WRJC Erna Solberg, PM Norway, is a leader of the education commission she co-chairs the un eminent committee - a group uniquely being asked to
clarify both fintech and edutech at the world's most influential summits EconomistDiary.
her country leads community-based education - with no classroom homework, and next to no standard exams; it is the one of the few countries not in danger of making half its youth unemployable (Jack Ma);
Norway with Finland and Sweden, Denmak (Green;and) connect the arctic circle countries - probably where climate will be won or lost; interestingly the only space of nations where american and russian future scientists celebrate each other with glee
UN Eminent Committee
Erna Solberg PM Finland co-chair |
President Akufo-Addo Ghana co-chair | WRJC Jack Ma, Alibaba/Alipay Blogs inspired by Ma include DAMO | WRJC Sheikha Moza
Host WISE education laureates -2018 Diary - Ghana May; UN General Assembly Sept- 2019 Paris May ; Qatar Oct; 2016 Beijing; 2017 Madrid & Qatar; champion of first ladies in countries needing urgent refugee learning, UNAI hub partner education above all member of new university club with qatar's education city | Ambassador Dho Young-ShimChairperson, United Nations World Tourism Organization’s Sustainable Tourism for Eliminating Poverty (ST-EP) Foundation
| more |
UN head wrjc Antonion Guterres; UN Envoy Education - Gordin Brown
The threat to small nations is that they cant protect their peoples without brilliant colaboration; the opportunity of msall nations is that being
the sustainability generation's most brillaint collaborators they provide benchmarks for ecological civilisisation - thise that grow by rebewing all our youth
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education commissio=- 30 national leaders who discuss why education inside classrooms is destroying employment possibilities of half of all youth everywhere
- norway bans homeworkd and standard exams - but thats because its communities are already so healthy and safe that after school every community is space for children to grow;
erna is also on the un's eminent 15 advising on how the un can stage the mother of all leanring summits at general assembly sept 2018 - what to do about learning at all the world's most troubled borders and refugee networks - education above all linked in by first ladies around mother earth
wrjc who studied beyond classroom
NORWAY-2018/01/10 1 THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION SUSTAINABLE SECURITY: THE TRANSATLANTIC COMMUNITY AND GLOBAL CHALLENGES A DISCUSSION WITH NORWEGIAN PRIME MINISTER ERNA SOLBERG Washington, D.C. Wednesday, January 10, 2018 I meet the Iranian president, I’ve met him twice now, he always has six men. And the first time I had six women in my delegation. (Laughter) And I said we are as imbalanced, both of us, PARTICIPANTS: Introduction: BRUCE JONES Vice President and Director, Foreign Policy The Brookings Institution Keynote Remarks: H.E. ERNA SOLBERG Prime Minister Kingdom of Norway Conversation: BRUCE JONES Vice President and Director, Foreign Policy The Brookings Institution H.E. ERNA SOLBERG Prime Minister Kingdom of Norway * * * * * P R O C E E D I N G S MR. JONES: Good morning, everybody. I see we’re standing room only. I very much appreciate you all being here. I’m Bruce Jones. I’m the vice president and the director for Foreign Policy here at Brookings, and it’s my pleasure to welcome to Brookings Prime Minister Erna Solberg of the Kingdom of Norway for today’s Alan and Jane Batkin International Leaders Forum. For four years, the Batkin Forum has served as Brookings’ most visible platform for engaging key global leaders, including most recently Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, and U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Al Hussein. And it’s a privilege and a pleasure to welcome Prime Minister Solberg to this forum. Now in her second term, following an upset and a substantial electoral victory, the prime minister has led the Norwegian government since 2013. Her election to that office follows a career in public service, representing the county of Hordaland since 1989. And she has a tremendous background in public service which will be reflected in her remarks today titled “Sustainable Security: The Transatlantic Community and Global Challenges,” in which she’ll examine the broad sweep of foreign policy issues confronting the transatlantic partners. And it’s an honor to have her lay out her vision of these issues this morning before she has a second appointment of some importance with President Trump and his national security team later today. We are, by the way, privileged at Brookings to receive generous support from the government of Norway as we conduct our own independent research on this range of transatlantic and global challenges, and I’m grateful for the support as I am for Norway’s respect for our independence. And today’s remarks, as always, reflect the views of the speakers, not of the institution. But we could ask for no better speaker on NORWAY-2018/01/10 ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 3 the subject. She knows the matters well from her current office as well as from her wealth of experience from her time on Norway’s parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign and Defense Affairs and her service as the head of the Parliament’s delegation to NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly. Following the remarks I’ll join the prime minister on stage for a discussion and some Q&A. And you can Tweet about it under #NorwayPM. So let me welcome you to the stage, Prime Minister. (Applause) PRIME MINISTER SOLBERG: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you and thank you for the invitation. It’s a great honor for me to be here at Brookings. President Roosevelt once told the world to look to Norway. Maybe it’s only we who remember it, but. (Laughter) We, for our part, have always tended to look to the U.S. A century ago, we looked to the U.S. for new opportunities and thousands of Norwegians crossed the Atlantic in pursuit of their dreams and their new lives. During the Second World War we looked to the U.S. for refuge and for support, and we found an ally to counter in the darkest hours of our nation’s history. And when the dust of the war settled, we would once again look to the United States for help to rebuild our country, restore our economy, and to keep us safe. But more than anything else, the greatness of this country is the power of its ideals and the courage of its citizens, and the world has looked to the U.S. for inspiration and leadership. In fact, the founding fathers of the modern Norway did just that in 1814, when they drew up our Constitution. They looked to the principles enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the principles of liberty, freedom, and individual rights; of free speech, of democracy, and the rule of law; principles that laid the ground for free trade, free men, and after some time free women, and free markets; principles that would make the U.S. prosper in very many areas. So it’s no wonder that Europeans immigrated to America and we would NORWAY-2018/01/10 ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 4 still be doing that if it had not been for the visionary U.S. leadership after the Second World War. In fact, a series of long-term political investments would forever transform the European societies and carry the ideas of the Founding Fathers far beyond the U.S. borders: investments in international law and robust multilateral systems, investment in a new European security architecture with a strong NATO at its heart, and at least investment in European reconstruction with the Marshall Plan as the main instrument. In hindsight, it is easy to take these efforts for granted. Yet few at that time would have imagined that the benefits would surpass the costs to the extent that they have. Once a liability, Europe became an asset for the U.S., one of the most stable and prosperous regions in the world, a huge export market, a staunch ally, a humanitarian giant, and a net contributor to peace and security across the globe. Today we face greater uncertainties than we have done for decades. Turmoil and instability in the belt extending from the Sahel region, with Syria and Iraq, to Afghanistan has given rise to terrorism and new waves of migration. And to the east we do see a more assertive Russia, a Russia that is increasing its military capabilities and reducing the democratic space at home; a Russia that shook the foundation of international architecture by illegally annexing parts of its neighboring country in 2014. In the Far East, North Korea is quickly progressing towards nuclear capabilities that could threaten targets across the globe, creating serious concerns about the future proliferation, rising tension, and the risk of a major crisis. Universal values are coming under increasing pressure in several countries, values that the Founding Fathers considered self-evident: democracy, the rule of law, and the basic human rights. The situation in the Western world may seem less dire, yet in the fact of rapid change feelings of uncertainty are taking root. We sense a growing distrust in international cooperation