China-Central Asia Summit; Xi's Hebei inspection tour; US-China; G-7; Life for spying
Summary of the Essential Eight:
China-Central Asia Summit - Xi has a busy diplomatic week ahead. The China-Central Asia Summit meets in Xi’an Thursday and Friday, and the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan will attend. The heads of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will also pay state visits to the PRC. How might Putin view this summit? Between the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and Putin’s diminution and distraction from his Ukraine disaster, as well as the BRI and the PRC’s economic gravity, it certainly appears like Xi and the PRC now have much more influence in Central Asia than they did even a year ago.
PBoC Q1 Monetary Policy Implementation Report - It is full of positive energy. “Overall, China's economy is expected to continue to improve overall, and the growth rate in the second quarter may rebound significantly under the low base effect, laying a solid foundation for achieving the annual growth target smoothly….In the me…