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Daily Brief: China Reveals Party Leadership, No Clear Heir to Xi

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Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. October 25, 2017 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA China Reveals Party Leadership, No Clear Heir to Xi President Xi Jinping was formally given a second five-year term as the head of the Chinese Communist Party on Wednesday. In a speech to party delegates, Xi declined to name a successor among the politburo's seven-member Standing Committee. The five new men on the committee are too old to succeed Xi (FT) if an informal retirement age is kept in place. The appointments raise the prospect Xi may seek to continue his rule beyond 2022, breaking norms in place since Mao Zedong's death (WSJ) to avoid indefinite one-man rule. Several Western media outlets were denied access to the unveiling of the new politburo members (Guardian). ANALYSIS "During his first term, Xi looked to boost China's global clout with an Asia-to-Europe infrastructure initiative, and has reassured the world that his nation wouldn't seek hegemony," Ting Shi and Keith Zhai write for Bloomberg. "By most accounts, China's decades-long 'economic miracle' of double-digit growth rates is now over, so the Communist Party is retreating from bold economic reforms to focus more on cracking down on political dissent and preserving social stability," Leta Hong Fincher said in an interview with Foreign Policy Interrupted. "Xi believes that a government's legitimacy is mainly a function of consistently delivered values, together with economic and social progress, with strict commitment to the public interest taking precedence over the form of governance," writes CFR's A. Michael Spence. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Iraqi Kurds Offer to Freeze Referendum Results The Kurdish regional government offered to freeze the results of a September independence referendum and cease military operations in Kurdistan (Rudaw) to allow dialogue with Baghdad. Baghdad accused Kurdish forces on Tuesday of attacking and killing Iraqi soldiers (NYT). CFR's Steven A. Cook asks what went wrong between Baghdad and Kurdistan in Salon. SAUDI ARABIA: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told an investment forum in Riyadh (WSJ) that the kingdom will return to "tolerant, moderate Islam that is open to the world." The prince also announced plans for a $500 billion economic zone (FT) on the Red Sea coast that will connect Saudi Arabia to Jordan and Egypt.  PACIFIC RIM Thailand Readies Five-Day Funeral for Monarch King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who ruled Thailand for more than seven decades and died last October, will be cremated in a Bangkok pyre (FT) on Thursday. Some quarter million pilgrims (BBC) are expected to travel to view the ceremonies. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Tillerson: U.S. 'Shoulder to Shoulder' With India on Terrorism U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (Reuters) after talks with India's foreign minister a day prior, during which he thanked her for the country's work to combat extremism in the region (RFE/RL). CFR's Alyssa Ayres discusses Tillerson's interest in a free and open Indo-Pacific. AFGHANISTAN: President Ashraf Ghani said Kabul will not participate in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and will restrict Pakistan's access to Central Asia (DNA) if Pakistan does not also give access to India through CPEC infrastructure projects. Arif Rafiq looks at China's $62 billion investment in Pakistan in Foreign Affairs. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Haley to Assess U.S. Aid in Central Africa U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley will visit South Sudan on Wednesday (VOA) and the Democratic Republic of Congo later this week to review U.S. aid spending there. Haley told reporters in Ethiopia that the United States must carefully consider suspending aid to South Sudan (WSJ) because its president, Salva Kiir, "doesn’t care if his people suffer." SOMALIA: Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire travels on Wednesday to Turkey, where thirty-five Somalis are receiving treatment (Al Jazeera) after they were wounded in an October 14 attack in the capital of Mogadishu and airlifted out. The attack killed 358 people. EUROPE Russia Blocks Chemical Weapons Inquiry in Syria Russia vetoed a U.S.-sponsored UN Security Council measure to renew the mandate of a mission to investigate chemical weapons attacks in Syria (BBC). It was the ninth time Russia used its veto to block measures (NYT) regarding Syria's civil war.  FRANCE: President Emmanuel Macron rebuffed calls by activists to condemn the human rights record (DW) of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi during a visit to Paris on Tuesday by the Egyptian leader, saying he believes in state sovereignty and doesn't "lecture others." AMERICAS Cuba Says Alleged Sonic Attacks 'Science Fiction' Cuba has accused the United States of "slander" over allegations the country may have been behind sonic attacks (Reuters) in which two dozen diplomats suffered hearing loss and cognitive issues. Cuban investigators said sound samples they analyzed included only normal suburban sounds that would not have led to such injuries.  VENEZUELA: Opposition figure Henrique Capriles has quit Venezuela's anti-government party coalition (BBC) in protest of pledges by four new opposition governors to follow a constituent assembly established by President Nicolas Maduro's regime and tasked with rewriting the constitution. UNITED STATES Montana Firm Wins $300 Million Puerto Rico Contract Puerto Rico has awarded a $300 million contract to a two-year-old Montana firm, which had only two full-time employees in September, to restore the island's electrical grid (WaPo) following Hurricane Maria. The House Committee on Natural Resources said it is investigating the contract (NYT). The Trump administration allowed refugee admissions to resume on Tuesday (CBS/AP) after a four-month ban and announced that nationals from eleven unspecified countries will be subject to additional screening.         Council on Foreign Relations — 58 East 68th Street — New York, NY 10065 CFR does not share email addresses with third parties. Forward This Email | Subscribe to CFR Newsletters | Unsubscribe - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  

From: dailybrief@e.cfr.org

Date: October 25, 2017 at 10:02PM