Official explanation of CITIC Tower crash; EU-China; Japan-PRC; Tungsten; Global significance of Xi Thought on Party Building

It is a slow day in China after the July 1 Party celebrations, so today’s newsletter is thin.

Today’s top items:

1. Official explanation of CITIC Tower plane crash - The relevant authorities issued a new statement on last week’s plane crash, saying that the pilot was a 66-year-old divorced Beijing man who “had suffered from insomnia and anxiety for a long time, and expressions such as ‘ending my life’ appeared repeatedly in his diary.” The public verdict is that “this was a case endangering public safety caused by personal reasons.”

2. EU-China - In a story that should surprise no one, and especially officials in Beijing, Bloomberg reports that:

Despite a renewed campaign to take a tougher stance toward Beijing, the EU doesn’t have the political will to institute meaningful change or pick a fight with China, according to people familiar with discussions among the bloc’s leaders as well as talks in the European Commission, which handles trade matters for the EU…

In more encouraging news fo…