Beijing tells cadres to prepare for the worst amid uncertainties of its high-stakes trade war with the US
- Top official tells cadres to arm the country for a tough fight against external uncertainty
The Communist Party wrapped up a four-day study session on risk controls on Thursday, an event analysts said underlined the leadership’s deep concern about growing external volatility and uncertainty amid its high-stakes trade war with the United States.
At the session’s closing ceremony, which was attended by hundreds of top officials from across the country, Wang Huning, the party’s ideology guru and its fifth most powerful member, called on the cadres to fight “a tough battle” in controlling risks, according to state news agency Xinhua.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Wang both told cadres that they must develop “bottom-line thinking” or be prepared for the “worst-case situation”.
Wang identified a long list of risks faced by Beijing, urging the cadres to safeguard Xi’s leadership and toe the party line. Wang also told the officials that they must follow up by showing what they had learned through “actions and results”.
His call echoed Xi’s address to Monday’s opening session when he told the cadres to be vigilant for any risks that could jeopardise China’s stability and reforms.
Xi specified “unpredictable international developments and a complicated and sensitive external environment”, a phrase invoked by Chinese leaders to refer to rising threats from China’s trade war with Washington.