and in commitments. And democracy comes under pressure under such circumstances. NORWAY-2018/01/10 ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 5 It would make little sense to dismantle the structures and the principles that have brought us the world, the security, welfare, and technology that we are enjoying today. But the growing distrust and the lack of confidence must be taken seriously as they can threaten political stability, cooperation, and our joint ability to take collective action. So how is Norway trying to navigate in these uncertain waters? I believe it’s now more important than ever that we stick to these fundamental principles. Firstly, we must uphold international law and the international legal order that has shaped the world since the Second World War, and that has brought unprecedented wealth and security to a much larger number of people across the whole world, including in our societies. Indeed, the defense of these principles is not only valuable in its own right. It’s also a defense of Norway, the U.S., our citizens, and our welfare. And furthermore, it’s by far the most cost-effective form of defense. Secondly, we need more and closer international cooperation, including a strong transatlantic bond. International cooperation may seem cumbersome and inefficient sometimes. But history has demonstrated that the alternatives are far worse. We are safer and stronger when we stand together with other countries. That’s why we must make sure that international organizations remain relevant and fit for purpose. The U.N. is the most important international meeting place. No other organization has the same legitimacy when it comes to developing international law, global norms, and joint solutions. However, the U.N. needs to adapt to a world that is facing new challenges and new power constellations. And the U.N. must constantly revise and renew its approach to be able to function effectively and retain its relevance. Likewise, we need a strong NATO that can adapt to a changing security landscape and defend and deter against any threats that emerge. We need a European Union that stands together, that can sustain growth, protect borders, take in migration, NORWAY-2018/01/10 ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 6 and remain a driver for fundamental values in Europe. And international institutions and organizations are only as strong as we make them. Thirdly, our engagement has to extend beyond our neighborhood. At times we may feel like Iceland, at peace in a very stormy sea. Many Americans probably felt that way in 1945, when Europe and Asia lay in ruins. Yet disengagement was not an option at that time and it should not be that today. Problems in countries far away, such as lack of development, violation of human rights, weak governance, radicalization and unrest, are becoming security threats for us all. We need to be as bold and as visionary as the generation before us was. Responding to crises as and when they arise might provide temporary relief, but there is a high chance that the problems will reappear at a later stage in another form and with a higher price tag. In the long run, the only viable and costeffective solution is to address the underlying causes so that we can prevent crises from happening in the first place. This is one of the reasons why Norway as a small country on the outskirts of Europe remains firmly committed to international development. We every year after year give around 1 percent of our gross national income in development assistance. That’s why we engage in faraway countries as Syria, Mali, Iraq, and Myanmar. And we must work together to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Implementation of the 17 goals which all U.N. member states together have decided on and which I’ve been tasked by the Secretary-General to promote will help us to address climate change and prevent conflicts as well as forced migration. And we must strive to achieve the objectives of the Paris Climate Accord. In fact, as very often stated and said, we are the last generation that can prevent irreversible climate change and we are the first generation in a position to eradicate NORWAY-2018/01/10 ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 7 extreme poverty. Between 2005 and 2017, no countries saw greater reductions in CO2 emissions than the U.S., contrary to a lot of political discussions. And your leadership is still needed. The U.S. research community, technology base, and business community are uniquely positioned not only to contribute to further reductions, but also to benefit from the opportunities that are arising as the world economy goes greener. Fourthly, protectionism is no way to go. We have tried that approach in the past and it did not work well. Globalization, on the contrast, has been very beneficial both for the U.S. and for Norway. But what we need is a level playing field. I believe strengthening multilateral trade agreements and institutions remains the best way to achieve the end and a guarantee of the free markets. Today, product services’ capital are flown the route once traveled by poor Norwegian migrants. Technology transfers across the Atlantic allows us to develop a nascent oil industry in the 1970s. Now substantial revenues from the same sectors are being reinvested in the U.S., creating new jobs and new opportunities here. Last year, Norwegian companies and investments supported 470,000 jobs in the U.S. The U.S. assets of our government pension funds alone amounts to $325 billion. So we are a bit linked to how -- our wealth is linked to how your wealth is going to develop in the future. But all of this would have been unthinkable without free, open, and regulated markets. So ladies and gentlemen, all this, the world order that has served us both so well for the past 70 years, would not have come about without a firm U.S. leadership. And the U.S. leadership is more important than ever in order to further and to strengthen the world order in these uncertain times. And we may not agree on all issues. However, even when there are challenges, we must not forget how crucial the transatlantic bond has been on both sides of the Atlantic. NORWAY-2018/01/10 ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 8 And that brings me over to the topic of defense. In no area is the transatlantic bond more important. NATO remains the bedrock of our security and the U.S. is by far our most important ally. But to tackle the challenges of the future NATO also must continue to adapt. President Trump has called for a fair burden sharing. It’s a very legitimate demand. Europe faces major security challenges and clearly needs to spend more on security and defense. And Norway is committed to doing its part, and security is one of the main priorities of my government. Every year since 2012, our defense budgets have increased. Our longterm defense planning involves substantial increases in defense spending in the coming years that will also keep us well above the 20 percent guideline for defense investments. We are investing heavily in modern capabilities that are both deployable and interoperable, including high-end capabilities. These include new F-35 aircraft, submarines, long-range air defense systems, and strategic intelligence capabilities. We will enhance our cooperation with the U.S. on maritime surveillance of the North Atlantic and we are in the process of acquiring five new P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft from Boeing for this purpose. We will also make sure that our military vessels, planes, and army units are able to sail more, fly more, and train more. In the north, Russia is reintroducing a forward defense concept for its strategic nuclear assets, the so-called Bastion defense. This increases Russia’s ability to disrupt the transatlantic sea lines of communications in situations of crisis or war. In many ways, Norway is NATO’s gatekeeper in the North. We are working actively to increase NATO’s focus on the strategic development in the North Atlantic. We have in-depth knowledge of developments in the region and we are committed to following the situation closely and to keep allies informed on an ongoing basis. NORWAY-2018/01/10 ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 9 Norway remains a solid and reliable troop contributor, firmly invested in the fight against terrorism. Our troops have served in numerous allied and coalition operations, since 2001 in Afghanistan, in Libya, and Iraq. And we are contributing alongside the lines of efforts in the fight against ISIS. So when President Roosevelt looked to Norway in 1945, he saw a country under occupation. Today he would see a free, prosperous, and stable democracy and a strong ally; a country whose men and women are serving alongside U.S. personnel in international operations; a country firmly committed to free and open markets, international development, and international law and institutions. And he would have seen a country that still looks to the U.S. in gratitude, but also in the hope and expectation that the U.S. will continue to protect the world order that has brought so much progress for so many. Keep the transatlantic bond strong. Take leadership in the efforts to address major