Third Plenum Communique; Who Will Run the National Supervision Commission?; Wang Xiaohong To Head The Ministry Of State Security?; More on Term-Limits; US-China "Disengagement"; Water Crisis

We will get right into it today, with one flip comment from me. The way Xi has maneuvered through Chinese politics and manipulated and reshaped the system is remarkable. He looks like a cross between Mao and Machiavelli, so I think we can start calling him Maochiavelli...

I wish it were actually funny.

Thanks for reading. 

The Essential Eight

1. Third Plenum Communique

The Communique makes clear that the goal of deepening reform is to strengthen the Party's leadership of everything, so expect to see more of the re-merging of the Party and the State.

CCTV Evening News Wednesday devoted the top 16 minutes to the 3rd Plenum and the Communique, with the full text and video from inside the meeting. The delegates were allowed paper and pencils--[视频]中国共产党第十九届中央委员会第三次全体会议公报_CCTV:

全会提出，深化党和国家机构改革的目标是，构建系统完备、科学规范、运行高效的党和国家机构职能体系，形成总揽全局、协调各方的党的领导体系，职责明确、依法行政的政府治理体系，中国特色、世界一流的武装力量体系，联系广泛、服务群众的群团工作体系，推动人大、政府、政协、监察机关、审判机关、检察机关、人民团体、企事业单位、社会组织等在党的统一领导下协调行动、增强合力，全面提高国家治理能力和治理水平。既要立足实现第一个百年奋斗目标，针对突出矛盾，抓重点、补短…