<div style="background-color:#f5f5f5; margin:0 auto; padding:0; text-align:center;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="background-color: #f5f5f5; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff"><tbody><tr><td><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h1 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 26px;line-height: 36px;font-weight: 400;color: #001544;letter-spacing: 0.1px;display: inline-block;margin-block-start: 0;margin-block-end: 0;margin-inline-start: 0px;margin-inline-end: 0px;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Greetings!</strong></h1><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">In this issue:</strong></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">1. Tony Saich Sums Up What the Biden Team Needs to Consider about China</strong></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">2. Changing Hearts &amp; Minds in Southeast Asia - Again</strong></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">'Barack Obama’s Legacy in Asia Looms Over Joe Biden'</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">'Back to the Future: Will Biden’s Asia Policy Come Full Circle?'&nbsp;</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">3. Biden's Southeast Asian Perception Problems</strong></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">‘Watch what you wish for, including a Biden victory' by Bilahari Kausikan</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">Answering Mr. Kausikan: 'Biden set to restore US credibility in Asia'</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">4. China Economy Update</strong></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">'COVID and China Macro Economy Updates'</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">'Global Cycle Notes: Hope Springs Eternal’: China Section&nbsp;</li></ul><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">CHINADebate, the publisher of the China Macro Reporter, aims to present different views on a given issue.</strong></em></h2><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Including an article here does imply agreement with or endorsement of its contents.</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;">&nbsp;<strong style="font-weight: bold">If you were to memorize Tony Saich’s </strong>‘Advice to the New Administration on China,’ you would have in your head a terrific, succinct outline of the China issues and choices facing the Biden team:</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Strategic options:</strong> competition, confrontation, containment, or a combination.</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Basic Principles:</strong> reciprocity not banning; alliances of the aggrieved, not the U.S. alone; cooperation where needed.</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Decoupling:</strong> complete – impossible; some areas – possible.</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Beijing on Biden:</strong> More predictable than Trump but equally tough,</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">What makes Tony’s insights </strong>so valuable is that he has logged time on the ground in China since he first visited as a student in 1976 at the tail end of the Cultural Revolution (there are some great photos I found on the internet of a young Tony out with the masses in the city and the countryside).</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">He has experienced </strong>China’s changing environments and tracked the people’s changing attitudes ever since.</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">You can sense</strong> this in his scholarly output and his work as director of the Ash Center and professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, as well as in his comments on China and on China and the world.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">This is a guy Mr. Biden</strong> needs as an advisor to and resource for the China team.</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">&nbsp;</strong></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘America First’ is ‘America Alone’ </strong>say critics of Mr. Trump’s foreign policy.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And to their satisfaction,</strong> the U.S. will soon be back on the path of leading collective efforts on all sorts of issues, including, of course, China.</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">While a return to U.S. leadership</strong> is generally welcomed in Europe and Asia (ex-China), there are a couple of distinct wrinkles.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">European allies,</strong> alternately kicked around or ignored for four years, have come to see the U.S. as unreliable.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">They are certainly happy</strong> that ‘America is back,’ but they are cautious.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">They can see from the closeness</strong> of the U.S. presidential election that Trumpism (let’s use this as shorthand for a set of views, not&nbsp;necessarily&nbsp;a movement) is strong.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">They realize</strong> that commitments made by the Biden administration could be reversed in four to eight years in another Trump-like Republican administration.</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Meaning they are concerned</strong> about joining the U.S. in any strong confrontations with China and then being left hung out to dry.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Asian allies</strong> are also skeptical, not of Mr. Trump but - ready for this – of President Obama.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The Obama years</strong> loom particularly large across the Pacific region—and the retrospection is not all rosy,’ writes Thomas McLaughlin in <em style="font-style: italic">The Atlantic</em>.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Many foreign partners</strong> will welcome a return to a semblance of normalcy after four years of Trump’s chaotic “America First'' doctrine.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But there is also a wariness</strong> in parts of Asia over a possible reversion to Obama-era policies and players under Biden, particularly when it comes to confronting China’s growing power.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Three years into his first term,</strong> President Barack Obama stood before the Australian Parliament and sketched out his vision for the&nbsp;United States’ tilting toward Asia.’&nbsp;</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “The pivot,”</strong> as it was known, was largely welcomed by regional leaders, but Obama’s confidence in his ability to shift America’s unwieldy foreign-policy apparatus proved to be overstated.’&nbsp;</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “The pivot to Asia</strong> was a good idea, but it was never properly implemented,” <strong style="font-weight: bold">Bilahari Kausikan</strong>, an outspoken former permanent secretary of Singapore’s ministry of foreign affairs, told me.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Bilahari Kausikan</strong> has become an articulate lightning rod for this point of view.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Before the U.S. presidential election,</strong> he published an essay, <strong style="font-weight: bold">'Watch what you wish for, including a Biden victory,' </strong>which has been widely quoted, commented on, and criticized.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">In it Mr. Kausikan writes, </strong>‘If Biden wins, he will carry all the baggage of the Obama administration with him to the White House.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'Obama's vice president </strong>cannot disavow all responsibility for what happened on Obama's watch.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Friend and foe</strong> alike will scrutinize his every move for any sign of weakness.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Mr. Kausikan </strong>also refers to another difference in Asian attitudes:</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Unlike many Europeans,</strong> a lot of Asians like Mr. Trump for his standing up to China.</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And they prefer him to Mr. Biden </strong>who, they fear, will cave to China.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Mr. Kausikan writes</strong>: ‘Hard power needs to be balanced by hard power; the balance stiffened by credible nuclear deterrence to keep other nuclear powers in check.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The most dangerous issues in Asia</strong> require hard power: the Himalayas, the Taiwan Straits, and the East and South China seas.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">&nbsp;‘Trump understood power,</strong> albeit instinctively.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘And he wielded it crudely,</strong> and sometimes incoherently.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'But when he bombed Syria </strong>over the use of chemical weapons while at dinner with Xi Jinping, he did much to restore the credibility of American power.'</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">In answering Mr. Kausikan, </strong>Ryan Hass of Brookings notes:</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘If Trump “restored the credibility of American power”</strong> by launching symbolic airstrikes on a Syrian airfield while serving chocolate cake to Xi Jinping in Mar-a-Lago, as Bilahari has argued, then why did China feel so comfortable flouting American demands in the years since?’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The hard reality</strong> is that Beijing has shown disregard for American opposition to its actions in Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the South China Sea, and along the China-India border.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In fact,</strong> Beijing has grown more comfortable ignoring American objections to its actions in each passing year of the Trump administration.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘This trend</strong> speaks to a broader truth —'</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Beijing weighs</strong> much more than whether a U.S. leader is willing to shoot an occasional missile at an inferior adversary when it calculates American resolve.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">But as Mr. Kausikan</strong> pointed out to me, it is these perceptions held by many Southeast Asians, regardless of what is or isn’t true, that Mr. Biden will have to deal with if he is to cobble together broad Asian coalitions to counter China.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And fair or not,</strong> he will remain tarred with the same 'Asia Pivot' brush until he proves otherwise.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Mr. Kausikan</strong> has retired twice:</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">First as</strong> Permanent Secretary of Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Second as</strong> former ambassador-at-large for Singapore.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">So far the second retirement</strong> is holding. And Mr. Kausikan is free to deliver his own provocative views as a private citizen.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Expect - and be on the lookout for - </strong>more of Mr. Kausikan’s much-welcomed challenges to western conventional wisdom about Asia.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><br></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Finally,</strong> check out the updates on China’s economy.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Two views</strong> pointing in the same general direction but with important nuances to consider.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">1. Advice to the New Administration on China</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/9FGOH2?track_p_id=cM6MWWFGpR3335v8bdO_XiA" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/wczHIBwO8dI5tffXNpoNi0i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/9FGOH2?track_p_id=dCb3rVuSMFgkn65v8bdO_tm" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'Tony Saich Sums Up What the Biden Team Needs to Consider about China'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="display:block; height: 400px; min-height: 300px; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/NWdYniVRbMYWjCruzOFyMzl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBXdhNIf0Yl8YfRAVzhohB7e" style="display: flex; width: 100%; height: 100%; object-fit: cover; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0; right: 0; margin: auto; border: none; pointer-events: none; "></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;">Ash Center | Harvard Kennedy School</h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;">Tony Saich | Harvard Kennedy School</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘China’s coming to the conclusion that a Biden administration will be different, but equally as tough to deal with as a Trump administration.’</strong></h2><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgWrxI5gmC8" target="_blank" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Watch</strong></a><strong style="font-weight: bold"> Tony's interview - transcript below.</strong></h3><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Ash</strong>: ‘Why should creating an effective policy for dealing with China top the<strong style="font-weight: bold">&nbsp;</strong>foreign policy<strong style="font-weight: bold">&nbsp;</strong>agenda for the new administration?’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Anthony Saich</strong>: ‘I think there's a general consensus in Washington that China presents the most significant geopolitical and strategic challenge to any administration moving forward.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘However,</strong> there are considerable differences in how to deal with that challenge.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Should</strong> it be through competition?’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Should</strong> it be through confrontation?’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Or should</strong> it be with containment?’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Or should</strong> it be a mixture of any one of those three?’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Ash</strong>: ‘If you were advising the new administration on China policy, what kind of strategy would you encourage them to pursue?’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Saich</strong>: ‘In terms of advising the administration as it comes in, I think there are three basic principles that one can bear in mind:’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The first</strong> is rather than simply banning Chinese organizations and Chinese apps, we should push for reciprocity.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Remember</strong> it was China that began decoupling by banning Facebook, Google, and other operators from the West.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Now it's also clear</strong> that things like Google have far more effective search engines and those which are in China, such as Baidu, for example.&nbsp;</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And so, </strong>one thing should be reciprocity, to push for genuine competition.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The second principle</strong> is, it's very difficult to go alone in meeting the challenges and demands from China.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The administration</strong> should seek to try and build alliances of the aggrieved and the willing to put pressure on China to conform to those obligations the country has said it is committed to, particularly after entering the World Trade Organization.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘That is one thing China fears most,</strong> it doesn't like feeling it's being ganged up upon and would rather act one-on-one, rather than in multilateral environments.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘And thirdly,</strong> one should look for those areas where cooperation might be conceivable.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘For example,</strong> in the realms of new global public goods dealing with climate change, dealing with the pandemic, dealing with the challenges to the ocean, and so forth.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Ash</strong>: ‘Why do you caution against trying to decouple from China?’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Saich</strong>: ‘A complete decoupling from China is impossible. It may be possible in certain areas.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Certainly,</strong> Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is dropping, trade will rebalance and will not be as extensive as it is currently.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But, for example,</strong> if one looks at the financial sector there's about a $5 trillion engagement in that sector.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘China desperately needs</strong> access to global financial markets.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Also, US financial institutions </strong>are hoping still to be able to enter China more effectively and make greater profits.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Ash</strong>: ‘How does Beijing view Biden's election and do they think the election will lead to a change in US policy towards China?’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Saich:</strong>&nbsp;‘The attitude in China has been shifting.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘While many had presumed</strong> that they might find the Biden administration more amenable, they're coming to the conclusion that a Biden administration will be different, but equally as tough to deal with as a Trump administration.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The Biden administration</strong> would not have the unpredictability.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But they have a sense</strong> that the Biden administration might try to build international coalitions and might also put pressure on its business practices, creating a level playing field, but also question China’s human rights protection and religious freedom.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">2. Changing Hearts &amp; Minds in Southeast Asia - Again</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/9JuITo?track_p_id=6KP%40gar85ZxNO_%40ApsXa3EU" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/Dk9ylcOkwjrZqhgAC9ICK0i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/9JuITo?track_p_id=1l85ZxNO_jNb5Z5Va6OYVDr" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'Barack Obama’s Legacy in Asia Looms Over Joe Biden'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The Atlantic</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Timothy McLaughlin</strong></h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Obama, Bilahari Kausikan told me, excelled at diplomacy, but was “uncomfortable with exercising power,” and, as a result, Biden “will be deeply scrutinized for any sign of weakness, and he will be scrutinized by friends and foes.” ’</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The Obama years</strong> loom particularly large across the Pacific region—and the retrospection is not all rosy.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘While many foreign partners</strong> will welcome a return to a semblance of normalcy after four years of Trump’s chaotic “America First'' doctrine, there is also a wariness in parts of Asia over a possible reversion to Obama-era policies and players under Biden, particularly when it comes to confronting China’s growing power.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Three years into his first term,</strong> President Barack Obama stood before the Australian Parliament and sketched out his vision for the&nbsp;<a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2011/11/17/remarks-president-obama-australian-parliament" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">United States’ tilting toward Asia</a>.’&nbsp;</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “The pivot,”</strong> as it was known, was largely welcomed by regional leaders, but Obama’s confidence in his ability to shift America’s unwieldy foreign-policy apparatus proved to be overstated.’&nbsp;</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “The pivot to Asia</strong> was a good idea, but it was never properly implemented,” Bilahari Kausikan, an outspoken former permanent secretary of Singapore’s ministry of foreign affairs, told me.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Obama, Kausikan told me,</strong> excelled at diplomacy, but was “uncomfortable with exercising power,” and, as a result, Biden “will be deeply scrutinized for any sign of weakness, and he will be scrutinized by friends and foes.” ’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘That, he continued,</strong> “is a reality he cannot escape.” ’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Yet some Asian nerves</strong> will nevertheless need easing.’&nbsp;</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘</strong><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/biden-china-election-taiwan-obama/2020/10/30/44e55488-0868-11eb-8719-0df159d14794_story.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Officials in Taiwan&nbsp;</strong></a>and prodemocracy activists in Hong Kong, for example, have expressed their doubts about Trump leaving office and worry that Biden marks a return to a more conciliatory stance toward China.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Some in Vietnam</strong> have also been left&nbsp;<a href="https://thediplomat.com/2020/11/in-vietnam-many-are-mourning-the-downfall-of-an-american-idol/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">deflated by Trump’s loss</a>.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Detractors in Hong Kong</strong> often point to Obama’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2014/11/obama-china-hong-kong-112743" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">muted response to 2014’s Umbrella protests&nbsp;</a>as evidence that his administration ignored warnings about Beijing’s encroachment on the city, and note that the Trump administration has moved the consensus opinion on China in a more hawkish direction, stepping up&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-27/trump-arms-sales-to-taiwan-boost-anti-china-hedgehog-strategy" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">weapons sales</a>&nbsp;and sending&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/china-taiwan-us-2nd-senior-trump-admin-official-visits-taipei-fueling-row-with-beijing/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">high-ranking officials to Taiwan</a>. (Trump himself has at times been friendly toward Xi, and has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/10/democracy-activists-who-love-trump/616891/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">frequently refused to support Hong Kong’s protest movement.</a>)’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="background-color:#f5f5f5;"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:20px;">&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/4wXm88?track_p_id=4Z%40Wd6XljgM_36cTosI%40jKs" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/m7JX27b_RKTk-Oa5TMmyL0i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/4wXm88?track_p_id=06XljgM_rVW3nXXZCVfqCtE" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'Back to the Future: Will Biden’s Asia Policy Come Full Circle?'&nbsp;</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="max-width:600px;"><img src="https://img.scoop.it/ZPuWYrFcIeBF5YW8MYFkmTl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBXdhNIf0Yl8YfRAVzhohB7e" style="border-style: none;" alt=""></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Lowy Institute</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Zack Cooper</strong> | American Enterprise Institute</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Although Biden’s Asia strategy won’t be called Pivot 2.0, that is how&nbsp;many&nbsp;in the region will perceive it.’</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Many of America’s friends in Asia</strong> have high expectations for the incoming administration of Joe Biden.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Biden has, after all, signalled</strong> that the region will be a top priority and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2020-01-23/why-america-must-lead-again" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">promised&nbsp;</a>to “build a united front of US allies and partners to confront China’s abusive behaviours and human rights violations”.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘This regional focus</strong> and devotion to alliances and partnerships reminds many of the Obama-era “pivot” to Asia.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Indeed,</strong> the basic logic of the pivot still holds: the global centre of gravity is shifting towards Asia, so more of America’s time, energy&nbsp;and resources should be devoted to the region.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But simply re-running the pivot</strong> is not an option.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘After all,</strong> although Biden’s Asia strategy won’t be called Pivot 2.0, that is how&nbsp;<a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/10/19/biden-trump-china-india-asia-pivot/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">many&nbsp;</a>in the region will perceive it.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Convincing Asian observers</strong> that this time is different because of three factors are working against the United States.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘First,</strong> regional states assess that Washington’s political and economic influence is waning.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="max-width:600px;"><img src="https://img.scoop.it/3phIhyuk-3LOYw5vI9aO6jl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBXdhNIf0Yl8YfRAVzhohB7e" style="border-style: none;" alt=""></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Second,</strong> allied publics think the United States is turning inward and calling into question shared values and principles.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Third,</strong> many worry about the continued spectre of Trumpism and the “America&nbsp;First”&nbsp;mentality.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Countering these factors</strong> will require persuasive answers to all three questions below.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘First,</strong></span><span style="color: #d0021b"> can the United States devote more attention abroad if it is occupied by challenges at home?’</span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The Covid-19 pandemic</strong> and its economic impact are rightfully Biden’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/bidens-first-foreign-policy-task-is-a-global-covid-19-response-11604938968" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">top priority</a>, just as jumpstarting the US economy was Obama’s top task after the 2007­–08 global financial crisis.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Yet, many in Asia</strong> worry that these domestic priorities will displace international ones.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The Biden administration</strong> can make up some ground in Asia simply by having senior leaders show up consistently at regional meetings, but it will have to work hard to convince Asian friends that other domestic and international priorities will not crowd out the necessary focus on Asia.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Second,</strong></span><span style="color: #d0021b"> can Washington increase regional trade and investment if it cannot ratify trade deals?’</span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Trump famously campaigned</strong> on cancelling US participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), renegotiating “bad” trade deals, and putting tariffs on China.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘One might expect</strong> that trade would be less popular as a result.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Yet,</strong> polling from&nbsp;<a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/286730/americans-vanishing-fear-foreign-trade.aspx" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">Gallup&nbsp;</a>shows that 79% of Americans now see trade as an opportunity for growth, up from 45% a decade ago.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="max-width:600px;"><img src="https://img.scoop.it/Ycq549HCeRXXZZ22NAm-mDl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBXdhNIf0Yl8YfRAVzhohB7e" style="border-style: none;" alt=""></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Unfortunately,</strong> robust public support for trade in America does not translate into political support in Congress.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘So it is unclear</strong> whether a Biden administration could win ratification of a revised TPP, which became the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership after Trump’s withdrawal.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘With the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/rcep-revives-the-art-of-the-deal" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">now signed</a>, awaiting ratification, America needs a positive trade and investment plan now more than ever.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Third,</strong></span><span style="color: #d0021b"> can the United States deter China and reassure regional allies with fewer defence resources?’</span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Biden’s team</strong> will have to show how the United States can reverse the deteriorating regional military balance with flat (or declining) defence budgets.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The incoming team</strong> has outlined some innovative ideas about how make better use of defence dollars, but many in Asia will remain sceptical until they see US resources match US rhetoric.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘After all,</strong> if China continues to do “more with more”, it will be hard for America to do “more with less”.'</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="max-width:600px;"><img src="https://img.scoop.it/hPnUQFl5IEfR-d03GuZvnjl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBXdhNIf0Yl8YfRAVzhohB7e" style="border-style: none;" alt=""></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">3. Bilahari Kausikan on Biden's Southeast Asian Perception Problems</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/0VNsY5dutumJhDCxZjf7cjl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/_m1dUmbwnuw4uBDmQkqkuTl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/_m1dUmbwnuw4uBDmQkqkuTl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/91jy9g?track_p_id=2Zb86iLte_yw2X4Kr6Tvoaa" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/qEkV02U-QW3pdvCJaMF2VUi__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/91jy9g?track_p_id=bYmpK3eLhWWd86iLte_dEQs" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'Watch what you wish for, including a Biden victory'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="max-width:600px;"><img src="https://img.scoop.it/lAJDFaS7J7ql_NxcPzOFfjl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBXdhNIf0Yl8YfRAVzhohB7e" style="border-style: none;" alt=""></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/lAJDFaS7J7ql_NxcPzOFfjl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Nikkei Asian Review</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Bilahari Kausikan</strong> | former permanent secretary of Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former ambassador-at-large</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘If Biden wins, he will carry all the baggage of the Obama administration with him to the White House.’</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'Listening to Barack Obama</strong> speaking about "pivoting" to Asia was a pleasure. It was flattering when he made time to attend ASEAN meetings.'&nbsp;</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'The Trans-Pacific Partnership,</strong> or TPP, was a substantive achievement.'</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'But some aspects of Obama's foreign policy </strong>were terrible.'&nbsp;</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'Obama</strong> had little stomach for exercising power.'&nbsp;</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'There was even reason</strong> to wonder whether his administration, particularly in its second term, really understood international relations.'&nbsp;</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'It is not all</strong> about soft power.'</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Trump understood power,</strong> albeit instinctively.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘And he wielded it crudely,</strong> and sometimes incoherently.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'But when he bombed Syria </strong>over the use of chemical weapons while at dinner with Xi Jinping, he did much to restore the credibility of American power.'</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Hard power</strong> needs to be balanced by hard power; the balance stiffened by credible nuclear deterrence to keep other nuclear powers in check.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The U.S.</strong> is an irreplaceable component of any Asian balance.'</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘No combination of Asian powers alone</strong> has sufficient strategic weight to balance China.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The most dangerous issues in Asia</strong> require hard power: the Himalayas, the Taiwan Straits, and the East and South China seas.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Asia's continued prosperity</strong> rests on a foundation of the stability provided by a balance of hard power.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘If Biden wins,</strong> he will carry all the baggage of the Obama administration with him to the White House.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Obama's vice president </strong>cannot disavow all responsibility for what happened on Obama's watch.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Friend and foe</strong> alike will scrutinize his every move for any sign of weakness.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Biden will not enter</strong> the White House with entirely free hands.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘He must manage and balance </strong>the divergent agendas of the progressive and traditional wings of the Democratic Party. Policy may well be pulled in different directions.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Appointees</strong> may not all be of like mind.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Foreign and domestic policies</strong> traded-off.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘A Biden administration</strong> could end up as incoherent as its predecessor, but without its grasp of power.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="background-color:#f5f5f5;"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:20px;">&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/9K67aC?track_p_id=433g14yvXzC_kpF1SaDi5%402" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/fT8DySfKfRttY-U-TpJFkEi__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/9K67aC?track_p_id=ba3lCpapOiUQ4yvXzC_u3MK" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">Answering Mr. Kausikan: 'Biden set to restore US credibility in Asia'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Brookings</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Ryan Hass</strong> | Brookings</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘If Trump “restored the credibility of American power,” then why did China feel so comfortable flouting American demands in the years since?’</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘With the prospect of a Democrat</strong> returning to the White House now certain, we can expect a growing temptation for Asian security experts to engage in reflexive hand-wringing about an imagined American retreat in the face of a rising China.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Bilahari Kausikan</strong> provided one such example of this phenomenon in the Nikkei Asia article “<a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Watch-what-you-wish-for-including-a-Biden-victory" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">Watch what you wish for, including a Biden victory</a>” published on Nov. 3.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘This kind of critique</strong> relies upon an argument that Obama was overly cautious in exercising hard power, Trump was tough, and Biden could turn the clock back to the Obama era in ways that could invite further Chinese boundary-testing.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘This tired argument</strong> is factually, historically, and prescriptively flawed.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘First,</strong> the assertion of Obama’s so-called weakness in dealing with China relies upon cherry-picked data points to paint an inaccurate picture.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Second,</strong> the narrative of Trump as a leader with an instinctive understanding of power and how to wield it is belied by the deterioration of American influence and prestige in the region in recent years.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘If Trump “restore[d] the credibility of American power”</strong> by launching symbolic airstrikes on a Syrian airfield while serving chocolate cake to Xi Jinping in Mar-a-Lago, as Bilahari has argued, then why did China feel so comfortable flouting American demands in the years since?’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The hard reality</strong> is that Beijing has shown disregard for American opposition to its actions in Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the South China Sea, and along the China-India border.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In fact,</strong> Beijing has grown more comfortable ignoring American objections to its actions in each passing year of the Trump administration.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘This trend</strong> speaks to a broader truth —'</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Beijing weighs</strong> much more than whether a U.S. leader is willing to shoot an occasional missile at an inferior adversary when it calculates American resolve.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘And third,</strong> the suggestion that Biden’s China policy will be a carbon copy of Obama’s is analytically unfounded.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Nobody in the Biden campaign</strong> has argued for dusting off the old policy playbook to deal with the current challenges posed by China.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Biden’s views on China</strong> are responsive to the increasingly competitive nature of the U.S.-China relationship.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Biden’s top advisers</strong> generally are skeptical of China’s ambitions.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/Ycq549HCeRXXZZ22NAm-mDl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/3phIhyuk-3LOYw5vI9aO6jl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">4. China Economy Update</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/5Ei6SG?track_p_id=aVXE%40BVeZD%4097vtpG_ee1Xp" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/OzYcFf4rJmckh3zTGB-FWEi__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/5Ei6SG?track_p_id=6345Kei97vtpG_tjSCl3anE" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'COVID and China Macro Economy Updates'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="max-width:600px;"><img src="https://img.scoop.it/E5xubDgsjyu7HHBvaMNRMTl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBXdhNIf0Yl8YfRAVzhohB7e" style="border-style: none;" alt=""></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/VYPRyH-Xe_MDo4sMvhhfkzl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Sinology</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Andy Rothman </strong>| Matthews Asia</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘A V-shaped Chinese economic recovery has been underway for eight consecutive months.’</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The coronavirus</strong> remains largely under control in China.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘There has not been a COVID death</strong> since mid-April, and only 374 patients were in hospital as of November 15, down from 58,016 on the February 17 peak.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘(There were 69,864 COVID patients</strong> hospitalized in the U.S. on November 15.)’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Minor</strong><strong style="font-weight: bold">outbreaks continue to appear in China, to which the government has responded with</strong> massive testing and contact tracing.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Because COVID</strong> is largely under control in China, people have been able to resume a largely normal life.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘And a V-shaped economic recovery</strong> has been underway for eight consecutive months.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Chinese consumers</strong> are back:’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Auto sales</strong> have recorded six months of double-digit year-over-year (YoY) growth.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘New home sales</strong> have risen YoY for the last six months, after&nbsp;falling&nbsp;39% during the first two months of the year.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Long lines</strong> in front of popular restaurants are back, as are traffic jams.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Sales at restaurants and bars</strong> increased 0.8% YoY in October, the first month of YoY growth since the outbreak began, and compared to a 46.8%&nbsp;fall&nbsp;in March.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Consumers </strong>are gradually feeling more comfortable gathering indoors.’<br></li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘All of this</strong> with only modest fiscal and monetary stimulus.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="background-color:#f5f5f5;"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:20px;">&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/5WsQmO?track_p_id=056P8JS_UYNKf5KWjKZFOJa" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/Pd2AGi8v7b5rElII6CSyYki__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/5WsQmO?track_p_id=056P8JS_khPxJS3DpulcfkR" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'Global Cycle Notes: Hope Springs Eternal’: China Section</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="max-width:600px;"><img src="https://img.scoop.it/VYPRyH-Xe_MDo4sMvhhfkzl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBXdhNIf0Yl8YfRAVzhohB7e" style="border-style: none;" alt=""></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">CreditSuisse</strong></h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The external demand shock will coincide with fading domestic policy stimulus. Improving private domestic final demand should prevent a contraction in factory output.’</strong></em></h2><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Below is the just the China section. </strong><a href="https://plus.credit-suisse.com/rpc4/ravDocView?docid=V7oC342AC-WEsuhy" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Read the entire - excellent - 27-page analysis</strong></a><strong style="font-weight: bold"> of global economic trends and situation region by region.</strong></h3><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘After a strong expansion since February,</strong> the short-term outlook for Chinese industrial production has worsened.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Robust 1) external demand</strong> and <strong style="font-weight: bold">2) policy stimulus </strong>have been crucial drivers of the rebound, but are likely to fade in the months ahead.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Fortunately,</strong> improving private <strong style="font-weight: bold">3)</strong><strong style="font-weight: bold">domestic demand</strong> will partly offset the external shock, preventing an outright contraction in industrial output.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">1. External Demand. ‘</strong>External demand is likely to recede in the months ahead. The US and Europe represent over half of Chinese exports.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Major European economies</strong> have ordered a second round of shutdowns in the face of new COVID-19 waves.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In the US,</strong> rapidly rising COVID-19 infections have increased the risk of similar mobility limitations.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Manufacturing supply chains </strong>are likely to be less disrupted than during previous shutdowns, since measures are more targeted, but restrictions to consumer behavior are likely to tame consumer spending.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">2. Policy Stimulus. ‘</strong>The external demand shock will coincide with fading domestic <strong style="font-weight: bold">policy stimulus</strong>.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘A surge of policy-induced lending</strong> has revived infrastructure investment since Q2, but the tailwind is gradually fading.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Local bond issuance</strong> and government spending have both slowed.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Bank loan growth</strong> has fallen to pre-COVID levels.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The central bank</strong> has tightened financial conditions in recent months and signaled a desire to maintain the current policy stance for the foreseeable future.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Unless domestic shutdowns</strong> are required again, which seems improbable given China’s tight control over the virus, authorities are unlikely to ease policy further.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">3. Domestic Demand. ‘However,</strong> improving private domestic final demand should prevent a contraction in factory output and should position the industrial sector for a reacceleration in the spring.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The labor market</strong> should continue to recover, benefiting low-income groups.'</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The savings rate</strong> should also come down meaningfully as job security improves, further fueling consumer spending.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Business sentiment</strong> is likely to improve as the prolonged period of suppressed virus spread encourages future planning.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Manufacturing investment</strong> has returned to late 2019 levels, but there is room for further upside.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Despite several advanced vaccine trials</strong> by domestic pharmaceutical companies, China is unlikely to be able to produce enough doses to adequately immunize its large population anytime soon.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘However,</strong> combining effective disease control and an inoculated population of essential workers should significantly reduce the risk of future outbreaks and related economic uncertainty.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div>

<div style="background-color:#f5f5f5; margin:0 auto; padding:0; text-align:center;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="background-color: #f5f5f5; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff"><tbody><tr><td><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h1 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 26px;line-height: 36px;font-weight: 400;color: #001544;letter-spacing: 0.1px;display: inline-block;margin-block-start: 0;margin-block-end: 0;margin-inline-start: 0px;margin-inline-end: 0px;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Greetings!</strong></h1><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">In this issue:</strong></p><ol style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #4a4a4a"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Antony Blinken on China</strong></span></li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #4a4a4a"><strong style="font-weight: bold">China on Blinken: First Impressions</strong></span></li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #4a4a4a"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Biden's Foreign Policy Team:&nbsp;“Restorationists” Versus&nbsp;“Reformists”</strong></span></li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #4a4a4a"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Biden's Foreign Policy Team: Reaction from the Right</strong></span></li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #4a4a4a"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Could You Give Me a Little Context with That?</strong></span></li></ol><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">CHINADebate, the publisher of the China Macro Reporter, aims to present different views on a given issue.</strong></em></h2><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Including an article here does imply agreement with or endorsement of its contents.</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;">&nbsp;<strong style="font-weight: bold">When Joe Biden</strong> introduced his national security team on Monday, I felt for the first time that, okay, this is really happening.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And,</strong> from what little I know about the nominees’ policy positions, I also felt relieved –This looks like a team that could go far in repairing the U.S.’s reputation and relations in the world.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">By saying this I will be tagged</strong> as a member of the alliance-loving, international institution-loving, center-hugging, America-lead-the-world camp.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And,</strong> by way of full disclosure, I am.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">But, as in any such group,</strong> there are factions. As Thomas Wright of Brookings notes, <strong style="font-weight: bold">‘</strong>Within Biden’s team, an ongoing, but largely overlooked,&nbsp;debate&nbsp;has been brewing among Democratic centrists about the future of U.S. foreign policy.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“Restorationists”.</strong> One group, which I call <strong style="font-weight: bold">“restorationist,”</strong> favors a foreign policy broadly consistent with that of President Barack Obama.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“Reformists”.</strong> A second group, which I call <strong style="font-weight: bold">“reformist,”</strong> challenges key orthodoxies from the Obama era.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">With regard</strong> to China:</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The “Restorationists” ‘will stand up to China</strong> but will not want to define their strategy as a great power competition.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Many of the restorationists,</strong> are very skeptical of using competition with China as a framework for U.S. foreign and domestic policy.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Some also have substantive reservations</strong> about any decoupling from China.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘They expect China</strong> to reach out for a reset early in 2021—probably regarding the pandemic and climate change—and would like to explore opportunities for cooperation.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Foreign-policy progressives</strong> are also generally opposed to building Biden’s foreign policy around competition with China, believing that the strategy risks creating a Cold War.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The “Reformists”:</strong></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘They see China</strong> as the administration’s defining&nbsp;challenge and favor a more competitive approach than Obama’s.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">According to Dr. Wright,</strong> Mr. Biden is up to the challenge of wrangling the two groups:</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Biden’s worldview</strong> is broad enough to be compatible with the restorationist and reformist schools of thought.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘As a seasoned foreign-policy leader,</strong> he is ideally positioned to adjudicate this debate and to choose among the options that it will present.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><br></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Among the nominees </strong>the one stands out as the most influential:</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Antony Bliken,</strong> Secretary of State nominee.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">In the past months, </strong>Mr. Bliken has made the rounds giving his positions on foreign policy issues. Regarding China,<strong style="font-weight: bold"></strong>Mr. Blinken said in a dialog with Walter Russell Mead at the Hudson Institute: ‘How would we approach things with China?’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘First,</strong><strong style="font-weight: bold">we need,</strong> in the first instance, to invest in our own competitiveness.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Second,</strong><strong style="font-weight: bold">we need to rally our allies</strong> and partners instead of alienating them to deal with some of the challenges that China poses.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Third,</strong> we need to be standing up for our values and put them back at the center of our foreign policy, not walk away from them.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Finally,</strong> a Biden demonstration, having reestablished a relative strength in the relationship, will be able to engage China and work with China, in areas where our interests clearly overlap.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">&nbsp;</strong></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The early responses from China </strong>about Mr. Blinken’s nomination are positive. Jia Qingguo, an international relations professor at Peking University, for example, said:</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“China is not expecting a pro-China secretary of state.</strong></li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">"China expects someone </strong>who can deal with&nbsp;US-China relations in a sensible way that serves US interests.”</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">"Blinken </strong>would be likely to bring Washington back to its post-war international strategy of advancing American interests by maintaining a world order that is favourable to the US – which would mean a more predictable China policy than under Trump.”</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><br></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The response from the right</strong> to the proposed national security team has a wide range. Here are two examples.</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Walter Russell Mead,</strong> who interviewed Antony Blinken above, wrote a very gracious op-ed in <em style="font-style: italic">The Wall Street Journal</em>:</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The new U.S. foreign-policy leadership</strong> is less a team of rivals than a reunion of friends.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Let us wish them the best</strong> as they prepare for the challenges of leading the world’s greatest power through a stormy and tumultuous time.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Senator Marco Rubio</strong> had a different take:</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Biden’s cabinet</strong> picks went to Ivy League schools, have strong resumes, attend all the right conferences &amp; will be polite &amp; orderly caretakers of America’s decline.,’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘I support</strong> American greatness.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘And I have no interest</strong> in returning to the “normal” that left us dependent on China.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Mr. Rubio</strong> may be signaling his opposition to confirming Mr. Biden’s nominees.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Or he may just be starting</strong> his 2024 presidential campaign.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;">&nbsp;</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Finally, I included</strong> 'Biden's Transition Has Started. Release the Op-Eds!' by Brookings’ Thomas Wright, because it rang true to me.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">This is not about China,</strong> but it does raise the hood to indirectly highlight the challenges of the process of putting out the China Macro Reporter.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And what Dr. Wright says </strong>about the proliferation of policy essays during the presidential transition applies to me all the time.</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">1. Antony Blinken on China</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/6DVYsS?track_p_id=cknrNROWaDDp27JKwHO_4r1" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/CR-ApauK-9CAi7DFNjVVBUi__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/6DVYsS?track_p_id=eV23y3xQVNEkYXQ7JKwHO_6" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'Blinken Talks China'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="display:block; height: 400px; min-height: 300px; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/J6W38_Phvvqi42ed_Iq7RTl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBXdhNIf0Yl8YfRAVzhohB7e" style="display: flex; width: 100%; height: 100%; object-fit: cover; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0; right: 0; margin: auto; border: none; pointer-events: none; "></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Hudson Institute</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Antony Blinken | </strong>U.S. Secretary of State nominee</h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Walter Russell Mead</strong> | Hudson Institute</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘We need to rally our allies and partners instead of alienating them to deal with some of the challenges that China poses.’</strong></em></h2><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">China portion of &nbsp;a July 9, 2020 dialog between Antony Blinken &amp; Walter Russell Mead</strong></h3><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Walter Russell Mead:</strong>&nbsp; ‘Today, you hear from many Democrats, as well as many Republicans a concern about what’s going on in China and the future of the relationship.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘How do you see a Biden administration </strong>getting sort of setting itself up to deal with China?’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Tony Blinken:</strong>&nbsp;‘Well, first of all, I think you’re right.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘There is a growing consensus</strong> across parties that China poses a series of new challenges and that the status quo was really not sustainable particularly when it comes to China’s commercial and economic practices, the lack of reciprocity in the relationships or something that couldn’t be sustained and needed to be and continue to need to be dealt with.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Here’s the problem and again,</strong> take a step back, my concern now is that in terms of China’s strategic interests and in terms of our own, China, as a result of the last three and a half years is in a stronger position and we’re in a weaker position and that’s what a Biden administration would have to start to rebuild from.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘What do I mean</strong> by that?’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘If you think about what China</strong> would hope to achieve strategically around the world, unfortunately, in my judgment, the Trump administration has helped them advance their interests.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Weaker US alliances,</strong> China sees alliances as a core source of strength for the United States, something they don’t share and enjoy.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Unfortunately,</strong> the way President Trump has pursued his policies that’s weakened, not strengthened our core alliances, particularly in Asia.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Institutions,</strong> China’s trying to assert its own leadership in international institutions at the expense of our own.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Well, our own withdrawal</strong> from virtually every institution you can think of has left an opening for China to fill.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘When it comes to values,</strong> our abdication of standing up for our own values and in Asia and with regard to China’s actions, has, I think, given the government in Beijing, a sense of greater impunity when it comes to cracking down on democracy in Hong Kong or for that matter, dealing and abusing the human rights of Uyghurs in China.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Finally, our own democracy,</strong> when it is weak, when it looks like it’s in disarray, when it seems not to be delivering from for its people when people are questioning its legitimacy, that is arguably good for China because our model looks less attractive than it otherwise would.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Well, I think President Trump,</strong> unfortunately, has led an assault on our own democracy, its institutions, its values, its people that is served to further delegitimize it, not just in the eyes of Americans but around the world.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In that sense,</strong> I’m afraid we’re at a strategic disadvantage. China is at a strategic advantage at this particular moment.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Having said that,</strong> how would we approach things?’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘A few things</strong> that are worth underscoring.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘First,</strong> it’s vital because we are in a competition with China and there’s nothing wrong with competition if it’s fair.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In fact,</strong> it hopefully brings out in some ways the best.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘We need,</strong> in the first instance, to invest in our own competitiveness.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘That means</strong> making some very fundamental reorientation of resources and priorities when it comes to investing in American infrastructure, American education, the health care system, our workers and their competitiveness.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Second,</strong> one of the things I think that’s been a deficiency in the Trump administration’s approach to contending with China is it’s done so not with our allies and partners but without them, indeed while alienating them.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘We need to rally our allies</strong> and partners instead of alienating them to deal with some of the challenges that China poses.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘For example,</strong> on trade, as you know, Walter, we’re about 25% of world&nbsp;GDP&nbsp;alone.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘When we’re working with allies</strong> and partners, depending on who we bring into the mix, it’s 50 or 60% of&nbsp;GDP.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘That’s a lot more weight</strong> and a lot harder for China to ignore.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Third,</strong> we need to be standing up for our values and put them back at the center of our foreign policy, not walk away from them.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘We obviously</strong> need to be in a place to effectively deter aggression, if China pursues it.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Finally,</strong> I think you’d see a Biden demonstration having reestablished a relative strength in the relationship, then be able to engage China and work with China, in areas where our interests clearly overlap, whether it is again, contending with climate change, dealing with global health and pandemics, dealing with the spread of dangerous weapons.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘We’re much better off</strong> though, finding ways to cooperate when we’re acting from a position of strength than from a position of weakness.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">2. China on Blinken: First Impressions</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/6VftCa?track_p_id=aGJeAIMY3CK5S9N6c_lMrQ%40" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/4UNErUpL6B0PDb_k6KYYAUi__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/6VftCa?track_p_id=aSpp2Z%40k6Mm5S9N6c_Uyvck" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">China on Blinken: First Impressions</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="display:block; height: 500px; min-height: 300px; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/kLsz7HUMURTmzY_UsKz_9jl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBXdhNIf0Yl8YfRAVzhohB7e" style="display: flex; width: 100%; height: 100%; object-fit: cover; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0; right: 0; margin: auto; border: none; pointer-events: none; "></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">South China Morning Post</strong></h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Antony Blinken is seen as a moderate and an official Beijing could work with to stabilise relations, according to Chinese analysts.’</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Biden announced</strong> on Monday that he has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3111076/joe-biden-taps-antony-blinken-secretary-state" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">nominated Antony Blinken</a>, his foreign policy adviser, to be America’s top diplomat.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Chinese analysts</strong> say the choice could lead to a change in tack on Washington’s China policy, which has seen&nbsp;<a href="https://www.scmp.com/topics/us-china-relations" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">worsening tensions between the world’s two largest economies</a> under President Donald Trump, as they head towards what some call a “new Cold War”.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Jia Qingguo, an international relations professor at Peking University,</strong> said Blinken may be an official China can work with to stabilise relations.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “But whoever is appointed the next secretary of state</strong> will be better than the current one,” Jia said, referring to Mike Pompeo, a China hawk and target of frequent attacks in Beijing’s state media outlets.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “China is not expecting a pro-China secretary of state.</strong> China expects someone who can deal with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.scmp.com/knowledge/us-china-relations?module=inline&amp;pgtype=article" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">US-China relations</a> in a sensible way that serves US interests,” he said.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “As long as it’s done in a sensible way,</strong> there are plenty of issues the US could work on with China that will suit both of their interests.” ’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Blinken </strong>would be likely to bring Washington back to its post-war international strategy of advancing American interests by maintaining a world order that is favourable to the US – which would mean a more predictable China policy than under Trump, he said.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Lu Xiang, a US affairs specialist with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences,</strong> said Blinken as secretary of state would be a positive move for Beijing.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “With his experience,</strong> Biden is likely to make some important decisions on foreign policy,” Lu said.</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “Blinken is not a charismatic or provocative type,</strong> but he’s a pragmatic type … if he gets confirmed, I will personally see it as good news”.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But Lu also noted </strong>Blinken’s hawkish remarks on technology, and his reference to China as a “techno-autocracy”.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">3. Biden's Foreign Policy Team:&nbsp;“Restorationists” Versus&nbsp;“Reformists”</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/6nqDWi?track_p_id=07lGVFW_pT5cX32oFLB2sVH" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/Dk9ylcOkwjrZqhgAC9ICK0i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/6nqDWi?track_p_id=cY3MVvE3unuZH7lGVFW_Hnh" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'The Debate in Biden's Foreign Policy Team'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="display:block; height: 300px; min-height: 300px; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/8vf2eHBhcoN26jKXVBxQQzl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBXdhNIf0Yl8YfRAVzhohB7e" style="display: flex; width: 100%; height: 100%; object-fit: cover; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0; right: 0; margin: auto; border: none; pointer-events: none; "></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The Atlantic</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Thomas Wright</strong> | Brookings Institution</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Biden’s worldview is broad enough to be compatible with the restorationist and reformist schools of thought.’</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Within Biden’s team,</strong> an ongoing, but largely overlooked,<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2020/10/01/between-restoration-and-change/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">&nbsp;debate</a>&nbsp;has been brewing among Democratic centrists about the future of U.S. foreign policy.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“Restorationists”.</strong> One group, which I call <strong style="font-weight: bold">“restorationist,”</strong> favors a foreign policy broadly consistent with that of President Barack Obama.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘They believe in careful management</strong> of the post–Cold War order.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘They are cautious</strong> and incrementalist.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘They will stand up to China</strong> but will not want to define their strategy as a great power competition.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘They maintain high hopes</strong> for bilateral cooperation with Beijing on climate change, global public health, and other issues.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘They support Biden’s idea</strong> for a summit of democracies, aimed at repairing democracy and encouraging cooperation, but are wary of an ideological competition between democracy and authoritarianism.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘They favor a return</strong> to the Iran nuclear deal and intend to continue to play America’s traditional role in the Middle East.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘They generally support free-trade deals</strong> and embrace globalization.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Many of the restorationists,</strong> are very skeptical of using competition with China as a framework for U.S. foreign and domestic policy.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Some also have substantive reservations</strong> about any decoupling from China.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘They expect China</strong> to reach out for a reset early in 2021—probably regarding the pandemic and climate change—and would like to explore opportunities for cooperation.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Foreign-policy progressives</strong> are also generally opposed to building Biden’s foreign policy around competition with China, believing that the strategy risks creating a Cold War.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“Reformists”.</strong> A second group, which I call <strong style="font-weight: bold">“reformist,”</strong> challenges key orthodoxies from the Obama era.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Philosophically,</strong> these advisers believe that U.S. foreign policy needs to fundamentally change if it is to deal with the underlying forces of Trumpism and nationalist populism.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘They are more willing</strong> than restorationists to take calculated risks and more comfortable tolerating friction with rivals and problematic allies.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘They see China</strong> as the administration’s defining&nbsp;<a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2018-02-13/china-reckoning" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">challenge</a>&nbsp;and favor a more competitive approach than Obama’s.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘They view cooperation</strong> with other free societies as a central component of U.S. foreign policy, even if those partnerships result in clashes with authoritarian allies that are not particularly vital.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘They&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/middle-east/2018-12-11/americas-middle-east-purgatory" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">want</strong></a><strong style="font-weight: bold">&nbsp;less Middle East</strong> involvement overall and are more<a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/middle-east/2020-05-22/americas-opportunity-middle-east" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">&nbsp;willing</a>&nbsp;to use leverage against Iran and Gulf Arab states in the hopes of securing an agreement to replace the Iran nuclear deal.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘They favor significant changes</strong> to&nbsp;<a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/02/07/america-needs-a-new-economic-philosophy-foreign-policy-experts-can-help/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">foreign economic policy</a>, focusing on international tax, cybersecurity and data sharing, industrial policy, and technology, rather than traditional free-trade agreements.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Biden’s worldview</strong> is broad enough to be compatible with the restorationist and reformist schools of thought.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘As a seasoned foreign-policy leader,</strong> he is ideally positioned to adjudicate this debate and to choose among the options that it will present.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">4. Biden's Foreign Policy Team: Reaction from the Right</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/760Xqq?track_p_id=c1%406Is3nQV3qY7JjPdG_aA4" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/K9fKxwrt-0GqvuYSovNp30i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/760Xqq?track_p_id=eVrtAsq6vd2XpTa7JjPdG_i" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'Biden’s Foreign-Policy Team Takes Shape'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The Wall Street Journal</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Walter Russell Mead</strong> | Hudson Institute</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘This is very much a “pivot to Asia” foreign-policy team that’s likely to pursue a more robust policy in the East than the Obama administration did.’</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The news</strong> that President-elect Joe Biden is nominating Antony Blinken as secretary of state and will appoint Jake Sullivan as national security adviser speaks volumes about the next era in U.S. foreign policy.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘For one thing,</strong> it illustrates that the Biden presidency will not be a third term for the Obama foreign-policy team.’&nbsp;</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'Blinken</strong> has a decadeslong history with Mr. Biden, and, like Mr. Sullivan, served Vice President Biden as his national security adviser during the Obama years.'</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'As a former chairman </strong>of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a hands-on vice president, Mr. Biden comes to the White House with more foreign-policy experience than any post-World War II president besides Dwight Eisenhower and George H.W. Bush.'</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'America’s new foreign policy </strong>will have Mr. Biden’s fingerprints all over it; the president-elect knows what he wants and is choosing a team he believes can deliver it.'</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘American foreign-policy’s focus,</strong> however, will continue to shift toward the Indo-Pacific.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘This is very much a “pivot to Asia”</strong> foreign-policy team that’s likely to pursue a more robust policy in the East than the Obama administration did.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The new team’s critique</strong> of Trump-era China policy was on means more than ends.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Poor relations with allies,</strong> particularly in Europe, meant Team Trump couldn’t marshal a united front on economic matters with China.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In Team Biden’s view,</strong> this was a fatal flaw that undercut the Trump administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The new U.S. foreign-policy leadership</strong> is less a team of rivals than a reunion of friends.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Let us wish them the best</strong> as they prepare for the challenges of leading the world’s greatest power through a stormy and tumultuous time.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="background-color:#f5f5f5;"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:20px;">&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/7OAsAy?track_p_id=aTJbuun32CA8HM05u_2J1ck" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/irry7EUsnjxPAzOLxwPDM0i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/7OAsAy?track_p_id=8b%40T4VtKN8HM05u_36mkppJ" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'Rubio calls Biden’s national security team "polite &amp; orderly caretakers of America’s decline"'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="max-width:600px;"><img src="https://img.scoop.it/0VNsY5dutumJhDCxZjf7cjl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBXdhNIf0Yl8YfRAVzhohB7e" style="border-style: none;" alt=""></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/0VNsY5dutumJhDCxZjf7cjl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Politico</strong></h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“I support American greatness. And I have no interest in returning to the ‘normal’ that left us dependent on China.”</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Sen.&nbsp;Marco Rubio</strong>&nbsp;suggested on Tuesday that he would oppose confirmation of President-elect Joe Biden's national security team, presaging the first sign of potential Senate battles to come if Republicans maintain control of the Senate.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Rubio (R-Fla.)</strong> said Biden’s selections “will be polite &amp; orderly caretakers of America’s decline,” criticizing their&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/11/24/joe-bidens-team-of-careerists-440177" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">professional credentials and Washington bona fides</a>.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Rubio sits</strong> on both the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">In response,</strong> Ian Bremmer tweeted:</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="max-width:600px;"><img src="https://img.scoop.it/aaJ6rdtT783znz_mG7WZNDl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBXdhNIf0Yl8YfRAVzhohB7e" style="border-style: none;" alt=""></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">5. Could You Give Me a &nbsp;Little Context with That?</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/_m1dUmbwnuw4uBDmQkqkuTl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/7gLCV6?track_p_id=1l6ZJzri_Lk3dHpzjzfnFZ5" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/70Mx3kjMW7MujEpRqYWUwki__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/7gLCV6?track_p_id=7qjfpCM46ZJzri_gVUaBXDu" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'Biden's Transition Has Started. Release the Op-Eds!'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="display:block; height: 400px; min-height: 300px; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><a href="http://sco.lt/7gLCV6?track_p_id=4Vc3i6ZJzri_WGxwBMqceg5" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/_m1dUmbwnuw4uBDmQkqkuTl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK" style="display: flex; width: 100%; height: 100%; object-fit: cover; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0; right: 0; margin: auto; border: none; pointer-events: none; "></a></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Foreign Policy</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Steven A. Cook</strong> | Council on Foreign Relations</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Wonks in Washington haven’t yet learned what policymakers need from us, which is best summed up in a single word: context.’</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The ideas industry</strong> has been busy in the last few weeks.’&nbsp;</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Since the U.S. presidential election</strong> was called for Joe Biden on Nov. 7, Washington has been awash in advice for him and his incoming administration.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘One can only marvel</strong> at the pace—if not always quality—of production.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘To be sure,</strong> some of the articles that have been published making recommendations for the Biden administration are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/11/19/joe-biden-foreign-policy-iran-china-438276" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">thoughtful</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/11/17/biden-cant-avoid-erdogan-but-he-can-keep-the-u-s-turkish-relationship-on-track/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">well crafted</a>&nbsp;(even if I might disagree with parts or all of them).’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But I am afraid</strong> there is a far higher proportion of this work that reflects the ethos of getting it written, posted, and tweeted that has sadly become the norm in Washington.’&nbsp;</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘For all the time wonks</strong> in Washington spend with and among policymakers, we haven’t yet learned what they need from us, which is best summed up in a single word:’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'context</strong>.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Imagine</strong> a National Security Council senior director and their directors who handle myriad issues at a grueling pace.’&nbsp;</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘When they actually have a moment to read,</strong> some think tank senior fellow’s declaration about what the White House must or should do—likely ideas these staffers have already considered—is probably not helpful.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Rather</strong>, placing an uprising, border skirmish, or some seemingly surprising political development in broader historical and analytic context seems to be the key that unlocks an official’s weekend reading folder, which may influence the way they approach a problem.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘This is not the kind of work</strong> that gets posted&nbsp;and shared quickly, and it’s not the kind of analysis that someone pulls off in an afternoon, which is why it is so rare.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/_m1dUmbwnuw4uBDmQkqkuTl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/lAJDFaS7J7ql_NxcPzOFfjl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/Ycq549HCeRXXZZ22NAm-mDl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/3phIhyuk-3LOYw5vI9aO6jl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/VYPRyH-Xe_MDo4sMvhhfkzl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div>

<div style="background-color:#f5f5f5; margin:0 auto; padding:0; text-align:center;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="background-color: #f5f5f5; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff"><tbody><tr><td><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Greetings!</strong></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">In today’s issue:</strong></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">1. 'In Search of Today’s George Kennan'</strong></span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">2. 'The Elements of the China Challenge'</strong></span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">3. &nbsp;'A 2020 Version of Conventional Wisdom about China'</strong></span></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">'Scoop: The State Department to release Kennan-style paper on China'</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">'A 2020 Version of Conventional Wisdom about China'</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">'An Insult to George Kennan'</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">4. A Look Back to 1947 | 'The Sources of Soviet Conduct' by George Kennan</strong></span></p><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">CHINADebate, the publisher of the China Macro Reporter, aims to present different views on a given issue.</strong></h2><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Including an article here does not imply agreement or endorsement of its content.</strong></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The U.S.'s China policy</strong> is adrift.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And while some of the blame</strong> goes to Mr. Trump, the real problem is that the U.S. doesn't have a firm strategic objective for dealing with China.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'The Elements of the China Challenge' </strong>just released by the State Department’s Office for Policy Planning aimed to define the objective.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The analysis</strong> is explicitly meant to be an ‘effort to develop a concept of U.S.-China relations on the scale of what Kiron Skinner [former head of the called Office for Policy Planning] &nbsp;called “Letter X” — the unsigned essay by George Kennan, who assessed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/russian-federation/1947-07-01/sources-soviet-conduct" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">“the sources of Soviet conduct”</a>&nbsp;in 1947 and outlined the containment strategy that guided American strategists for the rest of the Cold War.’ <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/state-department-preparing-for-clash-of-civilizations-with-china" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">Washington Examiner</a> 2019</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Given that Mr. Kennan </strong>is hailed as ‘the architect of a doctrine that won the cold war,’ that’s a very high bar.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And the State Department’s analysis</strong> not only fails to clear that bar, it doesn’t even come close to touching it.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The analysis’s description of the China situation </strong>could have come from a competent right-of-center think tank. David Wertime of <em style="font-style: italic">Politico</em>’s ‘China Watcher’ sums it up well:</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The State Department’s internal think tank </strong>has issued a long report on China, but it contains little that’s new.’&nbsp;</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The Policy Planning staff</strong> at Foggy Bottom touted the Wednesday&nbsp;<a href="https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ed1923c95ba0dc0164917dfae9cfbf7c809e2e119d39acfeb3882c69d506d88676947a76926e7cd7b91e538fc6ab1ffb708e87a7c0f6f19" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">report&nbsp;</a>as the China equivalent to George Kennan’s 1946 “long telegram,” which spelled out the U.S. strategy of Soviet containment.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But while staff</strong> at what insiders call “S/P” are tasked with “innovation and creativity” within their agency, most of what’s here equates to the 2020 version of conventional wisdom about China, marshaling administration talking points that felt fresh two years ago but are well-worn now.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">As for policy recommendations the State Department’s analysis says:</strong></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Meeting the China challenge</strong> requires the United States to return to the fundamentals.&nbsp;</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">To secure freedom,</strong> America must refashion its foreign policy in light of ten tasks.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">These ‘ten tasks,’</strong> ranging from promoting constitutional government and civil society at home to championing the principles of freedom in word and in deed are more truisms than policies.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The closest the analysis </strong>comes to a strategic objective or doctrine that would align the U.S.’s China discrete policies and actions is this:</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In the face of the China challenge,</strong> the United States must secure freedom.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Secure freedom’? </strong>That’s it?</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">For decades and until a few years ago,</strong> the democracies did have a strategic objective for China:</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">To bring China</strong> into the world order as, what Robert Zoellick called, a ‘responsible stakeholder.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">But after recognizing that China</strong> intended to go its own way – and a way that was often inimical to the interests of the democracies – that strategic objective was abandoned.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The challenge</strong> now is to articulate and adopt a new strategic objective in the same way the U.S. did with Mr. Kennan's containment strategy.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">There are</strong> an array of suggestions.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">At the extremes</strong> are calls to attack China before it gets too strong (very extreme) to just, well, engage harder and China will come around.</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The middle section ranges</strong> from confronting China in specific areas and arenas, to containing China, to impeding its continued rise – or some combination of these.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">To compare the difference</strong> between having a stated strategic objective and not having one, we need only look at the Office of Policy Planning’s model, George Kennan.</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">In his essay, ‘In Search of Today’s George Kennan,’ </strong>Edward Luce of <em style="font-style: italic">The Financial Times</em> writes:</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In 1947 X penned</strong> his history-changing “Sources of Soviet Conduct” in Foreign Affairs.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The piece,</strong> which crystallised America’s cold war containment strategy, was the making of George F Kennan’s life-long reputation as a master of geopolitics.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Kennan helped Washington grasp</strong> that the Soviet Union was the same old paranoid Russia behind a Leninist mask.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘It was “impervious to reason”</strong> but sensitive to force.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Kennan provided a framework</strong> to break through the bitter divide between those who believed America should return to its prewar isolationism, and those who believed the USSR was itching for a dramatic showdown with the capitalist west.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Neither was true.</strong> Either path would have been disastrous.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Kennan’s crisp analytical mind</strong> sidelined both schools.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘He was</strong><strong style="font-weight: bold">the architect of a doctrine</strong> that won the cold war.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;">&nbsp;</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Crystallizing </strong>that strategic objective for China is the most urgent task facing American foreign policy.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">But,</strong><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘What can be done?’ </strong>asks Mr. Luce, again in his essay, ‘In Search of Today’s George Kennan.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘America is desperate</strong> for the kind of strategic nous Kennan once personified.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘A few years ago</strong> we may have looked to people such as Zbigniew Brzezinski or Henry Kissinger to offer some kind of answer.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The first is dead</strong> and the second places too high a value on his access to Trump, Putin, Xi Jinping and others, to risk plain talk.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘We need</strong> new minds.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘All of us in Washington</strong> can point to dozens of smart foreign policy specialists in their own fields.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But where</strong> is the grand strategist?’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Until that grand strategist arrives,</strong> U.S. policy will remain adrift.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">That's a problem</strong> because China seems to display a pretty good idea of what it is seeking to accomplish.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">So look at every analysis</strong> you read that lays out prescriptions for actions on China and ask:</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">What is the strategic objective or doctrine</strong> that these prescriptions seek to advance?</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Until you have that answer,</strong> you will see recommendations like the ‘ten tasks’ in "The Elements of the China Challenge" for what they are:&nbsp;</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Stopgaps, </strong>until the next George Kennan arrives.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><br></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">I've included here excerpts </strong>from State Department's 'The Elements of the China Challenge' and George Kennan's 'The Sources of Soviet Conduct.'</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">If you read them both in full </strong>you will see - and be startled at - just how far away we are today from the insights that guided the U.S. through the Cold War to its conclusion.&nbsp;</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">1. 'In Search of Today’s George Kennan'</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/7i20GW?track_p_id=2BO7cChGY_BaWaEBumgAj3t" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/zxbyrGBKPhFFZLzMYqfYnUi__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/7i20GW?track_p_id=dO5zihNIoGKDPI7cChGY_v3" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'In Search of Today’s George Kennan'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="display:block; height: 400px; min-height: 300px; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/qEhyIvmaB03_8HLlUAAk4jl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBXdhNIf0Yl8YfRAVzhohB7e" style="display: flex; width: 100%; height: 100%; object-fit: cover; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0; right: 0; margin: auto; border: none; pointer-events: none; "></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="text-align: left;font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The Financial Times</strong></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Edward Luce</strong> | The Financial Times</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘America is desperate for the kind of strategic nous Kennan once personified.’</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In 1947 X penned</strong> his history-changing “Sources of Soviet Conduct” in Foreign Affairs.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The piece,</strong> which crystallised America’s cold war containment strategy, was the making of George F Kennan’s life-long reputation as a master of geopolitics.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The Kennan we need today</strong> is someone who would be clear-eyed about the world America faces.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘It is just as rapidly</strong> changing as it was in 1947.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Kennan helped Washington grasp</strong> that the Soviet Union was the same old paranoid Russia behind a Leninist mask.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘It was “impervious to reason”</strong> but sensitive to force.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Kennan provided a framework</strong> to break through the bitter divide between those who believed America should return to its prewar isolationism, and those who believed the USSR was itching for a dramatic showdown with the capitalist west.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Neither was true.</strong> Either path would have been disastrous.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Kennan’s crisp analytical mind</strong> sidelined both schools.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘He was later to regret</strong> the indiscriminate use of his doctrine — most egregiously in Vietnam.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But he earned his spurs</strong> as the architect of a doctrine that won the cold war.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘America today faces</strong> a more complicated global picture.’&nbsp;</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Most of the foreign policy establishment</strong> sees China as America’s real 21st-century rival.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Russia is still Russia</strong> but it is far more easily containable than during the cold war.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘China,</strong> on the other hand, poses a new kind of headache.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Unlike the Soviet Union,</strong> China’s economy is deeply intermeshed with the global supply chain.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘It owns</strong> more than $1tn of American debt.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘And it is capable</strong> of blunting America’s technological edge.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Containment makes little sense</strong> when your prosperity is so intertwined.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘A trade war</strong> is self-defeating.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Military confrontation is unthinkable,</strong> though deterrence must be maintained.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘What can</strong> be done?’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘America is desperate</strong> for the kind of strategic nous Kennan once personified.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘A few years ago</strong> we may have looked to people such as Zbigniew Brzezinski or Henry Kissinger to offer some kind of answer.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The first is dead</strong> and the second places too high a value on his access to Trump, Putin, Xi Jinping and others, to risk plain talk.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘We need</strong> new minds.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘All of us in Washington</strong> can point to dozens of smart foreign policy specialists in their own fields.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But where</strong> is the grand strategist?’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">2. 'The Elements of the China Challenge'</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="" target="_blank" title="Malcolm_Riddell" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="Malcolm_Riddell" src="https://assets-global.website-files.com/5c864c33af62620dca1373ac/5fc2c325b2be470b39241339_Malcolm%20Riddell.png" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/7Mk5Vg?track_p_id=cwXo6p%40WkjieS5RixLS_bd%40" style="color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'The Elements of the China Challenge'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr height="0"><td width="0"></td></tr><tr><td width="0"></td><td align="center"><div style="width:600px;"><img src="https://img.scoop.it/VLVcfYI-srBc-rYLHXiUJjl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBXdhNIf0Yl8YfRAVzhohB7e" style="border-style: none;" alt=""></div></td><td width="0"></td></tr><tr height="0"><td width="0"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">U.S. State Department</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Office of Policy Planning</strong> | U.S. State Department</h3><h2 style="font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;text-align: center;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘</strong><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">In the face of the China challenge, the United States must secure freedom.’</strong></em></h2><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20407448/elements_of_the_china_challenge-20201117.pdf" target="_blank" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Read </strong></em></a><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">the full 74-page report</strong></em></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><br></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">from the Executive Summary</strong></h3><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Awareness has been growing in the United States</strong> — and in nations around the world — that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has triggered a new era of great-power competition.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Yet few discern</strong> the pattern in China’s inroads within every region of the world, much less the specific form of dominance to which the party aspires.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The CCP aims not merely at preeminence</strong> within the established world order — an order that is grounded in free and sovereign nation-states, flows from the universal principles on which America was founded, and advances U.S. national interests —but to fundamentally revise world order, placing the People’s Republic of China (PRC) at the center and serving Beijing’s authoritarian goals and hegemonic ambitions.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In the face of the China challenge,</strong> the United States must secure freedom.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Meeting the China challenge</strong> requires the United States to return to the fundamentals.'&nbsp;</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'To secure freedom, </strong>America must refashion its foreign policy in light of ten tasks.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Grounded in America’s founding principles</strong> and constitutional traditions; invigorated by a bustling economy; undergirded by the world’s best-trained and best-equipped military; served by government officials who understand the American people and the American political system, recognize the diversity and common humanity of the peoples and nations of the world, and appreciates the complex interplay of ideas and interests in foreign affairs; and fortified by an informed and engaged citizenry — this multi-pronged approach will enable the United States to secure freedom.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">3. 'A 2020 Version of Conventional Wisdom about China'</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/6l3pzc?track_p_id=7e1DYM3E7YnEek_V213k32S" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/baCoA2F61vu8N9uXdT0ZMEi__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/6l3pzc?track_p_id=bIjiGKRoXRsU7YnEek_QXcU" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'Scoop: The State Department to release Kennan-style paper on China'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Axios</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian</strong> | Axios China</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The unclassified paper, called "The Elements of the China Challenge," draws inspiration from an influential article published in 1947 by the policy planning team’s founder, U.S. diplomat George&nbsp;Kennan, in which he introduced the idea of containment as a strategy to deal with the Soviet Union.’</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The U.S. State Department's Office of Policy Planning</strong> is set to release a blueprint for America’s response to China’s rise as an authoritarian superpower, Axios has learned.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Why it matters:</strong>&nbsp;The lengthy document calls for strong alliances and rejuvenation of constitutional democracy. Axios obtained a&nbsp;<a href="https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20407448-elements_of_the_china_challenge-20201117" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">copy</a>.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The unclassified paper,</strong> called "The Elements of the China Challenge," draws inspiration from an influential article published in 1947 by the policy planning team’s founder, U.S. diplomat George&nbsp;Kennan, in which he introduced the idea of containment as a strategy to deal with the Soviet Union.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Details:</strong>&nbsp;The document, which is more than 70 pages long, examines the Chinese Communist Party's harmful conduct and its ideological sources, the vulnerabilities China faces, and how the U.S. and its allies should respond.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ "Meeting the China challenge</strong> requires the United States to return to the fundamentals," the paper states. The U.S. must fashion "sturdy policies that stand above bureaucratic squabbles and interagency turf battles and transcend short-term election cycles. The United States’ overarching aim should be to secure freedom." ’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The blueprint:</strong>&nbsp;The paper lays out "ten tasks" for the U.S. to accomplish.’</p><ol style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Promoting </strong>constitutional government and civil society at home.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Maintaining </strong>the world's strongest military.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Fortifying </strong>the rules-based international order.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Reevaluating </strong>its alliance system.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Strengthening </strong>its alliance system and creating new international organizations to promote democracy and human rights.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Cooperating</strong> with China when possible and constraining Beijing when appropriate.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Educating </strong>Americans about the China challenge.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Train </strong>a new generation of public servants who understand great-power competition with China.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Reforming </strong>the U.S. education system to help students understand the responsibility of citizenship in a complex information age.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Championing</strong> the principles of freedom in word and in deed.’</li></ol><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Between the lines:</strong>&nbsp;The paper does not showcase the unilateralism that has characterized some elements of President Trump's foreign policy. It maintains conservative undertones, including an emphasis on economic liberty and a strong military.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The Trump administration</strong> "concluded that the CCP’s resolute conduct and self-professed goals require the United States and other countries to revise assumptions and develop a new strategic doctrine to address the primacy and magnitude of the China challenge," the document states.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Expert take:&nbsp;</strong>"One unique feature of the memo is its focus on how the CCP's worldview shapes its behavior, which has been rare in U.S. government documents and should be a larger part of U.S. policy debates," said Rush Doshi, director of the Brookings China Strategy Initiative, who reviewed a copy.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But the paper</strong> mostly overlooks certain key topics, including allied industrial policy, cross-border data flows and new tech coalitions, said Doshi. And "economics and technology are at the center of U.S.-China competition, but they barely appear in the memo’s prescriptions," he added.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="background-color:#f5f5f5;"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:20px;">&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/90USUi?track_p_id=7vUJ1diC7Ic6F4_sRYEW32v" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/irry7EUsnjxPAzOLxwPDM0i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/90USUi?track_p_id=07Ic6F4_FJbqvEZEYwnno5T" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'A 2020 Version of Conventional Wisdom about China'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">China Watcher | Politico</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">David Wertime </strong>| Politico</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Most of what’s here equates to the 2020 version of conventional wisdom about China, marshaling administration talking points that felt fresh two years ago but are well-worn now.’</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The State Department’s internal think tank </strong>has issued a long report on China, but it contains little that’s new.’&nbsp;</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The Policy Planning staff</strong> at Foggy Bottom touted the Wednesday&nbsp;<a href="https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ed1923c95ba0dc0164917dfae9cfbf7c809e2e119d39acfeb3882c69d506d88676947a76926e7cd7b91e538fc6ab1ffb708e87a7c0f6f19" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">report&nbsp;</a>as the China equivalent to George Kennan’s 1946 “long telegram,” which spelled out the U.S. strategy of Soviet containment.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But while staff</strong> at what insiders call “S/P” are tasked with “innovation and creativity” within their agency, most of what’s here equates to the 2020 version of conventional wisdom about China, marshaling administration talking points that felt fresh two years ago but are well-worn now.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Notable absence: </strong>a “theory of mind” for China that goes beneath the surface.’&nbsp;</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The report</strong> generally describes China as a monolith, giving scant mention to the competing interests or equities that even a dictatorship must consider when making and executing policy, particularly in a large and complex country like China.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘There’s little about internal sentiment,</strong> or how the U.S. might leverage that to its advantage.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The report quotes Xi at length,</strong> often implying disapproval even when Xi has uttered things any leader in his position might say, such as a statement that he wants China’s (untested) military to be able to “win battles” or his desire to make the world’s most populous country “a global leader in terms of power and global influence.” ’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘If S/P has better intel</strong> on China’s internal dynamics, it’s not sharing.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “China is not the Soviet Union,”&nbsp;</strong>according to&nbsp;Oriana Skylar Mastro,<strong style="font-weight: bold">&nbsp;</strong>a fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “China is not trying to build</strong> a socialist international order,” she tells China Watcher.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “China is a richer,</strong> more powerful, more pragmatic and a more attractive partner than the Soviet Union ever was. We ignore these differences at our peril.” ’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Mastro adds</strong> that “the report fails to capture the fact that much of China’s power has been pursued in legitimate ways. I say this not to excuse China, but to highlight why it has been so difficult to get other countries to see the problem the way we do.” ’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/YreZ0Gtz__so_SzqYdoJJjl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/YreZ0Gtz__so_SzqYdoJJjl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="background-color:#f5f5f5;"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:20px;">&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/56icSG?track_p_id=eKnNDMMHMlndAY377c8x4_O" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/5EQKdWhKsZnRBghgjKE2xki__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/56icSG?track_p_id=5i5tFz77c8x4_QbI13I3X5T" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'An Insult to George Kennan'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Global Times Editorial</strong></h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Most Chinese scholars who have read the report believe it is an insult to Kennan by labeling the report as Kennan-style.’</strong></h2><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The&nbsp;Global Times&nbsp;is a daily&nbsp;newspaper&nbsp;under the auspices of the&nbsp;Chinese Communist Party's&nbsp;People's Daily&nbsp;newspaper.</strong></em></h3><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The US Department of State's Office of Policy Planning </strong>on Tuesday issued a report entitled "The Elements of the China Challenge." ’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The paper,</strong> which is more than 70 pages long and has five parts, lays out 10 tasks for the US to accomplish in face of the "China challenge." ’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘There is no new wording in the report,</strong> which can be seen as a collection of malicious remarks from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other anti-China US politicians and senators.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Right now,</strong> only a little more than 60 days are left for the current US administration.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘An official from the State Department</strong> explained that the report is not meant to constrain the next US administration.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But the fact is the Department of State </strong>fears that the Biden administration will adjust US-China relations, and the release of the report is part of their efforts to consolidate the current extreme anti-China path.’&nbsp;</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The US media outlet</strong> which first disclosed the report even compared it to an article published in 1947 by US diplomat George Kennan that had a profound influence on the US strategy to deal with the then Soviet Union.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Kennan,</strong> then US charge d'affaires in Moscow, sent an 8,000-word telegram to the Department of State detailing his views on the Soviet Union.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But most Chinese scholars</strong> who have read the report believe it is an insult to Kennan by labeling the report as Kennan-style.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘At least,</strong> there was no special political motive in Kennan's report.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But the latest report</strong> is trying to leave a legacy for the extreme anti-China policy adopted by the Trump administration and fawning on Pompeo, which is evil in essence.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The impulsive and capricious</strong> governing style of Donald Trump leaves sufficient room for politicians like Pompeo to give free play to their ambitions.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The Department of State</strong> has become the governmental organ that has the most serious clashes with China, outperforming the CIA and the Department of Defense.’&nbsp;</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Surrounded by such deep hostility</strong> and prejudice toward China and the wild ambition of the secretary of state, how could the Department of State's Office of Policy Planning make out anything objective about China?’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Their observation ability,</strong> cautious attitude toward research, and sense of responsibility for history have been severely squeezed.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘They are just currying favor </strong>from their seniors and manipulating extreme paths, pretending to be "thoughtful." ’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘No report can make up</strong> for the US' China policy, nor will it leave any historic legacy.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The document</strong> released by the US State Department's Office of Policy Planning will end up being pieces of wasted paper.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">4. A Look Back to 1947 | 'The Sources of Soviet Conduct'</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/7jvyFM?track_p_id=aLORDbDG%40dz7sf9lG_X3Nyr" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/2P2LxiV-sg54VayqL9X2F0i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/7jvyFM?track_p_id=eHVV5eVYTdlhgRP7sf9lG_N" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'The Sources of Soviet Conduct' | George Kennan</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="display:block; height: 400px; min-height: 300px; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><a href="http://sco.lt/7jvyFM?track_p_id=cCxhzTKJQULcM7sf9lG_BQn" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/YreZ0Gtz__so_SzqYdoJJjl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK" style="display: flex; width: 100%; height: 100%; object-fit: cover; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0; right: 0; margin: auto; border: none; pointer-events: none; "></a></td></tr><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Foreign Affairs</strong> | July 1947</h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">"X" (George F. Kennan) </strong>| U.S. State Department</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'The main element of any United States policy toward the Soviet Union must be that of a long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies.’&nbsp;</strong></em></h2><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">References to containment are in red.</strong></h3><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The political personality of Soviet power</strong> as we know it today is the product of ideology and circumstances:’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ideology inherited</strong> by the present Soviet leaders from the movement in which they had their political origin, and’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘circumstances of the power</strong> which they now have exercised for nearly three decades in Russia.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘There can be few tasks</strong> of psychological analysis more difficult than to try to trace the interaction of these two forces and the relative role of each in the determination of official Soviet conduct.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Yet the attempt</strong> must be made if that conduct is to be understood and effectively countered.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">II</strong></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Of the original ideology,</strong> nothing has been officially junked.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Belief is maintained </strong>in the basic badness of capitalism, in the inevitability of its destruction, in the obligation of the proletariat to assist in that destruction and to take power into its own hands.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But stress</strong> has come to be laid primarily on those concepts which relate most specifically to the Soviet regime itself:’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘to its position</strong> as the sole truly Socialist regime in a dark and misguided world, and to the relationships of power within it.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The first of these concepts </strong>is that of the innate antagonism between capitalism and Socialism.’&nbsp;</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘This brings us to the second of the concepts</strong> important to contemporary Soviet outlook.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘That is the infallibility</strong> of the Kremlin.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The Soviet concept of power,</strong> which permits no focal points of organization outside the Party itself, requires that the Party leadership remain in theory the sole repository of truth.’&nbsp;</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But we have seen that the Kremlin</strong> is under no ideological compulsion to accomplish its purposes in a hurry.’&nbsp;</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In these circumstances</strong><span style="color: #d0021b"> it is clear that the main element of any United States policy toward the Soviet Union must be that of a long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies.’</span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘It is important to note,</strong> however, that such a policy has nothing to do with outward histrionics: with threats or blustering or superfluous gestures of outward "toughness." '</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘While the Kremlin</strong> is basically flexible in its reaction to political realities, it is by no means unamenable to considerations of prestige.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Like almost any other government, </strong>it can be placed by tactless and threatening gestures in a position where it cannot afford to yield even though this might be dictated by its sense of realism.’&nbsp;</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">III</strong></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In the light of the above,</strong> it will be clearly seen that <span style="color: #d0021b">the Soviet pressure against the free institutions of the Western world is something that can be contained by the adroit and vigilant application of counterforce at a series of constantly shifting geographical and political points, corresponding to the shifts and maneuvers of Soviet policy,</span> but which cannot be charmed or talked out of existence.’&nbsp;</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">IV</strong></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘It is clear</strong> that the United States cannot expect in the foreseeable future to enjoy political intimacy with the Soviet regime.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘It must continue</strong> to regard the Soviet Union as a rival, not a partner, in the political arena.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘It must continue</strong> to expect that Soviet policies will reflect no abstract love of peace and stability, no real faith in the possibility of a permanent happy coexistence of the Socialist and capitalist worlds, but rather a cautious, persistent pressure toward the disruption and weakening of all rival influence and rival power.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Balanced against this</strong> are the facts that Russia, as opposed to the western world in general, is still by far the weaker party, that Soviet policy is highly flexible, and that Soviet society may well contain deficiencies which will eventually weaken its own total potential.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘This would of itself</strong> warrant <span style="color: #d0021b">the United States entering with reasonable confidence upon a policy of firm containment, designed to confront the Russians with unalterable counterforce at every point where they show signs of encroaching upon the interest of a peaceful and stable world.’</span></li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/lAJDFaS7J7ql_NxcPzOFfjl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/Ycq549HCeRXXZZ22NAm-mDl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/3phIhyuk-3LOYw5vI9aO6jl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div>

<div style="background-color:#f5f5f5; margin:0 auto; padding:0; text-align:center;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="background-color: #f5f5f5; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff"><tbody><tr><td><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h1 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 26px;line-height: 36px;font-weight: 400;color: #001544;letter-spacing: 0.1px;display: inline-block;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 0.5rem;margin-inline-start: 0px;margin-inline-end: 0px;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Greetings!</strong></h1><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">In today’s issue:</strong></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">1. China Property Market and the Economic Recovery</strong></span></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">'China Economy: Will Hot Property Market Threaten Post-pandemic Rebound?'&nbsp;</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">'The "Three Red Lines" '</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">2. 'Meeting the China Challenge: A New American Strategy for Technology Competition'</strong></span></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">'The Task is Urgent'</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">'Five Features of China's Tech Challenge'</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">3. The View from Europe</strong></span></p><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">CHINADebate, the publisher of the China Macro Reporter, aims to present different views on a given issue.</strong></em></h2><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Including an article here does not imply agreement or endorsement of its content.</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">1. China Property Market and the Economic Recovery</strong></span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">So much of the analysis</strong> I read about China’s post-pandemic economic recovery pays scant attention to the central role of China’s booming property market.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Or to the risks</strong> to the economy that the market may pose.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Filling those gaps</strong> is 'China economy: will hot property market threaten post-pandemic rebound?'&nbsp;in <em style="font-style: italic">The Financial Times.</em></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘One of the primary reasons</strong> for this economic resilience has been the relentless march of its property market.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Construction activity</strong> has increased and house prices in major cities continue to rise.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘However, the Chinese authorities,</strong> worried that cheap money will flood into an already highly-leveraged sector, are putting pressure on developers to reduce their borrowing.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The sector’s approach</strong> has relied on taking on large quantities of debt to accumulate more and more land — sometimes in speculative areas outside of major cities.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Anxious about the potential risks</strong> to financial stability, Beijing drafted new rules – the so-called “three red lines” – in response to excessive leverage in the property sector.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘It limits their borrowing</strong> depending on their performance on three metrics: debt to cash; net debt to equity; and debt to assets.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘It is not clear whether the government </strong>can completely control flows of capital into the sector, which include non-bank financing sources such as trust companies.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “The three red lines</strong> won’t stop leading developers from obtaining alternative financing,” says one developer in Chengdu, capital of southwestern Sichuan province.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “The key for developers</strong> to survive is still to grow big rather than reduce leverage.” ’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">So when you’re analyzing </strong>China’s economy, keep an eye on the property sector.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And to track that sector, </strong>especially keep an eye on the tug of war between the government regulations and developers’ leverage and access to alternative financing.<strong style="font-weight: bold">&nbsp;</strong></li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">2. 'Meeting the China Challenge: A New American Strategy for Technology Competition'</strong></span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">In tech,</strong> the U.S. ‘faces formidable competition from the People’s Republic of China (PRC)—a country that has deployed full state power, and sometimes used illegal means, to build an innovation system to gain on the United States.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">This from</strong> ‘Meeting the China Challenge: A New American Strategy for Technology Competition.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">That 72-page report</strong> is from Working Group on Science and Technology in U.S.-China Relations, organized by the 21st Century China Center at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy and the&nbsp;<a href="https://asiasociety.org/center-us-china-relations" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">Asia Society Center on U.S.-China Relations</a>.&nbsp;</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘To protect against the risks</strong> posed by China and safeguard U.S. security and competitiveness, the United States must embrace three complementary policy goals:’</p><ol style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Bolster U.S. innovation capabilities</strong> through meaures ranging from increased funding for fundamental research to selective upgrading of our production system.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Tailor targeted risk management measures</strong> to address current and future security threats.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Preserve as</strong> many of the benefits of an open, ethical, and integrated global knowledge system and innovation economy as possible.’</li></ol><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">These recommendations,</strong> crafted by an all-star team of China and tech experts, are pretty much opposite to the U.S.’s current approach of direct confrontation: decapitating Huawei, cutting China off from semiconductors, the like.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">I don’t have the expertise</strong> to evaluate the Working Group’s suggestions, but certainly it’s hard to argue that putting the U.S. house in order should be central to the strategy.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">But consider.</strong> The report also notes:</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The task is urgent.</strong> China’s behavior under Xi Jinping raises fundamental concerns about the nature of China’s global ambitions.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘China’s pursuit to become a high-tech superpower</strong> is inextricably linked to its quest for regional dominance and global deference.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Given China’s ambitions and the threats they imply,</strong> I am surprised that the Working Group doesn’t include recommendations that the U.S. continue and even increase its efforts to cut China off from the foreign resources it’s using to pursue these goals.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">To my mind,</strong> a more effective, comprehensive strategy should encompass both strengthening the U.S. and continuing to limit China’s access to the world’s hardware and software.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">3. The View from Europe</strong></span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">In a recent issue,</strong> I posted reports suggesting that because President Trump has made the U.S. seem unreliable to European allies, those allies would be weary in joining the U.S. in a coalition confronting China.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">I got pushback</strong> from those with reason to know that this line of reasoning was wrong.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">They told me that, for Europe,</strong> China has gone from a far-away commercial opportunity to an uncooperative threat ever closer to its doorstep.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And not only would Europeans </strong>happily join U.S. initiatives confronting China, the groundwork for that cooperation is already being laid.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Europeans</strong> do seem to fully recognize they have a China problem.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Europe’s gripes with China</strong> are laid out well and at some length by Philippe Le Corre of the Harvard Kennedy School and the Carnegie Endowment in 'China’s Challenging Year in Europe.'</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">This essay is so good </strong>that I really hated having to choose excerpts for today’s issue – you should read it in its entirety.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">In sum,</strong> Mr. Le Corre says:</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘These days, “impatience” and “frustration”</strong> seem to be the operative terms in European relations with China, whether the issue is&nbsp;trade and investment, humans rights,&nbsp;scientific cooperation, or&nbsp;more aggressive diplomatic tactics.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘There is growing fatigue</strong> with China’s promises and rhetoric.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And, Europeans acknowledge </strong>the difficulty of getting China to pay attention to their concerns”</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘As for Europeans,</strong> the challenge will be to stand strong on their agenda, values and interests, in the face of a China that still considers Washington&nbsp;– no matter who is in the White House –&nbsp;the only leading interlocutor among Western powers.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">To meet that challenge </strong>looks as though Europe needs an alliance with the ‘only leading interlocutor among Western powers.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">1. China Property Market and &nbsp;the Economic Recovery</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/4urqi0?track_p_id=3U5o7EfdlO_%40Yyg4w3XIiys" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/zxbyrGBKPhFFZLzMYqfYnUi__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/4urqi0?track_p_id=2b17EfdlO_JsFXi4Ez%40j5WM" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">Part 1 | 'China economy: will hot property market threaten post-pandemic rebound?'&nbsp;</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="display:block; height: 400px; min-height: 300px; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><a href="http://sco.lt/4urqi0?track_p_id=07EfdlO_%40g53YFRXbjie1kC" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/IRpTyDpmhEZ503A1reYgrDl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK" style="display: flex; width: 100%; height: 100%; object-fit: cover; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0; right: 0; margin: auto; border: none; pointer-events: none; "></a></td></tr><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The Financial Times</strong></h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Anxious about the potential risks to financial stability, Beijing drafted new rules in the summer that seek to constrain the property sector’s leverage.</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘China’s gross domestic product</strong> is expected to grow by around 2 per cent this year — a significantly better result than any other major economy, most of which are expected to suffer sharp contractions.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘One of the primary reasons</strong> for this resilience has been the relentless march of its property market.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Construction activity</strong> has increased and house prices in major cities continue to rise.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘However, the Chinese authorities,</strong> worried that cheap money will flood into an already highly-leveraged sector, are putting pressure on developers to reduce their borrowing.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The sector’s approach</strong> has relied on taking on large quantities of debt to accumulate more and more land — sometimes in speculative areas outside of major cities.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In the past decade,</strong> their growth has also coincided with an international era of cheap debt.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'After the global financial crisis, </strong>China ramped up investment in infrastructure and construction.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Some of the funds</strong> came through China’s state-owned banks but some came from new sources.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Financiers shifted</strong> from investment banks to a bond market supported by western countries’ ultra-loose monetary policy.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Since then,</strong> billions of dollars have flowed to Chinese property developers; S&amp;P currently rates $181bn worth of Chinese developer bonds, meaning the sector makes up the majority of the Asia high-yield bond market.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The offshore dollar bond market</strong> has been just one part of a diverse array of financing options for developers, with even greater sums being borrowed from banks on the Chinese mainland.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘That money</strong> in turn has funded a nonstop rush to buy and develop land owned by local governments.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘That makes them</strong> an important part of the fiscal model in a country that “is far more decentralised in terms of fiscal relations than many, many other countries around the world”, says Weiping Wu, a professor of Urban Planning at Columbia University in New York.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “That rush for land</strong> isn’t just pushed by developers,” she says. “Municipalities also have incentives to lease out land. It’s a big source of extra-budgetary revenue.” ’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="background-color:#f5f5f5;"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:20px;">&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/4urqi0?track_p_id=erW26ER%403GnBH417EfdlO_S" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/zxbyrGBKPhFFZLzMYqfYnUi__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/4urqi0?track_p_id=8yFFdFBp27EfdlO_upt4zXU" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">Part 2 | 'The "Three Red Lines" '</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The Financial Times</strong></h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Beijing’s so-called “three red lines” response to excessive leverage in the property sector limits developers' borrowing depending on their performance on three metrics: debt to cash; net debt to equity; and debt to assets.’</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Anxious about the potential risks</strong> to financial stability, Beijing drafted new rules in the summer that seek to constrain the sector’s leverage.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Beijing’s so-called “three red lines”</strong> response to excessive leverage in the property sector was unveiled at a meeting with top developers in the capital in August.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘It limits their borrowing</strong> depending on their performance on three metrics: debt to cash; net debt to equity; and debt to assets.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The provisional measures</strong> came amid wider efforts to keep house prices in China under control, which have included measures from individual cities to curb demand.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘They seem to be taking effect:</strong> in September, official Chinese data showed that prices in major cities were up 4.6 per cent compared with a year earlier, the slowest rise since 2016.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “What they worry</strong> is that real estate developers are taking advantage of this round of monetary easing and further [leveraging] up,” says Haibin Zhu, chief China economist at JPMorgan.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ "If one of them [developers] would fail,</strong> that will have a big impact on the local employment situation, also the fiscal situation, also the credit chain,” he adds.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘A government focus</strong> on balance sheets echoes longstanding scrutiny from analysts in the high-yield bond market.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Even before the three red lines</strong> were unveiled, developers were scaling back their leverage.'</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘S&amp;P’s Mr Yip estimates</strong> that, across the more than 60 developers he rates, debt grew at just 3 per cent through the first half of the year, compared with a rate of 16 per cent over the course of 2019.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘It is not clear whether the government </strong>can completely control flows of capital into the sector, which include non-bank financing sources such as trust companies.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “The three red lines</strong> won’t stop leading developers from obtaining alternative financing,” says one developer in Chengdu, capital of southwestern Sichuan province.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “The key for developers</strong> to survive is still to grow big rather than reduce leverage.” ’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “The three red lines</strong> are completely contrary to the way China’s real estate industry operates,” says one former executive at Evergrande.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “The approach of real estate companies</strong> is to use debt and leverage to make money.' "&nbsp;</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">' "Now restricting debt</strong> means restricting our ways to earn money.” ’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Despite the rebound in the economy</strong> in recent months, the new measures raise the question of whether China’s developers can be quietly tamed at a time of economic uncertainty and potentially slowing property sales.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘If one of them fails to repay their debts,</strong> that could have unpredictable consequences for the domestic financial system.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘If a default does</strong> eventually threaten a large Chinese developer, Beijing’s current determination to discipline the sector will face its ultimate test.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “In crunch time,</strong> what are they going to do?” asks an investment banker. “Are they going to be comfortable with a large developer defaulting?” ’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/lAJDFaS7J7ql_NxcPzOFfjl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">2. 'Meeting the China Challenge: A New American Strategy for Technology Competition'</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/5D2B28?track_p_id=eTyddRpvJgDTfVy5b5lpm_Y" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/AQLRc3Rh8UK_97vrn_KnAEi__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/5D2B28?track_p_id=36dQ5b5lpm_3FZPPZF3Zdvo" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'The Task is Urgent'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Working Group on Science and Technology in U.S.-China Relations</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;">21st Century China Center at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy &amp; the&nbsp;Asia Society Center on U.S.-China Relations</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The task is urgent. China’s behavior under Xi Jinping raises fundamental concerns about the nature of China’s global ambitions.’</strong></em></h2><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Read the full 72-page report, ‘</strong><a href="https://china.ucsd.edu/_files/meeting-the-china-challenge_2020_report.pdf" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">Meeting the China Challenge: A New American Strategy for Technology Competition</a>.’</h3><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The United States</strong> has been the undisputed global technology leader since the end of World War II, but today, our preeminence faces three major interlinked challenges:’</p><ol style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The United States</strong> has allowed the foundations for its technological leadership to erode.'</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘It faces formidable competition</strong> from the People’s Republic of China (PRC)—a country that has deployed full state power, and sometimes used illegal means, to build an innovation system to gain on the United States.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘And it has overreacted</strong> to the competition challenge from China, and in doing so, is poised to damage its own innovation ecosystem, which flourishes in an environment of global openness.’</li></ol><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘To protect against the risks</strong> posed by China and safeguard U.S. security and competitiveness, the United States must embrace three complementary policy goals:' &nbsp;</p><ol style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'Bolster U.S. innovation capabilities</strong> through meaures ranging from increased funding for fundamental research to selective upgrading of our production system.' &nbsp;</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'Tailor targeted risk management measures</strong> to address current and future security threats.' &nbsp;</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'Preserve as</strong> many of the benefits of an open, ethical, and integrated global knowledge system and innovation economy as possible.' &nbsp;</li></ol><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The task is urgent.</strong> China’s behavior under Xi Jinping raises fundamental concerns about the nature of China’s global ambitions.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Xi Jinping</strong> has vowed to modernize China’s armed forces by 2035, and to transform China into world-class military power.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘China is using its growing military might</strong> to press its territorial claims against its neighbors and harass foreign vessels in international waters.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In its foreign policy,</strong> Beijing uses its economic power in attempts to coerce sovereign governments, private companies, and overseas universities, media, and civil society organizations to conform to its political line.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘It is also constructing</strong> a surveillance state that threatens individual liberties in Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong, and the rest of China.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘China’s pursuit to become a high-tech superpower</strong> is inextricably linked to its quest for regional dominance and global deference.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Though the desire</strong> to develop China through innovation is legitimate, many of the ways in which the PRC government uses technology alarm the United States and other nations that hold liberal views of human rights and fair competition.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘How China uses its technological prowess</strong> is one concern; the way it develops or acquires new technologies is another (White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy 2018).’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘China’s well-resourced,</strong> winner-take-all approach to creating national champions in frontier technology is neo-mercantilist.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Through massive subsidies</strong> far beyond the scale of other countries, and by shielding domestic firms from international competitors, China has enhanced its standing in global markets and damaged other countries, including the United States.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Though China</strong> has increased its adherence to intellectual property rights (IPR) laws, it still employs a variety of illicit methods to acquire technological know-how from the U.S. and other countries.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘China’s changing behavior</strong> at home and on the world stage, coupled with its deviation from the norms of fair competition in S&amp;T development, create economic and security risks for the United States and other countries and require forceful collective responses.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In this report,</strong> we make recommendations for a U.S. approach to China in four domains of science and technology.’</p><ol style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Maintaining U.S. Leadership</strong> in Fundamental Research’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘A 5G Strategy for America: </strong>U.S.Options and the China Challenge’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Bolstering U.S. Strength</strong> in Artificial Intelligence’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘U.S.-China</strong> Competition and Collaboration in Biotechnology’</li></ol><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘We envision a national strategy</strong> that will balance risks and opportunities over the long-term and that achieves three complementary objectives.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="background-color:#f5f5f5;"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:20px;">&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/5VCVMG?track_p_id=8Cc%40HTNa64xHWqE_uRgRvwZ" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/AQLRc3Rh8UK_97vrn_KnAEi__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/5VCVMG?track_p_id=bps4ALvNA41F4xHWqE_poOR" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'Five Features of China's Tech Challenge'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Working Group on Science and Technology in U.S.-China Relations</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;">21st Century China Center at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy &amp; the&nbsp;Asia Society Center on U.S.-China Relations</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">&nbsp;'China has proclaimed in law that all of its citizens and corporations are obligated to assist China’s national security agencies in matters related to national security, cybersecurity, and intelligence.’</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The China S&amp;T challenge</strong> has five distinctive features:'</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘First,</strong></span><span style="color: #d0021b"> it is financed and directed by the PRC government as a means to achieve regional dominance and global power.’</span></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In 2009,</strong> China surpassed Japan to become the second-largest funder of R&amp;D in the world. In 2018, China spent $554.3 billion on R&amp;D, only slightly below the level spent by the United States.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘That same year,</strong> China’s share of global R&amp;D (26.3 percent) approached the U.S. share (27.6 percent).’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Over the next six years,</strong> Beijing plans to invest an additional $1.4 trillion of state and private funds in next-generation technologies.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The Chinese government and Communist Party</strong> also invest substantially in expanding its pool of human talent.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘They operate</strong> more than 200 high-level talent recruitment programs in science and technology, which are run by numerous agencies, including China’s National Science Foundation; the ministries of Science and Technology, Education, Human Resources and Social Security; and most prominently, the Party’s Organization Department.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Many of these programs</strong> encourage scientists working abroad—most, but not all of whom are of Chinese origin—to support efforts to build China’s S&amp;T capacity through their research.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘While these programs</strong> are not illegal in the United States, they may serve as channels for the transfer of valuable research to China.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Second,</strong></span><span style="color: #d0021b"> China sometimes advances its position through illegal means.’</span></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘While China absorbs</strong> foreign technologies legitimately through licensing, foreign investments, and the return of overseas graduates, it also does so through cyber hacking of businesses and research institutes, technological espionage, and other forms of intellectual property (IP) theft.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The PRC government</strong> committed to stop commercial cyber hacking in 2013, but Chinese intruders resumed operation after a brief hiatus.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Third,</strong></span><span style="color: #d0021b"> China is mounting a major effort to dominate the global technology standards of the future.’</span></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The new “China Standards 2035” plan</strong> uses massive subsidies to promote the indigenous development of technologies and then employs economic diplomacy to enhance China’s influence over the international bodies that set the crucial standards and norms for emerging technologies.