Beijing kills the Qualcomm-NXP deal; Explosion outside US embassy in Beijing; New cyber czar; Liu He now leads SOE reform group; Facebook's disappearing China company

Happy Thursday from DC. Here are some of the top things I am looking at today:

• Beijing has killed the Qualcomm-NXP deal;

• President Trump’s “truce” with the EU over trade may increase Trump’s confidence that Xi Jinping will ultimately have to make significant concessions in the US-China trade dispute;

• There was a small explosion outside the US embassy in Beijing that from Western media reports looks more like a form a protest against the government in a high-profile place than a targeted attack on US interests;

• Liu He is now the head of the leading group for SOE reform, a move that should theoretically improve policy coordination and consistency though one wonders how many more near impossible jobs one person can take on.

Thanks for reading.