China aligns deal messaging with the US; LeBron James and the NBA's China mess; Pig problems

The Chinese clarified Tuesday that they are on the same page with the US about achieving a “phase one” deal. I believe the clarification came after US pressure on China to align its messaging with the Trump Administration’s.

Bloomberg reported that the Chinese may not buy all the agricultural products President Trump expects them to unless he rolls back at least some of the existing tariffs. I am not sure that will be a dealbreaker for the Chinese side, but why wouldn’t they ask for it in case Trump might agree?

The Chinese would be crazy though not to close the small deal and declare victory. The political environment in the US may make it impossible for Trump to agree to a deal past January.

There is still no further news about the NBA’s prospects in China, so perhaps that should be considered positive. The fallout continues though, and now LeBron James is getting a lot of criticism for his comments Monday night: