Politburo meeting; Xi congratulates Maduro; Officials interpret the Plenum; Huawei; Public ownership as the mainstay and Hu Xijin

We are on the eve of the Beidaihe break, when Xi and most if not all of the top leadership go to the seaside resort for as long as two weeks to do whatever it is they do there. Xi will likely disappear from public view for about two weeks starting later this week, and the annual rumors about troubles or health issues are likely to start. Never say never, but be wary; the accuracy rate of the rumors about Xi around the Beidaihe break over the years has been about 0%.

I am taking my own break, and the newsletter and Sharp China will be off from August 1 through Monday August 12.

Summary of today’s Essential Eight:

1. Politburo meeting - I hope you read my note earlier today about the Tuesday Politburo meeting. It appears most analysts see signals of at best incremental tweaks from the language in the readout. There may be more progress on digesting the real estate mess, as Yicai notes that “notably, the meeting emphasized ‘actively supporting the purchase of existing commercial housing for u…