EU Leaders in Beijing; Xi going to Vietnam; Fentanyl; Shanghai FTZ; Moody's staff concerns; Hukou
Summary of today’s Essential Eight:
EU Leaders in Beijing - Xi met with President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, and the Premier met with them for the 24th China-EU Summit. Expectations for outcomes were low and based on the readouts and comments to the press so far it sounds like those expectations were met. I expect we will learn more soon about how the meetings really went, and whether or not the EU side will move forward with sanctions on PRC entities for support to Russia and trade actions to address the trade imbalances. From the PRC side, problems of “perception” are a common theme with certain Western countries. In Xi’s meeting he “urged the two sides to develop a right perception of each other”.
Xi going to Vietnam - Xi will visit the PRC's fraternal Socialist neighbor from December 12-13th. Expect him to convene the Central Economic Work Conference soon after he returns.
Crackdown on Fentanyl? - Minister of…