Publication of Xi's 2013 speech not related to US-China trade talks?; Taiwan; China’s current account surplus

This Friday is a holiday in China for the Qingming Festival (Tomb-Sweeping Day).

While in Hawaii we went grave shopping at the Valley of the Temples, where General Zhang Xueliang is buried, and were shocked at the prices. But the Fengshui is excellent , you own the plot forever, unlike in mainland China, and they are now marketing a section to Chinese. $1.8m USD will get you an eternal villa with room for lots of your extended family. That may look expensive to you and me but it looks cheap to some Chinese tycoons given prices in places like Hong Kong.

Now back to the living and the trade talks this week in DC. The state of the negotiations has been tightly held and so I have not good leaks or rumors to pass on.

In yesterday’s newsletter I highlighted Qiushi’s publication of excerpts from Xi’s 2013 speech. I now have a better guess at why they published it now, and unlike some of the speculation out there I do not think the timing has to do with the US-China trade talks, nor is it a w…