EDITORIAL
China Commits To Building a ‘Beautiful China’ and a ‘Beautiful World’
Oct. 25 (EIRNS)—“People in the West are so behind the curve,” Helga Zepp-LaRouche commented today, taking note of the extraordinary conclusion of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. By and large, the governments in the West seem intent on sinking with the Titanic of the trans-Atlantic financial system. And the populations generally remain woefully ignorant of what is actually happening in China, and the Grand Design to use the Belt and Road Initiative to help build a “beautiful world” for all—an ignorance which Zepp-LaRouche’s weekly webcasts on the “Spirit of the New Silk Road” are designed to help remedy.
“We, more than 1.3 billion Chinese people, live in jubilation and dignity,” Chinese President Xi Jinping reported in his brief concluding remarks to the CPC Congress. As significant as the achievements of the past have been—such as raising 700 million people out of poverty—Xi focused on the tasks of the future, stating that China “embraces brilliant prospects,” and will “stride forward to an ever promising future.” He soberly added that “we also feel the heavy weight of responsibility upon us.”
The CPC Congress issued a final Resolution which located China’s mission in the global context, announcing their commitment to “preserving world peace and promoting common development.” The keystone of this mission is to “actively promote international cooperation through the Belt and Road Initiative,” and to use the win-win approach championed by President Xi to “work together with the people of all countries to build an open, inclusive, clean, and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security, and common prosperity.”
Whether or not that “beautiful world” will be built, depends in large measure on the upcoming Asian trip of President Trump, and most especially on his Nov. 8 meeting with Xi Jinping. If Trump accepts Xi’s repeated offers to join the Belt and Road Initiative, a dramatic strategic sea-change will be underway. If, however, Trump remains largely tied down by British slanders and threats against him—such as the tidal wave of Russiagate and anti-China propaganda spewing from the British Empire and their assets—then the entire world may well sink with the bankrupt Old Paradigm. Yesterday’s revelations that both the DNC and the Clinton campaign directly funded the work of British intelligence agent Christopher Steele—the author of the lying anti-Trump dossier regurgitated ad nauseam in the liberal media—are a long-overdue but very timely step to help free Trump from the British campaign.
Just as the CPC Congress’s concluding press conference was about to occur yesterday, China Global Television Network turned to EIRWashington Bureau Chief Bill Jones for a live interview on his views on the Congress, and on Trump’s upcoming meeting with Xi. Jones’s response was to the point: the Belt and Road Initiative “could be the glue that really could cement the relationship” between the two countries; if Trump and Xi reach such an agreement, “the whole world will move toward a new era of development.”
THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER
President Donald Trump Congratulates Xi Jinping
Oct. 25 (EIRNS)—President Donald Trump called President Xi Jinping today to congratulate him on the just-concluded CPC Congress. Trump tweeted: “Spoke to President Xi of China to congratulate him on his extraordinary elevation. Also discussed NoKo & trade, two very important subjects!” According to Global Times, “Trump said he is looking forward to his upcoming China visit and meeting with President Xi in Beijing where they will discuss international and regional issues, along with strengthening bilateral ties. It was the first conversation President Xi had with a foreign leader since the 19th Congress concluded. As an important conversation before Trump’s visit to China, the gesture is a positive signal for China-U.S. relations.”
Xi Jinping Concludes CPC Congress, Exhorts To Build ‘A Better Life’ and ‘An Ever-Promising Future’
Oct. 25 (EIRNS)—The full text of President Xi Jinping’s brief speech closing the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) last night is not yet available in English, but the excerpts which Xinhua and other media have reported make it clear that Xi communicated the same sense of future-oriented optimism and mission for China, of creating “happiness” and “beauty” for the nation and the world, that characterized his keynote address:
The CPC has led the nation, Xi said, “in ending once and for all the miserable plight of old China, which had been bullied by foreign aggressors following the Opium War of 1840, and in walking completely out of poverty and weakness…. The aspirations of the people to live a better life must always be the focus of our efforts….
