Xi's Henan tour; Lai's speech; Budget deficit; Private economy promotion law

Summary of today’s top items:

1. Xi in Henan - During a May 19–20 inspection tour of Henan, Xi Jinping laid out a sweeping set of priorities for the province, positioning it as a frontline in the advancement of “Chinese-style modernization.” The readout from the trip touches on recurring themes: manufacturing self-reliance, grassroots governance, cultural confidence, and risk management, all framed within the broader push for high-quality development.

Xi’s first stop was Luoyang Bearing Co., a state-owned enterprise dating back to the First Five-Year Plan. While touring the smart factory, he stressed that manufacturing remains a pillar of the national economy and that China must maintain a “reasonable proportion” of manufacturing to support modernization. Innovation came up repeatedly—Xi said modern manufacturing “cannot be separated from technological empowerment” and called for intensified R&D in core technologies and continued pursuit of self-reliance. He urged workers to display a “…