RMB signaling; Trade surplus; New US AI export rules; TikTok to become XTok?

Summary of today’s Essential Eight:

1. Officials keep signaling they want a stable RMB - People’s Bank of China head Pan Gongsheng made an unscheduled appearance at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong in which, according to Yicai, he “emphasized the firm correction of pro-cyclical market behaviors, the resolute handling of actions that disrupt market order, and the strong prevention of exchange rate overshooting risks, maintaining the basic stability of the RMB exchange rate at a reasonable and balanced level.”

Securities Daily reports that “according to the website of the People's Bank of China on January 13, a recent meeting of the China Foreign Exchange Market Guidance Committee was held in Beijing” and according to the readout “the RMB exchange rate is fully capable of remaining basically stable…The meeting emphasized the need to unswervingly maintain the basic stability of the RMB exchange rate at a reasonable and balanced level. The People's Bank of China and the State Adminis…