Xi in Inner Mongolia; Extreme circumstances 极端情况; Fentanyl; Monkey laundering; PRC spy base in Cuba?

Hi everyone. Today’s newsletter is abbreviated and the summaries are a bit thin as it is the last day of school for our kids and so have been distracted. Apologies, back to normal next week.

Summary of the top items:

1. Xi in Inner Mongolia - Xi continued his inspection tour with a visit to Hohhot and a meeting with local officials. While inspecting an industrial park Xi said “constructing large domestic circulation is for ensuring normal operation of national economy under extreme circumstances [极端情况] which is not contradictory to participating in international economic circulation. 构建国内大循环是为了保证极端情况下国民经济能够正常运行，这同参与国际经济循环是不矛盾的.” Extreme circumstances [极端情况] echoes what he said last week at the May 30th meeting of the National Security Commission: “We must be prepared for worst-case and extreme scenarios, and be ready to withstand the major test of high winds, choppy waters, and even dangerous storms. [坚持底线思维和极限思维，准备经受风高浪急甚至惊涛骇浪的重大考验]”. Scholar Jin Canrong told the Global Times earlier …