“Today we, more than 1.3 billion Chinese people, live in jubilation and dignity. Our land … radiates with enormous dynamism. Our Chinese civilization shines with lasting splendor and glamor. Our party shows strong, firm and vibrant leadership. Our socialist system demonstrates great strength and vitality. The Chinese people and the Chinese nation embrace brilliant prospects…. Living in such a great era, we are all the more confident and proud, and also feel the heavy weight of responsibility upon us. We must have the courage and resolve to build on the historic achievements made by the Chinese people under the leadership of the Chinese Communists generation after generation, create new accomplishments befitting this great epoch and stride forward to an ever promising future.”
CPC Congress Was Guided by ‘Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism and Chinese Characteristics for a New Era’
Oct. 25 (EIRNS)—The 19th National Congress of the CPC has concluded in Beijing, with a final Resolution which issues a clarion call for China’s role in constructing a new era for the entire world. At the outset, the Resolution emphasizes that the CPC Congress was guided by “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era,” and that the Congress focused on the fact that China “has entered a new era and the principal contradiction in Chinese society has evolved into one between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life.”
Turning to the last five years under Xi Jinping’s leadership, the Resolution states:
“Over these five years, the Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has demonstrated tremendous political courage and a powerful sense of mission as it has developed new ideas, new thinking, and new strategies, adopted a raft of major principles and policies, launched a host of major initiatives, and pushed ahead with many major tasks.” In this period the CPC “has achieved major theoretical innovations, ultimately giving shape to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era… This thought must be adhered to and steadily developed on a long-term basis.”
The Resolution restates the 30-year development strategy that Xi presented in his keynote address to the Congress:
“We have drawn up a two-stage development plan for the period from 2020 to the middle of this century. In the first stage from 2020 to 2035, we will build on the foundation created by the moderately prosperous society with a further 15 years of hard work to see that socialist modernization is basically realized. In the second stage from 2035 to the middle of the 21st century, we will, building on having basically achieved modernization, work hard for a further 15 years and develop China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful…. We should accelerate the building of an industrial system that promotes coordinated development of the real economy with technological innovation, modern finance, and human resources.”
A paragraph on China’s foreign policy emphasizes the Belt and Road Initiative in the following terms:
“The Congress endorses the report’s analysis of the international situation and the guiding principles it sets out for China’s foreign affairs. The Congress stresses that China will keep to the path of peaceful development, hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit, and uphold its fundamental foreign policy goal of preserving world peace and promoting common development. China remains firm in its commitment to strengthening friendship and cooperation with other countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. It will actively promote international cooperation through the Belt and Road Initiative, and continue to take an active part in reforming and developing the global governance system. It will work toward a new form of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice, and win-win cooperation and a community with a shared future for mankind, and work together with the people of all countries to build an open, inclusive, clean, and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security, and common prosperity.”
CGTN TV Interviews EIR’s Bill Jones Prior to CPC Central Committee Press Conference
Oct. 25 (EIRNS)—As the newly elected Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was about to be presented to the general public, China Global Television Network (CGTN), the premier English-language network for China, carried a running commentary with anchor Zou Yue and two guests in the Beijing studio, linked up to other guests in the U.S. and elsewhere, including EIR’s Washington bureau chief, Bill Jones.
After asking Roee Ruttenberg, CGTN’s Washington correspondent, and former U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke for their comments, host Zou Yue asked Jones: Are people in the U.S. paying attention to the congress?
“There is more attention being paid to this year’s CPC Congress than at any congress in history, and this is due to the important economic role of China in the world today and the importance of its policies,” Jones replied. “Interest is great, because here they are suffering and they see the development going on in China. That includes state governors and local officials.”
Zou Yue asked Jones what was the most important thing he noticed about the Congress.
Jones spoke of the reinvigoration of the party’s primary focus being on improving the people’s conditions of life, adding “I wish more governments would have that on their agendas.”
Second, Jones said, was the importance of making the Belt and Road a part of the CPC constitution. “This project changed the course of history,” he emphasized. “Prior to the Belt and Road (BRI), the world was on a downward path. But the initiation of this project launched an upward trajectory for mankind and has created great optimism and received great support from the developing world and even from the countries of the developed world. The CPC Congress has now consolidated the party around the program initiated by President Xi. With the Belt and Road written into the party constitution, it means that it is here to stay.”
