Xi in Chongqing; MoFA on Blinken visit; Financial sanctions over support for Russia? QE talk again; Another alleged PRC spy in Germany
Summary of today’s Essential Eight:
Xi in Chongqing - Xi is on an inspection tour in Chongqing. The full propaganda package around his inspection tour has not been released. On this trip he also convened a symposium on “boosting the development of China's western region in the new era”. Three other members of the Standing Committee also attended - Li Qiang, Cai Qi and Ding Xuexiang - as did the head of the National Development and Reform Commission Zheng Shanjie, Chongqing Party Secretary Yuan Jiajun, Sichuan Party Secretary Wang Xiaohui, Shaanxi Party Secretary Zhao Yide, and Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Party Secretary Ma Xingrui. In his comments Xi “noted the importance of coordinating development and security and enhancing the capacity for safeguarding key areas such as energy resources” He called on officials to “accelerate the construction of a new type of energy system, strengthen and expand a number of national key energy bases, enhance the interconnectivity of networks …