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘China has already succeeded</strong> in placing many officials at international standard-setting bodies, including the current Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘China’s rapidly growing influence</strong> not only provides commercial advantages for Chinese firms, but also gives its autocratic government a strong voice in shaping digital privacy norms and other vital standards that influence global telecom competitiveness and security policies.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Fourth,</strong></span><span style="color: #d0021b"> China has moved steadily to erase the boundaries between civilian commerce and national security prerogatives in global technology markets.’</span></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘While all countries</strong> cross these lines occasionally, democracies are usually dissuaded from doing so by a thicket of safeguards.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In contrast,</strong> China has proclaimed in law that all of its citizens and corporations are obligated to assist China’s national security agencies in matters related to national security, cybersecurity, and intelligence.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Finally,</strong></span><span style="color: #d0021b"> China is pursuing a military-civilian fusion (MCF) development strategy that makes it complicated for American S&amp;T institutions to work with Chinese partners on any project that might have military applications.’</span></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Xi Jinping personally directs the</strong> MCF initiative, and views it as essential to China’s rise as a world-class military and technological power.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘A growing number</strong> of emerging technology-intensive sectors are designated key areas for MCF investment under national plans.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘While MCF faces</strong> structural obstacles in China, it is important that U.S. policymakers put guardrails in place now to minimize security risks arising from the initiative.'</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Appropriate safeguards</strong> will allow S&amp;T interdependence to continue to the benefit of both countries.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">3. The View from Europe</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/5nMpgO?track_p_id=angPv2yBaSy8r4C1m_5A%40xs" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/ReE7053UA1c6LDoaX7cib0i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/5nMpgO?track_p_id=2Fl8r4C1m_ZXnGNQX6HQiBh" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'China’s Challenging Year in Europe' &nbsp;</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="display:block; height: 400px; min-height: 300px; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><a href="http://sco.lt/5nMpgO?track_p_id=56cbje8r4C1m_qG3T1w4UrL" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/NCFUlkc0DTUBlRg7TCRtADl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK" style="display: flex; width: 100%; height: 100%; object-fit: cover; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0; right: 0; margin: auto; border: none; pointer-events: none; "></a></td></tr><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">ECHOWALL</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Philippe Le Corre</strong> | Harvard Kennedy School &amp; Carnegie Endowment</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘As for Europeans, the challenge will be to stand strong on their agenda, values and interests, in the face of a China that still considers Washington&nbsp;– no matter who is in the White House –&nbsp;the only leading interlocutor among Western powers.’</strong></em></h2><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;">It was hard for me to cut so much of this excellent report. Mr. Le Corre very skillfully summarizes the many interactions with China that have led Europe to sour on the relationship. Absolutely worth reading in full.</h3><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘From early 2019,</strong> Chinese government think-tanks and media started&nbsp;<a href="http://www.iis.fudan.edu.cn/en/97/21/c16676a235297/page.htm" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">publishing lengthy reports</a>&nbsp;on the state of the EU and its members, praising a flourishing bilateral relationship and calling for further steps.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Chinese analysts </strong>were especially keen on stressing that relations with China’s largest export market were at their height – quite unlike the Sino-American relationship, which had sunk into acrimony under the Trump administration.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Despite China’s apparent enthusiasm,</strong> the “<a href="http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-12/18/c_138640096.htm" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">year of Sino-European friendship</a>” has brought more challenges than successes, due to a mix of:’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘promise fatigue</strong> on the European side (with regard to a better access to the Chinese market for European companies in particular);’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘growing Chinese assertiveness</strong> on the international stage; and’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘increasing Chinese</strong> propaganda and controversies around the Covid-19 pandemic.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In addition,</strong> Europeans have started to realize that China is not just an aspiring global power, it has become one.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘President Xi Jinping’s&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://cpc.people.com.cn/n1/2017/1028/c64094-29613660.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">assertion that</a>, “This new era will see China moving closer to center stage and making greater contributions to mankind,” has turned into reality.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘China&nbsp;</strong>has in fact already moved to center stage.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In a year marked by a global pandemic,</strong> China’s double approach towards the EU and its members has thus far been unsuccessful.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Despite this recent past</strong> of deepening ties, the last six months have been anything but smooth in China-EU relations.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘These actions in Europe</strong> [skillfully summarized in the essay] might have led&nbsp;Beijing to conclude&nbsp;that it could no longer take the soft European position for granted.'</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But there is no evidence</strong> that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in any way adjusted its efforts to match this new situation.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘On the contrary, </strong>diplomats at China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) have apparently been empowered by the party leadership to be far more outspoken, a trend&nbsp;<a href="https://thediplomat.com/2020/09/is-china-really-embracing-wolf-warrior-diplomacy/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">already described by some as “wolf warrior diplomacy”</a>.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘China’s two-fold approach</strong> towards the EU and member-states has thus far been unsuccessful.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘To the contrary,</strong> there are now growing signs that the EU is&nbsp;<a href="https://ecfr.eu/publication/the_new_china_consensus_how_europe_is_growing_wary_of_beijing/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">moving toward a more unified position on China</a>, on both economic matters and crucial political ones, like Hong Kong’s new national security law and China’s treatment of ethnic minority groups such as Uyghurs,&nbsp;Kazakhs, Tibetans and Mongols.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘These days, “impatience” and “frustration”</strong> seem to be the operative terms in European relations with China, whether the issue is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/22/world/europe/china-eu-trade-talks.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">trade and investment</a>, humans rights,&nbsp;<a href="https://sciencebusiness.net/news/paquet-china-needs-open-more-european-researchers" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">scientific cooperation</a>, or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/17/world/asia/china-europe-xi-jinping.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">more aggressive diplomatic tactics</a>.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘There is growing fatigue</strong> with China’s promises and rhetoric.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “China policy internally</strong> is becoming more totalitarian all the time,” Reinhard Bütikofer, the German MEP who chairs the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with China,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.euronews.com/2020/10/01/what-to-expect-from-the-eu-s-special-summit-on-foreign-affairs" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">told&nbsp;<em style="font-style: italic">Euronews</em></a>, “and its policy towards the outside world is becoming more aggressive all of the time.” ’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Bütikofer urged</strong> a re-think of EU-China relations: "We tell China, we have had it with their win-win rhetoric.” ’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘As for Europeans,</strong> the challenge will be to stand strong on their agenda, values and interests, in the face of a China that still considers Washington&nbsp;– no matter who is in the White House –&nbsp;the only leading interlocutor among Western powers.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">At least,</strong> there is now more European unity than ever in the past thirty years.'</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div>

<div style="background-color:#f5f5f5; margin:0 auto; padding:0; text-align:center;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="background-color: #f5f5f5; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff"><tbody><tr><td><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h1 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 26px;line-height: 36px;font-weight: 400;color: #001544;letter-spacing: 0.1px;display: inline-block;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 0.5rem;margin-inline-start: 0px;margin-inline-end: 0px;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Greetings!</strong></h1><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">In this issue:</strong></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">1. What China's Leaders are Really Thinking</strong></span></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">'Biden's Election Raises Hopes and Doubts in Beijing'</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">2. Guess Who Pulled the Plug on Ant's IPO?</strong></span></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">'China’s President Xi Jinping Personally Scuttled Jack Ma’s Ant IPO'</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">3. The World's Biggest, China-led, Trade Deal: About to Be Signed Without the U.S&gt;</strong></span></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">‘Asia-Pacific Countries Push to Sign China-Backed Trade Megadeal’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">'World’s Biggest Free-Trade Deal Set to Be Signed This Weekend'</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">4. Handicapping China's Digital Economy</strong></span></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">'A Template for Understanding 'China's Digital Economy'</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">When Cheng Li</strong> of Brookings says, ‘Chinese leaders believe…,’ he is not giving an opinion based on careful study of speeches, public documents, and news reports.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Instead he is drawing</strong> on conversations with Chinese leaders, officials, and scholars with whom he has had years and decades of close, trusted relationships, many long before they achieved their present positions.</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">(And though he has never said so, </strong>I would guess those same people rely on Dr. Li to explain the U.S. to them.)</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">That’s why his latest essay,</strong> ‘Hopes and Doubts in Beijing Resetting U.S.-Chinese: Relations Won’t Be Easy,’ in <em style="font-style: italic">Foreign Affairs</em> gives us that rare insight into what Chinese decision makers are thinking as they prepare to deal with a Biden administration.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">This makes Dr. Li’s report </strong>the most valuable of the many being churned out – important for us – and the Biden foreign policy team – to read.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">I won’t attempt to summarize </strong>it here, but I will relate the point that most struck me as critical for the U.S. to know in approaching China:</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Chinese leaders tend to attribute</strong> the deterioration in U.S.-Chinese relations entirely to the Trump administration’s desire to contain China’s rise.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘There is no recognition in Beijing</strong> of legitimate U.S. concerns regarding unfair Chinese economic and technological practices and its aggressive behavior in the Asia-Pacific region.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And not encouraging</strong> that the issues most critical to the U.S. can be resolved.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">But, as Dr. Li points out, </strong>‘Even if Beijing is more predisposed to work with a Democratic U.S. administration, a significant reset of the bilateral relationship will be tricky.'</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><br></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Last issue,</strong> I reported on the many Rashomon-like theories about why China suspended Ant Financial’s IPO.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">I wrote that speculation </strong>was fruitless: only the officials involved could what happened for sure.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">While we don’t have Chinese officials </strong>on record, a new Wall Street Journal report seems to have found some who are willing to talk.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">What they told WSJ reporters</strong> certainly fits the best with facts.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Xi Jinping</strong> himself pulled the plug.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And Jack Ma’s speech critical</strong> of the financial regulators seems to have been the last straw in Mr. Xi’s increasing dissatisfaction with Ant’s business model and Ma’s oversized reputation.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">In a day-to-day sense,</strong> the suspension of the IPO is important. But more critical, the WSJ report pulls back the curtain on the seldom-seen Chinese decision-making process and increases our understanding of Mr. Xi’s attempts to balance big private business and the Party’s authority:</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Mr. Xi</strong> has displayed a diminishing tolerance for big private businesses that have amassed capital and influence—and are perceived to have challenged both his rule and the stability craved by factions in the country’s newly assertive Communist Party.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">According to a senior Chinese official:</strong></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“Xi doesn’t care</strong> about if you made any of those rich lists or not.”</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“What he cares about</strong> is what you do after you get rich, and whether you’re aligning your interests with the state’s interests.”</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">As the oft-cited </strong>Chinese expression goes, ‘Kill the chicken to scare the monkey.’ &nbsp;[杀鸡儆猴]</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">In this case</strong> it’s the reverse: Mr. Xi has killed the proverbial 500-pound gorilla.</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And you can be sure</strong> the other apes are taking note.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">&nbsp;</strong></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'World’s Biggest Free-Trade Deal Set to Be Signed This Weekend'</strong> reports Bloomberg.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And</strong><strong style="font-weight: bold">guess who</strong> won’t be there?</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">For years now,</strong> I’ve reported – with trepidation - on the progress of the negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And now it’s ready to be signed</strong> by fifteen Asia-Pacific nations led by China, but not the U.S.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">That will be bad </strong>for the U.S. - again</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">President Trump</strong> withdrew the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Never mind that:</strong> It would never have passed Congress.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">But whatever the reason</strong> for failing to join the TPP – which excluded China – the U.S. missed its best opportunity yet to confront China on trade and other contentious issues.</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Now the bigger,</strong> if not better, RCEP, is a big win for China.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">It helps cement its role</strong> as the dominant economy and trading partner in Asia to the detriment of the U.S.</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And it demonstrates that China</strong> not the U.S. is focused on the interests of the countries there.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;">&nbsp;</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Tracking the development</strong> of China’s digital economy just got easier.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">A new report</strong> from Brookings provides a simple template to track progress.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;">‘<strong style="font-weight: bold">Three types of technologies</strong> constitute the digital economy:’</p><ol style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Transactional technologies such</strong> as e-commerce platforms and global networks, which lower information asymmetries and provide digital infrastructure to improve the matching of market supply and demand.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Informational technologies such</strong> as cloud computing, big data analytics, business management software and artificial intelligence (AI), which leverage the falling costs of computing power, improving access to digital infrastructure and exponential growth of data to offer new services.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Operational technologies such</strong> as smart robots, 3D printing and the Internet of Things (IoT), which lower the costs of production by integrating data with industrial equipment.’</li></ol><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And the report</strong> goes on to analyze China’s strengths and weaknesses for each type.</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">1. What China's Leaders are Really Thinking</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/5oMCie?track_p_id=7A2gkcHE6UYQQA_VDzGFsZX" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/2P2LxiV-sg54VayqL9X2F0i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/5oMCie?track_p_id=4RWjd6UYQQA_2UgnfWKqm1z" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'Biden's Election Raises Hopes and Doubts in Beijing'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://sco.lt/5oMCie?track_p_id=7QFTp%403j6UYQQA_MBhI6F2Z" target="_blank" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/wSjTg1SrTWenA2rWKyd7nTl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK" style="display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></a></td></tr><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/wSjTg1SrTWenA2rWKyd7nTl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Foreign Affairs</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Cheng Li</strong> | Director of Brookings Institution’s John L. Thornton China Center&nbsp;</h3><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But even if Beijing is more predisposed to work with a Democratic U.S. administration, a significant reset of the bilateral relationship will be tricky.'</strong></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Never before has Beijing</strong> paid such close attention to the outcome of a U.S. presidential election.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Chinese leaders&nbsp;believe</strong> that former Vice President Joe Biden’s triumph over President Donald Trump provides an opportunity to halt—or at the very least slow—the two countries’ alarming march to confrontation.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘China’s leadership</strong> was generally pessimistic about the prospects for improving relations with the United States as long as Trump was at the helm.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Beijing believes the Trump administration</strong> has sought to defeat China in much the same way that the United States defeated the Soviet Union in the Cold War.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Chinese President Xi Jinping and the CCP leadership</strong> were under no illusions about the possibility of tranquil, harmonious coexistence with a second Trump administration.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The Trump administration’s actions toward Taiwan</strong> have been of particular concern to the Chinese.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘With the passage in the U.S. Congress</strong> of the Taiwan Travel Act of 2018 and the 2019 Taipei Act—bills that have strengthened U.S.-Taiwanese relations and were signed into law by Trump—Beijing fears that Washington is edging toward recognizing Taiwan as an independent country.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The administration’s actions and rhetoric</strong> on this front have hardened antipathy toward Trump within the CCP leadership and bolstered those Chinese officials eager to take an aggressive approach toward the United States.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Chinese leaders</strong> know that U.S. hostility toward China isn’t confined to the Trump administration.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Both Republicans and Democrats</strong> have directed harsh criticism at Beijing and advocated decoupling U.S. supply chains from China.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘At the same time,</strong> many Chinese officials don’t believe there is an anti-China consensus in Washington.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘One noteworthy episode</strong> during the vice-presidential debate—when neither Vice President Mike Pence nor California Senator Kamala Harris could give a clear answer about whether the United States sees China as a competitor, a rival, or an enemy—garnered the attention of opinion makers in Beijing.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘It seemed to underscore</strong> the lack of a strategic framework for U.S.-Chinese relations in Washington.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But even if Beijing</strong> is more predisposed to work with a Democratic U.S. administration, a significant reset of the bilateral relationship will be tricky.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Chinese leaders tend to attribute</strong> the deterioration in U.S.-Chinese relations entirely to the Trump administration’s desire to contain China’s rise.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘There is no recognition in Beijing</strong> of legitimate U.S. concerns regarding unfair Chinese economic and technological practices and its aggressive behavior in the Asia-Pacific region.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Chinese officials</strong> understand that the serious political divide exposed by the election result—with the United States highly polarized—will force Biden to assuage domestic tensions and could leave him without the political capital to fully transform U.S. China policy.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Moreover, Chinese leaders</strong> fear that in an effort to bridge partisan divisions, the Biden administration may see an aggressive China policy as a means of finding common ground with Republicans.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘If so,</strong> confrontation between the two countries could continue, or even accelerate, instead of giving way to a more stable balance between cooperation and competition.’ &nbsp;</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The Chinese leadership</strong> is weighing all these possible trajectories of a Biden China policy and seems to be hedging its bets on the incoming administration.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘On the one hand,</strong> Beijing will be eager to reengage with the United States in multiple areas.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In line with Biden’s foreign policy agenda,</strong> China will be particularly interested in working collaboratively on issues of global public health (especially the shared battle against COVID-19), climate change, nuclear nonproliferation, antiterrorism, cybersecurity, and global economic and financial stability.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘At the same time,</strong> however, Beijing believes that China’s economic recovery, its internal handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, its relative sociopolitical stability, and its growing international clout give it added leverage in the bilateral relationship.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The Chinese leadership</strong> may accommodate U.S. demands in certain areas, but it will likely remain firm and uncompromising on anything touching on China’s self-declared core interests of its claim to sovereignty over Taiwan and the maintenance of CCP rule.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">2. Guess Who Pulled the Plug on Ant's IPO</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/9DTMi8?track_p_id=1Z7RazTa_FhoroQQfe3RGaf" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/K9fKxwrt-0GqvuYSovNp30i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/9DTMi8?track_p_id=2SF7RazTa_C%40FXg3dhpsBDk" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'China’s President Xi Jinping Personally Scuttled Jack Ma’s Ant IPO'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://sco.lt/9DTMi8?track_p_id=4H3iy7RazTa_bFfFVbYXqIO" target="_blank" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/ETr67G_Y-IMA40eEYVvu0Dl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK" style="display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></a></td></tr><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/ETr67G_Y-IMA40eEYVvu0Dl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><p style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Jack Ma delivering the 'most expensive speech in history.'</strong></p></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The Wall Street Journal</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Jing Yang &amp; Lingling Wei</strong> | The Wall Street Journal</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“What Xi cares about is what you do after you get rich, and whether you’re aligning your interests with the state’s interests.”</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Chinese President Xi Jinping</strong> personally made the decision to halt the initial public offering of Ant Group, which would have been the world’s biggest, after controlling shareholder Jack Ma infuriated government leaders with a speech, according to Chinese officials with knowledge of the matter.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The rebuke</strong> was the culmination of years of tense relations between China’s most celebrated entrepreneur and a government uneasy about his influence and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/jack-mas-giant-financial-startup-is-shaking-the-chinese-banking-system-1532885367?mod=article_inline" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">rapid growth of the digital-payments behemoth&nbsp;</a>he controlled.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘On Oct. 24,</strong> days before&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/inside-ant-the-company-behind-the-worlds-biggest-ipo-11603798576?mod=article_inline" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">the financial-technology giant was set to go public</a>, Mr. Ma took the stage at a financial forum in Shanghai attended by top regulators, politicians and bankers.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Attendees included</strong> China’s Vice President Wang Qishan, central bank governor Yi Gang and some senior state-bank executives.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘During his 21-minute speech,</strong> Mr. Ma bluntly criticized the government’s increasingly tight financial regulation for holding back technology development, part of a long-running battle between Ant and its overseers.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘He criticized Beijing’s campaign</strong> to control financial risks. “There is no systemic risk in China’s financial system,” he said. “Chinese finance has no system.” ’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘He also took aim at the regulators,</strong> saying they “have only focused on risks and overlooked development.” ’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘He accused big Chinese banks</strong> of harboring a “pawnshop mentality.” That, Mr. Ma said, has “hurt a lot of entrepreneurs.” ’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Mr. Ma also quoted Mr. Xi</strong> saying, “Success does not have to come from me.” ’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘As a result,</strong> the tech executive said, he wanted to help solve China’s financial problems through innovation.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Top government officials</strong> saw citing Mr. Xi as an effort to burnish his own image and tarnish that of regulators.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘His remarks went viral</strong> on Chinese social media, where some users applauded Mr. Ma for daring to speak out.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In Beijing,</strong> though, senior officials were angry, and officials long calling for tighter financial regulation spoke up.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Mr. Xi, who read government reports about the speech,</strong> and other senior leaders were furious, according to the officials familiar with the decision-making.'</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Mr. Xi ordered Chinese regulators</strong> to investigate and all but shut down Ant’s initial public offering, the officials said, setting in motion a series of events that led to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/ant-group-ipo-postponed-by-shanghai-stock-exchange-11604409597?mod=article_inline" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">the deal’s suspension on Nov. 3.