There have been frequent personnel changes in the CCP’s foreign affairs system recently. Some analysts said that at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Foreign Minister Wang Yi will take over from Yang Jiechi as the director of the Central Foreign Affairs Office.
The Hong Kong media “Sing Tao Daily” commented on June 3 that, on the eve of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the personnel of the diplomatic system had been adjusted. The outside world believed that Le Yucheng, the next foreign minister of the Communist Party of China, was transferred to the State Administration of Radio and Television as deputy director, and missed the chance. The post of foreign minister.
On June 2, Liu Jianchao, deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the CPC Central Committee and member of the 19th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, was promoted to the director of the International Liaison Department of the CPC Central Committee (Central Liaison Department). His predecessor, Song Tao, a member of the 19th CPC Central Committee, was over 67 years old.
Liu Jianchao is a senior diplomat of the Communist Party of China. He has experience in foreign countries in Eurasian countries. He served as the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2002 to 2009. After the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, he participated in the international pursuit of fugitives by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and served as the secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection. According to the official website of the Liaison Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Liu Jianchao, deputy director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission (Central Foreign Affairs Office), succeeded Song Tao in May as the head of the Liaison Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, engaged in party diplomacy, and was promoted to ministerial level.
Song Tao is 67 years old. He has worked in Fujian for a long time. He was the vice president of Fujian International Trust and Investment Company. He joined the diplomatic system in 2001 and served as the director of the Foreign Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ambassador to the Philippines, and the deputy foreign minister.
Hong Kong media said that Song Tao was originally expected to rise to a higher level, but now he seems to be retiring. In this way, Wang Yi seems to have no rivals and is expected to succeed Yang Jiechi as a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and director of the Central Foreign Affairs Office at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
Hong Kong media analyzed that when the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held this fall, Wang Yi was already 69 years old. According to the unwritten rules of the leaders of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, he should retire. The international situation is turbulent, and bureaucrats with diplomatic experience are needed to take the helm.
early guess
The outside world has long speculated that Wang Yi may succeed Yang Jiechi.
Duowei News, which ceased operation in April this year, once commented on December 24, 2021 that the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the personnel layout of the party, government and military has been in full swing, but due to the professionalism and role of the diplomatic system, The high-level CCP may be hesitant about the deployment of diplomatic personnel. Yang Jiechi and Wang Yi will both retire when they are old, so there are still many suspense about the arrangement of foreign personnel.
The article said that two days ago, the scene of Xi Jinping, the top leader of the Communist Party of China, accepting Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s visit to Beijing to report on his duties may have sent some signals.
According to the Chinese Communist Party’s official media, the central officials accompanying Xi Jinping included Han Zheng, Ding Xuexiang, Guo Shengkun, You Quan, Wang Yi, and Xia Baolong. Among the 6 people, only Wang Yi attended this occasion for the second time. Although Wang Yi is a member of the CPC Central Committee’s Leading Group for Hong Kong and Macau Affairs, Yang Jiechi has been the one who accompanied Xi Jinping to accept the role of the Hong Kong and Macau chief executives in Beijing to report their duties.
The article made a “bold speculation”, saying that for the consideration of the steady progress of the change of old and new, after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Beijing will establish the identity of Wang Yi as the head of the highest diplomatic system to replace the role of Yang Jiechi. Specifically, Wang Yi may follow the example of Yang Jiechi and play a role as the director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the CPC Central Committee. As for whether Wang Yi “enters the game”, it remains to be seen.
The CCP woos the 10 South Pacific countries to kick the iron plate
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s 10-day visit to 8 countries in the South Pacific from the end of May to the beginning of June originally hoped to use the second China-South Pacific Foreign Ministers’ Meeting to be held in Fiji via videoconference to sign a comprehensive security agreement with 10 countries. But it was abandoned due to concerns raised by some countries.
The content of the agreement between Reuters and the Australian media shows that the CCP hopes to once again use financial assistance to train the police, participate in cyber security and other methods, and at the same time, it can also obtain fisheries and natural resources in the South Pacific region, but the Federated States of Micronesia believes that Failure to confess the agreement will only exacerbate regional tensions, control the economy of the South Pacific, and openly oppose signing it.
Analysts say Pacific island leaders are concerned about the nature of the deal and the way China is trying to push it ahead of Wang Yi’s trip.
Professor Lin Tinghui, a member of the Taiwan Oceanographic Commission, believes that most island countries still have doubts about the CCP’s multilateral diplomacy. For some island countries, the introduction of the CCP’s influence to resist the influence of New Zealand and Australia (New Zealand and Australia), however, when the influence of New Zealand and Australia decreases At the time, the island countries were also unwilling to let the Pacific region be dominated by the CCP.
Richard Hull, academic director of the Law School of the University of Tasmania in Australia, said that Chinese officials were surprised by the outrageous words and deeds of the media when they visited the island countries.
The British “Guardian” pointed out that when Wang Yi arrived at the Pacific Islands Forum (Pacific Islands Forum) building on May 29 to meet with the forum’s secretary general Henry Puna (Henry Puna), the media that had obtained permission were prohibited from filming. During the period, CCP officials stood in front of the camera and tried to stop it. At the joint press conference between Wang Yi and the Prime Minister of Fiji the next day, although the media’s interview credentials had been issued by the Chinese side, CCP officials banned questions on the spot and even loudly ordered reporters to shut up. .
The CCP is eager to get rid of the blockade of the United States, Japan, and Australia in the Pacific region, expand exchanges with South Pacific island countries, and establish a regional security and economic cooperation structure. plate.
The CCP’s zero-zero policy has hit the economy hard. The Wall Street Journal quoted economists as saying that the extent of China’s economic slowdown leaves Beijing with little choice, or to accept growth that is much lower than its growth target of around 5.5 percent. speed, change or abandon this goal, or falsify the data.
At the same time, the situation of the Ukrainian war seems to be beyond the CCP’s imagination. Zhang Junhua, a German-Chinese political scientist, wrote on the Deutsche Welle Chinese website on May 29 that after the outbreak of the Ukrainian war, Xi’s thinking had to change and make appropriate adjustments in diplomatic strategy.
Zhang Junhua said that the latest situation of the Ukrainian war has prompted Beijing’s attitude towards the United States to turn moderate at least recently, so he recently sent Wang Qishan to South Korea, and at the same time loosened his power over the economy, leaving Li Keqiang to repair the current economic wounds, This is a new move he made before the 20th National Congress.
Zhang Junhua observed that people familiar with the inside story told the Japanese media that Wang Qishan used the opportunity of his visit to South Korea to send a signal to the U.S. delegation that Beijing was ready to engage in dialogue with the U.S. side.
Zhang Junhua said that Seoul’s festive atmosphere and the hustle and bustle of the city allowed Wang Qishan to transmit his message without being noticed. The title of special representative also gives Wang Qishan the possibility to display his talents, a role that neither Yang Jiechi, the top diplomat of the Communist Party of China, nor Wang Yi, the minister of foreign affairs, can perform.
The recent personnel adjustments in the diplomatic system may be related to this.