Some more thoughts about the conversation between Xi and Israeli president Isaac Herzog:
- first-ever phone call between the presidents of China and Israel. Unlike other countries, the Israeli president is NOT the most important political figure in the country, but the PM.
- The two sides discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relations under the comprehensive innovation partnership, which is unique to Israel-China in China's diplomatic classification of partnership, as the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties approaches in January.
- FTA has been in the works since 2016, so there's a chance it will be announced in Jan.
- Xi'd sent Herzog a letter for his birthday this September. Meanwhile, while State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi has visited the ME twice this year, he's gracefully avoided Israel
- China and Israel as "civilization nations" (always refer to @mayer_iras@AmitavAcharya great articles on the topic)
- the attached screengrab is the most significant portion of their call re Iran and the Abraham Accords
- It's official: the 5th China-Israel Joint Committee for Innovation Cooperation will take place in January 2022. This is one of the most important G2G platforms for both countries in general. Expect top brass to take part.
- also, see my previous thread
"The Shared Values for All Mankind is a powerful critique of the Western theory of Universal Values"- Feng Jun, ex-member of the Institute of Party History and Literature of the Central Committee, provides yet more proof that China's attempting to undermine universal values. 1/n
Feng sees "universal values" as a Western-centric construct concocted by the capitalist Christian bourgeoisie, which he describes as "hypocritical and exclusive, and a form of institutional and cultural hegemony and arrogance."
Feng accuses the United States and a few other Western countries of imposing their so-called "universal values" on other countries, even when these values are incompatible with local civilizations, and of waging wars and "color revolutions" to do so.
"The media should not become a vassal of the entertainment market" - former Minister of Culture, Wang Meng, discusses the role of culture and media in society and underlines that "literature and art cannot be simply for entertainment". Excerpts: 1/8
"There is a troubling trend in which good works are drowning in mediocre, pale, hollow, shallow, and hyped-up, consumerized, and merely works for entertainment.
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"Of course, literature and art serve as sources of entertainment and consumption, but they are also expressions of a nation's spiritual quality, spiritual treasures, and spiritual energy, which embodies, enriches and enhances the audience's soul.
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"The US, like a deranged octopus, has exercised its so-called "long-arm jurisdiction" at every turn over the years, frenetically seeking to make gains by any means possible, leaving the world engulfed in the flames of war and abject misery" - China Military Network. 1/
Last month, the USS Connecticut attack submarine was reported to have collided with an object while submerged in the South China Sea. Chinese officials and spokespeople have been playing up the incident as an example of shady American involvement in the region.
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This week, China Military Network, the PLA's official news portal, has been publishing a series of cartoons and an accompanying screed every two days with different variations on the collision.
Excerpt from the 4th installment:
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"Western civilization emerged as a new civilization founded by barbarians, and it is also the destroyer of ancient civilizations" - Fudan University professor Wen Yang, a leading thinker on China as a "civilization-state" and Huntington's "clash of civilization". 1/n
Aside from a series of essays and a 40-episode podcast on the topic, Wen has now published a new book titled "The Logic of Civilizations - the Game between Chinese and Western Civilizations and their Future".
On the occasion of its release, nationalist platform Guancha funded by billionaire Eric Li interviewed Wen to discuss his egregiously Han supremacist and racist worldview (Yes, Wen has also made overtly antisemitic comments in the past on the record, in case you were wondering👇)
"Wherever there is oppression, there is resistance" - Global Times editor-in-chief Hu Xijin is chastised by an ultra-leftist Chinese forum for being an opportunist hypocrite who "changes his opinions like a weather vane," with strong hints of government criticism.
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Blogpost shared on neo-Maoist blog "Red Guard" discusses China's rampant homicide rate, including a massacre that occurred last week in Wuhan, when a man stabbed to death five members of a village party committee and two bystanders before jumping to his death into the Yangtze.
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Commenting on the incident on his social media account, "Old Hu" prescribed two medicines: "strict punishment by the law" and "moral condemnation."
Red Guard bemoans, "What will that achieve?" The most the law can do is execute someone; 3/
Chinese CEO of the new Haifa Gulf Port, Miao Qiang, tries to reassure the Israeli (and American) reader: "We are a public company, the government does not interfere in our work - we're just doing business."
"We hired about 60 locals, as well as 20 Chinese workers who are guiding the Israelis. We are currently pleased with the local workers, who are meeting our targets.
"We want to compete with firms like TIL and DP World. After SIPG exited the country, we embarked on a three-pronged strategy to become the largest in China, the largest in East Asia, and a leading global company. Israel was our first stop, but it was far from our last."