Hopes rise for small trade deal; NBA; Visas and Xinjiang; Central-local tax distribution changes

As expected there are leaks today claiming Liu He is coming to DC bearing gifts targeted at reaching an armistice-like deal that includes a standstill on new tariffs and more agricultural purchases. As I wrote Monday I think that idea also includes yet another framework (or understandings as it may be called) for negotiators to work towards a President Trump-General Secretary Xi meeting, this time at the APEC meeting in Chile November 16-17, and a broader deal.

The US State Department followed the Department of Commerce’s Xinjiang-related additions to its Entity List with new visa restrictions. Yesterday the State Department announced:

Visa restrictions on Chinese government and Communist Party officials who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, the detention or abuse of Uighurs, Kazakhs, or other members of Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang, China. Family members of such persons may also be subject to these restrictions.

The visa restrictions may be more symbolic than s…