Trump Backs Off Trade And ZTE Deals; US-DPRK Summit In Doubt; Congress Targets PRC Investments & Confucius Institutes; Australia Has Upset Beijing; More Support For Indigenous Chips; Central-Local Relations

Happy Wednesday, getting right to it today.

Thanks for reading. 

The Essential Eight

1. Trump Backs Off Trade And ZTE Deals

Trump Denies Reaching Deal With China on ZTE - The New York Times:

“There is no deal. We will see what happens,” Mr. Trump said in response to reporters’ questions about ZTE during a meeting with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea. Mr. Trump, when asked if he was happy with how recent trade meetings with China went, responded: “No, not really. I think that they’re a start.”

“China has made a fortune,” Mr. Trump said, just hours after his closest advisers had last gone on television to promote the success of the recent trade talks. “I’m not satisfied, but we have a long way to go,” he said.

And his Tweet Wednesday cast even more doubt on the deal: