China Policy Institute Briefing Series – Issue 17 CHINA’S POLITICS IN 2006: HARMONY ON THE ROAD TO THE 17TH PARTY CONGRESS by Hongyi LAI, Zhengxu WANG and Sow Keat TOK © Copyright China Policy Institute January 2007 China House University of Nottingham University Park Nottingham NG7 2RD United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)115 846 7769 Fax: +44 (0)115 846 7900 Email: [email protected] Website: www.chinapolicyinstitute.com The China Policy Institute was set up to analyse critical policy challenges faced by China in its rapid development. Its goals are to help expand the knowledge and understanding of contemporary China in Britain, Europe and worldwide, to help build a more informed dialogue between China and the UK and Europe, and to contribute to government and business strategies. 1 Summary 2006 was a vital year in China’s politics. It marks the final checkpoint before the all­important 17th Party Congress in autumn 2007, which will be President Hu Jintao’s “mid­term” congress in his two­term reign. In 2006, and indeed in the first half of 2007, Hu has been busily setting things in place to ensure that his legacy is preserved in Chinese history books. President Hu appears to be following three main objectives. Firstly, he is attempting to create a new ideological framework for the Party. This has been labeled “Harmonious Society” (hexie shehui). At the annual Plenum of the Central Committee held in October 2006, Hu’s call for China’s leaders to build a “harmonious society” was formally accepted as the Party’s supreme goal. Termed “theoretical preparation”, this process involves the formulation of an ideological platform by identifying the major challenges the nation is facing. It aims to offer suitable directions and strategies that will guide the Party in the years to come. Prior to this, actions had already been taken to send a strong message across the board: that Hu Jintao is in firm control and that he intends to turn the “harmonious society” concept from ideology into action. Not surprisingly, the “harmonious society” goal was discernible in all political events of the year. The concept of “building a harmonious society”, apart from being the trademark mantra of Hu’s presidency so far, is also a response to many socio­economic problems the nation faces. Since many of these problems cannot be resolved overnight, the concept of a “harmonious society” has been constructed as an interim measure to gradually fend off social problems and reduce social discontent. Secondly, Hu is trying to implement policies that reflect this ideological outlook. Throughout the year, Hu has been heavily promoting social, welfare and anti­ corruption programs. Under the banner of building “social harmony”, the government took direct measures to address problems such as local governments’ misappropriation of peasants’ land. Hu also tried to improve on the structure of governance through selective recentralisation of state functions, and by clamping down on corruption. This is done in the hope of harmonising state­ society relations. Thirdly, he is reshuffling local leadership from the bottom up, and is preparing a list of candidates who are slated to succeed him. This should ensure the faithful following of his policy directions even after he steps down at the 18th Party Congress in 2012. In particular, during the second half of 2006, provincial, prefecture/city, county, and township leaderships in 14 provinces were progressively reshuffled. The remaining 17 provincial units will go through the same process in 2007. Some of these new officials will be in place to serve for the next five to ten years, and will become delegates of the 17th Congress and members of the new Central Committee. In the past year, Hu has also tried to apply his “harmonious society” ideology to foreign affairs. China was diplomatically very active in 2006, having successfully hosted several international gatherings, such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit and the Sino­Africa Forum. Hu was also busy shuttling between major capitals, including Washington, New Delhi, and Islamabad, and seen forging partnerships with regional and global players. Strained Sino­Japan relations showed signs of improvement, as China chose to receive a visit by Japan’s new Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe. 2 However, these achievements were offset by disappointments in other areas. North Korea’s nuclear test in October tops the list, while China continues to struggle in its economic relations with the United States and the European Union. Mutual distrust continues to beset the relationship between Beijing and Tokyo, and Third World nations remain guarded against China’s recent charm offensive despite Beijing’s generous trade, loan and aid offers. Even though China’s influence is growing by the day, Hu’s vision for a “harmonious world” appears to have less appeal to its international audience than his domestic one. 3 CHINA’S POLITICS IN 2006: HARMONY ON THE ROAD TO THE 17TH PARTY CONGRESS Hongyi LAI, Zhengxu WANG and Sow Keat TOK * “Harmony” as the Defining Feature of Hu Jintao’s Legacy 1.1 2006 was a vital year in China’s politics. It marks the final checkpoint before the all­important 17th Party Congress in autumn 2007, which will be President Hu Jintao’s “mid­term” congress in his two­term reign. In 2006, and indeed in the first half of 2007, Hu has been busily setting things in place to ensure that his legacy is preserved in Chinese history books. 