Covid peak?; Xie Feng to DC; EU-China; Xi has a video chat with troops; Ant

Things are winding down in the PRC ahead of the weeklong Spring Festival Holiday. Next week’s publishing schedule will be light, and I will not clutter your inboxes unless something really interesting is going on, or I can figure out something coherent to write about what may be going around the apparent policy shifts.

I released this week’s episode of the Sharp China podcast earlier today - New Talking Points for Private Business; The US-Japan Alliance; More Police Stations Abroad; Marvel Movies Return to China

On today’s show Andrew and Bill begin with thoughts on the change in tone from government officials addressing private business, changes it might signify in the short term, and concerns it may not assuage in the long term. From there: the news of a deepened strategic alliance between the US and Japan, why Beijing is outraged, and best case and worst case scenarios when evaluating the implications for a conflict in Taiwan. At the end: China’s population declines for the first tim…