Hush, hush, hurry hurry sci-tech come to Xi
On Sunday, we learned that the Central Committee on Science and Technology (CCST) held its first meeting earlier this spring.
- No official readouts of the meeting were published at the time.
- But an unrelated meeting readout from August 15 indicates that the CCST meeting already happened.
Background: The CCST was established at the Two Sessions in March as part of a reorganization of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST).
- The MoST reorganization was framed as a necessary move to help China stay competitive with the United States on tech.
- The CCST gives MoST more power by linking it more closely to the Party, allowing it more authority to implement sci-tech policy across state agencies.
From what we can tell, the CCST meeting likely happened around the first week of June.
That's because: It was around then that the tenor of MoST's other meeting readouts changed, with the focus shifting to the urgent necessity of shoring up the agency's weaknesses, particularly:
- Improper political alignment and low quality of cadres
- Poor strategic long-term policymaking
Get smart: The Party thinks MoST isn't equipped with the right people – or the right spirit – to see Xi's vision of sci-tech self-sufficiency through.
- That's also an indication that corruption at MoST had gotten out of hand.
Get smarter: The absence of a readout on this meeting is a red flag. Summaries from Central Committee meetings, especially inaugural gatherings, are usually published.
- A lack of transparency on high-level science and tech strategy will put foreign business in China on the back foot.