Daily Conversations Daily Conversations

NEWS IN CHINA

• Xi Calls for Normalizing East-West Cooperation: President Xi Jinping has called for renewed efforts to strengthen East-West cooperation and promote more balanced regional development, stressing that coordinated growth is essential to advancing common prosperity across the country. In his recent instructions, Xi stated that China should improve mechanisms that support regional coordination, prevent a return to poverty, and advance rural revitalization. He noted that the east-west cooperation framework, which has been in place for three decades, has played a significant role in reducing poverty and narrowing development gaps between regions. Looking ahead to 2026, the first year of the country’s 15th Five-Year Plan period, Xi called for building on the experience gained from cooperation between Fujian and Ningxia. He urged eastern and western regions to deepen collaboration through industrial partnerships, talent exchanges, technological cooperation, and the sharing of governance experience. Xi also emphasized the responsibility of local authorities to consolidate poverty alleviation achievements, guard against large-scale poverty relapse, and steadily advance rural revitalization. His remarks were conveyed at a national conference on East-West cooperation held in Ningxia, where Vice Premier Liu Guozhong called for the full implementation of the policy priorities.
  
  
• SAMR Drafts Rules to Curb Unfair Food Delivery Platform Subsidies: The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) released a draft set of rules aimed at regulating subsidy practices in the food delivery sector. The proposed “Ten Rules for the Code of Conduct for Subsidies by Food Delivery Platforms” were drafted following an assessment by the Office of the Anti-Monopoly and Anti-Unfair Competition Commission of the State Council. The review found that some food delivery platforms have used their financial strength to aggressively compete for market share, while pressuring merchants to participate in subsidy campaigns and absorb part of the associated costs. According to the authorities, such practices have contributed to irrational competition and market distortions. The draft rules set out four key areas of regulation. They prohibit prolonged, large-scale subsidies that could undermine fair competition, ban platforms from forcing merchants to join promotional campaigns or bear subsidy expenses, and restrict the misuse of capital advantages for monopolistic or unfair competitive practices. The proposal also requires greater transparency, including public disclosure of subsidy-related information, and outlines potential legal consequences for platforms that violate competition and market regulations.
  
  
• China Issues White Paper on Reforming Global Governance: The State Council Information Office has released a white paper outlining the country’s vision, proposals, and actions for building a more just and equitable global governance system. The document aims to explain China’s approach to global governance, strengthen international consensus, and encourage greater cooperation in addressing shared global challenges. The white paper states that global governance is a collective responsibility that affects the future of all countries. It highlights China’s role as an active participant and contributor to international governance and reiterates its support for multilateralism and international cooperation. The document also emphasizes the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping. A key focus of the paper is the Global Governance Initiative (GGI), which provides a framework for improving international governance and addressing global challenges. The document notes that the initiative has gained support from numerous countries and international organizations. The white paper further stresses the importance of safeguarding the central role of the United Nations, upholding international law, and encouraging major powers to take greater responsibility in addressing global peace and development challenges. 
  
  
• State Council Releases Employment-First Plan for 15th Five-Year Plan Period: The State Council has released the “15th Five-Year Plan for Implementing the Employment-First Strategy”, setting out measures to promote stable, high-quality, and inclusive job growth. It focuses on addressing structural mismatches between labor supply and market demand while supporting long-term economic development. The plan aims to maintain overall employment stability, create more job opportunities, improve workforce-job matching, and foster a fairer employment environment. It emphasizes integrating employment goals into broader economic policymaking and ensuring that job creation remains a central consideration in development planning. Key priorities include strengthening employment support in both traditional and emerging industries, expanding opportunities in the service sector, and adapting to technological changes. Authorities also plan to improve education-to-employment pathways, expand vocational training programs, and enhance workforce skills to better meet industry needs. The plan highlights support for university graduates, migrant workers, veterans, and other key groups facing employment challenges. It also calls for stronger protections for workers’ rights, improvements to public employment services, and better support for flexible and platform-based employment. In addition, the plan stresses the importance of employment monitoring and risk management to prevent large-scale job losses and maintain social and economic stability.
  
  
• PBOC Unveils Measures to Support RMB Internationalization and Market Stability: People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has unveiled a series of new policy initiatives aimed at strengthening financial market resilience, improving liquidity management, and expanding the global use of the renminbi (RMB). Speaking at the 2026 Lujiazui Forum on June 17, PBOC’s Governor Pan Gongsheng outlined several upcoming measures. These include adjustments to the central bank’s short-term interest rate framework to improve the precision of monetary policy operations and better address liquidity needs in the banking sector. To support the international use of the RMB, the PBOC will introduce repurchase facilities for overseas central banks, monetary authorities, sovereign wealth funds, and international financial institutions. The move will allow these institutions to access RMB liquidity using high-grade Chinese bonds as collateral. The central bank also announced a pilot program for offshore RMB foreign exchange trading in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone through six major Chinese banks. The PBOC and Shanghai authorities will launch an offshore finance action plan to further develop Shanghai’s role as an international financial hub. The central bank also confirmed the official launch of an interbank market data reporting database to strengthen market monitoring and risk management.
  
  

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER

Weibo Users React to the Officialization of Doctors’ “Flying Surgery” Fees: A post with the hashtag #Doctors'ConsultationFeesShouldBePaidOfficially# is going viral on Weibo following the National Health Commission’s decision to formalize consultation fees and require doctors to pay taxes on “flying surgery” earnings. Many users argued that bringing fees into official channels would improve regulation and reduce informal payments, with one user stating that it would “clean up long-standing industry chaos.” One user noted that doctors who are willing to travel for complex surgeries are “highly skilled lifesavers who deserve proper compensation.” Another user expressed concern that stricter financial oversight could “discourage specialists from traveling to smaller cities”. Several other users suggested that hospitals may become “less willing to organize cross-city surgical arrangements due to administrative burden”. Some users criticized the policy shift, stating that it may turn “life-saving mobility into rigid bureaucracy”. A few others also welcomed the move as “necessary for fairness and taxation compliance”. Several users highlighted that doctors might prefer staying in major hospitals rather than taking on risky travel assignments. Some users also mentioned that “remote patients might be forced to travel long distances to access top specialists while others emphasized physician burnout, noting that “travel-intensive work may already be unsustainable”.

INDIA WATCH

Global Times Discusses India’s Concern Over US Pacific Command Renaming: An article in Global Times discussed the US Department of Defense’s decision to rename the US Indo-Pacific Command back to the Pacific Command. The article noted that when the command was renamed in 2018, US officials and media outlets described the change as recognition of India’s growing importance in Washington’s regional strategy and its efforts to build partnerships aimed at countering China. It emphasized that the latest reversal has fueled speculation about possible adjustments in US regional priorities, despite the Pentagon stating that the command’s responsibilities remain unchanged. According to the article, many Indian netizens and opposition politicians interpreted the move as a sign of India’s declining strategic value to the United States, criticizing the Modi government’s foreign policy. It argued that New Delhi has failed to strengthen its position amid conflicts involving Russia, Ukraine, Iran, and Pakistan. The article also highlighted comments from former Indian Ambassador to the United States Nirupama Menon Rao, who suggested the move reflects a cooling phase in bilateral relations and growing differences in mutual expectations. It further noted concerns in the Indian media that recent strains in India-US relations could affect the future trajectory of the QUAD security dialogue involving India, the United States, Japan, and Australia.