1.2 President Hu appears to be following three main objectives. Firstly, he is attempting to create a new ideological framework for China. This is represented by the now familiar mantra, “harmonious society” (hexie shehui). Secondly, he is trying to translate his words into actions by implementing policies that reflect this ideological outlook, a stance seen in Hu’s focus on social, welfare and anti­corruption programs. Thirdly, he is reshuffling local leaderships from the bottom up, and is preparing a list of candidates who are slated to succeed him, to ensure the faithful following of his policy directions after he steps down in the 18th Party Congress in 2012. 1.3 In 2006, at the annual Plenum of the Central Committee held in October, Hu’s call for building a “harmonious society” was formally accepted as the Party’s supreme goal. 1 Prior to that, actions had already been taken to send a strong message across the board: that Hu Jintao is in firm control and that he intends to turn the “harmonious society” concept from an ideology into a reality. 1.4 Throughout the year, Hu tried to rein in rising social discontent. Under the banner of building “social harmony”, the government took direct measures to address problems such as local governments’ misappropriation of peasants’ land. Hu also tried to improve the structure of governance through selective recentralisation of state functions, and by clamping down hard on corruption. This has all been done in the hope of harmonising state­society relations. 1.5 In addition, during the second half of 2006, provincial, prefecture/city, county, and township leaderships in 14 provinces were progressively reshuffled. The remaining 17 provincial units will go through the same * Dr Hongyi LAI and Dr Zhengxu WANG are research fellows at the East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore. Mr Sow Keat TOK is research associate at the China Policy Institute, University of Nottingham. An earlier version of this policy brief was published by the East Asian Institute as “China’s Politics in 2006: Harmony, More Harmony, and the Road to the 17th Party Congress”, EAI Background Brief No. 316, 22 December 2006. The authors would like to thank Professor John Wong for his valuable contributions throughout the preparation of this work. Thanks also go to Professor Zheng Yongnian of the University of Nottingham for his helpful comments on the earlier drafts of this paper. 1 For a detailed discussion of the Plenum and the new ideological formulation, see Zheng Yongnian, Wang Zhengxu, and Tok Sow Keat, “Hu Jintao at the Helm,” EAI Background Brief, No. 309, Singapore: EAI, NUS, 9 November 2006. 4 process in 2007. Some of these new officials will be in place to serve for the next five to ten years, and will become delegates of the 17 th Congress and members of the new Central Committee. 1.6 In the past year, Hu has also tried to apply the “harmonious society” ideology to China’s foreign affairs. China was diplomatically very active in 2006, having successfully hosted several international gatherings such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit and the Sino­Africa Forum. Hu was also busy shuttling between major capitals, including Washington, New Delhi, and Islamabad, and seen forging partnerships with regional and global players. Strained Sino­Japan relations showed signs of improvement, as China chose to receive a visit by Japan’s new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.2 1.7 However, these achievements were offset by disappointments in other areas. North Korea’s nuclear test in October tops the list, while China continues to struggle in its economic relations with the United States and the European Union. Mutual distrust continues to beset the relationship between Beijing and Tokyo, and Third World nations remain guarded against China’s recent charm offensive, despite Beijing’s generous trade, loan and aid offers. 1.8 Even though China’s influence is growing by the day, Hu’s vision for a “harmonious world” is still quite some way from winning over its audiences. The country has so far progressed little towards its goal of being one of the Great Powers on the world stage. Promoting the Ideological Framework of Harmonious Society 2.1 The single most important event in China’s politics in 2006 was the creation of the new ideological framework, “harmonious society”.