Xi in Guangdong; Fujian carrier; "An Introduction to Xi Jinping Economic Thought"; No PRC honeymoon with new Japanese PM

Summary of today’s top items:

1. Xi tours Guangdong - Xi Jinping used his recent inspection tour of Guangdong to restate the province’s role as the “front-runner” of China’s reform era and to align it closely with the agenda set by last month’s fourth plenum. Travelling to Meizhou and Guangzhou on 7-8 November, the Chinese leader told provincial officials to “thoroughly” implement the plenum’s decisions, draw up a five-year plan of targets and measures, and use deeper reform and opening to sustain growth. He also told them that with only weeks left in the year they must stabilize jobs, firms, markets and expectations to meet 2025 targets.

Xi told Guangdong leaders to upgrade the province’s industrial base through tighter fusion of technology and manufacturing; expand institutional opening, including through the pilot free-trade zones and the Belt and Road; and narrow regional and urban–rural gaps as part of Beijing’s “common prosperity” drive.

A notable emphasis was on the Guangdong–Hon…