Xi consolidates his position and drive for global China, the US counters with forging stronger ties with India
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Ushers managing umbrellas used by delegates arriving for the opening session of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct 18, 2017. PHOTO: REUTERS In Pictures: The 19th Communist Party Congress China's Communist Party opened a twice-a-decade congress on Wednesday (Oct 18). The country's most important political event, where the party's leadership is chosen and plans are made for the next five years, has captured global attention. For more, fo to http://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/photos/in-pictures-the-19th-communist-party-congress |
Xi consolidates his position and drive for global China, the US counters with forging stronger ties with India
It is a clear sign of the 21st Century Cold War between the US and China.
As president Xi Jinping, as expected, consolidates his political position and China’s global socio-economic expansionist programmes and policy, the US has also moved in in the same direction.
While China and Russia are considered a combo against the US, the Americans are now wooing India to become their strongest ally.
And, the US is campaigning openly as reported by international news agency Reuters’ with an article titled “U.S. wants stronger India economic, defence ties given China's rise - Tillerson”.
Is it a coincidence that U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is making such a statement as Xi’s Communist Party’s twice-a-decade congress enters its second day?
I Love Malaysia-China Silk Road does not believe it is a case of coincidence but all to do with “timing” to send out a message to serve one’s purpose and agenda.
Read on the following two Reuters’ report, posted by The Star Online, for your own information and conclusion:
"China suggests Xi's political ideology to be elevated in party constitution
WORLD
Thursday, 19 Oct 2017
11:38 AM MYT
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BEIJING (Reuters) - Top Chinese officials have praised President Xi Jinping's political ideology unveiled at a key Communist Party Congress, an indication that he could cement his power with his new slogan being incorporated into the party's constitution.
Xi opened the party's twice-a-decade congress on Wednesday with a speech pledging to build a "modern socialist country" for a "new era", and laid out a vision for a more prosperous China.
Whether Xi has his name crowned in the constitution during the congress will be a key measure of his status, its inclusion signalling his elevation to the level of previous leaders exemplified by Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory.
Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, and Liu Yunshan, all party officials on the elite 7-man Politburo Standing Committee, the apex of political power in China that is headed by Xi, praised "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era", according to the official Xinhua news agency.
In separate panels, Yu called it an important piece of the "system of theories" of Chinese socialism, and Liu said the "elevation of the Thought into the party's guiding principle" was of great significance, according to Xinhua.
Xi's immediate predecessors, Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin, have had their ideological concepts enshrined in the constitution, but not their names.
Zhang, Yu, and Liu are all set to step down during the week-long congress, where the party will be given a new slate of top officials under Xi.
Already widely regarded as the strongest Chinese leader since Mao, the 64-year-old Xi has consolidated power swiftly since assuming the party leadership in 2012, locking up rivals for corruption, restructuring the military and asserting China's rising might.
The Central Committee, the largest of the party's elite ruling bodies, passed a proposal earlier in October to amend the constitution, although it didn't specify what would be included.
The party gave Xi the title of "core" leader a year ago, a significant strengthening of his position ahead of the congress.
Xi set bold long-term goals for China's development in his opening speech, envisioning it as a "basically" modernised socialist country by 2035, and a modern socialist "strong power" with leading influence on the world stage by 2050.
(Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Paul Tait) - The Star Online
U.S. wants stronger India economic, defence ties given China's rise - Tillerson
WORLD
Thursday, 19 Oct 2017
10:34 AM MYT
by jonathan landay and david brunnstrom
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Speaking on Wednesday, less than a month before President Donald Trump is due to make his first state visit to China, Tillerson said the United States had begun to discuss creating alternatives to Chinese infrastructure financing in Asia.
In another comment likely to upset Beijing, he said Washington saw room to invite others, including Australia, to join U.S.-India-Japan security cooperation, something Beijing has opposed as an attempt by democracies to gang up on it.
The remarks coincide with the start of a week-long Chinese Communist Party congress at which President Xi Jinping is seeking to further consolidate his power.
"India and the United States should be in the business of equipping other countries to defend their sovereignty, build greater connectivity, and have a louder voice in a regional architecture that promotes their interests and develops their economies," Tillerson added.
The U.S. decision to expand relations with India almost certainly will upset India's rival, Pakistan, where Tillerson also will stop next week, said a senior State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Pakistan was the main U.S. ally in South Asia for decades, but U.S. officials are frustrated with what they charge has been Pakistan's failure to cut support for the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, where the administration wants India to play a bigger role in economic development.
As part of a South Asia strategy unveiled by Trump in August, Tillerson is expected to press Islamabad, which denies aiding the Taliban, to take stronger steps against extremists and allied groups and intensify efforts to pressure them to agree to peace talks with Kabul.
"We expect Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorist groups based there that threaten its own people and the broader region," Tillerson said.
Trump has threatened further cuts in U.S. aid to Pakistan if it fails to cooperate.
China, a strategic rival to the United States and India, is also vital to Trump's efforts to roll back North Korea's efforts to create nuclear-armed missiles capable of reaching the United States, an issue expected to top the agenda in Trump's Nov. 8-10 Beijing visit.
A senior State Department official defended the timing of the speech, saying Tillerson also said he wanted a constructive relationship with China.
"For many decades the United States has supported China's rise," said the official. "We've also supported India's rise. But those two countries have risen very differently."
The Chinese Embassy in Washington said in a statement that Beijing "contributes to and defends the rules-based world order" and seeks to enhance international cooperation.
"We will never seek hegemony or engage in expansion, never pursue development at the expenses of others’ interests," it said.
Tillerson did not say what he meant by creating an alternative to Chinese infrastructure financing, but said the Trump administration had begun a "quiet conversation" with some emerging East Asian democracies at a summit in August.