“Trajectory upward,” Zou Yue echoed, with obvious satisfaction.
And how this will affect U.S.-China relations with the November visit of President Trump? Zou Yue asked.
“I think this is the real key to establishing the U.S.-China relationship. President Trump is keen on rebuilding infrastructure in the United States. And BRI is all about infrastructure. I think this could be the glue that really could cement the U.S.-China relationship. The two leaders have a great deal of respect for each other, there is a good chemistry. While there will be contentious issues, like trade and the Korean nuclear issue, I think the good relationship between the two leaders can overcome that to create a common ground on the basis of developing both nations and the world.
“And President Xi has put forward the notion of a common destiny for mankind, and working together for a win-win situation, as he said in his speech to the Congress, underlining that ‘countries have to stick together.’ I’m optimistic that the two leaders will find that common ground in working together on infrastructure. And if the two countries can work together around these issues, the whole world will move toward a new era of development. And, if they can’t, the entire world will suffer.”
Zou Yue thanked Jones for his optimistic comments.
Austrian-Chinese Economic Chambers Sign Agreement
Oct. 25 (EIRNS)—During a visit to China, Walter Ruck of the Austrian Economic Chambers (WKO) signed a cooperation deal with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, which the Austrian side expects will put their industry back on the agenda of the New Silk Road. The decision of the Austrian government not to send any high-ranking cabinet member to the May 14-15 Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation summit in Beijing had caused relations to be frozen.
“For half a year, we have tried to re-establish contact with China,” Ruck said. “With this agreement, we want to have a foot in the door again … what is important now is that a future [Austrian] government will make the Silk Road a top issue.”
Discontent with the handling of China affairs by the Federal government of Germany was voiced by two officials at chambers of commerce and industry in Germany as well, both saying that German industry has to stay on the frontline of developments, to secure exports, and that the New Silk Road dynamic is something of which Germany must be an active part. Both officials pointed out that the Federal government of Chancellor Angela Merkel has remained inactive, leaving regional German initiatives toward China alone.
U.S. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC
BAM! Clinton Colluded with the British—Part of the Coup Is Now Exposed
Oct. 25 (EIRNS)—The Hillary Clinton Campaign and the Democratic National Committee have admitted that they funded the work of British intelligence agent Christopher Steele directly. The admission, contained in a letter from Perkins Coie LLP, Counsel for the DNC and Hillary Clinton in 2016, is the first tree in the forest to fall.
Focusing on the Steele dossier, circulated in this country as a result of an alliance between Orbis Business Intelligence, a firm with direct and continuing ties to MI6, and Fusion GPS, nominally of Delaware and Washington, D.C., is the key not only to stopping the coup against President Trump but also to exposing the crimes of Obama Administration officials in first attempting to win the election for Hillary Clinton, and then, attempting to destroy the Trump Presidency. Richard Nixon, it will be recalled, used the official intelligence agencies of the United States to target and smear his political opponents. We are looking at crimes of that magnitude here—carried out in collusion with the British Empire.
This first public admission that Clinton and the DNC colluded with British intelligence agents and paid them to create dirt against Trump resulted from a House Intelligence Committee subpoena of Fusion’s bank records, after months of stonewalling by Fusion.
Fusion tried to block its bank from releasing the records in Washington, D.C.’s U.S. District Court. But, U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan apparently didn’t buy Fusion’s legal claim to virtual immunity from investigation. Fusion and the House Intelligence Committee are now in settlement negotiations and are supposed to report back to the Court on Thursday, Oct. 26.
As part of the negotiations, Fusion apparently obtained the letter from Perkins Coie LLP, admitting the funding of Steele by Clinton and the DNC. The initial approach for funding by Fusion was in March 2016 and the engagement went from April-November of 2016. During that time, Perkins Coie was paid $12.4 million by the Clinton campaign and the DNC. It is unknown how much of this money went to Christopher Steele. Perkins Coie notes that Clinton and the DNC were taking over work on Trump previously funded by one of his Republican opponents.
