Liu He to DC; Decent economic data; Xi and the final victory of socialism; Taiwan

Apr 01, 2019

∙ Paid

Happy Monday, glad to be back at Sinocism HQ, and thanks again for your patience. Among the items on my radar today:

Liu He arrives in DC today for the next round of the trade talks. In advance of his visit China announced a new crackdown on Fentanyl and related chemicals, an extension of the suspension of additional tariffs on US vehicles and auto parts, and a new round of soybean purchases. So Beijing looks to be trying to make nice in advance of this week’s talks, though so far I have not heard of any big breakthrough in the talks last week;
Qiushi, the main theoretical journal of the Chinese Communist Party, has published from a speech Xi gave to new Central Committee full and alternate members on January 5, 2013. Xi’s talk clearly previewed many of the policies we have seen in the last six years. Why release it now? I am not sure and have not been convinced by the speculation I have seen so far. If you have any ideas please let me know;
We are starting to get the first bits of data …

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