challenges of our generation such as security, development, and climate change. The world is changing and universal values are under pressure, power relations are shifting, uncertainty is running high. It is precisely in times like this that we need to renew our commitment to our common values, not only because they’re universal, not only out of a sense of moral duty, but also because upholding these values has proven to the best way to ensure security, ensure prosperity, and freedom for people on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond. Thank you very much. (Applause) MR. JONES: Well, thank you very much and thank you for reminding us the famous words of President Roosevelt of looking to Norway on these issues. And of course, I think in all seriousness, everybody in Washington understands that Norway has been an extraordinary reliable ally on a number of fronts. And I’m sure that the White NORWAY-2018/01/10 ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 10 House will remember that when they see you this morning. I want to start with what you said was the most important dimension of the transatlantic relationship, namely the security issue. And you talked about Russia, you talked about an assertive Russia, both in the North and elsewhere. How do you see President Trump’s decision to provide lethal weapons to the Ukrainians, albeit at a relatively modest level? Is that part of the right policy of pushing back? Is it provocative? How do you see managing the Russia challenge? PRIME MINISTER SOLBERG: Well, everything we do is named provocative by the Russians. Things that we would do in the ’90s that would not lift an eyebrow on is now named provocative. Of course, it shifts balances a bit in Ukraine, maybe not as big an issue as it would have been two years ago -- SPEAKER: Mic. MR. JONES: Is the mic not working? PRIME MINISTER SOLBERG: Hello? MR. JONES: Can we get them to focus on the mic? Okay. PRIME MINISTER SOLBERG: I’ll try to talk louder. (Laughter) I get a new mic. MR. JONES: There we go. PRIME MINISTER SOLBERG: And, I mean, it’s two seconds. A politician without sound is not good. (Laughter) Okay? MR. JONES: Much better. Yay. PRIME MINISTER SOLBERG: As I said, everything we do is now sort of named provocative by the Russians. And I think it would have been held more provocative two years ago when it happened than it has today. Maybe because it’s not such a big focus on Ukraine, but, I mean, yes, it will -- I don’t think we think it’s extremely provocative in a way, but I think you will get that naming from the Russians because -- for NORWAY-2018/01/10 ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 11 everything we do. More activity by Americans and we have the U.S. Marines that are training in Norway. We always get -- they have done that for a long time, but it’s named provocative, yes. MR. JONES: On NATO, I expect that somebody else this morning will ask you the same question that I’m going to ask you now, which is about 2 percent defense spending. And let me put it broader than 2 percent. Your Foreign Ministry earlier this year in a whitepaper acknowledged that the United States is inevitably going to be pulled more into security issues in Asia. We have an assertive Russia in Europe. What is your view on the burden-sharing question and what role Europe has to play in its own defense at this stage? PRIME MINISTER SOLBERG: Well, I agree that there should be a fair burden sharing. Norway is per capita the second largest military spender in NATO per capita. But then, of course, we have a large GDP, so when you take it in percentage it’s not. But it does amount to, in fact, that we are spending quite a lot on military. We have also now a very transformational military services. We are investing heavily in interoperability, in new capabilities, and we’ll reach I think 26 or 27 percent in investments in ours, but we are not down to 2 percent. We were 1.5; we are going up to 1.6. We have a plan that now is up to 2021. We will not reach 2 percent in 2021, but we are aiming the right way. And then we will have a new plan. Before elections in 2021, we will examine the next years. So we are doing a very large transformation and I think we are delivering on all of the other targets that is important. And then I think sometimes just focusing on the 2 percent is a bit narrow because you also have to look at how you’re doing in reform. Are you investing money so that you can use your military and you’re using your money in the right way? And I think we also have to ask those other questions when we are discussing. And, of course, we had some countries which did 2 percent of GDP NORWAY-2018/01/10 ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 12 because their GDP fell. We have increased our budget for military, but our GDP has increased more, so that’s a challenge, also. MR. JONES: Not a good way to go. PRIME MINISTER SOLBERG: No. MR. JONES: Let me ask you about another issue, which is both a security and a development issue and a political issue, which is the work that Norway has done together with many, many others in the counter-ISIL campaign. And that’s been a military campaign so far, but now we’re in a situation where let’s say the military campaign is not going to be the only element of what’s necessary in terms of thinking about how to recover the governance and the stability in the development of territories that were held by ISIL. How do you see that? Do you think that that issue of sort of rebuilding from ISIL, rebuilding in parts of the Middle East which have been devastated by war, Libya, et cetera, is that a primary European responsibility? Is it a coalition responsibility? How do you see that? PRIME MINISTER SOLBERG: I think it’s a responsibility first and foremost of the countries themselves. MR. JONES: Sure, yeah. PRIME MINISTER SOLBERG: I’d start with that because I don’t think -- well, it’s extremely that we don’t lose sight of the fact that even if ISIL is not controlling any, you know, larger cities or others, they are going to be there. They’re going to be in the desert. They’re going to be around. They’re going to be in different countries. They’re going to play political games. They’re going to fuel terrorism in Europe. So there’s a lot of things that we have to remember. And they will look for a new place to go again. So you will have to make sure and look at where we can work on conflict prevention. I think that’s a very important NORWAY-2018/01/10 ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 13 European responsibility in their neighborhood, but I think we need Americans for this. And one of the big challenges is that we have to also have a focus on how do we make sure that, for example, Iraq becomes more stable? Because the growth of ISIL in Iraq is also due to the fact that the Sunni Muslims of Iraq, there was an attractiveness because of the Shia-Sunni conflict inside Iraq. So you have to have an Iraqi government that is more inclusive, more focused on getting both the Kurds, the Sunni, and the Shias to work together. And if you don’t have that basis, it’s going to be difficult for countries outside to create stability. Stability comes from political creation inside a country. And I think focusing on that at the same times as you are delivering both assistance, development, especially what we think is important, also, is to make sure that all of those women who have now been suffering during this terrible regime of ISIL is now helped; and make sure in countries where their value as women is becoming much less if they have been sex slaves or other things. I mean, you have to rebuild societies on the ground, too, involve women in that type of work, to have that type of plans for the future. But I don’t believe you can create stability from the outside. You have to also put pressure on the political system from the inside. And I think our biggest challenge today is the intersphere and conflicts between Shia and Sunnis in this region. If we don’t manage to get them to cooperate better, we are going to have rising new problems. So the Saudis and Iran have to work together, also, to make sure that this situation doesn’t come out of control again. Then we are prepared to help with military training or with assistance, with the grass-root works, and all of that that we do with development work and conflict prevention and mediation. But you have to have that basis from the inside. If you don’t get that, it’s going to be difficult to get a stable situation. MR. JONES: We may be waiting for a while for Saudi-Iranian NORWAY-2018/01/10 ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 14 cooperation on these issues. PRIME MINISTER SOLBERG: No, but maybe at least sort of a truce so that they don’t play off the (inaudible) in all the neighboring countries. MR. JONES: Let me ask you about a very different region. You mentioned North Korea. That’s obviously an issue that preoccupies a great deal of time and attention in Washington. As I said before, you’re ministry has acknowledged that the U.S. is going to be heavily engaged in Asia. How do you see Europe’s role in Asia? You didn’t spend a lot of time on China. You didn’t a lot of time on Chinese influence. How do you see Europe’s role in Asia? PRIME