China would stick to its policy agenda, despite pressure from the US and others to allow more competition in its economic system, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) said yesterday.
Xi told an audience of party officials, military leaders and entrepreneurs in a speech that “no one is in the position to dictate to the Chinese people what should and should not be done.”
The 80-minute address in Beijing was held to mark the 40th anniversary of the “reform and opening up” policies that unleashed the country’s economic boom under then-leader Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平).
Photo: Bloomberg
In remarks that ranged from the economy to the environment to Taiwan and the South China Sea, Xi presented his agenda as the logical outcome of the country’s post-1978 “reform era” and Chinese history more broadly.
He reasserted his contention that the country had entered a “new era” under his leadership and was poised for a bigger role in world affairs.
Xi announced no new major policies and dedicated long passages of the speech to reiterating the need for the Chinese Communist Party to exercise leadership and control over all aspects of the country’s development. He repeated calls to update and promote Marxist ideology.
“What and how to reform must be based on the overarching goal of improving and developing the socialist system with Chinese characteristics,” Xi said “We will resolutely reform what should or can be changed, but will never reform what cannot be changed.”
The speech continued the measured, if defiant, tone Xi has struck amid a trade spat with the US that has fueled concerns about China’s slowing economy and battered capital markets.
He provided little insight into how his government might assuage US demands in ongoing trade talks, including calls to roll back support for state-owned enterprises and key technological industries.
Moreover, Xi’s speech reaffirmed China’s pursuit of “indigenous innovation” in “core technologies.”
In arguing that China cannot be dictated to, Xi followed in the footsteps of previous leaders: Mao Zedong (毛澤東) rejected the advice of Soviet leaders in both his strategy for winning the revolution and in his desire to pursue his “Great Leap Forward” industrialization campaign. Deng refused to entertain then-Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev’s ideas for pursuing political reform together with economic opening and rejected 1990s “shock therapy” as socialist systems were dismantled rapidly across the world.
“There is no textbook of golden rules to follow for reform and development in China, a country with more than 5,000 years of civilization and more than 1.3 billion people,” Xi said.
Despite the expectations of some analysts, Xi delivered no new policy initiatives to address fears that China’s economic slowdown might worsen as the trade dispute continues with the US. Instead, he emphasized the continuation of established policies.
Chinese leaders are today expected to start their annual economic policy meeting at which more detailed plans might be unveiled. The gathering lays down priorities for economic policy for the coming year.
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