As this story breaks, there is a major effort to divert attention from the British by claiming that Hillary Clinton’s Uranium One deal involvement represents the real Russian scandal and the Russian sources cited in Steele’s dossier prove that this also was an operation by the ever clever Putin. Anyone who thinks about it for ten seconds would realize that the Russian sourcing of the Steele dossier’s allegations involved British intelligence assets in Russia who are acting against the Russian state, if they actually exist.
U.S. Firms Stand To Gain from Belt and Road Projects, Says Heritage Foundation’s Luke Coffey
Oct. 25 (EIRNS)—The staunchly conservative Heritage Foundation has apparently faced the fact that neither China nor its Belt and Road Initiative are going away, and is proposing the U.S. get onboard—at least, partially. The Heritage Foundation supports free enterprise, free trade, budget spending caps, missile defense, and a balanced budget, and limits on immigration—among other conservative hot-button issues. But this Oct. 23 article in Huffington Post by Heritage Foreign Policy Directory Luke Coffey departs from the usual Heritage Foundation ideological claptrap, and does so close to President Trump’s visit to China.
For the maritime aspects of the Belt and Road, the author cautions that there are “worrying cases of China injecting itself in the local economy and politics in an unhealthy way, such as in Africa.”
“However,” he continues, “the overland component of BRI through Central Asia is different in a couple of ways.” One, “China has a history of trade and economic activity in the region, dating back to the millennia-old Silk Road.” Second, “many of the countries in Central Asia face economic challenges and need to improve infrastructure.” He continues that “Chinese investment in local infrastructure is not only welcome—it is often needed. This is why the U.S. should view China’s BRI in Central Asia with an open mind.”
Coffey describes China’s investments in Kazakhstan, the focus of his article “Central Asia Should Be at the Heart of America’s ‘New Silk Road’ Policy,” as “legitimate, transparent, and within the rule of law.” The U.S., he proposes, “should acknowledge that the BRI could present opportunities,” as U.S. firms “could stand to gain a lot too with BRI projects.”
“U.S. policymakers are still playing catch-up with what BRI means for American interest in Central Asia,” says Coffey. “Hopefully, this will change…. BRI should not be viewed as a zero sum game … the U.S. needs a pragmatic approach to BRI.”
SCIENCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Chinese Steel Technology Wins Edge over Western Producers
Oct. 25 (EIRNS)—China’s Sinosteel Corporation presented a new production technology, “travelling grate pelletizing,” during a ceremony held in Tehran with Iranian steel industry officials in attendance.
“Our pelletizing technology is superior to all other international rivals—such as Germany—in environment- friendliness as well as production and energy efficiency,” Sinosteel MECC’s General Manager Wang Jian told the Tehran Financial Tribune on the sidelines of the event on Oct. 21.
The technology was employed for the first time in Iran in Sirjan Iranian Steel Company for a 2.5-million-ton-per-year pelletizing plant in March 2017. This was the first travelling grate pelletizing plant ever supplied by a Chinese company, according to Sinosteel. It is interesting to note, that with Sinosteel being a state-run company, the Western line that state-run industries such as those in China cannot be productive, apparently is dead wrong.
In terms of overall steel production, China is by far and away the world’s largest producer, in 2016 producing as much crude steel (over 800 million metric tons) as the rest of the world combined. Back in 2000, China produced only 129 million metric tons, which at the time was merely 15% of the world total. China’s 2016 per capita production of steel also dwarfs the rest of the world: 576 kg/capita vs. 136. In 2000, it was 100 kg/capita for China, vs. 139 for the rest of the world. In other words, China’s per capita steel production jumped nearly six-fold in the last 16 years, while the rest of the world’s fell slightly.
Sanctions Imposed on Russia Have Not Hurt Its Nuclear Industry
Oct. 25 (EIRNS)—Russia’s nuclear industry has not been affected by the economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and Europe, Rosatom head Alexy Likhachov told delegates at the World Festival of Youth and Students, World Nuclear News reported Oct. 23, quoting TASS. He noted, however, that the sanctions had damaged the development of nuclear energy in countries that were adhering to the sanctions. Overall, he said, the sanctions had harmed world trade.