MINISTER SOLBERG: Well, I think what you see from all European countries today that they are, of course, following the money. I mean, the markets, the economy, the development. Asia is a bigger economic power, which, of course, means that also European countries will try to have a stronger foothold and cooperation with different Asian countries. Japan is also a surrogate economic power in this region and you see other Asian countries rising. Our belief is that China is mainly occupied with one thing, and that is their own economic growth and their own stability as a country. But that also means that they are, of course, as a bigger economy having a bigger importance in the world. And, of course, it was a bit strange to be in Davos last year and finding out that President Xi was the biggest -- was the star of free trade and international trade cooperations, which, well, it’s good if it really is based -- MR. JONES: It’s real. PRIME MINISTER SOLBERG: It’s real, if it’s balanced, if it’s a level playing field if you do that. And, of course, they are influencing and they are -- but always to know what the motives are. I still believe that their biggest motive is stability in their own country, stability for the system, economic prosperity. The Communist Party in a NORWAY-2018/01/10 ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 15 way have built their stability on market economy, but delivering welfare to the people of China, and I think that’s still their basic preoccupation. MR. JONES: I want to turn to the audience and open it up, but let me ask you one last issue. You made a strong case for multilateralism international law. Norway has, in principle, been a supporter of reform of multilateral institutions. But it’s always struck me, I used to work at the U.N. and I worked with Kofi Annan very closely, Norway was a very influential actor in the U.N., as often the kind of small European countries are. But if the U.N. were seriously opened up to Brazil, to India, to Indonesia, and to Turkey, Norway would lose influence. That’s the inevitable result of a kind of broadening of multilateral institutions. Is the defense of multilateralism important enough to you to see Norway lose influence by seeing it move forward? PRIME MINISTER SOLBERG: We do believe in arguing our case, even if there are others. I think the legitimacy of a system is that it’s representative for the people of the world and the economies of the world, and I think that’s the imbalance in the U.N. today. It’s not representative. That means that you -- and I think it also will give countries more responsibility for participating in finding international agreements. Then, of course, Norwegians always believe that we will be able to put -- our arguments will be strong enough for us to have influence anyway. MR. JONES: Fair enough. (Laughter) PRIME MINISTER SOLBERG: Yeah, we have a large self-interest in this. MR. JONES: A self-confident power. (Laughter) PRIME MINISTER SOLBERG: Yes. MR. JONES: Let’s open it up to the audience. I have lots of other questions, but let’s open it up. Rebecca? NORWAY-2018/01/10 ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 16 MS. WINTHROP: Hi there. Rebecca Winthrop. I’m the director of the Center for Universal Education here at Brookings. And like Bruce, we’re very grateful for Norway’s support, particularly around girls’ education. But I’m curious to ask you a question about an issue you touched briefly on. You’ve been a long champion of women and girls’ empowerment. And I’m wondering how are you thinking about continuing that, particularly in the light of the #MeToo movement and where does that fit into your thinking, particularly around foreign policy, but also international development? PRIME MINISTER SOLBERG: Well, I think, first of all, the #MeToo has shown that also countries like Norway, who claims to be on very high levels on equal rights societies, we still have challenges. And I think it also says that even if you have formal representation, that doesn’t really mean that you are really getting an equal society between the sexes. And we know that even if abuse of women, sexual abuse of women, is one of the big issues in global developing countries, it still should be one of the big women’s issues in our countries because women are still beaten or raped. And we have a legal system that maybe does not function well enough on these issues and doesn’t give enough support for women who have been misused. And I think this is important because sometimes we always say other countries should become better. I think we also have to acknowledge that this shows that our countries still have a way to go. I think women’s issues still is biggest in some of the developing countries. And I think still focusing on girls’ education because it empowers women, it’s sort of an investment that will give you returns for years afterwards because we know when you invest in education for women, they will reinvest that in their children. They know more about health, they know about maternal health. They will have children later. NORWAY-2018/01/10 ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 17 They will have a possibility to earn their own money. So it’s a long-term investment that I think is important. But you still have to -- I mean, a lot of women’s issues have had setbacks the last year. We have increased our funding for reproductive rights after the new American administration cut them back because we think that control of your own body and reproductive rights is a core issue of how you build women’s participation in the labor market, but also acknowledge the possibilities and societies. Then I also think it’s important and comforting to work, as I said on Iraq, you have to also work on the grass-root level. You have to work on women’s participation. And if I can take this terrorism issue, one of the things that we have done, together with the former American administration and I hope we will continue to have more countries participating in that, is to support women networks fighting extremism in their own countries. We can do that, of course, locally in our countries, but also in some of those countries where you have extremist groups, both in Syria and Iraq and in Nigeria, there are women now supported by this network who work on the ground for women rights to combat extremism and to do the grass-roots work. So you have to do supportive actions like this. And then we have to have more women in politics in other countries and in Scandinavia. MR. JONES: Any particular countries in mind? PRIME MINISTER SOLBERG: I think there is quite a number of them. I used to meet -- and I meet the Iranian president, I’ve met him twice now, he always has six men. And the first time I had six women in my delegation. (Laughter) And I said we are as imbalanced, both of us, in Iraq. (Laughter) Last year I had two men in my delegation. I said, I am improving. (Laughter) And he is, in fact, laughing. And I’m sure NORWAY-2018/01/10 ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 18 he takes it serious, but he was laughing. (Laughter) MR. JONES: Please. MR. BEASON: Good morning. I’m Bob Beason with the Cenay Policy Group. I was in Norway over the holidays. I love your country. Thank you. I wanted to follow up on your comment on terrorism. In your New Year’s speech, you referenced a school in Fredrikstad that was teaching a class on preventing radicalization and things like that. I was wondering if you thought that would be something that you would advocate expanding to other schools in Norway as a means of building better security both Pan-European and transatlantic. PRIME MINISTER SOLBERG: Well, I believe that you have to work on resilience in local societies also against the extremist thinking. And we do that both on -- we have a national panel trying to do that from both extremist Islamic radicals, but also right wing extremism, which we know now they have been feeding off the ISIL and the terrorist activities in Europe to -- and the large migration crisis that we had two years ago. The more violent extremist right wing is increasing in our societies. And we are trying to do that by different measures in municipalities. We have a plan, the municipalities are working on that. And in Fredrikstad, one of the cities in Norway, where there was a group of foreign fighters who left from Fredrikstad, who went to Syria, and they are taking this very seriously. And they are working on -- and I think they were, of course, vaccinating against extremist thinking, but also vaccinating against political hate speech from everybody because they are discussing how do words affect your mindset. How does the way you talk about other people? And if you get 13-year-olds to 14-year-olds to do that discussion, they always will start to understand how they are describing each other has an impact on each other. And it, frankly, has also a good Communist part of it because if you have 13- and NORWAY-2018/01/10 ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 19 14-year-olds that think that “whore” is a natural way of talking to girls at your school, you have to combat that. I think there’s a lot of measures. We do that in the municipalities, then the police are following up with mentors for people