He said Chinese financing was saddling countries with "enormous" debts and failing to create jobs.
"We think it's important that we begin to develop some means of countering that with alternative financing measures."
"We will not be able to compete with the kind of terms that China offers, but countries have to decide what are they willing to pay to secure their sovereignty and their future control of their economies and we've had those discussions with them as well," he said.
(This version of the story refiles to delete extraneous letters in headline)
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Jonathan Landay; Editing by James Dalgleish and Leslie Adler)
China will not give up its rights but will enhance ties along border: President Xi Jinping
“China will never pursue development at the expense of other’s interests, but nor will China ever give up its legitimate rights and interests. No one should expect China to swallow anything that undermines its interests,” said President Xi Jinping.
Written by Apurva | Beijing | Updated: October 19, 2017 7:14 am
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| Chinese President Xi Jinping said “We (China) should commit to settling disputes through dialogue and resolving differences through discussion, coordinate responses to traditional and non-traditional threats, and oppose terrorism in all its forms.” (Reuters Photo) |
Addressing the 19th National Congress of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Xi also said that the country will enhance relations along its borders and open up more to the world. He further advocated a strong, modernised military that can deter and win wars.
“China will never pursue development at the expense of others’ interests, but nor will China ever give up its legitimate rights and interests. No one should expect China to swallow anything that undermines its interests,” Xi said, adding that the country would never seek “hegemony or engage” in any expansion.
Delivering a three-and-a-half-hour speech during the opening ceremony of the week-long Congress, the Chinese President also underscored the importance of the “five principles of peaceful coexistence” or Panchsheel — the set of principles that India and China agreed to in 1954. “China will deepen relations with its neighbours in accordance with the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness and the policy of forging friendship and partnership with its neighbours,” Xi said.
The Chinese President’s speech comes against the backdrop of a recent face-off between the Chinese and Indian armies in the Doklam area east of Sikkim. The standoff was defused late in August, days before the BRICS summit in Xiamen where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Xi agreed to strengthen communication lines and coordination.
On Wednesday, Xi also asserted that China would never allow separatist activity in the country, in what appeared to be an indirect reference to the Dalai Lama. “Any separatist activity is certain to meet with resolute opposition of the Chinese people. We will never allow anyone, any organisation, or any political party, at any time or in any form to separate any part of Chinese territory from China,” he said.
China, which protested against the Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh earlier this year, has repeatedly referred to the spiritual leader as an “anti-China separatist”.
Referring to national security, Xi said, “We will improve our national defence mobilisation system, and build a strong, well-structured and modern border defence, coastal defence and air defence.” He added that the government would accelerate development in border areas and ensure their safety and security, and step up efforts to ensure that China becomes a strong maritime country.
Xi acknowledged that contentious issues often arose in some regions and that unconventional security threats like “terrorism, cyber insecurity, major infectious diseases and climate change” continue to spread. The Chinese government has always maintained that regional conflicts include the Korean Peninsula, the South China Sea, Kashmir and Afghanistan.
“We should commit to settling disputes through dialogue and resolving differences through discussion, coordinate responses to traditional and non-traditional threats, and oppose terrorism in all its forms,” Xi said.
The Chinese President said that China rejected “cold war mentality and power politics” and preferred developing state-to-state relations with “communication, not confrontation, partnership not alliance”. “We… oppose acts that impose one’s will on others or interfere in the internal affairs of others as well as the practice of the strong bullying the weak,” he said.
The President also vowed to make it his mission to modernise China’s military within the next two decades. “We will upgrade our military capabilities, and see that by the year 2020, mechanisation is basically achieved… Make it our mission to see that by 2035, the modernisation of our national defence and forces is basically completed,” he said.
Xi said that the military would be strengthened to adapt to the “new era” and would have to shoulder the “missions and tasks of the new era entrusted to them by the party and the people”.
“A military is built to fight. Our military must regard combat capability as the criterion to meet in all its work and focus on how to win when it is called on. We will develop new combat forces and support forces, conduct military training under combat conditions…and the ability to fight under multidimensional conditions. This will enable us to effectively shape our military posture, manage crises, and deter and win wars,” he said.
Xi also summarised the party’s work since he took over as general secretary in 2012 and laid out the agenda for the next five years. Flanked by former presidents Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin during the ceremony, Xi’s address also focussed on the need to continue the anti-corruption agenda within his party.
Over the next week, the Congress will discuss the party’s performance and policies fundamental to China’s development, elect a new leadership team, including the Central Committee of the CPC and the country’s top anti-graft body, and amend the CPC constitution to include Xi’s thoughts on governance. - The Indian EXPRESS"
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| Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives for the opening of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (Jason Lee/Reuters) ANALYSIS Nothing left to chance as 19th congress of Chinese Communist Party opens today President Xi Jinping's influence has risen to level of legendary Mao Zedong: 10 more years at least By Saša Petricic, CBC News Posted: Oct 18, 2017 5:00 AM ET Last Updated: Oct 18, 2017 5:00 AM ET As the red curtain rises on this week's key meeting of China's rulers — the 19th congress of the Communist Party — nothing is being left to chance. Large gatherings are banned, country-wide. The internet is in virtual lockdown, with "dangerous" sites like Twitter and Facebook (not to mention CBCNews.ca) blocked more firmly than ever. Online chit-chat is being scrubbed clean in real time. Complaints about bottlenecks caused by extra security on Beijing's subway this week simply vanish. And of course, criticism of Chinese President Xi Jinping is especially sensitive. In the months leading up to the congress, online messages pointing out a resemblance to Winnie the Pooh have been a regular target for censors. But politics in China is not child's play, and the congress is expected to consolidate Xi's clout — giving even more power to one man over the lives of 1.4 billion people … for more, go to http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/china-communist-congress-petricic-1.4358432 |
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