Briefing #135: What is Behind Xi Jinping’s Meeting with Bill Gates?

Dialogue China BriefingAbout China TodayJuly 15th, 2023 – Issue 135In This IssueThe articles translated here do not necessarily reflect the views of Dialogue China Briefing or Dialogue China.
Feature Story:What is Behind Xi Jinping’s Meeting with Bill Gates?

Policy (Public Opinion within the Great Firewall):Only By Once Again Emancipating Our Minds Can We Open Up New Space for Economic Growth

Politics (Public Opinion within the Great Firewall):A Global “Plastic Ban” Is Approaching, What Does It Mean for China?

Finance and Business (Public Opinion within the Great Firewall):Older Chinese International Students and China’s Economic Downturn: Rebooting Their Lives or Escaping a Mid-Life Crisis?

China’s Current Macroeconomy Based on Ten Phenomena

Seriously, Be Prepared to Earn Nothing for a Year!

Feature Story
What is Behind Xi Jinping’s Meeting with Bill Gates?Wang Dan – Radio Free Asia Commentary – June 19, 2023

Chinese President Xi Jinping Meets with Microsoft Founder Bill Gates in Beijing, June 16, 2023. (Associated Press)On June 16, 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Microsoft founder Bill Gates in Beijing. The reason this meeting attracted outsized attention is partly because it was the first time in recent years that Xi Jinping met with a foreign entrepreneur. For Western companies with investments in China, as represented by Bill Gates, the meeting was a rare and high-profile event. This apparently deliberate meeting was arranged to give Xi Jinping a chance to deliver some messages to the outside world. These messages may not be clear, but in the context of the current situation, we can detect some obvious subtexts.

One of the most important points to come from the meeting is that Xi Jinping said that China places its hopes with the American people and that the foundation for U.S.-China relations lies with the people. There are two underlying meanings here: First, the phrase “places its hopes with the American people” has also been used in the past in the context of cross-strait relations against the backdrop of the Democratic Progressive Party’s prolonged rule and the Communist Party’s frustrations with the government-to-government approach to achieve unification with Taiwan. But it is not often that such remarks are made in the context of U.S.-China relations. In particular, Xi Jinping’s remarks on the eve of Secretary of State Blinken’s visit to China reveal that he has lost all hope that an agreement can be reached between the two governments, partly confirming the assessment of some mainstream media in the United States that Blinken’s visit to China was “a formality and a gesture.” What we see in Xi Jinping’s statement to Gates is that he is ready to face a situation in which U.S.-China relations will not improve for a long time.

Second, the phrase “the foundation for U.S.-China relations lies with the people” has appeared in the past, but it is now being prominently emphasized by Xi Jinping in the context of high-sounding words to indicate that the focus of the future policy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) toward the United States will be adjusted to strengthen the former’s courtship with the pro-China factions in the United States. In fact, who are such “people”? Although China’s infiltration of the United States has not yet reached the level of a genuine “people,” the “people” about whom Xi Jinping is referring are the targets an intensification of efforts by the CCP to engage with major American corporations, Wall Street investors, and so on, as represented by figures such as Bill Gates. This is a tactic that China has used to great effect in Europe, as exemplified by the fact that some large German companies have used their policy influence, with a certain degree of success, to oppose the idea of “economic decoupling.” Clearly, the CCP hopes to replicate this model in the United States. But if the CCP is thinking along these lines, it will be greatly disappointed. The United States is not Europe, and although Wall Street certainly has some influence on White House policy making, that influence is checked by many other forces, such as the media, think-tanks, non-governmental organizations [NGOs], etc., and therefore the influence of Wall Street is not nearly as powerful as the influence of companies such as Volkswagen over policy making in Germany.

These is also an additional point in Xi Jinping’s meeting with Bill Gates, that is, the visit contained a message of goodwill to foreign investors, hoping they will continue to invest in China. Foreign investment has always been an important pillar of China’s economic development, but in recent years Xi Jinping’s policies have led many foreign investors to leave China. According to the Wall Street Journal, Western investment firms, such as Goldman Sachs and Bank of America, have abandoned their plans to raise capital in Hong Kong. Such wariness on the part of global investors has made an economic recovery in China even more difficult. Xi Jinping’s meeting with Bill Gates and the recent calls by senior CCP economic and financial officials to foreign investors are signs that China’s economic development is indeed at a critical juncture and the CCP is eagerly awaiting the return of Western investment.

However, the recent incident in which Mr. Bob Pickard, the former Canadian director of global communications for the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank [AIIB], resigned and left from China after publicly protesting CCP interference in AIIB operations, shows that the reason for the flight of foreign capital is not economic but rather political. Therefore, I am afraid that Xi Jinping’s loud voice, even with the endorsement of someone like Bill Gates, will not have much effect.Policy (Public Opinion within the Great Firewall)
Only By Once Again Emancipating Our Minds Can We Open Up New Space for Economic Growth.Di Dongsheng – Zhai Dongsheng’s Research on the Global Political Economy – June 18, 2023