who are at-risk of being recruited; exit programs, try to get people out of networks if they are. I’m not saying that we have all the solutions, but we’re at least trying to find ways of handling it. And because we do have quite a lot of local community work on preventing, it’s the same thing as matters that we are using to prevent recruitment to criminal organized crime for young people in gangs and that type of thing. And there is a Youth Network International, there’s a Women’s Network International, and there’s a large city network that is working to explore these ideas, which came after President Obama’s initiative, also. MR. JONES: Let me ask you a question sparked by this, at least some aspects of this. We’ve talked about transatlantic relationship and NATO. We’ve talked about refugees. We’ve talked about extremism. We’ve talked about -- the word “Turkey” hasn’t come up. PRIME MINISTER SOLBERG: No. MR. JONES: How do you see Turkey right now? PRIME MINISTER SOLBERG: I think Turkey is a challenge because the situation -- well, the human rights situation is difficult now. And there was a military coup and I think they are totally justified in trying to find who participated, who tried to topple a democracy. Everyone is elected and we have to remember that. But in that way, they are starting to do changes in their legal system, which means that some of the guarantees that they have is falling apart. I think it’s extremely important that there still is, and that we are fighting for that, the Supreme Court of Turkey is still independent and has a role to play in putting up the standards of rule of NORWAY-2018/01/10 ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 20 law in Turkey. And then there is a challenge, of course, also, with a link between Russia and Turkey today. Turkey is trying to play both, being a NATO member and having a better relation to Russia. But, of course, this also comes -- it’s not more than one and a half years ago where we thought there was a totally different picture, where Turkey had shot down a Russian airplane and we all were looking at the crisis between Turkey and Russia. But things change very fast. But I think there are developments in Turkey that need for us to speak up on, especially on human rights. MR. JONES: Are you of the view that Turkey’s membership in NATO is in question? PRIME MINISTER SOLBERG: No, I hope it doesn’t. I hope that we will have a Turkey that aligns to the principle of NATO also in the future. I think it’s also important that we, in fact, have a country which is largely populated by Muslims and that NATO is not looked upon just as a white Christian alliance against the rest of the world. I think it’s extremely important for us not to brand NATO that way. MR. JONES: Going back to the audience. We’ll take a couple of questions at this stage. I think we’re close to the end, so the gentleman in the middle there in the front. SPEAKER: You mentioned the desirability of a strong European Union and I wondered if you could talk a bit about Norway’s relationship to the European Union and whether it might be a model for the UK after Brexit. MR. JONES: Let’s take a couple of questions, if that’s all right. There was another hand in the front and maybe one more in the back. SPEAKER: Hi. I just wanted to go back to your point about the education of extremism in the country. Were you also implying more broadly that the NORWAY-2018/01/10 ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 21 bullying rumors and gossip, you know, more generally set the stage for extremism, too? Because it’s not just simply religious extremism, it’s the fact that we don’t reason through and understand why we say what we say. I was just wondering if you were making that broader point or that was even sort of a paradigm that, you know, is worth your effort. MR. JONES: And I want to add to the gentleman’s question about Norway and Europe just to get you to say one word about Brexit. PRIME MINISTER SOLBERG: Well, the Norwegians, we live happily with our EA agreement. I’m leading the only political party who still states that we want to be members of the European Union. (Laughter) But we were not for a long time. There has been two referendums. We have -- the establishment have been voted on by the people and we are following the people. It’s important principles of -- like the BRICS have to do even if they don’t get (inaudible) the other way around. I think the challenge with Brexit was that they had not really thought through what should happen if it happens because they never believed that it would happen, that there would be a vote for it. That means that they have had challenges in the way to deal with it, to make plans. And I think our way of handling our relationship to the EU is very good for a small country. Even if we have high self-esteem, it’s not that high. We understand that 5 million people, in a way, would not put -- we accept the fact that we have an independent body who will make decisions if there is a conflict between European rules and policy made in Norway. We are members of that independent board, but we accept that. I think Britain has a little bit larger problems with that type of institutions that we have established inside the EA. And then, of course, the basic argument against EU membership was the free movement of people. And the EA agreement that we have has all the four principles in it, and it’s the basis of making this a dynamic solution. Because when most NORWAY-2018/01/10 ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 22 immigrations are made in the EU and they are relevant for the (inaudible), for the single market, they are also being introduced in Norway. We tried to negotiate, we tried to lobby, and we tried to find good solutions in how to implement it, but I think that’s a basis which I think is going to be difficult for Britain. Because so much of the debate around Brexit was about the free movement of people, which we accept and which we have benefited very much from. We, in fact, all the Nordic countries, we have been the country that has had the highest percentage of people from East Europe who have come to Norway because we have a different economy development. When they had a downturn, we had an upturn in our economy based on high oil prices 10 years ago. So we have much more Poles in Norway than they have in Sweden and Denmark together. And we are happy that they are there and they are contributing, which is not the debate in Britain, which makes it very difficult. My point on who is recruited into extremism, the feeling of not belonging is one of the recruitments. I usually say that this is a fight about whether our values or the extremist’s values is going to win. And if we are not living the way we are talking, we will lose out. And I don’t think criticism or hate speech in itself does make a reason for people becoming extremists, but I think the feeling of not belonging to the society. And we have seen there’s a difference in Europe on who is recruited, for example, to fundamental Islamic extremism. But in Norway and Germany, they have been very much the same type of persons that have been recruited to the right wing extremism with the exception of religion affiliation; young people without who have fallen out of school, who have already been in trouble with the law. There was one of these immigrant parents in Norway who said I understand now that if my child starts to behave very well again after being criminal, I have to look after whether he’s becoming extremist. Because we see that people who NORWAY-2018/01/10 ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 23 have been in sort of youth gangs and others who have been in touch with the police, suddenly they are getting the same group feeling in another context. So that’s why job creation, making sure that young people feel that there’s hope in our societies, it’s the biggest explanation against extremism is, in fact, to give you hope in our societies. And I think that’s what we have to work on. MR. JONES: Brexit. PRIME MINISTER SOLBERG: Brexit. Brexit is going to affect Norway because Britain is the largest trade partner we have if you take all the oil and gas parts with us. Oil and gas is not affected by Brexit because that’s other international rules and some bilaterally negotiated agreements that we have. But it still is, if you take away that, they are number three. And so many Norwegian businesses is using Britain as their way to the international market, so we have a lot of Norwegians working there, a lot of Norwegian business working there. London is a hub for Norwegian large industrial company. And everything that lacks the attractiveness of Britain in the international world would, of course, affect that type of business, but also how we will make agreements. We have had a very thorough study, we had a task force that have studied the effects in Norway and in the different ministries. We have discussed this with our counterparts in Britain. They do say that they do not want us to have a worse relation. They have said that the citizenship things that they are doing for EU, they will try to adopt also for the Norwegians who are living there, so that the Brits in Norway will have the same. So we are trying