EDITORIAL
Optimism at 19th CPC Conference Is Not Just Relevant for China!
Oct. 19 (EIRNS)—The opening speech Oct. 18 by President Xi Jinping at the 19th Communist Party of China (CPC) conference presented a tremendously optimistic perspective for the future, not at all confined to China, but, as Xi said, for serving the common aims of mankind for a “new era.” Stressing this point today, Helga Zepp-LaRouche, in her weekly Schiller Institute New Paradigm webcast, spoke of the situation in the United States and Europe. She said:
“I think the most interesting thing is what’s going on in the United States. We are now about two weeks away from when President Trump goes to Asia. He will visit five or six countries, but the most important one will be the state visit to China. I have the feeling that this will lead to some major forms of cooperation between the United States and China; maybe even an official statement that the United States will join the Belt and Road, and that they will work vice versa to support the projects both of the Belt and Road, but also in the United States.”
Zepp-LaRouche spoke of the mood in favor of this, once people know about it. For example, among business leaders, who say, the Belt and Road is the only way to go. “Either we jump on the train of the Belt and Road Initiative, or we will see the lights of the last wagon from behind and we will be left behind. That is exactly the mood which we find in Germany, where despite the fact that the German government is still putting the brakes on in line with the EU and Brussels, but that doesn’t mean that, for example, all the other countries of Eastern Europe, of Central Europe, of the Balkans, of Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Austria; they are all in the direction of becoming a hub of the New Silk Road. They see the benefits.”
The reality of the prospect of success of a true worldwide Silk Road/World Land-Bridge is exactly what’s behind the wild attacks against Trump and the U.S. Presidency, by the London/Wall Street coup crowd. The good news is that the new “Mueller Dossier” (“Robert Mueller Is an Amoral Legal Assassin: He Will Do His Job If You Let Him,” EIR, Sept. 29, 2017) is striking home in the U.S. It was put out even more prominently in distributions this week in Washington, D.C. and New York City, as well as in other cities across the country. In the midst of this special attention, President Trump issued a tweet today, on target. He questioned, where did the money come from for the British 2016 anti-Trump dossier done by the “ex” British intelligence agent Christopher Steele. Trump tweeted, “Workers of firm involved with the discredited and Fake Dossier take the 5th. Who paid for it, Russia, the FBI or the Dems (or all)?” he asked. Trump was referring to the Washington-based Fusion GPS firm, which commissioned Steele; and which is refusing to provide information to Congressional committees.
Once this Russia-gate coup operation is defeated, the way is wide open for a “new era.” The U.S. founding fathers used the concept of “the pursuit of happiness.” Zepp-LaRouche noted today that President Xi used a similar expression about 14 times in his CPC presentation yesterday. “He emphasized that the aim of politics and of the efforts of the CPC is to create a better and happier life for the people. Now that is a thought which—when I look at the various politicians in the West—I haven’t heard them talking about that. But if you really think about it, that is what politics should be all about, and it’s no accident that this idea was actually in the American Declaration of Independence; where one of the inalienable rights mentioned there is the pursuit of happiness.”
Zepp-LaRouche advised, “I think this 19th National Congress of the CPC is not just relevant for China. But I think it will radiate throughout the rest of the world, because naturally everybody looks at this model and says why is it so successful; and maybe there is something we can learn from it. So we should make sure people really pay attention to the substance of what is going on, and not just to the media accounts which are mostly negative. I always use the example of Hegel, the German philosopher, in his Phenomenology of the Mind, who wrote that the servant who helps the world-historical individual to dress up only can see the underwear, and doesn’t understand the vision in the mind of the world-historical individual. That’s the image I have of the journalists who are writing these ridiculous articles; they are just valets, the servant who helps the man to dress up.”
