Xi congratulates Biden; Xi chairs meeting on PLA training; More questions about the origins of SARS-CoV-2

Reminder: Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the US and so there will be no newsletter. There will be the regular weekly open discussion on Friday.

Xi congratulated President-elect Biden in a message. The two have not yet spoken on the phone. I would not not read much into the lag in Xi’s message. As I wrote on November 9, two days after major media outlets declared Biden the winner:

It looks like Joe Biden will be the next US President, though President Trump has not conceded and Xi Jinping has yet to send congratulations. If I were Xi I would hold off as well, as given Trump’s unwillingness to concede and the already fraught US-China relationship what is the upside for congratulating Biden now as opposed to waiting a bit longer for things to settle?

The difference in language between the message to congratulatory message to Biden and the one to Trump in 2016 seems interesting.

Today - Xi congratulates Joe Biden on election as US president - Xinhua

In his congratulatory message, Xi pointed out …