Wang Yi works the phones about Iran war; CICIR head on national security; Pig overcapacity; Wemby's time at Shaolin; Balanced trade

China will be on holiday on Monday, April 6, for the Qingming Festival. There will be no newsletter Monday unless something really interesting is going on.

Today’s top items:

1. Wang Yi working the phones about Iran war - Wang Yi has been very busy working the phones about the Iran crisis over the last 24 hours, holding calls with the German, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain Foreign Ministers and the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Wang has also spoken with the Iranian FM in recent days, but I do not believe he has spoken with his Israeli and American counterparts. Perhaps this is the moment China can play a constructive role in opening the Strait of Hormuz, but so far they are blocking a Bahraini UN resolution to reopen the Strait so I am skeptical.

The PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson told the April 2 pres conference that:

The root cause of the obstruction to navigation in the Strait of Hormuz is the illegal military actions by the United States and Israel ag…