Welcome to the 207th edition of Trade War.
In an effort to reassure spooked investors Xi meets with top American executives in Beijing. And down on tropical Hainan Island, the annual Boao Forum for Asia provides a sunny picture of the Chinese economy.
A new report warns that overcapacity is “setting China on course for a trade confrontation with the rest of the world.” And China’s stocks have slumped once again after a March policy-driven rally.
Radio Free Asia is shutting its Hong Kong office following the imposition of a tough new national security law. And Chief Executive John Lee’s popularity has plummeted to a new low.
Tesla’s deep reliance on China is drawing attention of US policymakers
Smartphone maker Xiaomi is moving into electric vehicles
And new report advocates for “Scholarly Recoupling” between the US and China
And you don’t want to miss this ~
Acclaimed China author Peter Hessler will be giving a talk entitled, “From the Reform Generation to Generation Xi,” next Wednesday April 3, at 7 pm MT (9 pm ET) at the Mansfield Center at the University of Montana, with yours truly moderating. (His book River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, a classic, is my go-to gift for both people new to China and those who aren’t—but for some reason have not yet read it.)
Here is the event description: “In 1996, Peter Hessler was sent by the Peace Corps to teach for two years at a small college in Fuling, a remote town on the Yangtze River. More than two decades later, in 2019, Hessler returned to teach again in the same region, at Sichuan University. He will describe the sweeping changes he observed, both in the landscape and in the young people he taught.”
Here is the link to sign up to attend in person or via zoom here: “From the Reform Generation to Generation Xi.” Hessler will be giving the same talk a day later in Kalispell, Montana, but that will not be available on zoom.
Xi makes nice with US CEOs
In an effort to reassure spooked investors China’s Xi Jinping met with top American executives in Beijing on Wednesday, just after the closing of the annual China Development Forum.
The widely-expected meeting which lasted over an hour and a half and was held in the Great Hall of the People off of Tiananmen Square, included Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon, FedEx’s Raj Subramaniam, Chubb’s Evan Greenberg, Bloomberg’s Mark Carney, as well as Stephen Orlins, president of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and Craig Allen, president of the U.S.-China Business Council.
China and the US should “seek common ground on major issues while reserving differences on minor ones,” Xi said, according to a readout [Chinese] of the meeting.
“China’s reform will not stop and its opening up will not stop,” Xi said. China is planning “major measures to comprehensively deepen reforms” and build a “first-class business environment.”
Xi also warned against the two countries falling into a “Thucydides Trap,” referring to the conflict between a dominant power and a rising power; Harvard scholar Graham Allison who has popularized the phrase in reference to the U.S. and China, attended the meeting.
“China appears to be ramping up outreach to foreign investors as it seeks to achieve an annual growth target of around 5 percent, a goal deemed ambitious by some economists. The Ministry of Commerce in January pledged to hold a round-table meeting with foreign companies every month to hear and address their concerns,” reports Bloomberg News.
“‘President Xi Jinping has just met representatives of the American business, strategic and academic communities.’ It's almost like they don't have women in China and America ... Still blows my mind,” writes Sarah Keenlyside, a China-focused media executive and travel company founder in a LinkedIn post.
Look at the picture below to see what she is talking about . . . And watch state broadcaster CCTV’s report [Chinese] on the meeting here.
Tropical Boao Forum shares sunny view
Down on tropical Hainan Island, the annual Boao Forum for Asia provided a far sunnier picture of the Chinese economy than has been heard in recent months.
Some of that sunniness:
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