Trump's Trade War Threat To China; 5G Behind US Moves To Block Broadcom Buy Of Qualcomm; Djibouti Port And US-China Competition In Africa; China's New Era Of Patriotic Films; NPC

The Party is swallowing the State and Xi is swallowing the NPC and the related propaganda. Li Keqiang, when you can find him, looks quite defeated...

Kudos to eagle-eyed readers of yesterday's newsletter who noticed the funniest line about Chinese politics I have read in a while, from this Reuters report- Factbox: Names to watch in China's government reshuffle - Reuters:

- Liu Qibao. The party’s former propaganda minister was one of three members of the 18th Politburo who were passed over for further promotion to the Standing Committee after he voluntarily asked to be sidelined, allowing Xi to promote another of his men. As a consolation prize, he will be made the No. 1 vice-chairman of the CPPCC.

Get ready for a trade war. Gary Cohn has quit has quit as the top White House economic advisor and some reports have Peter "Death By China" Navarro as his likely replacement. Meanwhile, President Trump tweeted earlier today: