Recent articles
September 1, 2026
Xi at the SCO; China’s global strategy; Li Qiang meets US business leaders; Taxing foreigners; Overseas guidelines for PRC automakers
In this issue:
Xi at the SCO
China’s global strategy
Li Qiang meets US business delegation
Tax changes for foreigners
Auto industry overseas conduct guidelines
Latest issue of Q...
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August 31, 2026
The disaster in Nepal and Tibet; Xi at the SCO; Supporting consumption; National Defense Mobilization Law; Signals for PRC-US AI dialogue; New era for real estate
In this issue: The disaster in Nepal and Tibet
Xi at the SCO
State Council Executive meeting
Measures to expand and upgrade consumer goods consumption
Revised National Defense Mobilization Law
...
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August 27, 2026
Sharp China: Five US-China (and Russia) Questions; Cabbage with Formaldehyde; The Continuing Tax Crackdown; Unitree Stock Down 45%
Listen now | Show Notes:
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August 26, 2026
Disaster at Tibet-Nepal border; Xi to attend SCO Summit and visit Egypt; PRC-India; Food safety; New Z.ai model
Xi to attend SCO Summit and visit Egypt - Xi will travel to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to attend the SCO summit and pay a state visit there. He will then go on to Egypt for a state visit. He leaves August...
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August 25, 2026
PRC response to “Economic D-Day”; The Zhong Caiwen articles ; Cadre accountability for environmental damage; Formaldehyde Kimchi?; Rocket Force procurement
PRC response to “Economic D-Day” - The Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday:
China’s cooperation with Iran has always been conducted within the framework of international law and should no...
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August 24, 2026
Xi meets Jordan’s king; State of the economy; Formaldehyde-dipped cabbages; CCDI Sixth Plenum; US-China
In this issue: Xi meets Jordan’s king
Sixth Plenum of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection
“Zhong Caiwen 钟才文” on the economy
Fiscal revenue grew in July
Formaldehyde-dipped cab...
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August 20, 2026
US may impose more sanctions on China over Iran?; PRC-South Korea; Life for Evergrande’s Xu; AI governance; Supply chain punishment for Taiwan; “Pseudo-history”
Given the PRC’s economic relations with Iran, Trump is clearly threatening “TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences” for China. But can he really follow through on this threat, or will Xi just respond wit...
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August 20, 2026
Sharp China: Wang Yi Visits South Korea; Remembering Zhu Rongji; US-China Ahead of Xi's Visit; How China Monitors Foreigners
This episode of Sharp China is outside the paywall.
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August 19, 2026
Wang Yi in South Korea; Unitree IPO; PRC tells EU to pound sand over JD.com; H200 purchases; Youth unemployment rises
Unitree priced its IPO at RMB150.80, opened at RMB1,100, and closed at RMB845, up 460.3% from the offer price. Its market capitalization is now about RMB341.8 billion.
Unitree’s valuation is diffi...
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August 18, 2026
Funeral for Zhu Rongji; Xi meets Ecuadorian President Noboa; Jiang Zemin; Housing provident fund; Consumption; What does China want?
Wang Yi will visit South Korea for two days starting Wednesday. According to the Korea Herald:
A Seoul Foreign Ministry official, requesting anonymity, said Tuesday that Lee’s broader vision for...
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August 17, 2026
More weak July economic data; State Council Plenary session; Jiang Zemin Commemoration; AI tokens; Xi's DC visit; “Once Upon a Time in the Middle East”
Jiang Zemin Commemoration - There were few surprises at the Monday commemoration for the 100th anniversary of the birth of Jiang Zemin. All living, retired Standing Committee members except Hu Jint...
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August 16, 2026
"Beidaihe Break" is over; Jiang Zemin's 100th; RIP Zhu Rongji; US-China; July economic data; New Qiushi
Former Premier Zhu Rongji died on August 11 at the age of 98. His memorial service will be on August 18. Zhu has not been politically relevant for many years, and his death should not cause any iss...
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August 3, 2026
Politburo study session; Regulation on Exit and Entry Administration; US-China; AI; Scarborough Shoal/Huangyan Dao
I thought I would be on vacation already but there too many interesting things over the last few days to not do one more newsletter before heading off on my version of the “Beidaihe Break”.
The Be...
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July 30, 2026
July 2026 Politburo meeting; Fifth Plenum set for October; Signals of marginal, incremental policy support
The Politburo held its July meeting today. Some of the highlights:
Fifth Plenum scheduled for October, agenda is “to study major issues concerning the unremitting advancement of full and rigor...
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July 30, 2026
A Memory-Maker Makes History; New Robot Rules; The Open Weights Debate Rages; End of July News and Notes
Show Notes:
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July 29, 2026
RMB and global imbalances; PRC missiles to Iran?; National Plan for Addressing Climate Change; Commercial space industry
We are still waiting for the July Politburo meeting.
Gita Gopinath, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas and Hélène Rey - two former IMF chief economists and the incoming chief economic advisor at the Bank f...
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July 28, 2026
Xi meets Slovak president; “Excess capacity” or “Overcapacity”? ; CXMT IPO; Overseas Chinese affairs conference; Li Qiang in Tangshan; Chips and AI
In this issue:
Xi meets Slovak president
“Excess capacity” or “Overcapacity”?
CXMT IPO the day after
Xinhua’s mid-year review of the Chinese economy
Li Qiang commemorates the 50th anniversary ...
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July 27, 2026
CXMT IPO; Taxing offshore assets; Fang Xinghai; US-China; AI; Lula supports China-Mercosur deal
The July Politburo meeting should happen this week, and should include as part of its agenda “analyzing and studying the current economic situation, and deploying economic work for the second half ...
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July 23, 2026
Another CSRC meeting; DeepSeek CEO comments; SAMR warns about "externalization of involution 内卷外化"; US-China; Strengthening social work
President Trump confirmed that Xi will visit the US on September 24. That is not a surprise, the Rubio-Wang meeting readouts were clear they were working towards that visit. Vice Foreign Minister M...
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July 22, 2026
Wang Huning tours Tibet; US government officials go after Moonshot; Wang Yi-Rubio meeting; PRC-Philippines; H1 fiscal revenue and expenditure data
The head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Treasury Secretary and a senior State Department official all tweeted similar things about Kimi and distillation today. Secr...
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July 21, 2026
Stock market rescue progress; "Open" AI with Chinese characteristics?; PRC-Philippines trade accusations as Wang Yi arrives for ASEAN; EU-China discussions
“Strengthening the guidance of capital-market expectations” likely means more positive talk about market prospects, and “further institutionalizing mechanisms for market stabilization” sounds like ...
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July 21, 2026
Sharp China: Kimi Madness; Xi's AI Vision and US Questions; Trump's Election Data Claims; The Connected Vehicle Security Act
Show Notes:
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July 20, 2026
Stock market rescue; World AI Conference and open models; Second Thomas Shoal fight; Involution battles
Operation stock market rescue - The National team is back to try to turn around the stock market, after losses approaching ten trillion RMB this month. China Reform Holdings Corp. Ltd. and China Ch...
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July 16, 2026
WAIC; Another order for AI; Kimi's new model; Smart China hire by Australian government; Consumption; Extended dog days of summer 三伏天
Moonshot is the latest PRC firm showing the way to building open-source AI, with the release today of Kimi K3, which from early reviews is a frontier-class model. Kimi obviously timed the release f...
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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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