Sharp China: Trade Talks in Switzerland; Continuing Data Opacity Concerns; Xi Heads to Moscow; The CIA Takes to YouTube

This episode of Sharp China is outside the paywall.

Show Notes:

On today’s show Andrew and Bill begin with the news that the US and PRC are sending representatives to Switzerland to discuss trade talks this weekend. Topics include: Why expectations should be set low, the week of signs that the PRC was willing to engage, questions about cooperating on fentanyl, and the latest measures to loosen monetary policy in Beijing. From there: An email about Chinese data spawns a conversation about increasing data opacity, and challenges for Westerners and the party alike. At the end: Thoughts on the PRC’s relationship to Russia as Xi Jinping heads to Moscow, the consequences (or lack thereof) for the PRC’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, and reactions to a pair of CIA videos recruiting disaffected party members.

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Related Readings:

US-China trade talks; Xi arrives in Russia; Xi's history lesson; Rate cuts and moderately more supportive policies -- Sinocism

Ministry of Commerce Spokesperson Answers Reporters’ Questions on China–U.S. High-Level Economic and Trade Talk -- Sinocism

US-China Trade Talks to Start This Week as Tariffs Start to Bite -- Bloomberg

US Treasury's Bessent says China 'negotiations' to start Saturday without Navarro -- Reuters

As China Looks for Way Out of U.S. Trade Deadlock, Fentanyl Could Be Key -- N.Y. Times

How Bad Is China’s Economy? The Data Needed to Answer Is Vanishing -- WSJ

Xi Jinping’s Moscow visit highlights China’s strategic vulnerabilities -- Brookings

Full text of Xi's signed article in Russian media -- State Council

Exclusive — Rubio Details How Trump Going on Offense Against China’s Belt and Road Initiative: ‘Big Story of 21st Century U.S.-China Relations’ -- Breibart

CIA looks to recruit new Chinese spies with social media videos -- Financial Times

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