What Xi’s Europe Tour Says About the CCP’s Goals and Woes
Xi Jinping cannot be said to have returned a “winner” from his trip to Europe given the lack of substantive diplomatic agreements and the continued impasse over the West’s concerns with the PRC’s export of excess capacity and support of Russia.
Geopolitics
Geopolitics Watch: N. Korea Denuke ‘Stalemate’ and the Sino-US Trade War
◎ Any “backsliding” by North Korea at this stage would be counterproductive for Kim Jong Un as it would likely cause the U.S. to redouble its focus on resolving trade with China.
Geopolitics Watch: Early Analysis & Forecast on Extended Sino-US Trade Talks
◎ The CCP factional struggle will escalate as Xi tries to force through reforms to meet U.S. trade demands.
Geopolitics Watch: Xi Lays Groundwork for Trade Concessions in State Media
◎ The propaganda narratives in Xinhua lay the groundwork for Xi to agree to U.S. demands on sensitive issues like structural reform without losing face at home.
Geopolitics Watch: Will China and America Reach a Real Trade Deal By March 1?
◎ Xi has pressing need to compromise, and Trump will not accept a “superficial” trade deal.
Geopolitics Watch: US Strategic Advantages of Holding the Second Trump-Kim Meeting in Vietnam
◎ Manufacturers may eventually shift out of China to Vietnam and an economically liberalized North Korea.
Geopolitics Watch: Sino-US Trade Enforcement and the ZTE ‘Probation’ Model
◎ America could have the ZTE model in mind in enforcing the trade deal.
Geopolitics Watch: Xi Summoning Kim to Beijing a Goodwill Gesture to America
◎ Xi could have summoned Kim to Beijing to signal cooperation with America on North Korean denuclearization and improve the odds of successful trade talks.
No ‘Middle Way’ in US-China Struggle — China Must Change
◎ From its establishment, Communist China has been committed to the destruction or the drastic reconstruction of the global order
Geopolitics Watch: Why Trump Cited National Security as a Reason to Intervene in the Huawei Case
◎ The 90-day trade talks, if successful, will tackle U.S. national security concerns at its root.