Xi chats with European Council President Antonio Costa; US rule on connected vehicles; RMB talk; Supply chain binding; TikTok
Summary of today’s Essential Eight:
1. Xi has a call with new European Council President Antonio Costa - Xi reiterated to Costa that “there exists no clash of fundamental interests or geopolitical conflicts between China and the European Union (EU)” and that “China has always regarded Europe as an important pole in a multipolar world, firmly supported European integration, and backed the EU's pursuit of strategic autonomy.” Perhaps the biggest outcome from the call was progress towards holding an EU-China Summit in Brussels this year, likely in early May.
2. Pay cuts coming for financial regulators - Reuters reports that financial regulators will have their pay cut starting this month, by as much as 50%. I assume Xi’s logic is that there is nothing special about financial bureaucrats when compared to the state planners at the NDRC or cadres at other government institutions, so why should they be paid differently? Cutting someone’s pay by 50% seems demotivating…