U.S. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC
The ‘Mueller Dossier’ Is Hitting Home against the Coup in Washington
Oct. 19 (EIRNS)—The “Mueller Dossier” (“Robert Mueller Is an Amoral Legal Assassin: He Will Do His Job If You Let Him,” EIR, Sept. 29, 2017) against the coup in Washington is hitting home. The tip of the iceberg is that President Trump just sent out a tweet asking whether the FBI paid for the sex-dossier against Trump, which was done by “ex” British intelligence agent Christopher Steele. “Workers of firm involved with the discredited and Fake Dossier take the 5th. Who paid for it, Russia, the FBI or the Dems (or all)?” he asked. Trump was referring to the Washington-based Fusion GPS firm, which commissioned Steele; and which is refusing to provide information to the House Intelligence Committee.
Yesterday, the Daily Caller broke a major story revealing that both Senators and Representatives are investigating whether the Obama Administration used allegations from that lying dossier as “evidence” before the secret federal surveillance court (the FISA court), to get its permission to spy on Trump’s campaign aides, and later on his transition team. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has been asking the FBI this question repeatedly, most recently in an Oct. 4 letter, but gotten no answer.
The Caller quotes former U.S. Attorney Joseph diGenova to say that if they did use the Steele dossier in that way, the implications are “staggering.” It would mean that the Obama Administration pursued “a type of manipulation of intelligence data and false intelligence data to mislead a court.” It would constitute “a crime of unbelievable dimensions. It requires the empanelment of a federal grand jury,” he said.
CNN reported in April that the FBI did indeed use that dossier to secure permission to monitor the communications of Carter Page, who was briefly connected to the Trump campaign.
The House Intelligence Committee has been attempting to get bank documents and testimony from Fusion GPS, the Washington firm which commissioned Christopher Steele to write the dossier, since Oct. 4, but Fusion refused to honor the subpoenas on Oct. 16, and two Fusion executives refused to answer any questions yesterday on Fifth Amendment grounds.
All these developments are occurring as the Mueller dossier is getting ever more prominent circulation in Washington, D.C.—on Capitol Hill, in and around the Executive offices, and in Manhattan.
Quick—What’s the Line on the 19th CPC Congress?
Oct. 19 (EIRNS)—Most readers probably know that the line has come down from the “Big Four” media bosses: the BBC, Washington Post, New York Times and Wall Street Journal—that the Oct. 18-23 Nineteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China means nothing but the consolidation of a terrible police-state dictatorship. Perhaps the most shameless shill is John Pomfret (“pommes frites” is French for French fries) writing in the Washington Post on Oct. 16. Pomfret uses a few tortured quotes to “prove” that Xi Jinping is a great admirer of Joseph Stalin—and then, it’s “off to the races.”
Pomfret writes, “Central to Stalin’s teaching is the idea that the creation of enemies is essential for sustaining the rule of a revolutionary party. Since taking power in 2012, Xi has found new enemies everywhere…. The creation of an endless field of ideological villains is considered by Xi to be key to the party’s success. Crushing them and others like them gives the revolution its meaning.” And so on and on. You get the idea.
But an optimistic wind is blowing across the world now, and 100% conformity with this nonsense can no longer be assured, even at the BBC, the mind-control headquarters which inspired George Orwell to write his 1984.
John Sudworth, writing for BBC yesterday, begins his article acceptably enough: “If anyone doubts that China retains an unreformed Leninist political system, then the goings-on inside the Great Hall of the People over the past few hours should put them straight.”
But he soon begins to veer off track. After noting that Xi Jinping’s three and a half-hour speech was awfully long, Sudworth risks some unguarded comments.
“But of course, following the best traditions of Kremlinology, there are always things worthy of note in such speeches, regardless of the whopping duration, the predictable political rhetoric or the tight control of the message.
“There were, perhaps, a few more moments of spontaneous applause than one might usually expect—for example when Mr. Xi touched on issues like bringing real estate speculation under control, and for one of his driving obsessions, poverty reduction.”
Sudworth begins to go seriously astray.
“The language was slightly less formal than your average leader’s speech, and Mr. Xi’s deep and humble bow to delegates at the end was met with genuine warmth and approval.
