About this episode
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.You can listen to the podcast in the Substack app:Or click here for instructions to add the podcast to your preferred player.Subscribe to Sinocism here.Subscribe to the Stratechery bundle here.Related Readings:US-China trade talks; Xi arrives in Russia; Xi's history lesson; Rate cuts and moderately more supportive policies -- SinocismMinistry of Commerce Spokesperson Answers Reporters’ Questions on China–U.S. High-Level Economic and Trade Talk -- SinocismUS-China Trade Talks to Start This Week as Tariffs Start to Bite -- BloombergUS Treasury's Bessent says China 'negotiations' to start Saturday without Navarro -- ReutersAs China Looks for Way Out of U.S. Trade Deadlock, Fentanyl Could Be Key -- N.Y. TimesHow Bad Is China’s Economy? The Data Needed to Answer Is Vanishing -- WSJXi Jinping’s Moscow visit highlights China’s strategic vulnera
