Sixth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee in Beijing [Xinhua]
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This week we are launching a new series of explainer videos that goes deeper behind the news headlines. We plan to produce more short-form videos, so please leave your comments on YouTube and feel free to suggest other video topics. As the COP26 climate summit wraps up, please check out Carbon Neutrality: Explained (English), looking at China’s plans to reduce carbon emissions.
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National Politics
CPC adopts third “historic resolution” since the Party’s founding, following Mao Zedong’s (1945) and Deng Xiaoping’s (1981)
These form part of CPC’s process of learning from historical mistakes and achievements: 1945’s focused on the Party’s founding and resistance to Japanese aggression and 1981’s declared the Cultural Revolution an “error” while upholding the centrality of Mao Zedong Thought
Resolution of the sixth plenary of the 19th CPC Central Committee elevates Xi’s “core position” to the level of Mao and Deng
Attended by 370 top leaders, the sixth plenary focused on ideology and Party-building, highlighting Xi Jinping Thought in guiding the “new era” of socialism with Chinese characteristics and CPC’s confidence in leading processes towards achieving common prosperity and national rejuvenation goals
Geopolitics
Xi encourages Biden to adopt “rational” policy and says rising Taiwan tensions are “dangerous” in first meeting between the two leaders
Biden says the US does not support Taiwanese separatism and that leaders must ensure that “competition… does not veer into conflict” during the discussions on visas for journalists, bilateral trade, and arms control
US Congress imposes new sanctions on giants Huawei and ZTE from domestic market through the bipartisan Secure Equipment Act
Despite being banned from buying equipment from the US, legal ambiguities enabled Chinese companies to license products on US soil; Washington offered US $1.9 billion to its telecom companies to substitute Chinese equipment
Agriculture and Environment
In an unexpected instance of collaboration at COP26, China and the US publish a joint commitment to action against climate change
The world’s two largest emitters agreed to cooperate on decarbonization, technology transfer, and forest protection, as well as create a joint working group and concrete measures, such as China’s pledge to develop a methane reduction plan by 2022
Economy
Debuting with 81 companies and trading US $1.5 billion, Beijing Stock Exchange aims to exclusively support small and medium enterprises
Ten of the listed stocks just completed IPOs, more than doubling in share prices; auto parts manufacturer Henan Tongxin Transmission closed nearly 500% above its IPO price
“Singles’ Day” online shopping festival hits record sales (Alibaba, US $84.4 billion; JD.com, US $54.6 billion), but with a more restrained tone
In line with environmental and common prosperity goals, e-commerce platforms prioritize green initiatives, national brands, and rural products: JD.com reduces 26,000 tons of carbon emissions using recyclable packaging and electric delivery vans
People’s Life and Culture
Despite record Singles’ Day sales, pace of commerce slows in the face of anti-consumerism movement and Big Tech regulation
Social inequality, environmental pollution, and increasingly negative associations with shopping (such as anxiety and fear) are among reasons for opposition to excessive consumption; Generation Z has supported “Don’t Buy” campaigns and policies to reign in Internet giants.
China’s manufacturing sector faces difficulties in hiring young people, who prefer jobs in the less strenuous, better compensated gig economy
41.1% of drivers at ride-hailing app Didi and 35.2% at Meituan delivery platform come from factories where wages on average are lower than in the construction, transportation, logistics, and warehousing sectors
Inspired by global success of Korean films and series, Chinese productions seek international markets through online streaming platforms
A survey by iQiyi, a streaming service with over 100 million subscribers, showed that one in three respondents from 26 countries watch Chinese content; US-based Netflix launches original series in Chinese and announced the adaptation of Chinese sci-fi bestseller The Three-Body Problem
Meme from “Don’t Buy” social media group for Singles’ Day shopping festival [Douban via Sixth Tone]
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