2023 Weekly Discussion Thread #6: Wang Yi in Europe; US-China; Struggle 斗争; Bao Fan; Football and Semiconductors corruption

Happy Friday! I have a few starter questions but as always feel free to discuss whatever you would like.

1. What is your take on the US-China balloon incident, and what implications do you think it might have for the already tense relations between the two countries? Would a possible phone call between Biden and Xi, and/or a meeting between Blinken and Wang Yi this weekend, help? Did the US overreact to the PRC balloon incursion?

2. Michael Chase, US deputy assistant secretary of defence for China, has arrived in Taiwan, per the Financial Times. How will his visit be viewed by PRC policymakers?

3. What might Wang Yi accomplish with his attendance at the Munich Security Conference, and then his visit to Russia? What will be his main messages in Munich?

4. What are the key takeaways from the visit to Beijing by Iran’s President and the PRC-Iran joint statement?

5. "Struggle 斗争" is a term that has been frequently used by Xi Jinping in his speeches, but its meaning can be somewhat ambiguous. How do you …