Last-resort leftists challenge Jiang

The views of former Chairman Deng have been invoked as Jiang battles the leftists

By Willy Wo-Lap Lam
CNN's Senior China Analyst

(CNN) -- China's leftists have openly challenged President Jiang Zemin by holding a rival meeting close to the Beidaihe resort, where Jiang and his colleagues have gathered for the past week to debate matters of state.

A Communist Party source said Jiang's struggle with the leftists, who are classed as Maoist conservatives, has cast a big shadow on the main agenda of the annual Beidaihe conference.

Veteran Deng Liqun and fellow leftists have since late last month converged on the Qinhuangdao resort, a few hours' drive from the Beidaihe resort, to plot further strategies against Jiang's "revisionist road."

Jiang had aroused the conservatives' ire by saying in a July 1 speech that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) should recruit private businessmen into the party.

"Given the leftists' challenge, Jiang has no choice but to put 'unifying cadres' thoughts' at the top of the Beidaihe agenda," the source said.

Apart from asking cadres of all levels to profess allegiance to "Jiang Theory," the president has revived the teachings of late patriarch Deng Xiaoping on "the imperative of combating both left and right."

"To ensure unity and stability in the party and country, we must adopt the 'double-fisted' approach of hitting out at the mistakes of both the left and right [wings]," Jiang reportedly said in an indoor meeting.

It is understood that to gain the support of the rank and file, Jiang has portrayed the leftists as incorrigible conservatives dead set against Deng Xiaoping's reforms.

Western diplomatic sources said depending on Jiang's success in gagging the leftists, the president might at Beidaihe move a motion to begin drafting a revision to the CCP Constitution.

Three Representations

Jiang hopes the leftists will be castigated by the Central Committee

Jiang wants the CCP charter changed to enshrine his Three Representations Theory and to admit private businessmen and professionals to the party.

Much of the discussion at Beidaihe will also be focused on the forthcoming sixth plenary session of the Central Committee, which will be held in September or early October.

Jiang is hopeful that the plenum will uphold his Three Representations Theory -- and castigate the anti-reform gambits of the leftists.

Other items on the Beidaihe agenda include deliberations on a preliminary list of new members and alternate members of the Central Committee that will be endorsed at the 16th CCP Congress next year.

Jiang has nominated a number of members of his own Shanghai Faction as well as the sons of party elders for the Central Committee.

However, analysts say in view of the leftists' criticism of a Jiang personality cult, the president has been more cautious in pushing for the promotion of his protégés.

Owing to disagreement at the top, this year's Beidaihe conclave will unlikely discuss the composition of the new Politburo or the Politburo Standing Committee.

Economic projections

On the economic front, Premier Zhu Rongji will present latest projections for the economy, including falls in the increase of exports and industrial production in the coming year.

Zhu will urge regional leaders present to work harder at ensuring that their provinces and cities are ready for the country's accession to the World Trade Organzation.

Much of the foreign-policy agenda will focus on Sino-U.S. ties.

Jiang is expected to lay out ways and means to ensure that his summit with U.S. President George W. Bush in October will be successful.

The new Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Joseph Biden, was due to meet Jiang late Wednesday.

Biden is expected to raise issues including China's human rights record, security on the Korean peninsula, trade and arms non-proliferation.