New Era of US-China Relations; Xi's Jilin inspection; Xi Thought; Ren Zhiqiang

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Friday open thread. We had a great conversation and I am thankful we have such a smart community of China watchers who can discuss difficult issues in reasoned and civilized ways. The Friday discussions are a regular feature for Sinocism subscribers and I hope more of you can participate, anonymously if want, in the future. Thanks especially to “Policy Wonk” for their many excellent comments; I do not actually know who that person is other than that they are a paying subscriber.

It has been an especially sad few days in US-China relations, as the sharper new reality continues to harden in place. I do not like saying we are in a “new Cold War”. I much prefer the term this newsletter has used for many months- A New Era of US-China Relations-as much of the shift has been driven by Xi Jinping and his New Era, rather than solely by the US and President Trump, as PRC officials and various propaganda channels and proxies would like the world to beli…