</a>’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘It isn’t clear</strong> whether it was Mr. Xi or another government official who first suggested the shutdown.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">&nbsp;‘After Mr. Xi decided</strong> that Ant’s IPO needed to be halted, financial regulators led by Mr. Liu, the leader’s economic czar, convened on Oct. 31 and mapped out an action plan to take Mr. Ma to task, according to the government officials familiar with the decision-making.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘At a meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Committee</strong> headed by Mr. Liu, the group decided to “put all kinds of financial activities under regulation and treating the same businesses in the same way,” according to a government statement.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The decision was aimed squarely at Ant,</strong> the government officials said, and cleared the way for the pro-stability members of the group to dust off draft regulations they had been working on for a long time.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Among them</strong> was one regulating online microlending.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘With Mr. Xi’s blessing,</strong> the central bank and the banking regulator made the draft rule even tougher than previously conceived,&nbsp;according to the Chinese officials familiar with the decision-making.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The new rule</strong> had a requirement that didn’t exist in previous drafts: Firms such as Ant would need to fund at least 30% of each loan it makes in conjunction with banks.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The draft rules</strong> were published on Nov. 2, the same day Mr. Ma and a couple of his executives at Ant&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-regulators-summon-ant-leaders-amid-record-ipo-11604327306?mod=article_inline" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">were summoned to a rare joint meeting</a>&nbsp;with the central bank and the regulatory agencies overseeing banking, insurance and securities.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The next day,</strong> the Shanghai Stock Exchange suspended the Ant IPO, citing the meeting and changes in the regulatory environment.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “Xi doesn’t care</strong> about if you made any of those rich lists or not,” said a senior Chinese official.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “What he cares about</strong> is what you do after you get rich, and whether you’re aligning your interests with the state’s interests.” ’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">3. The 'Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership': Sad Day for the U.S.</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/50c0Aq?track_p_id=1R5TXCUo_VC%40yUwYnBhU35L" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/K9fKxwrt-0GqvuYSovNp30i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/50c0Aq?track_p_id=awjt4hcSYZn5TXCUo_Ot3Ql" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'Asia-Pacific Countries Push to Sign China-Backed Trade Megadeal'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://sco.lt/50c0Aq?track_p_id=2Ww5TXCUo_mfGpYvP5fvV6c" target="_blank" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/5KcRuCbqbrZBlJs6CDZAaDl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK" style="display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></a></td></tr><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/5KcRuCbqbrZBlJs6CDZAaDl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><p style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Who is missing - again?</strong></p></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The Wall Street Journal</strong></h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The deal will increase pressure on U.S. President-elect Joe Biden&nbsp;to bolster U.S. economic ties and fill a policy vacuum in a critical part of the world.’</strong></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘China and 14 other Asia-Pacific nations</strong>&nbsp;seek to sign a trade deal this weekend that will knit their economies closer together—the second pact&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/asian-pacific-nations-move-closer-to-signing-china-backed-trade-pact-11572806699?mod=article_inline" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">covering large swaths of the region</a>&nbsp;whose signatories don’t include the U.S.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The agreement,</strong> the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP,&nbsp;could be signed Sunday.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The U.S.</strong> originally intended to be part of the first—a group of Pacific Rim countries called the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP—but quit after President Trump took office.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The other 11 countries,</strong> including Japan, Canada, Mexico and Australia, went ahead without the U.S. and signed a lower-impact version of the deal in 2018.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But that pact didn’t include China,</strong> and the one now at the finish line does.'</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The deal</strong> will increase pressure on U.S. President-elect Joe Biden&nbsp;to bolster U.S. economic ties and fill a policy vacuum in a critical part of the world.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Washington’s withdrawal from the TPP</strong> became a symbol of what many in the region saw as a U.S. turn inward.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Mr. Biden said</strong> last year he would try to renegotiate the TPP. At best that won’t be fast or easy:’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Trading partners</strong> like Japan may require concessions, and many in the U.S. remain skeptical of big free-trade pacts.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Even before President Trump</strong> triumphantly withdrew from the TPP as one of his first official acts, it&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-withdraws-u-s-from-trans-pacific-partnership-1485191020?mod=article_inline" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">was effectively dead in the U.S</a>.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘No draft</strong> of the new China-backed pact has been released, but experts say it is likely to be shallower than the TPP.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘One official</strong> involved in the negotiations said it aims to lower tariffs, strengthen supply chains, set common rules on intellectual-property protection&nbsp;and ease business-visa arrangements, but doesn’t touch on labor rights or environmental protections.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://sco.lt/50c0Aq?track_p_id=5RXR5n5TXCUo_zWaez3YyWJ" target="_blank" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/o8q5RzOnlbiiuqRnTmEMfjl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK" style="display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></a></td></tr><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/o8q5RzOnlbiiuqRnTmEMfjl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="background-color:#f5f5f5;"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:20px;">&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/7e6x60?track_p_id=8QOIVYfZi6wMq7S_oIJClPL" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/Q7K3LvBpUHwYzkoXdXm2WUi__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/7e6x60?track_p_id=7p5CjG6S6wMq7S_FoUFTJkx" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'World’s Biggest Free-Trade Deal Set to Be Signed This Weekend'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Bloomberg</strong></h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The RCEP's advance illustrates how Trump’s move to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership has diminished America’s ability to counterbalance China’s economic clout with its neighbors.’</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Fifteen Asia-Pacific nations including</strong> China aim to clinch the world’s largest free-trade agreement this weekend.'</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership</strong>, which includes countries stretching from Japan to Australia and New Zealand, aims to reduce tariffs, strengthen supply chains with common rules of origin, and codify new e-commerce rules.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Its passage may disadvantage </strong>some U.S. companies and other multinationals outside the zone, particularly after President Donald Trump withdrew from talks on a separate Asia-Pacific trade deal formerly known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “China has pulled off a diplomatic coup</strong> in dragging RCEP over the line,” said Shaun Roache, Asia-Pacific chief economist at S&amp;P Global Ratings.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “While RCEP is shallow,</strong> at least compared to TPP, it is broad, covering many economies and goods, and this is a rarity in these more protectionist times.” ’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The deal’s advance illustrates</strong> how Trump’s move to withdraw from the TPP -- now known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership -- has diminished America’s ability to counterbalance China’s economic clout with its neighbors.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘That challenge</strong> may soon shift to President-elect Joe Biden if, as expected, he’s officially certified the winner of the Nov. 3 election.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The question of whether RCEP</strong> changes the regional dynamic in favor of China depends on the U.S. response, said William Reinsch, a trade official in the Clinton administration and senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “If the U.S. continues</strong> to ignore or bully the countries there, the influence pendulum will swing toward China.” ’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “If Biden has a credible plan </strong>to restore the U.S. presence and influence in the region, then the pendulum could swing back our way.” ’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://sco.lt/7e6x60?track_p_id=cLPMPpvG4TBmd6wMq7S_yb2" target="_blank" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/SSfMAHodjZNh_w1cEOGShTl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK" style="display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></a></td></tr><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/SSfMAHodjZNh_w1cEOGShTl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">4. Handicapping China's Digital Economy</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/5Dx8Do?track_p_id=0685Lag_EJStvJYDMKZAb14" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/fT8DySfKfRttY-U-TpJFkEi__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/5Dx8Do?track_p_id=9kXw4zOqNo685Lag_2YmC16" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'A Template for Understanding 'China's Digital Economy'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Brookings</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Martin Raiser&nbsp;and&nbsp;Marcin Piatkowski</strong> | World Bank</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘China’s biggest weakness today is in operational technologies such as smart robots, 3D printing, and IoT-connected equipment.’</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘China’s upcoming 14th Five Year Plan </strong>is likely to emphasize investments in digitalization to promote the country’s competitiveness in the new general-purpose technologies expected to drive economic progress during the next decade.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Here’s a snapshot</strong> of where China stands today.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;">‘<a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Papers.cfm?abstract_id=3660114" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Three types of technologies</strong> constitute the digital economy</a>:’</p><ol style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Transactional technologies such</strong> as e-commerce platforms and global networks, which lower information asymmetries and provide digital infrastructure to improve the matching of market supply and demand.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Informational technologies such</strong> as cloud computing, big data analytics, business management software and artificial intelligence (AI), which leverage the falling costs of computing power, improving access to digital infrastructure and exponential growth of data to offer new services.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Operational technologies such</strong> as smart robots, 3D printing and the Internet of Things (IoT), which lower the costs of production by integrating data with industrial equipment.’</li></ol><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">1. Transactional Technologies.</strong></span> ‘China is one of the global leaders in transactional technologies thanks to the large size of its internet platforms, wide use of e-commerce, and top-notch logistical infrastructure (in China, packages purchased online are usually&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202009/15/WS5f601ce9a3101ccd0bee0659.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">delivered with 24 hours</a>).’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In 2018,</strong> jobs related to e-commerce represented more than 5 percent of total employment.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘China also has by far the largest online market</strong> in the world, which in 2017 represented almost half of the world’s total online retail sales (Figure 1).'</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://sco.lt/5Dx8Do?track_p_id=cTpL2yZVzaieq685Lag_25B" target="_blank" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/EwJW7i1PjiiLLRN9Rvsvrzl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK" style="display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></a></td></tr><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/EwJW7i1PjiiLLRN9Rvsvrzl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Growth in e-commerce</strong> seems to have also contributed to stronger market inclusion and geographic convergence, as illustrated by the success of Alibaba’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2019/11/22/stimulating-jobs-growth-entrepreneurship-income-in-rural-china-through-e-commerce" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">Taobao Villages</a>.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘AliResearch,</strong> Alibaba’s internal think tank,&nbsp;<a href="https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202009/21/WS5f68007fa31024ad0ba7aad7.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">estimates&nbsp;</a>that over a 12-month period until June 2019, Taobao villages helped create almost 7 million jobs in rural areas and generated more than 700 billion renminbi or more than $100 billion in total sales.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘E-commerce in Taobao villages</strong> is associated with higher wages and greater participation of women, and was a critical source of income in rural areas during the COVID-19 lockdown in early 2020.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">2. Informational Technologies.</strong></span> ‘China also does well on informational technologies, but restrictions on the use of data limit the country’s potential.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘China has already built</strong> a significant capacity in data centers and AI processing capacity and has become the&nbsp;<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/4346511-chinas-burgeoning-cloud-computing-market-is-tremendous-opportunity" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">world’s second largest market&nbsp;</a>in cloud computing.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘China stores&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3660114" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">about one-fifth of the world’s data</a>&nbsp;and—given its leadership in data collection technologies—its share in global data, the new “oil” of the world’s economy, is likely to continue to increase.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘However,</strong> China’s restrictive regulations on data flows and localization of data (which needs to be stored entirely within the country) and underdeveloped data standards impede China from turning its technological advantages into the desired competitive edge internationally.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">3. Operational Technologies.</strong></span> ‘China’s biggest weakness today is in operational technologies such as smart robots, 3D printing, and IoT-connected equipment.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Here China</strong> is still largely dependent on inputs from Europe and the United States.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘China’s future productivity growth,</strong> especially in manufacturing, will need to rely increasingly on operational technologies and its leaders are consequently focused on closing the gap.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘However,</strong> this will likely lead to a greater concentration of value-added production in the more advanced coastal regions and deepen the&nbsp;<a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/33993/Chinas-Productivity-Slowdown-and-Future-Growth-Potential.pdf?sequence=1&amp;isAllowed=y" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">productivity gap&nbsp;</a>between the leading and the lagging firms within the same sector, which is already larger than in developed economies.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘As a result,</strong> the large urban-rural inequalities in incomes and the quality of life may increase even more.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Conclusion.</strong> ‘China is well-positioned in <strong style="font-weight: bold">informational technologies</strong>, thanks to the strengths of its internet platforms and the size of its domestic data pool.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Greater transparency</strong> would help leverage these advantages for public service delivery.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The convergence</strong> toward Europe’s data protection standard and improved protection of intellectual property rights would turn them into assets for global competitiveness.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘China’s concerted efforts</strong> to develop domestic capabilities in <strong style="font-weight: bold">operational technologies</strong> are likely to reduce the remaining gap with Europe and the U.S. in the coming years.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But if China wants to ensure</strong> the resulting digital dividends are widely shared, it will need to prioritize both market-oriented reforms to accelerate the diffusion of technologies and social welfare reforms to protect its workers from the labor market impacts of digitalization.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div>

<div style="background-color:#f5f5f5; margin:0 auto; padding:0; text-align:center;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="background-color: #f5f5f5; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff"><tbody><tr><td><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h1 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 26px;line-height: 36px;font-weight: 400;color: #001544;letter-spacing: 0.1px;display: inline-block;margin-block-start: 0;margin-block-end: 0;margin-inline-start: 0px;margin-inline-end: 0px;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Greetings!</strong></h1><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">In today’s issue:</strong></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">1. Xi Jinping: No Rivals, No Successors</strong></span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">2. Ant's Suspended IPO : Speculation Just Keeps Coming</strong></span></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">'Why China Halted Ant's I.P.O., Dealing Jack Ma a Blow'</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">'Ant posed threat to China’s centralised control'</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">'Ant setback signals reckoning for fintech'</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">3. The Other P in POP: Matt Pottinger</strong></span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">In the movie,</strong><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Rashomon</strong></em><strong style="font-weight: bold">,</strong> there is a crime viewed by four eyewitnesses.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And each witness</strong> tells a vastly version of what happened.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">This is so common </strong>that both psychology and law now embrace the ‘Rashomon Effect.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">In the explanations</strong> about why Chinese regulators at the last-minute suspended Ant Financial’s IPO that Effect was evident among the pundits.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Each was working</strong> from the same set of facts, and each came up with a different explanation:</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">It was Jack Ma’s public criticism</strong> of China’s financial regulations; or, it was Xi Jinping showing adored celebrity Ma who is boss; or, it was lobbying by banks who feared the competition from Ant; or, it was a problem with Ant’s prospectus; or, it was regulators awakening at the eleventh hour to the risks posed by fintech in general.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Any or all of these could be true.</strong> So could other reasons I haven’t mentioned.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">But the only people</strong> who know are the officials involved in the decision – and they aren’t talking.</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And therein lies</strong> the danger of coming to other than tentative and contingent conclusions about anything that happens in China.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Included today</strong> is a report about Jack Ma’s controversial comments and two reports on the risks and responses to fintech more generally but in the context of the suspended Ant IPO.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The first</strong> is fun and interesting, and the other two highlight an issue that is of increasing importance to regulators not just in China but around the world - a heads up about what’s to come.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;">&nbsp;</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Of the all</strong> that I have read this week, the one thing that brought me up short was an analysis by Richard McGregor of the Lowy Institute.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">McGregor</strong> is the author of the excellent, <em style="font-style: italic">The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers.</em></li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Despite the sensationalist title,</strong> the book lays out very well how the Chinese Communist Party works in practice.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">It was written</strong> before the advent of Xi Jinping but still remains relevant about the general structure of how the Party operates – and falls into that ‘must-read’ category.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">First, I read his comment: </strong>‘Unlike any Chinese leader since the C.C.P. took power in 1949, Xi has no identifiable rivals and no likely successors,'</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And I thought</strong>, ‘Okay, that probably sounds about right.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Then, </strong>I read:</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'The longer Mr. Xi stays in office,</strong> the less the old factions and clans matter.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Now this begins to question decades</strong> of our understanding of how China’s behind-the-scenes political horse-trading among factions provided a sort of system of checks and balances.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">I had always assumed</strong> that, though weakened, the factions were still important forces in the Xi era .</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">(Even in Mao’s day, </strong>factions were influential, though Mao had the last word.)</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Mr. McGregor</strong> may be correct.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">But, as with the reasons</strong> behind the Ant IPO suspension, only the elites in the Chinese political system know for sure – and, as before, they aren’t taking.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">In any case,</strong> his analysis should have us keeping an eye out for evidence either way.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Because if Mr. McGregor</strong> is right, then Xi really has become a full-blown, unrestrained autocrat.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">My take: </strong>Despite Mr. Xi's decimation of many of his opponents, he can't get 'em all, and some he just can't touch.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Ande may have</strong> removed term limits, but he's not president for life.</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">His position </strong>is up for approval by Party elites in 2022.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">My money is on </strong>there still being opposition factions with clout then that can force some serious negotiations - or maybe, but unlikely, a replacement.</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;">&nbsp;</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">After Mr. Trump</strong> leaves office, his China advisors will no doubt fall back into obscurity.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">With one exception:</strong> Matt Pottinger, Deputy National Security Advisor.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Unlike many of his colleagues</strong> who know little but spout off about China or, worse, engender truly bad policies, Mr. Pottinger is the real deal.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">He was a journalist for seven years in China</strong> for&nbsp;<em style="font-style: italic">Reuters&nbsp;</em>and the&nbsp;<em style="font-style: italic">Wall Street Journal</em>.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">When he was </strong>32, he left journalism and became a Marine officer.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">He served three combat tours</strong> in Iraq and Afghanistan and earned the Bronze Star.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Although he keeps a low profile,</strong> you can still discern the depth of his understanding about China, gained both in school and on-the-ground, from his comments and especially the terrific video addresses he has made to the Chinese people in impeccable Mandarin.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Graham Allison</strong> of the Harvard Kennedy School and author of <em style="font-style: italic">Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides's Trap?,</em> has spoken with Mr. Pottinger about policy and says: “I have found him variously to be smart, insightful, inquisitive and not dogmatic.”&nbsp;</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">For all these reasons, </strong>expect Mr. Pottinger to be a force in the debate over U.S. policy toward China for many years to come.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And that force</strong> will likely to continue to support the China hawks.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">I have wanted to write </strong>about Mr. Pottinger for a long time.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">But other issues</strong> won the competition for space.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">According to Politico, </strong>even if Mr. Trump had been re-elected, Mr. Pottinger was leaving the White House. And now he will for sure.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">So before that happens, I wanted to take this opportunity</strong> to introduce him and put you on notice watch for him wherever he goes next.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And, as I write this it's Veteran's Day,</strong> so it's fitting to highlight a Marine, whether you agree with his views or not.</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">1. Xi Jinping: No Rivals, No Successors</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="" target="_blank" title="Malcolm_Riddell" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="Malcolm_Riddell" src="https://assets-global.website-files.com/5c864c33af62620dca1373ac/5fc2c325b2be470b39241339_Malcolm%20Riddell.png" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/7v4C0G?track_p_id=6PuiBUm9ClODW_S4IEc32pq" style="color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'Xi Jinping: No Rivals, No Successors'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://sco.lt/7v4C0G?track_p_id=cMhvmNja1QNpc9ClODW_EC%40" target="_blank" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/IJiX6e1pRnoB_G01JDjF7jl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK" style="display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></a></td></tr><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/IJiX6e1pRnoB_G01JDjF7jl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The New York Times</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Richard McGregor</strong> | Lowy Institute</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Unlike any Chinese leader since the C.C.P. took power in 1949, he has no identifiable rivals and no likely successors.’</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘President Xi Jinping</strong> has accumulated legions of powerful critics in China since he took office in early 2013.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘There are&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://insidestory.org.au/how-xis-crackdown-became-a-backlash/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">the once-powerful officials&nbsp;</strong></a>who have been felled by his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-41670162" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">sweeping anti-corruption campaign</a>.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘There are the economists</strong> who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.frbsf.org/banking/asia-program/pacific-exchanges-podcast/state-strikes-back-diminishing-role-of-chinas-private-sector/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">resist his statist instincts</a>.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘There are&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.chinafile.com/reporting-opinion/viewpoint/dear-chairman-xi-its-time-you-go" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">the academics&nbsp;</strong></a>who have objected to his authoritarian measures, such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/25/world/asia/china-xi-jinping.