Xi meets more foreign leaders; US China "big deal" talk; TikTok; Bao Fan; USAID China work

Summary of today’s top items:

1. Xi meets leaders of Thailand and Brunei - Xi met Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and the Sultan of Brunei on Thursday. Thailand got the message from Beijing about online gambling and telecom fraud before her trip and has started to crack down, efforts Xi commended. Xi will be in Harbin Friday for the opening ceremony of the 9th Asian Winter Games.

2. A “big deal” between US and China? - It is still hard (impossible?) to figure out what Trump’s strategy towards China, assuming he has one. There continues to be chatter that he is looking for some kind of “big deal” with China, one that would include significant concessions around Taiwan. I am skeptical, but it is worth paying attention to the chatter. Harvard professor Graham Allison renewed talk of the longstanding idea that the Shanghai Communique needs an update to reflect the current world 53 years after its signing, telling Caixin in a Davos interview that “a new communiqué could include a …