Chapter O34 General Secretary

"CCTV, this is CCTV, just behind this door, the first plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party of China is being held in an orderly manner, this meeting will elect members of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, chairman of the Central Military Commission, etc. Later, the newly elected general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China will lead the new Politburo Standing Committee to meet with you......"

Ten minutes later, the door opened.

Xiao Chen, the new general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, wearing a navy blue suit and a crimson tie, led eight newly elected members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee to appear in front of reporters.

Cheers, spotlights, crowds.

Hu Pengju, the host of the press conference and deputy director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, signaled everyone to be quiet, and then after a few words of routine, he turned slightly sideways, his face full of net-wind: "Let us warmly welcome Comrade Xiao Chen, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, to speak to you!" ”

Hundreds of cameras were aimed at Xiao Chen, who was smiling and calm and confident, he walked to the microphone and said with a smile: "Ladies and gentlemen, comrades, friends, hello everyone." The 20th National Congress of the People's Republic of China has concluded. Holding high the banner, carrying forward the past and forging ahead into the future, seeking truth and being pragmatic, this conference was very successful, and it was a congress of unity, victory, and progress. It is of great significance for the whole party and the people of all ethnic groups in the country to unify their thinking, clarify their direction, boost their morale, and work together to win new victories in building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way and to create a new situation in the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. ”

He paused slightly, and then said: "Just now, we held the first plenary meeting of the 20th Central Committee of Huaxia ** and elected a new central leading body. The new Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee is composed of nine comrades, and the plenary session elected me as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, and the other eight comrades elected to the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee are: Comrade Li Yuanzhuo, Comrade Lu Yunlai, Comrade Xu Anqiu, Comrade You Jing, Comrade Li Zhengfeng, Comrade Zheng Zhipeng, Comrade Li Yunxin, and Comrade Gu Le. Among them, Comrades Li Yuanzhuo, Xu Anqiu, Lu Yunlai, and You Jing are members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 19 th CPC Central Committee, and everyone is familiar with them. Comrades Zheng Zhipeng, Li Yunxin, and Gu Le are three relatively young comrades, they are 52, 52, and 53 years old, respectively, and they are members of the Political Bureau of the 19th CPC Central Committee. Comrade Li Zhengfeng is also a member of the Political Bureau of the 19th CPC Central Committee, and everyone knows each other well. ”

After introducing the team, Xiao Chen continued: "Here, on behalf of the members of the new central leading body, I would like to sincerely thank the comrades of the whole party for their trust. We are well aware of the heavy burden and responsibility on our shoulders. We will closely rely on the comrades of the whole party and the people of all ethnic groups across the country, conscientiously implement the tasks set forth by the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and never fail to live up to the great trust of the comrades of the whole party and the expectations of the people of all ethnic groups across the country......"

On January 25, 222, Xiao Chen was elected General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Chairman of the Central Military Commission.

On March 15, 2023, Xiao Chen was elected President of the People's Republic of China and Chairman of the State Military Commission. On the 16th, Xiao Chen resigned from the post of president of the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China, and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China appointed You Jing as the president of the Central Party School. Obviously, in terms of You Jing's age, he served as a "transitional" vice president of the state and the president of the party school, just like Vice Chairman Jia Lehong when the Oriental faction was in power.

With the ascent of Xiao Chen, an "iron-fisted reformer", the eyes of the world are focused on China, which can already compete with the United States in the economic field. The whole world is paying attention to what direction Xiao Chen will lead the country towards, and where will China go after the "peaceful rise".

Historically, whenever an emerging power rises, it will start a hegemony struggle with the existing hegemonic powers, and eventually lead to the change of hegemony through a global war. Therefore, in view of China's rapid rise, Western public opinion circles have vigorously advocated the "China threat theory," and neighboring countries are also deeply worried about the so-called "overconfident China." What is particularly noteworthy is that this argument has been echoed by some people in China, who believe that there is a certain degree of "great power-centrism" in domestic public opinion, which has led to "contempt" for small and medium-sized neighbors. In this regard, Xiao Chen, the newly elected president of the country, made a speech after taking office, clearly affirming: The logic of history cannot determine the logic of reality. The rise of China is a peaceful rise and will not pose a threat to other countries, especially its neighbors.

