NPCSC on Local debt swaps; Skydio and supply chain decoupling; AstraZeneca’s PRC corruption mess; Xi Zhongxun TV series
Summary of today’s top items:
1. Local government debt swap on NPC Standing Committee agenda - Increasing local debt limits is on the agenda of the NPC Standing Committee meeting that started November 4th. We know that from one sentence in the report on the opening of the meeting - “The meeting reviewed the State Council's proposal requesting deliberation on increasing local government debt limits to swap existing hidden debt. On behalf of the State Council, Minister of Finance Lan Fo'an provided an explanation. Xu Hongcai, Deputy Director of the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress, presented a report on the review results of this proposal.会议审议了国务院关于提请审议增加地方政府债务限额置换存量隐性债务的议案。受国务院委托，财政部部长蓝佛安作了说明。全国人大财政经济委员会副主任委员许宏才作了关于该议案的审查结果报告。” There are no additional details at this point, and while increasing local debt limits to swap existing hidden debt is very much needed for local governments, that is not the kind of large scale stimulus that some have bee…