Xi's standing committee speech; Is the CCP close to declaring "victory"?; US-China tech war doesn't stop for a virus

The CCP may be close to declaring “victory” over the virus everywhere but in Hubei. The official number of new cases outside of Hubei Province has declined for 13 consecutive days and Premier Li Keqiang sounded almost upbeat in today’s meeting of the leading group on the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus outbreak (Xinhua Chinese, English):

避免了可能出现的更大范围暴发流行，全国疫情形势出现积极向好趋势

The possibility of a wider epidemic outbreak has been avoided through strengthened prevention and control measures, the meeting noted, adding that a positive trend has emerged nationwide in curbing the epidemic.

However, the “Two Meetings” scheduled for the first week of March in Beijing looks like they will be delayed to an as yet unspecified date, and while that decision makes sense given that the delegates should be at their day jobs dealing with the epidemic and its aftermath, the signal from a delay would conflict somewhat with the message that the situation is nearly under control.

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