Xiao Chen said that Huaxia has a correct judgment on the quality of the times. At the end of the 70s of the 20th century, the Chinese leaders judged the hour and sized up the situation and made a correct judgment on the international situation, holding that "the growth of the forces for world peace has outpaced the growth of the forces of war" and that "it is possible that there will be no large-scale world war for a long time." Accordingly, we resolutely made the strategic decision of reform, opening up, and economic construction as the central task. Huaxia insisted that "peace, exhibition, and cooperation are still the chaos of the times", and a peaceful China cannot become a threat to a new war.

Xiao Chen said: China will not confront the United States. He said: "The strategic game and cooperation between China and the United States, between emerging countries and existing powers, may be a main line of changes in international relations for a long time to come. However, Sino-US relations are neither a modern version of Japan-US relations during the Pacific War, nor a 21st-century version of the US-Soviet Cold War. China's social system is different from that of the West, and there is no idea of the so-called 'exporting the Chinese model'. Professor Joseph of Harvard University in the United States? Kerry's recent article argues that 'the rise of China does not mean war', but in fact, it should be added: The rise of China does not mean either a hot war or a cold war. The relationship between China and the United States today is fundamentally different from the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union in the past. The Soviet Union and Eastern European countries belong to the 'countries outside the system' that are opposed to the West, and China's efforts to promote the establishment of a just and rational new international political and economic order will inevitably form a certain competitive relationship with the United States, but China conforms to the chaotic flow of globalization and integrates with the outside world, and is basically a 'country within the system'. This determines that China will not form an antagonistic relationship with the existing international system, will not compete for hegemony and confrontation with the United States, and will not pose a threat to any country between China and the United States. ”

Xiao Chen also said that China does not engage in military expansion or an arms race. Whether or not China is engaged in an arms race is to compare the proportion of defense expenditures in fiscal expenditures and GDP of China, the Soviet Union, and the United States. In 2o22, China's defense budget accounted for 6.5% of the national fiscal expenditure budget for that year, while in the mid-80s of the 20th century, the Soviet Union's military expenditure accounted for 45%-5o% of the total national budget expenditure, and the United States accounted for 25%-27% in the same period. At present, Huaxia has a profound understanding of the lessons of the Soviet Union and will never be fooled by certain countries in instigating an arms race. However, as the saying goes, if you are warlike, you will perish, and if you forget to fight, you will be in danger, and in order to defend its national security interests, China is also actively promoting the modernization of its military forces.

Xiao Chen said that in order to achieve the great goal of China's modernization, China must change the current unbalanced and uncoordinated situation of economic development; further increase financial investment in environmental protection, social insurance, medical care, and universal education; Particular attention must be paid to food security and water resources; Pay attention to the diversified trend of national security issues (such as food safety, financial security, etc.), establish a scientific security concept corresponding to science exhibitions, scientifically and comprehensively arrange the priority of responding to various security issues, and reasonably allocate funds, material resources and human resources to deal with various security issues. In short, Huaxia needs to 'do its own thing' first.

He also said that there will be certain changes in the strategic layout of China's economic construction. Before the reform and opening up, the Chinese leaders believed that war and revolution were the main themes of the times, so they regarded 'world revolution,' 'preparing for war,' and changing the layout of China's construction in accordance with the principle of 'mountain, scatter, and dong,' and vigorously promoted the 'three-front construction'. Since the reform and opening up, China's promotion of the coastal areas that are 'in the strategic front' to speed up the opening up to the outside world is obviously inseparable from the judgment of the international situation that peaceful development has become the current of the times. Today, the three major economic belts of 'Pearl River Delta', 'Yangtze River Delta' and 'Beijing-Tianjin-Bohai Rim' have become the main forces to promote China's economic development. As China continues to move forward on the road of peaceful development, there is no reason to threaten other countries at the risk of losing the tremendous achievements of reform and opening up for more than 40 years.

