Xi's Southern tour; WSJ says Trump-Xi G20 meeting at risk; Chinese on the line when Schwarzman and Wynn call Trump?; Xinjiang collaboration and propaganda; Abe lands in Beijing;

Happy Thursday, here are some of the things I found interesting today:

• Xi looks to have wrapped up his 2018 Southern tour as the Thursday CCTV Evening News has a 22 minute report on his trip. Xi again expressed support for private firms but so far there is no word of anything more than reiterations for the trajectory China is already on, so it feels a bit anti-climactic;

• The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post have stories on the chasms between the US and China and the likelihood there are no near-term solutions;

• The New York Times reports that the Chinese are listening to the phone calls Trump has with businessmen with significant China interests, though it is unclear they are actually learning anything useful;

• Japanese Prime Minister Abe has arrived in Japan, expect deals and maybe a panda or two for Japan but nothing too significant;

• A US scholar is out with a new report on the Han in Xinjiang who make the vocational archipelago possible, as the CCP propaganda organs ramp up their p…