Germany China strategy; Blinken and Wang Yi meet again; AI rules
Summary of the today’s top items:
Germany’s China strategy - The German government has released a new strategy on China. “China is simultaneously a partner, competitor and systemic rival for the Federal Government” the document says, and I think it will anger both Beijing and people hoping for something stronger. German business sounds pleased so far, and while the language about human rights is strong it is not clear what it means beyond words. It does make it explicit that the CAI investment agreement is dead.
Blinken and Wang Yi meet in Jakarta - US Secretary of State Blinken and top foreign affairs official Wang Yi, standing in for Foreign Minister Qin Gang, met in Jakarta at the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting. The respective readouts were not particularly revelatory, but the last line of the US release - “The two sides agreed to maintain open channels of communication in the weeks and months ahead” - makes me wonder if they are signaling a Biden-Xi call in the relatively near fut…