Xi Seeks China Role in Global Rule of Law: Eye on Chinese Media

(Bloomberg) -- President Xi Jinping called for greater efforts to promote the rule of law on a visit to China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing Wednesday, state media reported. "We should have confidence in developing our own legal disciplines and contribute to global rule of law with Chinese wisdom and practice," Xi said, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. While learning from worldwide legal practices, China shouldn't just copy them, Xi said. The message was the lead report on Wednesday night's main China Central Television newscast, occupying the first 15 minutes of the half-hour show, and led Thursday's front pages of the People's Daily, China Daily, Beijing News and other newspapers. THE CONTEXT: China shows greater confidence in exporting methods of economic and social governance.

In Other Reports:

• NORTH KOREA: China would like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to hep maintain regional peace and stability, Xi told Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in a call Wednesday to discuss the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, China Daily reported. The English-language paper cited analysts saying it's rare for Xi to discuss the Korean Peninsula nuclear situation with an Asean leader, "showing that the issue has influenced not just the peninsula, but also the whole Asia-Pacific region." The Philippines holds the rotating presidency of the 10-member association this year, and more nations have either warmed to China or indicated greater acceptance of its clout.
• BELT AND ROAD: China Daily's front page included a dispatch from Pakistan detailing how Chinese companies and capital have transformed Gwadar Port, the seventh in its series of reports on the Belt and Road Initiative before Xi hosts a May 14-15 summit on his project with 28 heads of state in Beijing. The port on the Arabian Sea forms part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a planned network of roads, railroads and pipelines linking it with western China, and will cut freight transport times, the paper said. Construction of an expressway and international airport will be accelerated.
• CLIFF ROAD: Villagers from Chongqing carved a road into a 1,500-meter-high cliff to connect their remote homes with the outside world, China Daily reported. They previously climbed an 800-meter ladder on the cliff face for four hours, causing deaths, property losses, and poverty. Now the road is a tourist site because of its views.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Yinan Zhao in Beijing at yzhao300@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Malcolm Scott at mscott23@bloomberg.net, Jeff Kearns, Enda Curran

With assistance from Yinan Zhao