“These are signs of his appeal beyond his party’s factional interests—to the country as a whole, in fact. He has been enormously successful in this throughout his first term, for which he is accused of building a cult of personality.”
Not to worry, though. Sudworth remembers his own party line again as he finishes up his article.
“But as Mr. Xi embarks on his next five years in power, the opening of this party congress is a good time to remind ourselves about the real nature of his project, something he has been making clear from the start….
“So expect no short sound bites or shirt-sleeved attempts at working a crowd….
“It’s just not what these systems do. China’s rigid political Leninism is here to stay.” Lest we forget.
STRATEGIC WAR DANGER
Next Astana Meeting Will Be Oct. 30-31 on the Ceasefire Process in Syria
Oct. 19 (EIRNS)—The Kazakhstan Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced today that the next Astana meeting on the Syrian ceasefire process will be held on Oct. 30-31, reported Sputnik. “The talks will aim to agree on a provision establishing a working group that will deal with hostage and prisoner release, return of [fallen soldiers’] bodies and search for the missing,” the ministry said. Negotiators will also look at how to combat international terrorism and will make a joint statement on humanitarian de-mining efforts in Syria. Other issues of mutual interest may be raised.
The UN Special Envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, is in Moscow where he met with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Oct. 18. The two discussed “ways of moving from de-escalation zones towards a more stable political settlement in Syria,” de Mistura was quoted as saying by TASS. They also discussed the prospects of transition from the stage of creation of zones of de-escalation “to a more stable political settlement in Syria.” TASS further reports that UN Secretary General Antonió Guterres has instructed de Mistura to intensify efforts to convene a new round of negotiations between Damascus and the opposition. There is no word yet for a date for the next Geneva meeting to discuss the process towards a political settlement of the Syrian conflict.
THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER
Tenth Eurasian Forum in Verona Promotes the Belt and Road; Putin Stresses ‘Common Economic Space’
Oct. 19 (EIRNS)—Opening the Tenth Eurasian Economic Forum in Verona, Italy, Forum organizer and Banca Intesa Russia head Antonio Fallico warned that the 2007 global financial crisis is not over and called on Europe to join the One Belt, One Road policy. Over 1,000 companies, 60 speakers and 14 countries were present at the Oct. 19-20 forum.
In a message to the forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed the wish that, “proposals raised at the Verona Eurasian Forum will allow the discovery of the unique potential of Eurasian integration and favor the creation of common economic space from Lisbon to Vladivostok.”
Fallico sent a message to the Valdai Forum, which he is member of, in Sochi today, calling for “EU and Eurasia shifting from competition to collaboration.”
The Italian government was represented by Undersecretary of State to the Prime Minister’s Office Maria Elena Boschi. Other international personalities include former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, now board member of Rosneft, and former EU Commission President Romano Prodi.
Fallico said to the Forum, “We survived the financial crisis that started in the U.S.A. and continued throughout the world,” but the threat “is still lurking.” He went on, “The world economy needs deep reforms, able to interpret the demand for a fair, inclusive economic-social development, open to the new Eastern Frontiers—and the current geopolitical role of Greater Eurasia, from Lisbon to Vladivostok and Singapore. It must be connected to a new international governance which should come out of a radical strategic change of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
“The Eurasian Union has reached an organic agreement with the Chinese One Belt, One Road project; in this scenario, other horizons with countries such as China, India, South Korea, Japan, South-East Asia, Middle East, Northern Africa can be opened…. It would be a real pity if the European Union finds itself out of this context.”
