US-China talks; PRC-Philippines tensions; August Politburo meeting; Canada EV tariffs; Contaminated cooking oil

Reminder: There will be no newsletter Tuesday the 27th and Wednesday the 28th. We are dropping one our twins off at college Wednesday AM, and I will be driving most of the day Tuesday and then most of Wednesday. I should be back to normal publishing on the 29th.

Summary of today’s Essential Eight:

1. US National Security Advisor Sullivan in Beijing - As I wrote in last Thursday’s Sinocism, Sullivan is in Beijing this week to meet with Wang Yi. Expectations for outcomes should be low, though the trip may help lay the groundwork for a leader level meeting at APEC in Peru, a week after the US election. If Harris wins the Presidential election it would be interesting if she attended instead of Biden…The PRC side again issued a detailed briefing from a Foreign Ministry official that lays out their concerns and likely agenda items for the meetings. As the official notes “the United States has kept containing and suppressing China. And China has taken resolute countermeasures. The China-U.S. r…