Rosatom is approaching $300 billion worth of nuclear orders, which includes the construction of 34 reactors in 12 countries. Likhachov amplified, “The main activity is concentrated in those regions where the problems of energy poverty are the most urgent.” Russia has a self-contained nuclear industry, military and civilian, that can build reactors without outside support.
Russia is also working on advanced nuclear technology, Likhachov said, and on “thermonuclear fusion, both in international projects and in Russia.”
Likhachov’s remarks follow recent discussions by Chinese space program leaders about how the U.S. prohibition of cooperation with China in space has motivated the People’s Republic to develop its own independent space technology.
STRATEGIC WAR DANGER
Russia Vetoes UN Resolution by U.S. To Extend Syria Chemical Weapons Investigation
Oct. 25 (EIRNS)—Russia yesterday vetoed a resolution at the UN Security Council which would have extended the mandate of the UN-Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) for another year. The JIM is supposed to investigate and attribute responsibility for chemical weapons attacks in Syria. Before the veto, Russia had tried to delay the vote until Nov. 7, well after the Oct. 26 release of the JIM’s report on the April 4 chemical weapons attack at Khan Sheikhoun. The report is supposed to identify who was responsible for that attack, but Russia wants to assess the quality of the report before making a decision on extending the JIM’s mandate. Russia has repeatedly criticized the JIM investigators for refusing to even visit the site of the attack, let alone produce an impartial analysis.
Russian UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia told reporters after the session that the meeting “was absolutely unnecessary, divisive, and didn’t solve the fate of the JIM.” The meeting, instead, “was a show.” Should the JIM be extended? he was asked. Nebenzia replied: “We have to see the report. We haven’t seen a substantive report of the JIM for over a year now. We want to see how it works, what are its methods. What they are saying? How they collect data. How they are coming to conclusions. This all should be studied first.”
Tillerson and Modi Agree, Combatting Terrorism Is a Major Ingredient in India-U.S. Relations
Oct. 25 (EIRNS)—Following his meeting today with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reported that he “further discussed with the Prime Minister stepping up effective cooperation to combat terrorism in all its forms and promoting regional stability and security,” according to a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office, reported Press Trust of India (PTI).
Tillerson is on a three-day visit to India over Oct. 24-26, where he is discussing a range of strategic issues with senior Indian leaders.
The Prime Minister’s Office stated that Modi and Tillerson affirmed that a strengthened India-U.S. partnership is not just of mutual benefit to both countries, but also has significant positive impact on the prospects for regional and global stability and prosperity.
Earlier today, Tillerson met with India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. “The United States supports India’s emergence as a leading power and will continue to contribute to Indian capabilities to provide security throughout the region,” Tillerson told a joint news conference with Swaraj afterwards.
North Korea and Iran were among the topics they discussed. The Hindustan Times, citing “officials familiar with the meeting between Tillerson and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj,” said that Swaraj brought up the presence of the Indian mission in North Korea at the meeting, among other matters.
Swaraj told the joint press conference with Tillerson: “As far as the question of embassy goes, our embassy there [in Pyongyang] is very small, but there is, in fact, an embassy. I told Secretary Tillerson that some of their friendly countries should maintain embassies there so that some channels of communication are kept open. They [the U.S.] might need to talk to them [North Korea] sometime. So, it’s better to have friendly countries’ missions there,” she was quoted as saying by Times of India.
As for India’s ties with Iran, Tillerson was conciliatory in speaking at the press conference with Swaraj, saying that “it is not our objective to harm the Iranian people nor is it our objective to interfere with legitimate business activities that are going on with other businesses, whether they be from Europe, India, or agreements that are in place or to promote economic development and activity to the benefit of our friends and allies.” America’s disagreements are with the Iranian government, and in particular with Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, he said.
While Tillerson was meeting senior Indian officials in New Delhi, India’s Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met with U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis in the Philippines, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting and the ADMM-Plus, which comprises the ten ASEAN defense ministers plus those of eight guest countries. The two discussed a host of issues relating to defense and security cooperation, officials said, PTI reported. India continues to stand by its stated policy of rejecting joint security activity in the Asia-Pacific region, such as anti-China patrols in the South China Sea.
