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SinoInsight  1   On Sept. 22, a Beijing court sentenced Ren Zhiqiang to 18 years in jail on charges of corruption, embezzlement, and abuse of power. Ren, 69, briefly disappeared in mid-March after an essay he wrote made rounds in China. In the essay, Ren obliquely slammed Xi Jinping as a “clown with no clothes who …

Read morePurge of Ren Zhiqiang reveals Xi’s precarious position; Sino-US ideological battle heats up

SinoInsight  1  Last week, U.S.-PRC relations continued to spiral downwards, while U.S.-ROC relations strengthened. Sept. 14 U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad announced that he was stepping down. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing said in a statement that Branstad would “retire from his position as U.S. envoy and depart Beijing in early October.” Sept. 15 …

Read moreUS boosts ROC ties but ‘downgrades’ PRC relations; local gov’ts issue bonds to defuse banking risks

SinoInsight  1     On Sept. 15, the CCP General Office issued an “Opinion on Strengthening United Front Work in the Private Economy in the New Era” (關於加強新時代民營經濟統戰工作的意見) to government departments and local governments with instructions to put the “Opinion” into practice. On Sept. 16, CCP Politburo Standing Committee member Wang Yang chaired the National Private …

Read moreThe CCP moves to co-opt China’s capitalist class; political Black Swans are on the horizon

SinoInsight  1   On Sept. 10, PRC foreign minister Wang Yi and Indian foreign minister S. Jaishankar convened in Moscow for two hours on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting. According to news reports, both sides reached a five-point consensus to de-escalate tensions at the Sino-Indian border and restore “peace and tranquility.” A PRC …

Read moreA cycle of escalation at the Sino-Indian border; beware the CCP’s COVID control & vaccine boasts

SinoInsight  1  Recently, the CCP made several moves and released data that indicate a broader “opening up” of China’s economy. Around the same period, the CCP took actions that suggest a leftward shift. ‘Opening up’  Sept. 2 The China Central Depository & Clearing Co., Ltd. released data showing that it held 2.46955 trillion yuan ($361.341 …

Read moreThe CCP slams US ‘racial discrimination’ over revoked visas; China’s ‘economic recovery’ illusions & risks

SinoInsight  1 The CCP recently “softens” its confrontational rhetoric surrounding the U.S. and certain hot button issues, but pushes back strongly against the Trump administration’s effort to differentiate between the Chinese people and the CCP. Concurrently, the Trump administration continues to ramp up pressure against the CCP regime. PRC Aug. 27 When asked to comment …

Read moreThe CCP uses the Chinese people as hostages; China’s mythical ‘mega-scale markets’ advantage

SinoInsight  1  This week saw four provincial-ministerial level personnel reshuffles in five Chinese provinces (Liaoning, Zhejiang, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Jiangxi): On Aug. 31, Luo Xiaoyun (age 55), head of the Jiangxi Water Resources Department, was promoted to deputy governor of Jiangxi Province. On Sept. 1, Tianjin mayor Zhang Guoqing (56) replaced the retiring Chen Qiufa …

Read moreHype over China’s latest efforts to develop domestic chips is overblown; recent provincial reshuffles & Xi’s political position