GOOD MORNING FROM LONDON
100 years in existence. 72 years in power.
From the Caves of Yanan to Tiananmin Square.
“Don’t talk down to us”.
No Chinese hegemony.
Taiwan belongs to China.
Do not underestimate our determination to reunify.
Warns of “cracked heads + bleeding” if US attacks China.
“A great wall of steel”.
Xi wore a grey Mao suit. Party cadres wore business suits. A message there.
In 1921 the mission was to revive China.
Two big achievements – Won the Civil War; Expelled Japanese Invader.
Third achievement – Built a stable and prosperous new China.
Confidence, determination, China has opened up to the world.
Relations with the US at a new low.
China’s political system is here to stay.
China is not oblivious to the negatives. China knows things went wrong in the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution and the 1989 Tiananmin Deaths. China does not pretend they did not happen but going forward China knows it is essential to learn the lessons and to focus on the two key goals of Prosperity + Stability.
China is confident that it can handle widening wage differentials; 200m untrained labourers in an increasingly technological economy and the people’s rising expectations.
China is confident but not gloating. No relaxation; no indulgences; no arrogance; no hegemony. But China is no longer a soft touch. It has arrived. It intends to stay.