CPC Delegate Foresees Xinjiang as the Hub of the Silk Road Economic Belt
Oct. 19 (EIRNS)—Attending the 19th CPC National Congress, underway in Beijing, a CPC delegate from China’s westernmost Xinjiang province, said Xinjiang aims to become “a traffic hub, a commercial logistics center, a financial center, a cultural, scientific and educational center, and a medical service center in the region,” thus accelerating the building of the Silk Road Economic Belt, Associated Press of Pakistan reported today. Xinjiang, China’s westernmost province with a sparse population density, is bounded by a number of countries, including Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Mongolia. With its total land frontiers extending 5,600 km in length, its boundaries with neighboring countries are the longest of any Chinese province. In geographical and transport terms, Xinjiang offers a corridor to many countries along the Belt and Road.
“We will make full use of Xinjiang’s geographical advantages, work on corridors and projects of key and system-wide significance, speed up construction of railways, highways and civil aviation, to put in place a well-connected and accessible transportation network of high efficiency to build it into a traffic hub through infrastructure connectivity in the region,” he told APP on the sidelines of the 19th Congress.
“We will speed up putting in place a well-functioning system of commerce and logistics, increase the number of direct cargo trains from Urumqi to major European cities, and develop Xinjiang into a center of China-Europe international cargo train service. We will try to establish a financial landscape with Urumqi as the center and Yili and Kashgar the sub-centers, and make effort to develop Xinjiang as China-Central Asia international financial center that serves Central-West-South Asia,” he said.
Nigeria Should Join Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank To Muster Funds for Its Development
Oct. 19 (EIRNS)—Addressing a forum organized by the Center for China Studies (CCS) to mark the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and its implications for the Sino-Africa cooperation, Director of the Center for China Studies Charles Onunaiju urged the Nigerian government “to become a member of the AIIB, as many countries of the world, especially in developing countries, have accessed funds for infrastructure development from the bank,” Business Day reported. He further stressed that Nigeria has a desperate need for infrastructure development, and lack of funds is a major reason why the country’s infrastructure has remained inadequate.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara told the Oct. 18 forum, held in the capital, Abuja: “China today is our important partner that has been supporting us and indeed Africa in our development strides. Nigeria and China have been cooperating in numerous areas such as in agriculture, education, finance and infrastructure and solid minerals,” according to Business Day.
“It is in the light of this that we believe the 2017 National Congress of the Communist Party of China will most assuredly provide another opportunity to consolidate on the gains of the ongoing bilateral relations between Nigeria and China in particular and Sino-African Relations,” Speaker Dogara said.
SCIENCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE
China’s Nuclear Technology Is Important for the Belt and Road
Oct. 19 (EIRNS)—A series of interviews with experts was recently carried out by Sputnik, discussing China’s new developments in nuclear energy. Sputnik makes the observation that China’s “breakthrough” into international nuclear markets “is closely connected with the country’s One Belt and One Road initiative.”
Wang Zhimin, head of the Center for the Study of the Globalization and Modernization of China, told Sputnik, the construction “of nuclear power plants, as well as Chinese high-speed railways, is one of the most important fields of cooperation … within the framework of the OBOR [Belt and Road] project.” China has stated in the past that it expects to gain a significant (perhaps 50%) share of the contracts for nuclear power plant projects among Belt and Road countries.
Wang believes that China’s new indigenous Hualong power plant has great export potential, with the first reactor coming online in China, and one currently under construction in Pakistan. Chinese scholars also expect that China will not only export nuclear plants to developing countries, but will team up with vendors in advanced countries, including Europe and the U.S., following its participation in Britain’s Hinkley Point plant. Wang reports that China has had interest from Pakistan, Iran, and “other countries in the Middle East, Central Asia, and even a number of developed countries.”
COLLAPSING WESTERN FINANCAL SYSTEM
Corbyn: The Neo-Liberal Model Is Dead, the Left Must Go For Change
Oct. 19 (EIRNS) —In his keynote address to the conference of Center Left Parties, as at the European Parliament, British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn made an impassioned call for all socialist and progressive parties to overturn the neo-liberal policies that have dominated Europe for the last decades.
Corbyn was invited to speak before the “Europe Together” conference organized by Gianni Pittella, leader of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, the center-left socialist bloc, who introduced Corbyn as the “upcoming Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.”
