Après le déluge, Xi
Xi Jinping is back from his summer holiday, and there's a mess to clean up.
On Thursday, Xi convened a meeting of the Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC) – the seven highest-ranked Party officials.
On the agenda: Responding to severe floods that have swept across North and Central China over the past few weeks.
ICYDK: China's top leaders abscond to the beach every August for some combination of a summer holiday and a private conclave.
- These first few meetings after the break give us a sense of what was on leaders' minds as they (presumably) sipped Maotai on the beach.
The PBSC reminded localities that the flood season isn't over yet, calling for faster evacuation plans, better communication between meteorologists and flood control teams, and more upgrades to water management infrastructure.
The bigwigs also admonished flood-hit localities to rebuild critical infrastructure and get relief funds into the hands of the people, FAST.
What sticks out: Last year at this time, Southwest China was grappling with record-breaking droughts and heatwaves.
- But Xi didn't convene a post-Beidaihe PBSC meeting to discuss the matter – he left it in the capable hands of then Vice Premier Hu Chunhua.
Get smart: This year's flooding left dozens dead, hundreds of thousands of people displaced across six provinces, tens of billions of RMB in property destroyed, and at least a few percentage points of the country's autumn grain crop swept away – all in a matter of days.
- That's a big, unwelcome hit to public welfare, and to the economy.
- Last year's drought was a slow burn by comparison.