Skip to content

Government/Politics - 7. page

Xi Jinping Unusually Criticized Local Governments for Over-Focusing on “New Energy” and AI

The pro-mainland Hong Kong News Agency recently reported that Chinese leader Xi Jinping issued unusual criticism of local Chinese governments over their rush to investing in emerging industries such as artificial intelligence and “new energy” vehicles (i.e. non-fossil-fuel vehicles). Xi’s remarks may reflect concerns among Chinese central leadership over domestic overcapacity, deflation risks, and foreign trade frictions.

People’s Daily quoted Xi on its front page: “When it comes to investment projects, everybody looks at the usual three: artificial intelligence, computing power, and new energy vehicles. Should all provinces in the country develop industries in these same directions?” Xi Jinping pointed out at a city work conference not long ago.

Analysts noted that local Chinese governments’ investment behavior in recent years was prompted by the central government’s call to focus on “New Productive Forces,” a term coined by Xi. Duplicate investments have led to exacerbated problems such as overcapacity and vicious competition in those industries, however, with consequences for China’s broader economy.

The CCP Central Committee recently signaled that it’s time for a course reversal: Premier Li Qiang presided over a recent State Council executive meeting where he spoke of “disorderly competition” in the electric vehicle field, and the CCP Central Committee’s Financial and Economic Commission spoke of the need to “regulate local investment and prevent duplicate development and inefficient investments.”

Xi also said that such investments “must conform to the laws of economic and social development and must not be out of touch with reality, and must not short-sightedly aim for quick results.”

Source: Hong Kong News Agency, July 18, 2025
https://www.hkong.hk/2025/0718/44178.shtml

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Government/Politics

China’s Anti-U.S. Propaganda Results in Chinese Discrimination Against Those Who Return from Living Abroad

Yitang Zhang, a Chinese-American mathematician and professor at University of California, Santa Barbara since 2015, has decided to return to the Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province as a full-time professor in 2025. His return to China has sparked wide discussion on the Internet, due to China’s long-term anti-U.S. propaganda that has fostered discrimination against overseas returnees.

People’s Daily summarized four common prejudices:

  1. “Picking the Fruit” Theory: Some believe returnees abandoned China during difficult times and are now coming back to enjoy the benefits, possibly past their prime.
  2. “Second-Tier Talent” Theory: Some see returnees as those who failed abroad and are now overvalued at home.
  3. “Studying Abroad is a Betrayal” Theory: Some view studying abroad as unpatriotic, regardless of whether one returns.
  4. “Local vs. Returnee” Theory: Some believe favoring returnees is unfair to domestic talents who have stayed in China and put in the hard work for so many years.

The article calls for more overseas talents to return and to contribute to China’s development.

Source: Beijing Daily, July 4, 2025
https://news.bjd.com.cn/2025/07/04/11221886.shtml

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics Information/Technology

RFI: Beijing Invites American Influencers on Free Trip to Paint Rosy Picture of China

China is inviting influential American social media influencers to join a ten-day, all-expenses-paid trip this July as part of the “China–Global Young Influencers Exchange Program.” The initiative targets young influencers with at least 300,000 followers to promote people-to-people exchanges and showcase the “real China” through collaborations with Chinese content creators.

The program follows Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s 2023 pledge to invite 50,000 American youths to China over five years, amid ongoing U.S.-China tensions. A College Daily post recruiting participants states that they should have an active social media presence on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and X, along with a love for Chinese culture and a “clean record.” Successful applicants will receive official invitations and special visa support.

The trip will cover Suzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Handan, and Beijing, including visits to Chinese tech hubs, companies like Xiaohongshu and BYD, cultural activities like tai chi, and live-streamed tours of the Great Wall. Content created during the trip will be promoted by Chinese state media.

Source: Radio France International, June 10, 2025
https://www.rfi.fr/cn/中国/20250610-中国邀请美国网红7月十天免费来访-以展示-真实的中国

Briefings | | |   @CS Government/Politics US-China Relations

Xinhua: CCP Membership Surpasses 100 Million, Grassroots Party Organizations Reach Full Coverage Nationwide

Xinhua News Agency was authorized to publish statistics on membership in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its suborganizations organizations.

