Summary of today’s top items:
NPC passes foreign relations law - I am still trying to figure out what it really means, but the Global Times helpfully explains that in part it “provides a legal basis for the diplomatic struggle against sanctions, anti-intervention and long-arm jurisdiction, and aims to constantly enrich the legal toolbox and develop the ways and means to safeguard national interests, which could also play a role of prevention, warning and deterrence against Western hegemony.” It also has written in Xi’s Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative.
Expanded US chip restrictions likely - The Wall Street Journal broke the news that the US Commerce Department may soon make it harder for PRC firms to buy advanced chips from Nvidia and other firms, including the chip Nvidia specially modified to come just under the recent restrictions. The timing of this leak, soon after Blinken’s visit and just before Treasury Secretary…