Chinese Politics Expert Zhai Dongsheng Reveals the Inside Story of How the Chinese Communist Party Has Used Wall Street to Manipulate High-ranking Officials in the U.S., including President Biden’s Family. (Video Screenshot)Summary:
The central issue that the author seeks to address is the mismatch between China’s industrial progress and its macroeconomic situation. China is taking over many important areas of global industry, snatching those “good deals” that were dominated by Germany, France, and Japan for more than half a century. In theory, if China is able to secure favorable business deals with the wealthy nations, ideally it should lead to an improvement in its overall economic well-being, at least on par that in the above countries.. However, the actual situation is such that domestic consumption, employment, economic growth, and inflation in China have not improved significantly. In the face of major international and domestic political and economic changes, the only way China can make room for economic growth is by once again emancipating its mindset and clarifying its confusing and erroneous perceptions of debt, welfare, taxation, and demographics! （Read The Original Text）Politics (Public Opinion within the Great Firewall)
A Global “Plastic Ban” Is Approaching, What Does It Mean for China?Jiang Xiaozhou & Eric – One Thousand Articles One Green – June 14, 2023

The Lack of Clarity in the Definition and Standards for Biodegradable Plastics Has Led to a Dramatic Shift in Policy Makers’ Attitudes Toward Biodegradable Plastics. (Alamy)Summary:
The International Conference on Plastic Pollution (INC-2), organized by UNESCO headquarters in Paris from May 29 to June 2, 2023, made significant progress. The goal of the conference was to develop a global legally binding international instrument on plastic pollution, that is, a global “plastic ban.” The conference discussed twelve key issues, including phasing out and reducing the supply and use of primary plastic polymers, promoting recycled designs, and protecting human health. The success of the conference is of great significance to the global fight against plastic pollution. However, the problem of global plastic pollution is complex and diverse, and the interests of each country vary greatly. China plays a key role as one of the most important producers, exporters, and consumers of plastics. Its progress in plastics management has attracted much attention, but it faces immature alternatives and challenges to restricting plastics. Against the backdrop of a global “plastic ban,” China must strengthen its control of plastic pollution, promote a reduction in total plastic production and consumption at the source, and foster a circular economy and encourage reuse practices.（Read The Original Text）Finance and Business (Public Opinion within the Great Firewall)
Older Chinese International Students and China’s Economic Downturn: Rebooting Their Lives or Escaping a Mid-Life Crisis?Chen Mo –Assessment of the Leaders’ Perspectives – June 18, 2023

Zhang Liang Receives an Offer from the University of Chicago. (Zhang Liang)Summary:
This article presents many examples of how people who are the backbone of society are making second life-choices during China’s economic downturn. When faced with a crisis in the workplace, 43-year-old Zhang Liang decided to go to the United States to study. As a middle manager at an Internet company, he was suddenly facing a layoff. He tried hard to find a job, engaging in self-media and even trying to start his own business, but all of his efforts ended in failure. He felt as if he was suffocating from his mid-life crisis. At this moment, his inner voice became stronger, encouraging him to study abroad. Though ageism stripped him of any self-confidence, he asked himself: “What should I do if no school accepts me?” In the end, he was accepted to several prestigious schools in the UK and the U.S., giving him new hope during this period of denial and despair. There are also other people as well who, sensing the danger signals from the domestic job market, in advance are choosing to study abroad and to start a new life.（Read The Original Text）Finance and Business (Public Opinion within the Great Firewall)
China’s Current Macroeconomy Based on Ten PhenomenaLiu Yuanchun – Chong Yang Institute for Financial Studies, People’s University – June 8, 2023

Shanghai, February 28, 2023. Commuters Crossing the Street in the Financial District. (Reuters/Shutterstock)Summary:
The Chinese economy has recently attracted intense attention from all sectors of society. The international community and the domestic market have offered very different explanations for the current phenomenon of contradictory data. Many people appear to be very confused about this situation and about how to deal with these new phenomena. It is necessary to understand the following: First, the current recovery is a recovery from the three years of Covid-19, which is quite different from a traditional cyclical recovery. Second, China is also undergoing its largest and deepest real-estate adjustment recovery since the reform and opening up. Third, this is a round of recovery in a super-complex global environment. Overall attention should be paid to the recent re-implementation and repositioning of the macroeconomic policies by the government. It is important to have a correct understanding of the fluctuations in the current economic data. With confidence in the sustained recovery of the Chinese economy, entrepreneurs will be able to navigate the challenges and seize the opportunities.（Read The Original Text）Finance and Business (Public Opinion within the Great Firewall)
Seriously, Be Prepared to Earn Nothing for a Year!People and Gods Become Excited Together – People and Gods Become Excited Together – June 15, 2023

Encouraging Readers to Prepare Themselves Financially, Physically, and Psychologically to Cope With the Unstable Economic Environment. (Shutterstock)Summary:
This article focuses on the impact on the working class of the current wave of layoffs in China and the vulnerability of the middle class in the face of this crisis. With many companies beginning to cut costs by laying off workers, the author notes that layoffs have now become the norm. This has led to many middle-class people losing their jobs, especially those who depend on well-paying jobs. Furthermore, with an imbalance between supply and demand in the job market, it is becoming ever more difficult to find a job. Furthermore, with the increasing mortgage, car loan, and other debt pressures, many people must lower their expectations and accept lower-paying jobs. The author mentions that the middle class is less resilient to risk as they face the high costs of living and the uncertain economic conditions. Finally, the author suggests that consumption must be controlled, unnecessary expenses must be reduced, and priority must be placed on life risks to protect the financial stability of the family. The article encourages readers to prepare themselves financially, physically, and psychologically to cope with the unstable economic environment.（Read The Original Text）