A New Blinken Visit?; US-China Drama in Singapore; The Post-Covid Stimulus Calculus; Travel to the PRC in 2023

On today's show Andrew and Bill begin with reports that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken may visit China sometime "in the coming weeks." Topics include: The State Department's preliminary trip this past weekend, benefits of continued communication, risks of communication as a reward in itself, and why it's important that Blinken visit before others in the cabinet. Then: The Shangri-La Dialogue and the PRC's controversial tactics in the South China Sea, and reactions to National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan articulating the One China Policy and why the U.S. remains committed to it. From there: Desertification and China's attempts to curb it, a question about economic stimulus, and a listener's follow-up to last week's Microsoft conversation. At the end: Traveling to China, CPC membership, and a new drilling project that caught the world's attention.

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Links:

Blinken to China?; Xi on desertification; Li Qiang to Germany and France; Economic concerns; Disappearing "Glory to Hong Kong" -- Sinocism

Trade data; Waiting for stimulus; EU-China; Gaokao; SOE cadre's career-ending stroll -- Sinocism

US Secretary of State Blinken Set to Travel to Beijing for Talks in Coming Weeks -- Bloomberg

U.S. and China lock horns at Asia’s top security forum -- Washington Post

Statement on Unprofessional Intercept of U.S. Aircraft over South China Sea -- USINDOPACOM

Popularity of China’s ‘New Security Initiative’ is inevitable: Global Times editorial -- Global Times

Fareed Zakaria on Twitter -- Twitter

Xi urges sustained efforts to curb desertification -- Xinhua

China, Mongolia aim to stop spread of shared desert that threatens mining and agriculture on both sides -- SMCP

What Engagement With China Has Meant for Me -- Wall Street Journal

China Is Drilling a 10,000-Meter-Deep Hole Into the Earth -- Bloomberg 

In a geologic triumph, scientists drill a window into Earth’s mantle -- Washington Post

The most shocking photo of Beijing air pollution I’ve ever seen -- Washington Post

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