US-China talks continue; Ren Zhengfei interview; Shenzhen Comprehensive Reform Pilot; Influencer recruiting

Summary of today’s top items:

1. US-China talks continue - The talks did not conclude Tuesday. US Treasury Secretary Bessent is returning to the US for Wednesday testimony on Capitol Hill. As I wrote yesterday I am skeptical given the rare earths leverage the PRC has demonstrated that the US only rolling back the measures taken since the Geneva meeting will be enough for the PRC side.

2. People’s Daily interview with Huawei’s Ren Zhengfei - The June 10th People’s Daily ran a page one interview with Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei titled “The More Open a Country Is, the More It Will Drive Our Progress— A Conversation with Ren Zhengfei 国家越开放，会促使我们更加进步——对话任正非”/ I have posted a full translation here. The title is important, and while many are speculating about the timing of this interview given the US-China talks, I think it may be even more related to the “Shenzhen Comprehensive Reform Pilot” document that was publicly released today (see the next item), given Huawei’s place in Shenzhen. What…