Recent articles
July 16, 2026
Sharp China: K-Shaped Economic Data And Its Implications; Ma Xingrui News; Closing Window for Open Source AI?; The SCS and International Law
On today’s show, Andrew and Bill begin by parsing the economic data released by the PRC this week, including slower-than-expected growth, the Party’s response to the status quo, export-powered grow...
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July 15, 2026
Xi inspects Shanghai; GDP data; Problems in the US-China trade deal; Foreign Correspondents Club on reporting challenges
The PRC economy slowed more than expected in Q2. Real GDP growth declined from 5.0% year-on-year in Q1 to 4.3%, below the 4.5% consensus and the lower bound of the government’s 4.5–5.0% full-year t...
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July 14, 2026
Ma Xingrui case; Trade data; Themes for Xi's WAIC speech; Kevin Rudd on Xi and China
At present two entirely different logics of development exist in the AI field: some media have summed them up as "oil thinking" and "water-flow thinking" — the former treats data and computing powe...
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July 13, 2026
Xi to speak at WAIC; Preparing for July Politburo meeting on the economy; Unemployment at 10.2%?; Another American arrested for spying
The July Politburo meeting is usually about the economy, and adjustments needed for the rest of the year, and as part of the work ahead of that meeting the Premier solicits feedback. Today he held ...
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July 9, 2026
China-Russia military cooperation; Deadly shoe factory fire; June price data; Developing the retail sector; Carbon peaking action plan
A joint investigation by The Insider, Der Spiegel, and Le Monde provides shocking but unsurprising revelations about China-Russia military cooperation. The reports should destroy any lingering illu...
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July 9, 2026
Sharp China: A Missile Test and New PLA Generals; The CITIC Plane Crash; America's Taiwan Interests; Guo Wengui Jailed and Ezra Jin Released
This episode of Sharp China is outside the paywall.
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July 8, 2026
Xi on Science and Technology; PBoC Q2 Monetary Policy Committee meeting; H200 orders?; PRC open-source and global AI governance
It is necessary to seize the window period of global talent flows and actively recruit outstanding young talent and teams from overseas. 要抓住全球人才流动窗口期，积极引进海外优秀青年人才和团队。- Xi Jinping at the July 8, 202...
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July 7, 2026
Floods and Xi’s instructions; PRC to limit access to top AI models?; PBoC policy support for Hong Kong; Tax burden on private firms
Reuters reported Tuesday that the Ministry of Commerce convened a meeting to discuss “putting limits on the most advanced AI models — both closed-source and more open versions”. This report comes ...
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July 6, 2026
Two new PLA generals; Submarine-launched missile test; Ezra Jin released; "Routine" patrols of waters east of Taiwan
These two new generals have survived the PLA purges, but as the PLA Daily reminds everyone in a full page article in the Monday edition - Carry the Rectification of Thought Through to the End 将思想整风...
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July 2, 2026
Official explanation of CITIC Tower crash; EU-China; Japan-PRC; Tungsten; Global significance of Xi Thought on Party Building
The PRC’s throttling of tungsten exports to Japan is starting to hurt Japanese firms, and some of their overseas customers. Japanese supplies of tungsten hexafluoride WF6 gas needed for advanced se...
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July 1, 2026
CPC’s 105th anniversary ceremony; July 1 Medal recipients; AI model regulation; Coupang's Shanghai adventure; Alibaba settles with US government
The US government has removed export controls on Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 and so it is again available to the public. In its post announcing the restoration of that service, Anthropic downplayed ...
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June 30, 2026
June Politburo meeting; CPC turns 105; Decent June economic data; Meituan's LLM; 30 years for Guo Wengui
Flood and drought risks must be especially acute right now. The June Politburo meeting had as its agenda “study and deploy flood control and drought relief work”. From the readout (translated here)...
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June 29, 2026
Plane flies into Beijing’s tallest building; More export controls on Japanese firms; Pause in march towards EU-China trade war?; Premier Li on AI
small plane flew into Beijing’s tallest building - the CITIC Tower aka “China Zun” - killing the pilot and injuring 13 people. The authorities released a brief statement that did not name the pilot...
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June 24, 2026
Xi in Shandong; Premier Li on “China Opportunity 2.0”; Tightening Supply Chain Security; Long Arm of the Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress; Basic Research
Li Qiang told the audience in Dalian used “steady, new, vibrant, integrated” to describe “both the overall profile of China’s economy at present and its general posture going forward.” He apparentl...
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June 24, 2026
Sharp China: Party Building and Xi's Dominance; Memory Chips and ASML Accusations; Germany's Puzzling Push for Plaza Accords
On today’s show Andrew and Bill begin with Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building and further signs that one year after from a summer of rumors and one year out from the 21st Party Congress, Xi’s pow...