As of December 31, 2024, the total CCP membership reached 100.271 million, a net increase of 1.1 million from the end of 2023. In 2024, the CCP recruited 2.1 million new members.

Currently, the CCP has 5.25 million grassroots organizations, including 306,000 grassroots Party committees, 330,000 general branches, and 4.6 million branches.

  • Local Party Committees:
    There are 3,200 local Party committees nationwide, including 31 provincial-level committees, 397 city (or prefecture) committees, and 2,772 county (or district, or banner) committees.
  • Urban Sub-districts, Townships, Communities, and Village Party Organizations:
    Across the country, Party organizations have been established in 9,160 urban sub-districts, 29,607 townships, 121,270 communities, and 486,326 villages, with a coverage rate exceeding 99.9 percent of China.
  • Party Organizations in Government Agencies, Public Institutions, Enterprises, and Social Organizations:
    There are 800,000 grassroots Party organizations in government agencies, 1.0 million in public institutions, 1.6 million in enterprises, and 183,000 in social organizations, essentially achieving full organizational coverage.

Source: Xinhua, June 30, 2025
http://www.xinhuanet.com/20250630/025d4c05c9294fc185fd70b5bb6af7e6/c.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

CCP Politburo Member Change: Xi’s Confidant Ma Xingrui Replaced By Chen Xiaojiang, Who Has Close Ties to Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao

On July 1, 2025, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) announced that Politburo member Ma Xingrui (马兴瑞) would step down as Party Secretary of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and be reassigned (but not announced). Chen Xiaojiang (陈小江), Executive Vice Minister of the CCP United Front Work Department, was appointed as the new Xinjiang Party Secretary.

Ma Xingrui, a key figure in China’s military-industrial sector, was promoted by Xi Jinping and is also a fellow native of Yuncheng City, Shandong Province, the hometown of Xi’s wife Peng Liyuan.

Chen Xiaojiang, born in June 1962, rose through the ranks in the Ministry of Water Resources. He served both the Deputy Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and Deputy Secretary of the CCP United Front Work Department before the new appointment.

There were two theories on Chen’s appointment.

1. Chen has deep ties to former CCP head Hu Jintao and former Premier Wen Jiabao.

From 1993 to 1998, Chen served as Editor-in-Chief, President, and Party Secretary of China Water Resources News, under Niu Maosheng (钮茂生), then Minister of Water Resources. Chen was promoted to Executive Deputy Secretary of the Ministry’s Party Committee shortly before Niu’s retirement in September 1998. Niu was Wen Jiabao’s assistant – he worked as Deputy Secretary of the Central State Organs Work Committee (中共中央国家机关工委) from 1990 to 1993 when Wen Jiabao served as Director of the CCP General Office.

From 1998 to 2007, Chen continued as Executive Deputy Secretary of the Ministry’s Party Committee under Minister Wang Shuchen (汪恕诚). Wang was a classmate of Hu Jintao and his wife Liu Yongqing at Tsinghua University, and they often attended class reunions together.

From 2007 to 2018, Chen was under Minister Chen Lei (陈雷). In April 2008, Chen Xiaojiang became Director of the Ministry’s General Office, essentially serving as Chen Lei’s chief aide. Chen served under former Ministers Niu and Wang.

While holding his position in the Ministry of Water Resources, Chen Xiaojiang was assigned to Gansu Province from October 2001 to March 2004, where he successively served as Deputy Secretary-General and Director of the Gansu Provincial Government Office, acting as the chief aide to then-Governor Lu Hao (陆浩). Both Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao had spent key phases of their early political careers in Gansu Province.

2. The CCP needs to use a iron fist to control Xinjiang.

Exiled political analyst Yuan Hongbing pointed out that recent Middle East shifts post a potential threat to Beijing’s control of Xinjiang. The fall of Syria’s Assad regime, partly due to Uyghur-led rebel forces, has prompted these groups to plan their return to Xinjiang for more activities. They even adjusted their strategy to target the CCP’s security forces, avoiding civilian attacks.

