Xi in France; Overcapacity; Chinese modernization; PRC-Philippines; Real estate
I hope those of you who went away for the May 1 Holiday had a nice vacation.
The newsletter is off again May 7 so I can attend Day 1 of the always excellent US Chamber of Commerce China conference here in DC. I hope to see lots of subscribers there Tuesday, and we will be back to the normal schedule Wednesday.
Summary of today’s top items:
Xi in France - Xi is in France for the first and likely most difficult leg of his Europe trip. Xi will next visit friendlier Serbia and Hungary. In his signed article for French media and his official comments from his bilateral with French Macron and trilateral with Macron and EC President von der Leyen on the first day Xi hit the expected points about the need for “strategic autonomy” and the “right perception of China” while pushing back on claims of overcapacity (the so-called “problem of China’s overcapacity” does not exist), and trying to placate France and the EU over Ukraine without actually promising anything new. The next interesting moment…