Xiao Chen stressed: The comparison of China's military strength with that of the countries concerned can very well illustrate China's established strategy. According to figures released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in Sweden, the United States spent as much as $96.1 billion in 2021, accounting for 43% of the total global military spending that year, and China's military spending in the same year was less than 1/4 of that of the United States. However, these figures do not truly reflect the military disparity between China and the United States. The core of military strength is high technology, and there is still a big gap between the level of military science and technology in China and that of the United States, and I am afraid that it will be difficult for it to catch up in another generation or two. China pursues a non-aligned foreign policy, which means that if China confronts the United States militarily, it will not only face the United States, but will most likely face several of its hardcore allies at the same time, thus further widening the gap in military strength between China and the United States. The so-called strategy is a dialogue between intention and strength, and a big country that is rational and highly responsible to the people will never challenge the relatively strong with relative weakness; The balance of military power between China and the United States determined that the Chinese military had no intention of challenging the regional and global military superiority of the United States.

Xiao Chen reiterated that the exhibition in China does not pose a threat to neighboring countries. Huaxia has always adhered to the policy of 'taking neighbors as goodness and neighbors as partners', which is not only to promote peace and prosperity in the region, but also to enable Huaxia to have a stable surrounding environment. At the same time, Huaxia has steadily handled disputes over territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation with its neighbors. Some people with ulterior motives in neighboring countries advocate the 'theory of China's pride,' 'the theory of China's toughness,' and the 'theory of China's threat,' and go all out to sow discord between China and its neighboring countries, and even spread the word that 'China wants to restore its status as the 'Chinese Empire' in history and restore China's territory in history." This is pure nonsense.

Xiao Chen explained that Huaxia will pursue a new security concept and attach great importance to non-traditional security issues. The Chinese leader has repeatedly advocated a 'new security concept', stressing that 'security is not isolated, zero-sum, and absolute, and that without world and regional peace and stability, there can be no country's security and stability', and he said: "We should adhere to the new security concept of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, and cooperation, and not only safeguard our own security, but also respect the security concerns of other countries, and promote the common security of mankind." This means that China should not only pursue its own security interests, but also be a responsible major country.

Xiao Chen pointed out that in the context of globalization and climate change, the relevance of the fate of countries around the world has increased rapidly. For China, the construction of ecological civilization is related to the vital interests of the people and the survival of the Chinese nation. In recent years, the catastrophic earthquake in China has shocked the world, with low temperatures, rain, snow, and freezing history, drought raging in many provinces and regions, and sudden flash floods and mudslides, all of which have made the general public worry about climate change and environmental pollution. According to an authoritative survey, 'the topic that Chinese people are most concerned about is global warming (accounting for 67% of respondents), and the proportion of Chinese respondents who believe that environmental pollution, aging, and population overexpansion are the biggest threats facing the world is the highest among all countries', and 'only 17% of respondents believe that national security is an issue'. One of the most important reasons why 'China is not a threat' is that China is well aware of the real threats facing China and the world.

Xiao Chen repeatedly stressed that the sustained high growth of China's economy is not a threat. Now, some people in the international community even regard the sustained and rapid growth of China's economy as a threat, which is even more absurd. China's GDP surpassed that of Japan in 2o1o and is expected to surpass that of the United States next year, but this does not fully reflect the overall level of a country's economic and social development - China's per capita GDP only ranks 95th in the world; The China Human Exhibition Index (HDI) ranked 68th; At present, China is still facing the problem of population and aging, and has begun to pass the 'demographic dividend period' that is beneficial to economic growth.

Xiao Chen said that in the era of globalization, China's economy has formed an interdependent relationship with the economies of many countries, and part of China's GDP is actually foreign GNP. At present, many countries not only do not regard China's economic growth as a threat, but also regard it as an 'opportunity', such as Japan's former prime minister xxxx (note: I don't bother to take the name of Japan) said that 'China's exhibition is an opportunity'.

However, in the end, Xiao Chen still pointed out very confidently: "Huaxia has always adhered to Comrade Mao Zedong's words, if people don't offend me, I won't offend people, if people offend me, I will offend people." If Huaxia, which is 'not a threat', receives a military threat from abroad, Huaxia will fight back as a matter of course. Therefore, Huaxia is not a threat, but Huaxia is not afraid of threats either. ”