US Tariffs; Two Sessions; Xi has always supported private enterprises; Peaceful China Initiative; Chips

Summary of today’s top items:

1. More US Tariffs - President Trump signed an order doubling his second term China tariffs to 20%, effective at 12:01 AM ET March 4th. A subscriber pointed out that with this now incremental 20% on top of existing tariffs, US trade-weighted tariffs on imports from China are now at are near 38%, which is where they would end up with a Congressional repeal of Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR). We now await the response from the PRC. The Global Times quotes an anonymous source as saying that “the countermeasures will likely include both tariffs and a series of non-tariff measures, and US agricultural and food products will most likely be listed.” We are on the verge of a significant escalatory cycle, as I believe that if the PRC does respond then Trump will add even more tariffs.

2. The Two Sessions begin - The CPPCC opens Tuesday, the NPC on Wednesday. The highlight of Wednesday will be Premier Li delivering his government work report, and what he wil…