to find good agreements. But, of course, we know that if you end up with not having the single market or the European agreement also as the fundamental for an agreement between Norway and Britain, Britain has to start to negotiate with all the countries of the world on how their trade, how their bilateral relations are going to be. Because for the last 30 years, everything has been done through EU on economic areas. That means that you NORWAY-2018/01/10 ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 24 have a country like (inaudible) on zero level with all of these agreements that we have used 100 years to reach the rest of us. And then you don’t know how high on that list Norway will be, even if we are close and have the same. But we are working very hard on that, but it will have an effect. Hopefully, they will reach an agreement between EU and Britain that makes it easier because that will be the cornerstone for all other agreements on market access. But this, it’s a big experiment. It’s a big experiment in the whole discussion. | A parallel exercise - he;p us to turn the most important leadership speech pf 21st C into learning modules jinping cpc19 transcript Secure a Decisive Victory in Building a Moderately Prosperous Society in All Respects and Strive for the Great Success of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era Delivered at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China October 18, 2017 Xi Jinping Comrades, On behalf of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, I will now deliver a report to the 19th National Congress. The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is a meeting of great importance taking place during the decisive stage in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and at a critical moment as socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era. The theme of the Congress is: Remain true to our original aspiration and keep our mission firmly in mind, hold high the banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, secure a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, strive for the great success of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, and work tirelessly to realize the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. Never forget why you started, and you can accomplish your mission. The original aspiration and the mission of Chinese Communists is to seek happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation. This original aspiration, this mission, is what inspires Chinese Communists to advance. In our Party, each and every one of us must always breathe the same breath as the people, share the same future, and stay truly connected to them. The aspirations of the people to live a better life must always be the focus of our efforts. We must keep on striving with endless energy toward the great goal of national rejuvenation. Both China and the world are in the midst of profound and complex changes. China is still in an important period of strategic opportunity for development; the prospects are bright but the challenges are severe. All comrades must aim high and look far, be alert to dangers even in times of calm, have the courage to pursue 1 reform and break new ground, and never become hardened to change or inactive. We will unite the Chinese people of all ethnic groups and lead them to a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and in the drive to secure the success of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era. I. The Past Five Years: Our Work and Historic Change The five years since the 18th National Congress have been a truly remarkable five years in the course of the development of the Party and the country. Outside China, we have been confronted with sluggish global economic recovery, frequent outbreaks of regional conflicts and disturbances, and intensifying global issues. At home, we have encountered profound changes as China has entered a new normal in economic development. We have upheld the underlying principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, risen to challenges, pioneered and pushed ahead, and made historic achievements in reform, opening up, and socialist modernization. To put the guiding principles from our 18th National Congress into action, the Party Central Committee has held seven plenary sessions. There, decisions and plans were made on issues of major importance, from reforming the institutions and transforming the functions of government to deepening reform in all areas, advancing law-based governance, formulating the 13th Five-Year Plan, and seeing governance over the Party is exercised fully and with rigor.
In the past five years, we have implemented the five-sphere integrated plan 1 and the four-pronged comprehensive strategy,2 fulfilled the goals of the 12th Five-Year Plan, and made smooth progress in implementing the 13th Five-Year Plan. On all fronts new advances have been made for the cause of the Party and the country. We have made major achievements in economic development. We have remained committed to the new development philosophy, adopted the right approach to development, and endeavored to transform the growth model. The result has been a constant improvement in the quality and effect of development. The economy has maintained a medium-high growth rate, making 1 The five-sphere integrated plan is to promote coordinated economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological advancement. 2 The four-pronged comprehensive strategy is to make comprehensive moves to finish building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, deepen reform, advance law-based governance, and strengthen Party self-governance. 2 China a leader among the major economies. With the gross domestic product rising from 54 trillion to 80 trillion yuan, China has maintained its position as the world’s second largest economy and contributed more than 30 percent of global economic growth. Supply-side structural reform has made further headway, bringing a steady improvement in the economic structure. Emerging industries like the digital economy are thriving; the construction of high-speed railways, highways, bridges, ports, airports, and other types of infrastructure has picked up pace. Agricultural modernization has steadily advanced, with annual grain production reaching 600 million metric tons. The level of urbanization has risen by an annual average of 1.2 percentage points, and more than 80 million people who have moved from rural to urban areas have gained permanent urban residency. Regional development has become more balanced; the Belt and Road Initiative,1 the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and the development of the Yangtze Economic Belt have all made notable progress. Through devoting great energy to implementing the innovation-driven development strategy, we have seen much accomplished toward making China a country of innovators, with major advances made in science and technology, including the successful launch of Tiangong-2 space lab, the commissioning of the deep-sea manned submersible Jiaolong and of the five-hundred-meter aperture spherical telescope (FAST) Tianyan, the launch of the dark matter probe satellite Wukong and the quantum science satellite Mozi, and the test flight of the airliner C919. Construction on islands and reefs in the South China Sea has seen steady progress. The new institutions of the open economy have been steadily improved. China now leads the world in trade, outbound investment, and foreign exchange reserves. We have made major breakthroughs in deepening reform. We have taken comprehensive steps to deepen reform swiftly but steadily, and worked with resolve to remove institutional barriers in all areas. We have taken moves across the board, achieved breakthroughs in many areas, and made further progress in reform. We have pursued reform in a more systematic, holistic, and coordinated way, increasing its coverage and depth. Thanks to the launch of over 1,500 reform measures, breakthroughs have been made in key areas, and general frameworks for reform have been established in major fields. The system of socialism with Chinese characteristics has been further improved, with notable 1 This refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative. 