Saying it was necessary to harness “passion and ideas” and turn “them into action and real change,” Corbyn began by attacking the neo-liberal ideology that has ruined the economy: “A political choice shaped by an ideology which has crippled many parts of our economies encouraged a dismantling of our public services and driven down wages and living standards. In many of our countries, welfare and social security have been hit by the full force of that austerity agenda, targeting the very poorest in our society. At the same time the necessity of large scale and vital public investment has been all but abandoned, as a neo-liberal dogma has allowed many of our valuable public assets to be sold cheaply to the benefit of the few at the expense of the many….
“For millions of people across our continent, the current system is failing. Failing to deliver secure jobs. Failing to deliver rising living standards. And failing to deliver a safe and secure future. Instead of seeing the current system and the long-promoted panacea of de-regulated markets as a solution to their problems, people across Europe see them as the cause of their problems. People no longer have faith that globalization can bring a future of prosperity and security, or that political business as usual will roll back the rampant growth of inequality. Young people are angry at being forced into debt and insecurity.”
Attacking the politically correct “center ground” politics that has dominated politics, Corbyn went on: “For too long the most prominent voices in our movement have looked out of touch; too willing to defend the status quo and the established order in a desperate attempt to defend and protect what is seen as the center ground in politics, only to find the center ground has shifted—or was never where the elites claimed it was in the first place.”
He warned that, “unless we offer a clear and radical alternative of credible solutions to the problems people face; unless we offer a chance to change the broken system; unless we offer hope for a more equitable and prosperous future; we will effectively be clearing the path for the extreme right to make even more far-reaching inroads into our communities; and their message of fear and division to become the political mainstream in our political discourse.”
Again reiterating that the “neoliberal economic model is broken” that is the way “our thinking can and must become the new mainstream, as we develop a new consensus of how to run an economy for the many not the few. That rewards the real wealth creators—that means all of us—not the wealth extractors. We must build an economy fit for the 21st century with a democratic state at its heart that’s not afraid to act when something goes wrong. But also to shape and drive innovation and investment in the cutting edge technologies of the future.”
He slammed companies like Uber and Deliveroo for using the so-called digital platform to establish effective monopolies in their market, and “to drive wages and conditions through the floor.” Therefore he asserted, “Socialists must rise to this challenge and radically rethink how to shape the development of our economies and societies over the next generation. Using the power of new technology to make our economy work for the many not the few.”
German Scholar: ‘China’s Participation in the International System Helped Stabilize Global Market’
Oct. 19 (EIRNS)—In an interview with Xinhua, Prof. Dr. Dr. Nele Noesselt, a China expert at the Institute of East Asian Studies at the University of Duisburg-Essen, said, “with China’s ‘fascinating’ development in the past five years and providing more public goods to the world, Europe will benefit from a strong Chinese economy.”
Commenting on China’s foreign policy during past five years, Noesselt said: “China is no longer regarded as a passive observer or bystander in the international system. The change emerged during the 2008 global financial crisis and has become more obvious since 2013, with the Chinese government putting forward an array of ideas for building a just and fair world order, safeguarding peace and promoting development. While more and more Chinese soldiers are being deployed in UN peacekeeping missions, in a correlated development, China is also becoming increasingly active in global economic governance.”
Noesselt also said that the Belt and Road Initiative, one of the major outcomes of the new trend in China’s foreign policy, will bring benefits to European countries. “China is providing infrastructure and securing transport routes, thereby not only benefitting Chinese markets but also providing economic growth and stability to Europe and other regions,” she said.
Though seemingly unaware of the imminence of a new financial crash of the trans-Atlantic system, Noesselt nevertheless makes a strong point about the impact of China. She states: “We have to keep in mind that we are just over the financial crisis. Everyone (was) hoping that Chinese companies (would) jump in, in a bid to stabilize the European market and also to re-stabilize the euro as a currency. And China did contribute.”
