, the chinese strock exchange has lost several trillion in the last nine months, affecting 150 million very important investors, and there are inumberable indexes which have shown minor changes to the overall health of the chinese economy. Still, in the end, not much has actually happened. The sky hasn’t fallen, and nobody is ready to cry uncle and sue for peace. give it a rest for a week or so, unless someone really needs the income from writting these very minor and not very informative acticles.
I believe the author needs to take a few days break for the insistent articles that are simply regurgitating the same thing. Yes, the chinese strock exchange has lost several trillion in the last nine months, affecting 150 million very important investors, and there are inumberable indexes which have shown minor changes to the overall health of the chinese economy. Still, in the end, not much has actually happened. The sky hasn’t fallen, and nobody is ready to cry uncle and sue for peace. give it a rest for a week or so, unless someone really needs the income from writting these very minor and not very informative acticles.
Re: capitalism/socialism/communism: ever hear of the term: 天下大同？
Re: Capitulation：let time be the judge.
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We, China, will be the ones to make the compromises. [We Chinese] are not a people who stands our ground. King and country is a term not found in the Chinese dictionary.
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We, China, will be the ones to make the compromises. [We Chinese] are not a people who stands our ground. King and country is a term not found in the Chinese dictionary.
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Regardless if Imperialist eras, if KMT days, if CCP, or whatever the Chinese nation may rebrand or reclassify itself going into the future, at heart and by genomics, Chinese cultural have always evolved on the philosophy of CAPITALISM – not socialism, facisim, or imperialism….
This trait will continue to be tested in this tit for tat with the Americans meaning chances are we Chinese will be the ones to make the compromises if these agreements works to the favor of the leadership and/or the ruling politburo or both.
Sad, but the days of Mao, of Zhou En-lai, and of Deng Xiao-ping is no more. The term King and country, in Chinese society, is but a remnant of days past.
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Regardless if Imperialist eras, if KMT days, if CCP, or whatever the Chinese nation may rebrand or reclassify itself going into the future, at heart and by genomics, Chinese cultural have always evolved on the philosophy of CAPITALISM – not socialism, facisim, or imperialism….
This trait will continue to be tested in this tit for tat with the Americans meaning chances are we Chinese will be the ones to make the compromises if these agreements works to the favor of the leadership and/or the ruling politburo or both.
Sad, but the days of Mao, of Zhou En-lai, and of Deng Xiao-ping is no more. The term King and country, in Chinese society, is but a remnant of days past.
.
Good advice from Mr Wang Qishan!
Good advice from Mr Wang Qishan!