“China-Africacomprehensivestrategicandcooperativepartnership”
SpeakingattheJohannesburgSummitoftheForumonChina-AfricaCooperation(FOCAC)heldinDecember2015,PresidentXiJinpingofChinaoutlinedChina’spolicytowardAfricaandproposedthatthenewtypeofChina-Africastrategicpartnershipbeupgradedtoacomprehensivestrategicandcooperativepartnership.Thepartnershipisunderpinnedbyfivemajorpillars,namely,politicalequalityandmutualtrust;mutuallybeneficialeconomiccooperation;culturalexchanges;securitycooperationandmutualassistance;andsolidarityandcoordinationininternationalaffairs.
Inthisregard,PresidentXialsoproposedjointimplementationofa10-pointplaninthenextthreeyears.Theplancoversindustrialization,agriculturalmodernization,infrastructure,financialsupport,andpovertyreduction,amongothers.Itprovidesabasisforbuildingthecomprehensivepartnership.ThevisionforanupgradedpartnershipreflectsChina’sdesiretoforgerelationswithAfricabasedonsincerity,realresults,friendshipandgoodfaith,andtoservethegreatergood.ItisavisionforaneweraofChina-Africamutuallybeneficialcooperationandcommondevelopment.
“Buildingrelationswithneighboringcountriesbasedonfriendship,goodfaith,mutuallybenefitandinclusiveness”
ToppingChina’sforeignpolicyagendaistheneedforbuildingrelationswithneighboringcountriesbasedonfriendship,goodfaith,mutualbenefitandinclusiveness.Itisanissueofstrategicimportance.Chinaanditsneighborsshareanaspirationtofosterastableandpeacefulregionalenvironment.Bothlogicandculturalaffinitypointtothewisdomofagood-neighborpolicy.ItisthereforeChina’swishtobuildtieswithneighboringcountriesonsuchabasis.
Friendshipinvolvespositive-neighborlyinteractions,mutualsupportandassistance,andfrequentreciprocalvisits.Theseareinformedbyequality,culturalaffinity,andempathy.Itcontributestostrongerties,andenhancestheappealofourregionasawholeanditsimpactonworldaffairs.Goodfaithisrequiredinworkingwithourneighbors.Weneedmorefriendsandpartners.MutualbenefitisthefoundationonwhichChinacooperateswithitsneighbors.Ithelpsstrengthennetworksforthosewhosharecommoninterests,andenablesChinaanditsneighborstobenefitfromeachotherastheypursuetheirdevelopmentstrategies.Inclusivenessisindispensabletoregionalcooperation.UnderpinnedbythebeliefthattheAsia-Pacificregionislargeenoughtoaccommodateusall,itencouragesopen-mindednessasweworkmoreproactivelytowardoursharedgoals.
“A‘top-leveldesign’approachandtheneedto‘crosstheriverbyfeelingforstones’”
Thereisanimportantlinkbetweena“top-leveldesign”approachandtheneedto“crosstheriverbyfeelingforstones,”asXiJinpinghashighlighted,inthecourseofadvancingChina’sall-roundreform.“Crossingtheriverbyfeelingforstones”isadistinctlyChineseapproachtoreformthatisbasedonChina’sownrealities.SinceChina’sreformandopeningupisunprecedentedandthereisnopreviousexperiencetodrawfrom,itisessentialtoexercisegoodjudgementinnavigatingourwayforward.Inresponsetonewchallengesthathaveemergedintheprocessofcontinuedreform,a“top-leveldesign”approachiscalledforintandemwithaseriesofpilotprograms.Thisapproachtacklesstrategicandoverarchingissues,withafocusonsystematicallyimprovinginstitutionalcapacity.
Thesetwoapproachesaretwosidesofthesamecoin.Piecemealreformwithoutaunifyingvisionwillfragmentandfalter,whilestrategicplanningatthetoplevelwithoutbeingaccompaniedbysmall-scaleorlocalizedpilotrunshasnochanceofbeingsuccessfullyimplementedorcontinuouslyrefined.
“The‘InternetPlus’actionplan”
The“InternetPlus”actionplanwasunveiledbyPremierLiKeqianginhisReportontheWorkoftheGovernmentinMarch2015.
Generally,theplanaimstofurtherintegratetheInternetwitheconomicandsocialactivitiesinvariousfieldsby2018.ThenewInternet-basedecosystemwillprovideimpetusforeconomicgrowth,andspurthespreadofentrepreneurshipandinnovation.Itwillofferanimportantchanneltodeliverpublicservices,andanessentialinterfacebetweenthenetworkeconomyandrealeconomy.
Underpinningthisplanistheneedtokeeppacewiththeglobal“InternetPlus”trend,andleverageChina’seconomiesofscaleinInternetservices.Thiswillexpandthehorizonsofamostlyconsumption-basedInternettoincludemoreproduction-orientedactivities.Suchamovewouldaccelerateindustrialupgrading,encourageinnovation,andcreatenewdriversofsocialandeconomicdevelopment.Promotingthe“InternetPlus”isofgreatsignificanceinhelpingChinaadapttothenewnormalofgrowthandimproveeconomicperformanceandefficiency.
“Thetwo-childpolicy”
Thenewpolicy,whichallowsallcouplestohavetwochildren,isdesignedtoaddresstheissueofaging,aspartofChina’sstrategyondemographicsanddevelopment.ItwasformallyreleasedinOctober2015attheFifthPlenarySessionofthe18thCPCCentralCommittee.FollowingadecisionbytheStandingCommitteeoftheNationalPeople’sCongressinDecemberinthesameyeartoamendtheLawofPopulationandFamilyPlanning,theimplementationofthepolicycommencedonJanuary1,2016.
Thepolicyisexpectedtohelpoptimizethenation’sdemographiccomposition,increaselaborsupply,relievethepressureofanagingsociety,andbringaboutbalancedpopulationgrowth.Itwillcontributetosoundandsustainableeconomicdevelopment,andtherealizationofagoaltobuildamoderatelywell-offsocietyby2020.Itaddsanessentialdimensiontothebasicstatepolicyoffamilyplanning,andaimstoimprovefamilywellbeingandsocialharmony.
(Source:KeywordstoUnderstandChinapublishedbyChinaAcademyofTranslationandChinaInternationalPublishingGroup)