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: Early Analysis of the Sino-US ‘Phase One’ Trade Deal
◎ The “phase one” trade deal is a political “Catch-22” for Xi Jinping, whose “quan wei” and grip on power is far less secure than popularly believed.
Geopolitics Watch: Passing of Hong Kong Act Sinks the CCP Deeper into the Hong Kong Quagmire
◎ While the CCP has sought to extricate itself from the Hong Kong quagmire, its measures have thus far only caused it to sink in deeper.
Geopolitics Watch: What a ‘Rollback’ of Tariffs Means for the Sino-US Trade Deal
◎ A closer examination of recent developments suggests dim prospects for the “phase one” trade deal and future Sino-U.S. trade agreements.
Geopolitics Watch: Pompeo’s ‘China Challenge’ Speech Hints at the Future of Sino-US Relations
◎ Secretary Pompeo’s speech affirms several trends in U.S. policy toward the PRC which we have identified since July 2018.
Geopolitics Watch: Early Analysis of Pence’s Second China Speech, the Trade War, and Hong Kong
◎ Mike Pence generally adopted a more conciliatory tone towards China in his Wilson Center speech as compared with his fiery, hard-hitting Hudson Institute speech in October 2018.
Geopolitics Watch: Why a Trade ‘Mini-deal’ Won’t Change China-US Collision Course
◎ We look at some key factors that would make or break trade negotiations between America and China.
Geopolitics Watch: Early Analysis of the Sino-US ‘Mini-deal’
◎ The Trump administration is complementing the CCP’s delaying tactics with a “phase-by-phase” approach to a trade deal, and is falling into the CCP’s trap.
Geopolitics Watch: In Chasing a ‘Monumental Deal,’ Trump Walks into the CCP’s Trap
◎ The CCP does not want a trade deal on Trump’s terms to begin with because such a deal would cause existential problems for the communist regime.
Geopolitics Watch: The CCP ‘Advances to Retreat’ on Hong Kong
◎ The CCP’s goal of “advancing to retreat” is to calm things down in the city and focus its energies instead on other pressing matters, such as the Sino-U.S. trade war and the 2020 Taiwan presidential election.