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June 23, 2026
Wang Yi on lessons of US-Iran war; Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Party Building; Policy support for auto consumption; Liu Guozhong and biopharma and brain interfaces; Alibaba sues US government
Politburo member and Vice Premier Liu Guozhong inspected Wuxi and Nanjing on June 22-23, touring biopharmaceutical, AI, and cloud computing firms along with the Jiangsu Provincial Institute of Indu...
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June 22, 2026
Li Qiang inspects Dalian; Response to US expansion of China military companies list; Contaminated diapers; No "Plaza Accord" to help the EU; Invest in China
Is a new “Plaza Accord” the EU’s latest China fantasy? - Last week’s European Council summit signaled growing concern about the PRC’s economic practices, but no immediate new measures to deal with ...
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June 18, 2026
AI+ consumption; Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building; Network data security risk assessment
Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building 习近平党建思想, the newest branch of Xi Thought that we learned about at Monday’s national conference on Party building, will of course have it own campaign. The Centr...
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June 17, 2026
Wang Yi speaks with Iranian FM; Global governance white paper; Employment plan; G7; US holds back tech restrictions
Wang Yi said China welcomes the first-stage memorandum of understanding reached between Iran and the United States. The facts prove that force and power politics cannot solve problems, and that dia...
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June 16, 2026
Xi Thought on Party Building; May economic activity; Myanmar President in Beijing; Wang Yi on the Iran deal
here is a new variant of Xi Thought - Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building.
A national conference on Party building convened Monday in Beijing. Cai Qi, the Politburo Standing Committee member who...
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June 15, 2026
No newsletter today
Apologies but there will be no newsletter today.
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June 11, 2026
AI and workers' rights; Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Diplomacy; Busy regulators; Philippine Secretary of National Defense
Workers’ Daily, published and sponsored by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), ran a four-part series over the last month under the headline “Observing the Protection of Workers’ Righ...
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June 11, 2026
Sharp China: Xi Goes to North Korea; Inspecting Xinjiang; A $295 Billion AI Buildout; The Pentagon Alleges PLA Links for Alibaba and Others
Listen now | Show Notes: On today's show Andrew and Bill begin with takeaways from Xi's visit to North Korea this week, including the conspicuous silence on North Korea's nuclearization, Kim Jong U...
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June 10, 2026
More on Xi’s DPRK visit; Inflation; Iran sanctions; "Near-shore governance" model around Taiwan; PRC influencing US AI debates?
The US announced sanctions against several people and entities based in Hong Kong and China, as well as a Belarus company it said “acted as an intermediary between China-based companies and Iran an...
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June 9, 2026
Xi concludes his visit to North Korea; Wang Huning inspects Xinjiang; Nationwide AI compute network buildout; Chip controls; Rare earths
Xi is back in Beijing after his two day trip to the DPRK. At a luncheon Tuesday Xi said:
I and General Secretary Kim Jong Un reached important common understandings on developing the China-DPRK ...
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June 8, 2026
Xi in North Korea; Li Qiang on future industries; Cai Qi now Party School President; MSS on AI "transfer stations"; Updates to US "Chinese Military Companies" list
Xi made no mention of denuclearization, a hopeless endeavor at this point.
Minister of Defense Dong Jun is part of Xi’s delegation. I do not believe Xi’s 2019 delegation included the Minister of ...
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June 4, 2026
Ukraine; MOFCOM reacts to US chip loophole closure and new tariffs; PRC bans four New Zealand lawmakers; Wang Yi meets a candidate for UN General Secretary
It is another quiet day, and Xi is now out of sight for nine days. The Lao General Secretary is now in Beijing so I assume they will meet Friday. Rumors that Xi is going to North Korea continue, bu...
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June 4, 2026
Sharp China: Seizing the Commanding Heights; Decoding Shangri-La Dialogue; Europe Moots Trade Policy; The PRC Expels a New York Times Journalist
This episode of Sharp China is outside the paywall.
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June 3, 2026
US tariffs and the Board of Trade; Gaokao; SOEs
The U.S.-China Board of Trade will function as an “adapter” mechanism to promote reciprocity, durability, and balance in the U.S.-China trade relationship. As long as China maintains its non-market...
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June 2, 2026
Agricultural and rural modernization; Socialist political economy; UK-PRC; PRC media in Africa
The State Council issued the “15th Five-Year Plan for Accelerating Agricultural and Rural Modernization,” the latest of the sectoral plans of the 15th Five-Year Plan. According to the readout, the ...
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