Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve; US-China chats; Deflation easing?; Auto sector rectification; AI+

Summary of today’s top items:

1. PRC cements occupation of Scarborough Shoal by declaring it a national nature reserve - Barely a month after a PLA Navy ship rammed a China Coast Guard vessel while harassing a Philippine Coast Guard ship near Scarborough Shoal, the PRC government has now declared the Shoal, called Huangyan Dao by the PRC, the “Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve”. The PRC will now even more aggressively harass Philippine fisherman who try to access their historical fishing grounds. As Xinhua states:

The State Council has instructed relevant government departments and local authorities to strictly implement the regulations on nature reserves, as well as provisions related to the development and management of protected areas.

They are also required to improve management institutions, strengthen supervision and law enforcement against all types of illegal and irregular activities within the nature reserve, to ensure the implementation of all management measures, per the…