3 progress made in modernizing China’s system and capacity for governance. Throughout society, development is full of vitality and is driven by greater creativity. We have taken major steps in developing democracy and the rule of law. We have actively developed socialist democracy and advanced law-based governance. We have stepped up institution building across the board to make integrated advances in Party leadership, the running of the country by the people, and law-based governance; and we have continuously improved the institutions and mechanisms by which the Party exercises leadership. Steady progress has been made in enhancing socialist democracy; intraparty democracy has been expanded, and socialist consultative democracy is flourishing. The patriotic united front has been consolidated and developed, and new approaches have been adopted for work related to ethnic and religious affairs. Further progress has been made in ensuring our legislation is sound, law enforcement is strict, the administration of justice is impartial, and the law is observed by everyone. Our efforts to build a country, government, and society based on the rule of law have been mutually reinforcing; the system of distinctively Chinese socialist rule of law has been steadily improved; and public awareness of the rule of law has risen markedly. Good progress has been made in piloting the reform of the national supervision system, and effective measures have been taken to reform the system of government administration and the judicial system, and to develop systems to apply checks and oversight over the exercise of power. We have made significant advances on the theoretical and cultural fronts. We have strengthened Party leadership over ideological work and explored new ground in advancing Party related theories. The importance of Marxism as a guiding ideology is better appreciated. Socialism with Chinese characteristics and the Chinese Dream have been embraced by our people. Core socialist values and fine traditional Chinese culture are alive in the people’s hearts. Initiatives to improve public etiquette and ethical standards have proved successful. Public cultural services have been improved; art and literature are thriving, and cultural programs and industries are going strong. The development, administration, and functioning of internet services have been enhanced. Fitness-for-All programs and competitive sports have seen extensive development. Our country’s underlying values hold greater appeal than ever before, and the wave of positive energy felt throughout society is building. We, the Chinese people, have greater confidence in 4 our own culture. China’s cultural soft power and the international influence of Chinese culture have increased significantly. There is greater unity in thinking both within the Party and throughout society. We have steadily improved living standards. Our vision of making development people-centered has been acted on, a whole raft of initiatives to benefit the people has seen implementation, and the people’s sense of fulfillment has grown stronger. Decisive progress has been made in the fight against poverty: more than 60 million people have been lifted out of poverty, and the poverty headcount ratio has dropped from 10.2 percent to less than 4 percent. All-round progress has been made in the development of education, with remarkable advances made in the central and western regions and in rural areas. Employment has registered steady growth, with an average of over 13 million urban jobs created each year. Growth of urban and rural personal incomes has outpaced economic growth, and the middle-income group has been expanding. A social security system covering both urban and rural residents has taken shape; both public health and medical services have improved markedly. Solid progress has been made in building government-subsidized housing projects to ensure basic needs are met. Social governance systems have been improved; law and order has been maintained; and national security has been fully enhanced. We have made notable progress in building an ecological civilization. We have devoted serious energy to ecological conservation. As a result, the entire Party and the whole country have become more purposeful and active in pursuing green development, and there has been a clear shift away from the tendency to neglect ecological and environmental protection. Efforts to develop a system for building an ecological civilization have been accelerated; the system of functional zoning has been steadily improved; and progress has been made in piloting the national park system. Across-the-board efforts to conserve resources have seen encouraging progress; the intensity of energy and resource consumption has been significantly reduced. Smooth progress has been made in major ecological conservation and restoration projects; and forest coverage has been increased. Ecological and environmental governance has been significantly strengthened, leading to marked improvements in the environment. Taking a driving seat in international cooperation to respond to climate change, China has become an important participant, contributor, and torchbearer in the global endeavor for ecological civilization. 5 We have initiated a new stage in strengthening and revitalizing the armed forces. With a view to realizing the Chinese Dream and the dream of building a powerful military, we have developed a strategy for the military under new circumstances, and have made every effort to modernize national defense and the armed forces. We convened the Gutian military political work meeting to revive and pass on the proud traditions and fine conduct of our Party and our armed forces, and have seen a strong improvement in the political ecosystem of the people’s forces. Historic breakthroughs have been made in reforming national defense and the armed forces: a new military structure has been established with the Central Military Commission exercising overall leadership, the theater commands responsible for military operations, and the services focusing on developing capabilities. This represents a revolutionary restructuring of the organization and the services of the people’s armed forces. We have strengthened military training and war preparedness, and undertaken major missions related to the protection of maritime rights, countering terrorism, maintaining stability, disaster rescue and relief, international peacekeeping, escort services in the Gulf of Aden, and humanitarian assistance. We have stepped up weapons and equipment development, and made major progress in enhancing military preparedness. The people’s armed forces have taken solid strides on the path of building a powerful military with Chinese characteristics. We have made fresh progress in work related to Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. We have fully and faithfully implemented the principle of “one country, two systems,” and ensured that the central government exercises its overall jurisdiction over Hong Kong and Macao as mandated by China’s Constitution and the basic laws of the two special administrative regions. We have thus boosted exchanges and cooperation between the mainland and the two regions and maintained prosperity and stability in Hong Kong and Macao. We have upheld the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, promoted the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations, strengthened cross-Straits economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation, and held a historic meeting between the leaders of the two sides. We have responded as appropriate to the political developments in Taiwan, resolutely opposed and deterred separatist elements advocating “Taiwan independence,” and vigorously safeguarded peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits. We have made further progress in China’s diplomacy on all fronts. 6 We have made all-round efforts in the pursuit of major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics, thus advancing China’s diplomatic agenda in a comprehensive, multilevel, multifaceted way and creating a favorable external environment for China’s development. We have jointly pursued the Belt and Road Initiative, initiated the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, set up the Silk Road Fund, and hosted the First Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, the 22nd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, the G20 2016 Summit in Hangzhou, the BRICS Summit in Xiamen, and the Fourth Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia. China champions the development of a community with a shared future for mankind, and has encouraged the evolution of the global governance system. With this we have seen a further rise in China’s international influence, ability to inspire, and power to shape; and China has made great new contributions to global peace and development. We have achieved remarkable outcomes in ensuring full and strict governance over the Party. We have made sweeping efforts to strengthen Party leadership and Party building, and taken strong action to transform lax and weak governance over the Party. We encourage all Party members to hold the Party Constitution in great esteem. We urge them to strengthen their consciousness of the need to maintain political integrity, think in big-picture terms, follow the leadership core, and keep in alignment, and to uphold the authority of the Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership. We have tightened political discipline and rules to ensure that political responsibility for governance over the Party is fulfilled at each level of the Party organization. We have committed to “examining ourselves in the mirror, tidying our attire, taking a bath, and treating our ailments,” launched activities to see members command and act on the Party’s mass line, and initiated a campaign for the observance of the Three Stricts and Three Earnests.1 We have regularized and institutionalized the requirement for all Party members to have a solid understanding of the Party Constitution, Party regulations, and related major policy addresses and to meet Party standards. As a result, the ideals and convictions of all Party members have been strengthened and their sense of Party consciousness has deepened. We have adopted standards fitting for a new era to assess the caliber of officials, and achieved a notable improvement in the way 1 The Three Stricts and Three Earnests are: to be strict with oneself in practicing self-cultivation, using power, and exercising self-discipline; and to be earnest in one’s thinking, work, and behavior. 