Government restructuring; Qin Gang's press conference and a warning to the US; Support for private sector; TikTok

I am running late for a birthday dinner for our twins so today’s issue is light on commentary. 17 years in a blink…

Summary of the top items:

1. Government restructuring plans - Big changes proposed for State institutions, we should learn about any shifts in the more important Party organs soon after the Two Meetings end.

2. Qin Gang’s press conference - Qin Gang held his first NPC presser as Foreign Minister and had a lot of interesting things to say, including a warning that “if the United States does not hit the brake but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing, and there will surely be conflict and confrontation”. Between Xi's comments yesterday that “the western countries led by the United States have implemented all-round containment, encirclement and suppression against us” and Qin's today it sure feels like the PRC side has decided to level up in responding much more forcefully to what it sees as unfair US accusations and actions.

Th…