Beijing initially appointed Ma Xingrui to focus on economic development to stabilize Xinjiang. Now, facing rising political and security threats, the CCP puts Chen there, for his hardline stance and experience in ethnic affairs and security work.

Sources:
1. Epoch Times, July 2, 2025
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/25/7/2/n14543198.htm
2. Epoch Times, July 3, 2025
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/25/7/3/n14543823.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Heated Discussions on CCP’s New Central Decision-Making Body and Power Shift

Xinhua News Agency reported that on June 30, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo reviewed the Regulations on the Work of Central Party Decision-Making, Deliberation, and Coordination Body (党中央决策议事协调机构工作条例). The meeting emphasized that these bodies are essential for strengthening the Party’s centralized leadership and ensuring key tasks are implemented. The new regulations aim to standardize the Body’s establishment, responsibilities, and operations, emphasizing coordination without replacing other organs and ensuring proper oversight of major national issues.

There were intense discussions on the Internet about why the CCP wants to establish such a new power structure.

One interpretation suggests that similar kinds of bodies have already existed, such as the Central Deepening Reform Commission, Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission, and National Security Commission. They are all tools for Xi Jinping to directly control state ministries, sidelining Premier Li Qiang and reducing the State Council to a mere executor.

Another interpretation is based on the current discussion that Xi is losing power. It views this arrangement as a way to reinstate roles for retired senior leaders like Wen Jiabao. There was a similar setup in the CCP’s history – the former CCP Central Advisory Commission (1982-1992), which allowed retired senior CCP cadres to participate, monitor, or even overrule the leaders (of the younger generation) in decision-making.

Commentator Cai Shenkun suggested on the X platform that this new Body structure bypasses the CCP Politburo and its Standing Committee, concentrating real power into a small group. He was informed that this group includes just one person each from the Party, government, military, and police, but without retired senior leaders – making it even more powerful than the Politburo Standing Committee.

Sources:
1. Xinhua, July 1, 2025
http://www.xinhuanet.com/mrdx/20250701/a555f99077394069b335aecc91f2929e/c.html
2. China News, July 2, 2025
https://news.creaders.net/china/2025/07/02/2887369.html
3. Epoch Times, June 30, 2025
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/25/6/30/n14542067.htm
4. X Platform, July 2, 2025
https://x.com/cskun1989/status/1940612206757826828

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

CCP’s Influence Allegedly Behind LA Protests and LA Mayor’s Donor Network

On June 6, 2025, protests against Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) raids on undocumented immigrants erupted in Los Angeles, escalating into riots and spreading to multiple cities. On June 14, the “No Kings Day” protest movement broke out. Reports suggest the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence and United Front operations may have been involved behind the scenes.

The Daily Caller News Foundation reported that the organization United Chinese Americans (UCA) and its partner, the Asian American Progressive Alliance (AAPA), helped promote the nationwide protests. Several UCA leaders were found to have ties to CCP agencies, including the United Front Work Department and the Ministry of State Security. Elaine Peng, AAPA president and UCA training director, is linked to CCP intelligence networks.

A June 13 U.S. House Committee letter revealed that Neville Singham, an American billionaire now living in Shanghai, has long funded the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), which is allegedly connected to the LA protests. Lawmakers noted Singham’s close ties to the CCP and a secretive funding network with unclear financial flows.

The Daily Caller News Foundation also reported that Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass received campaign support from Derek Ma, a Chinese-American donor. Derek Ma has long been involved in CCP United Front activities, having served as an overseas committee member of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese (ACFROC) and a council member of the China Overseas Friendship Association (COFA). He was photographed with Xi Jinping in 2015 and delivered a speech at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in 2018. Records show that Derek Ma held fundraising events for Bass, raising over $40,000 for her campaign.

Derek’s son, Adam Ma, later joined the mayor’s office in 2022 as an Asian and LGBTQIA+ community liaison. Adam Ma reportedly continued to participate in events involving the CCP’s Los Angeles consulate while representing Mayor Bass.

Source: Epoch Times, June 22, 2025
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/25/6/18/n14534246.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS Government/Politics US-China Relations