7 officials are selected and appointed. Further advances have been made in the reform of the institutional framework for Party building, and continuous improvements have been made to the system of Party regulations. We have given top priority to ensuring compliance with Party discipline, and tackled the prominent problems that prompt the strongest public reaction and that threaten to erode the very foundation of the Party’s governance. We adopted the eight-point decision on improving Party and government conduct, have taken tough action against the practice of formalities for formalities’ sake, bureaucratism, hedonism, and extravagance, and have staunchly opposed privilege seeking. Disciplinary inspections have cut like a blade through corruption and misconduct; they have covered every Party committee in all departments at the central and provincial levels. No place has been out of bounds, no ground left unturned, and no tolerance shown in the fight against corruption. We have taken firm action to “take out tigers,” “swat flies,” and “hunt down foxes.” The goal of creating a deterrent against corruption has been initially attained; the cage of institutions that prevents corruption has been strengthened; and moral defenses against corruption are in the making. The anti-corruption campaign has built into a crushing tide, and is being consolidated and developed. The achievements of the past five years have touched every area and broken new ground; the changes in China over the past five years have been profound and fundamental. For five years, our Party 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. We have solved many tough problems that were long on the agenda but never resolved, and accomplished many things that were wanted but never got done. With this, we have prompted historic shifts in the cause of the Party and the country. These historic changes will have a powerful and far-reaching effect on the development of this cause. Over the past five years, we have acted with courage to confront major risks and tests facing the Party and to address prominent problems within the Party itself. With firm resolve, we have tightened discipline and improved Party conduct, fought corruption and punished wrongdoing, and removed serious potential dangers in the Party and the country. As a result, both the intraparty political atmosphere and the political ecosystem of the Party have improved markedly. The Party’s ability to innovate, power to unite, and energy to fight have all been 8 significantly strengthened; Party solidarity and unity have been reinforced, and our engagement with the people has been greatly improved. Revolutionary tempering has made our Party stronger and it now radiates with great vitality. With this, efforts to develop the cause of the Party and the country have gained a strong political underpinning. But we must be very clear: There are still many inadequacies in our work and many difficulties and challenges to face. The main ones are as follows. Some acute problems caused by unbalanced and inadequate development await solutions; and the quality and effect of development are not what they should be. China’s ability to innovate needs to be stronger, the real economy awaits improvement, and we have a long way to go in protecting the environment. In work on public wellbeing there are still many areas where we fall short; and poverty alleviation remains a formidable task. There are still large disparities in development between rural and urban areas, between regions, and in income distribution; and our people face many difficulties in employment, education, healthcare, housing, and elderly care. The level of civic-mindedness needs further improvement. Social tensions and problems are intertwined, much remains to be done in seeing the country’s governance is based in law, and China’s system and capacity for governance need to be further strengthened. Ideological struggle is still complicated, and in national security we face new developments. Some reform plans and major policies and measures need to be better implemented. Many dimensions of Party building remain weak. These are all problems that demand our full attention to resolve. The achievements of the past five years are the result of the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee, and, more importantly, the result of all Party members and all the Chinese people pulling together in their pursuit. On behalf of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, I express our heartfelt thanks to the people of all ethnic groups, to all other political parties, to people’s organizations, and patriotic figures from all sectors of society, to our fellow countrymen and women in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and in Taiwan, to overseas Chinese, and to all our friends from around the world who have shown understanding and support for China’s modernization. Comrades, In the early days of reform and opening up, the Party made a clarion call for us to take a path of our own and build socialism with Chinese characteristics. Since 9 that time, the Party has united and led all the Chinese people in a tireless struggle, propelling China into a leading position in terms of economic and technological strength, defense capabilities, and composite national strength. China’s international standing has risen as never before. Our Party, our country, our people, our forces, and our nation have changed in ways without precedent. The Chinese nation, with an entirely new posture, now stands tall and firm in the East. With decades of hard work, socialism with Chinese characteristics has crossed the threshold into a new era. This is a new historic juncture in China’s development. This is what socialism with Chinese characteristics entering a new era means: The Chinese nation, which since modern times began had endured so much for so long, has achieved a tremendous transformation: it has stood up, grown rich, and is becoming strong; it has come to embrace the brilliant prospects of rejuvenation. It means that scientific socialism is full of vitality in 21st century China, and that the banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics is now flying high and proud for all to see. It means that the path, the theory, the system, and the culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics have kept developing, blazing a new trail for other developing countries to achieve modernization. It offers a new option for other countries and nations who want to speed up their development while preserving their independence; and it offers Chinese wisdom and a Chinese approach to solving the problems facing mankind. This new era will be an era of building on past successes to further advance our cause, and of continuing in a new historical context to strive for the success of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It will be an era of securing a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and of moving on to all-out efforts to build a great modern socialist country. It will be an era for the Chinese people of all ethnic groups to work together and work hard to create a better life for themselves and ultimately achieve common prosperity for everyone. It will be an era for all of us, the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation, to strive with one heart to realize the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. It will be an era that sees China moving closer to center stage and making greater contributions to mankind. As socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, the principal contradiction facing Chinese society has evolved. What we now face is the contradiction between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people’s 10 ever-growing needs for a better life. China has seen the basic needs of over a billion people met, has basically made it possible for people to live decent lives, and will soon bring the building of a moderately prosperous society to a successful completion. The needs to be met for the people to live better lives are increasingly broad. Not only have their material and cultural needs grown; their demands for democracy, rule of law, fairness and justice, security, and a better environment are increasing. At the same time, China’s overall productive forces have significantly improved and in many areas our production capacity leads the world. The more prominent problem is that our development is unbalanced and inadequate. This has become the main constraining factor in meeting the people’s increasing needs for a better life. We must recognize that the evolution of the principal contradiction facing Chinese society represents a historic shift that affects the whole landscape and that creates many new demands for the work of the Party and the country. |