19th Party Congress and Xi Thought one year on; US-China trade talks hit a "Great Wall"; US Treasury says RMB not manipulated; Controlled Cultural Revolution in Xinjiang; China's strange charm offensive towards Japan

It is hard to believe but we have hit the one year anniversary of the 19th Party Congress. Fortunately the propaganda organs have launched a massive propaganda effort to remind us in case we forgot.

Some of the things on my radar today:

• Based on the recent comments from President Trump and US officials we should temper expectations for any near-term breakthrough in the trade war;

• US and PRC defense chiefs met in Singapore as US again flew B-52s over the South China Sea. The Chinese decided it was important to talk even though they are very angry about the Russia-related sanctions;

• The US Treasury declined to name China as a currency manipulator;

• Regulators look increasingly worried about forced selling of shares pledged as loan collateral. Beijing is the latest local government to start propping up stocks;

• Japan’s Prime Minister Abe is due in China in a week but Beijing seems to be having a hard time turning on the charm.

Remember that Bloomberg report claiming a PLA hardware attack using c…