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">his decision to abolish presidential term limits</a>.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Some of Mr. Xi’s detractors</strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/a797b6f0b2154783918b15de8790fb3d" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">have fallen silent</a>; others have come on board with his program, reluctantly or after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/02/world/asia/china-hong-kong-national-security-law.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">taking an intellectual leap</a>.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Those who dared</strong> to keep criticizing him&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/13/xu-zhangrun-china-xi-jinping-critic-released" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">have been punished</a>.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Yet&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/world/asia/china-xi-communist-party-meeting.html?searchResultPosition=1" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">the latest meeting of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party</strong></a>, held in late October, suggests that Mr. Xi is stronger than ever.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Unlike any Chinese leader</strong> since the C.C.P. took power in 1949, he has no identifiable rivals and no likely successors.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The C.C.P.&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/world/asia/china-five-year-plan-communist-party.html?searchResultPosition=4" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">recently held</strong></a>&nbsp;its semiregular plenum of the Central Committee, the 370-odd-member body that formally approves major decisions, such as the country’s five-year economic plans or the choice of top leaders.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In years past,</strong> observers of the gathering would typically try to unearth the hidden meaning of top-level personnel moves or any signs of shifting power dynamics between long-jostling factions, such as&nbsp;<a href="https://jamestown.org/program/the-eclipse-of-the-communist-youth-league-and-the-rise-of-the-zhejiang-clique/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">the China Youth League&nbsp;</a>or the so-called&nbsp;<a href="https://media.hoover.org/sites/default/files/documents/CLM41CL.pdf" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">Shanghai Gang</a>.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The pundits</strong> never had much hard evidence to go on. Communist habits die hard:’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Delegates are locked</strong> in at the gathering’s venue for several days, and all media are excluded from the event.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But for years,</strong> there were at least visible signs of jockeying and horse trading among political clans with links to past leaders and others with revolutionary pedigrees.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘This year,</strong> though, no one has even bothered to do much of a Youth League vs. Shanghai Gang head count.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘His predecessor, Hu Jintao</strong> (a former leader of the Youth League), has barely been seen outside of ceremonial occasions since he handed all of his positions to Mr. Xi in late 2012.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'Hu’s predecessor, Jiang Zemin</strong> (the titular head of the Shanghai Gang), who maintained influence over senior appointments and the military during Mr. Hu’s tenure, is now an ailing 94, and he and his acolytes have been kept in their place by the threat of anti-corruption investigations, should any of them be tempted to push back.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Bottom line. 'The longer Mr. Xi stays in office,</strong> the less the old factions and clans matter.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">2. Ant's Suspended IPO : Speculation Just Keeps Coming</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="" target="_blank" title="Malcolm_Riddell" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="Malcolm_Riddell" src="https://assets-global.website-files.com/5c864c33af62620dca1373ac/5fc2c325b2be470b39241339_Malcolm%20Riddell.png" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/8DEWKO?track_p_id=en%40c4PaaWyA1vlH5GMUAw_N" style="color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'Why China Halted Ant's I.P.O., Dealing Jack Ma a Blow' </a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://sco.lt/8DEWKO?track_p_id=26U5GMUAw_T5TErweDh2wW4" target="_blank" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/pF2Uyx5sUq7qtszipCnJVTl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK" style="display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></a></td></tr><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/pF2Uyx5sUq7qtszipCnJVTl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><p style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Bang! Jack Ma's self-inflicted wound [?]</strong></p></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The New York Times</strong></h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘One wag on social media called Mr. Ma’s remarks in Shanghai “the most expensive speech in history.”’</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘This was supposed</strong> to be the week that one of China’s biggest tech companies threw the most lucrative coming-out party in history, sending a swaggering message about the country’s economic might during the pandemic.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Instead,</strong> China sent a different message: No private business gets to swagger unless the government is on board with it.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Regulators pulled the plug Tuesday,</strong> November 3, on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/26/technology/ant-group-ipo-valuation.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">initial public offering</a>&nbsp;of Ant Group, the internet finance giant, which had been all but ready to press “Go” on its $34 billion stock debut in Shanghai and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/06/business/hong-kong-china-economy-future.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">Hong Kong</a>.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The I.P.O.</strong> would have brought in more cash than did Saudi Aramco, the state-run oil giant, when it went public last year. And Ant would have raised the money on the opposite side of the planet from New York, which has long been the favored listing destination for Chinese tech groups.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But by firing a&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/03/technology/ant-ipo-jack-ma-summoned.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">last-minute torpedo&nbsp;</strong></a>at Ant and Jack Ma, the company’s controlling shareholder and celebrity founder of the e-commerce titan Alibaba, the authorities made clear that international bragging rights mattered less than ensuring private companies know where they stand next to the state.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Ant sits at the intersection of two industries</strong> — finance and tech — that are facing intense scrutiny everywhere.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘American officials</strong> are circling the giants of Silicon Valley,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/20/technology/google-antitrust.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">plotting a reckoning&nbsp;</a>for the power they wield over commerce and society.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Yet in China,</strong> the authorities under Xi Jinping, the country’s top leader, have brought a steely, uncompromising edge to their tactics for enforcing the Communist Party’s will.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Globe-straddling conglomerates</strong> have been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/23/business/anbang-china-xi-deals.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">leashed</a>.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘A tycoon</strong> was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/18/business/china-xiao-jianhua.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">disappeared into custody</a>.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In September,</strong> Ren Zhiqiang, a wealthy, politically connected property developer, was sentenced to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/22/world/asia/china-ren-zhiqiang-tycoon.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">18 years in prison&nbsp;</a>after he criticized Mr. Xi [he called Xi a “clown”] for the government’s handling of the coronavirus.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Late last month,</strong> as Ant’s mega I.P.O. was coming together, Mr. Ma made an appearance at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bundsummit.org/en/site/agenda" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">a financial conference</a>, the Bund Summit in Shanghai.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘He spoke</strong> after bigwigs including Wang Qishan, China’s vice president, and Yi Gang, the central bank governor.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “Our next speaker needs little introduction,” </strong>the host said. “He says he came to the Bund Summit today to throw a bomb.” ’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘A camera&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://zhibo.sina.com.cn/finance/68307" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">catches Mr. Ma&nbsp;</strong></a>standing up from his seat and shrugging, as if caught off guard.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “I’m not throwing any bombs,”</strong> he said once he reached the podium. “Who would dare throw a bomb?” ’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘He then</strong><strong style="font-weight: bold">proceeded</strong> to throw several bombs.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘He roasted financial regulators </strong>for being obsessed with minimizing risk, even though, he said, “there is no innovation in this world without risk.” '</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘He accused China’s banks</strong> of behaving like “pawnshops” by lending only to those who could put up collateral.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">' “We cannot regulate the future </strong>with yesterday’s means,” Mr. Ma said.</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">' “There’s no systemic financial risks</strong> in China because there’s no financial system in China. The risks are a lack of systems,” Mr. Ma also said.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The audience</strong> applauded politely as he left the stage.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But state-run news outlets&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://xueqiu.com/2109931281/161978715" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">criticized his remarks&nbsp;</a>in the days that followed.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘By opining on financial regulation,</strong> Mr. Ma struck at a sensitive subject.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In recent years,</strong> China has reined in a proliferation of fly-by-night online loan operations.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The country had 5,000 </strong>such lenders not long ago, according to regulators.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘By the end of September,</strong> there were&nbsp;<a href="https://news.cctv.com/2020/10/22/ARTIavSyJHqJJ1Z9vyoHV4HE201022.shtml" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">only six</a>.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “What happened to Ant reinforces</strong> that sense that it’s really essential to show respect for party-state authority,” said Kellee S. Tsai of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “Capitalists</strong> have to play by the political rules of the game.” '&nbsp;</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘One wag on social media</strong> called Mr. Ma’s remarks in Shanghai “the most expensive speech in history.” ’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="background-color:#f5f5f5;"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:20px;">&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/8VOqeW?track_p_id=8jXCaRwV365F5F0_YRX%40iyA" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/zxbyrGBKPhFFZLzMYqfYnUi__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/8VOqeW?track_p_id=1v65F5F0_CbcTbMyQkP11aB" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'Ant posed threat to China’s centralised control'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The Financial Times</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The Editorial Board</strong> | The Financial Times</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Longer lasting implications from the Ant fiasco may come in the less eye-catching area of fintech regulation.’</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Much of the coverage of China’s decision</strong> to suspend Ant Group’s $37bn share offering last week has focused on a personal clash between Jack Ma, Ant’s founder, and the Beijing authorities.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But longer lasting implications</strong> from the Ant fiasco may come in the less eye-catching area of fintech regulation.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In this field,</strong> China’s battles may be instructive to the wider world because its financial technology companies — such as Ant, Tencent’s WeBank and the US-listed Lufax — rank among industry leaders both in terms of size and technological prowess.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘China is taking steps</strong> to embrace a multi-faceted fintech future.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The People’s Bank of China,</strong> the central bank, has completed technical preparations for the launch of a digital renminbi, the Chinese currency, and has started to run a series of trial programmes in cities.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘It also has plans</strong> to build a “digital central bank” that would oversee a fintech platform powered by big data to improve risk management.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But from Beijing’s perspective,</strong> a fintech future conceals one big risk: authorities may have to surrender too much control, both to the algorithms and to the companies, such as Ant.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘As one Chinese state banker</strong> told the Financial Times after the Ant IPO suspension last week, the attitude of China’s regulators is simple: “If I don’t understand you and can’t control you, I won’t let you grow”.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Mr Ma’s clash</strong> with regulators reveals such tensions in microcosm.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Finance in China</strong> has always been regarded as far too important to be left to the private sector.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Xi Jinping,</strong> China’s authoritarian leader, made clear in 2017 that financial stability was so critical that it should be regarded as an aspect of national security.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘So a big part of what spooks Beijing</strong> about Ant and its counterparts is the threat they pose to centralised control. It is easy to see why.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Ant’s lending business</strong> has some 500m customers and a big chunk of personal borrowing in China these days comes from online platforms.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The sector’s boom</strong> has also drawn thousands of start-ups, creating a regulatory headache. China has painful memories of recent financial manias.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘After a peer-to-peer lending boom</strong> spiralled out of control, Beijing launched a crackdown in 2016 that whittled down the number of surviving P2P lenders from around 6,000 to a current 29.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Nevertheless,</strong> P2P lenders still owe their depositors some $115bn and Beijing is still trying to recover the funds.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘It is easy to sympathise</strong> with Beijing’s concerns.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Devolving influence</strong> to private companies animated by opaque algorithms is hard for any regulator to do.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Yet equally,</strong> China needs to be more transparent at an earlier stage about its regulatory processes.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="background-color:#f5f5f5;"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:20px;">&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/8nZAye?track_p_id=2bN7uV28k_rUEI4jP2AgjQD" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/zxbyrGBKPhFFZLzMYqfYnUi__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/8nZAye?track_p_id=2jz7uV28k_sYbnT3S6DL2CU" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'Ant setback signals reckoning for fintech'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The Financial Times</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Patrick Jenkins</strong> | The Financial Times</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘As Ant has morphed from a tech group that processes payments into a giant credit platform, it has become a potential systemic risk.</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘All eyes in the fintech world</strong> were trained on Ant Financial last week, after the Chinese group was dramatically blocked from launching its $37bn initial public offering at the eleventh hour.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Theories abounded about the reasons:</strong> it was a political slapdown; there were technical shortcomings in the company’s prospectus disclosures.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘An additional motive,</strong> though, is more fundamental.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘As Ant has morphed</strong> from a tech group that processes payments into a giant credit platform, it has become a potential systemic risk.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘For regulators, </strong>curbing that risk is perfectly sensible.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Around the world,</strong> tech-based credit platforms have sprung up in huge volume over the decade since the 2008 financial crisis.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Now they face a reckoning</strong> amid a looming economic crisis, continued resistance from a reactionary banking market and jitters among both investors and regulators.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In their original incarnation</strong> as so-called peer-to-peer lenders, these platforms pushed an iconoclastic idealism. P2P was a way to “democratise” finance by using clever tech to match individuals who had money to invest with individuals who needed to borrow money.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In China,</strong> which was at the peak probably the biggest P2P market, Dianrong and Lufax led an army of platforms.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The laggards and Luddites</strong> of the banking sector were set to be left behind.'</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Except</strong> it hasn’t really happened like that.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The glow of P2P quickly faded:</strong> there were governance scandals for some, elusive profitability for most.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘And for virtually all,</strong> there was a pragmatic shift away from the purist idealism of the retail P2P model towards a reliance on institutional funding, supplied by asset managers and, ironically, banks.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Similar market forces</strong> and regulatory pressure are being felt around the world.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘A clutch</strong> of prominent fintech lenders in the US — Lending Club, SoFi, Square — are now converting into banks.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘This join-them-if-you-can’t-beat-them</strong> attitude partly reflects the realisation that in times of stress customers will be keener to put their money into insured deposit-takers than pure fintechs.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘This principle</strong> applies in Ant’s case, too.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Given the pace of its expansion</strong> and the economic disruption caused by coronavirus, its role as a financial innovator has set nerves jangling.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘That is all the more true</strong> because China’s own painful experience with pure-play P2P is still raw.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Thousands of platforms</strong> engaged for years in often irresponsible and aggressive lending.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Since then,</strong> the government has gradually cracked down, with tighter rules and enforced closure of many platforms.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Regulators</strong> may also be hearing echoes of the 2008 crisis.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘That international financial meltdown</strong> was caused or at least compounded by the invention by investment banks of “collateralised debt obligations”, which involved packaging up loans and selling them on to other investors.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Regulators’ response</strong> was to demand the banks keep some “skin in the game”, so that they had a reason to care about the quality of the debt in their CDOs.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The core demand</strong> of China’s new fintech regulations relies on a similar logic — it would force Ant to keep 30 per cent of its lending on balance sheet, instead of farming out virtually all funding — and risk — through banks and securitisations.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘For all the pressures,</strong> though, it would be foolish to write off the fintech lenders.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In many cases,</strong> especially in China and across Europe, their technology is genuinely superior to that of the banks.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘And contrary to the fears</strong> of investors and regulators, the credit performance of some alternative platforms is not really looking any worse than the banks they compete with.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">3. The Other P in POP</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/4iMyx6?track_p_id=7ywb%40UTb5xZ9qQ_gs2ZNLpf" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/y4610Onrkt4OZXDm0RRInUi__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/4iMyx6?track_p_id=2NI5xZ9qQ_2s6VhzSlZdrN3" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">Deputy National Security Adviser,&nbsp;Matt Pottinger</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="display:block; height: 400px; min-height: 300px; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><a href="http://sco.lt/4iMyx6?track_p_id=dreMRiGNddl53Q5xZ9qQ_Qz" target="_blank" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/Lf_4SICm2ThTYA0qI4QZ7Dl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK" style="display: flex; width: 100%; height: 100%; object-fit: cover; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0; right: 0; margin: auto; border: none; pointer-events: none; "></a></td></tr><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">CHINADebate</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Malcolm Riddell</strong> | CHINADebate</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">If you don’t know much about Matt Pottinger that seems to be his intention.</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The acronym ‘POP’ </strong>often comes up in reporting about the China Hawks in the Trump Administration who are now in charge of shaping U.S. policy toward China.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The POP</strong> are Secretary of State Mike <strong style="font-weight: bold">P</strong>ompeo, National Security Adviser Robert <strong style="font-weight: bold">O</strong>’Brien, and Deputy National Security Adviser Matt <strong style="font-weight: bold">P</strong>ottinger.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">If you don’t know</strong> much about Matt Pottinger that seems to be his intention.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">He is a decidedly</strong> behind-the-scenes player.</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Yet his inclusion</strong> in the POP suggests his influence.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">I have a great deal of respect</strong> for Matt (although I don't necessarily agree with his China views or policy prescriptions).</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">After seven years in China</strong> as a journalist for&nbsp;<em style="font-style: italic">Reuters&nbsp;</em>and the&nbsp;<em style="font-style: italic">Wall Street Journal</em>, he resigned. And, at age 32, he became a Marine officer.</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">He served three combat tours</strong> in Iraq and Afghanistan and earned the Bronze Star.</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">(You can find out more about Matt </strong>in a 2011 profile in <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/04/meet-captain-matt-pottinger-united-states-marine-corps/236825/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">The Atlantic</a>.)</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Matt also speaks</strong> terrific Chinese, and he uses that skill to convey U.S. thinking about China directly to the Chinese people in video addresses in Mandarin.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">(Although you have to wonder,</strong> given Chinese censorship, how many Chinese actually see or hear them.)</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">In his </strong><a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-deputy-national-security-advisor-matt-pottinger-miller-center-university-virginia/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">May 4th speech</strong></a> commemorating the anniversary of the start of the 1919 ‘May 4th Movement,’ he wove elements of Chinese history and thought to ask:</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“As the May Fourth Movement</strong> today marks the inaugural year of its&nbsp;second&nbsp;century, what will its ultimate legacy be?”&nbsp;</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“It is a question</strong> only the Chinese people themselves can answer.&nbsp;The May Fourth Movement belongs to them.”</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“Will the movement’s democratic aspirations</strong> remain unfulfilled for another century?&nbsp;</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“Will its core ideas</strong> be deleted or distorted through official censorship and disinformation?”&nbsp;</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“Will its champions</strong> be slandered as ‘unpatriotic,’ ‘pro-American,’ ‘subversive’?”&nbsp;</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“We know the Communist Party</strong> will do its best to make it so.”</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“So who embodies</strong> the May Fourth spirit in China today?”&nbsp;</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“To my mind,</strong> the heirs of May Fourth are civic-minded citizens who commit small acts of bravery. And sometimes big acts of bravery.”&nbsp;</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">His October 23rd speech </strong>in Mandarin [highlighted below] spoke again to the Chinese people, saying:</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“So it is in a spirit of friendship, reflection</strong>, and, yes, candor, that I ask friends in China to research the truth about your government’s policies toward the Uyghur people and other religious minorities."&nbsp;</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“Ask yourselves</strong> why the editors of <em style="font-style: italic">The Economist</em>, in a cover article this week [also highlighted in this issue, above], called those policies ‘a crime against humanity’ and ‘the most extensive violation in the world today of the principle that individuals have a right to liberty and dignity simply because they are people."</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">(Full disclosure:</strong> My Chinese is pretty good, but I couldn’t have written any of Matt’s speeches on my best day. So my envy knows no bounds.)</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Although grouped together</strong> with China Hawks Pompeo and O’Brien, Matt is different from them.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">First, he actually knows</strong> something about China: the country, the people, the politics.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Second, as Graham Allison</strong> of the Harvard Kennedy School and author of <em style="font-style: italic">Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides's Trap?,</em> who has spoken with Matt about policy, says:</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“I have found him</strong> variously to be smart, insightful, inquisitive and not dogmatic.”&nbsp;</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">For all the reasons described here,</strong> I expect Matt to be a force in the debate over U.S. policy toward China for many years to come.</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">I have wanted to write </strong>about him for a long time.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">But other issues</strong> won the competition for space.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Now given the trajectory</strong> of the presidential race, Matt is likely to be out of a job in January.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">So before that happens, I wanted to take this opportunity</strong> to introduce him and give you a heads up to look for him whenever he leaves his post.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">As in his current position, </strong>he may be hard to discern.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">But he will there</strong>, working to shape China policy as he sees it.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div>

<div style="background-color:#f5f5f5; margin:0 auto; padding:0; text-align:center;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="background-color: #f5f5f5; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff"><tbody><tr><td><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding: 0 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h1 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 26px;line-height: 36px;font-weight: 400;color: #001544;letter-spacing: 0.1px;display: inline-block;margin-block-start: 0;margin-block-end: 0;margin-inline-start: 0px;margin-inline-end: 0px;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Greetings!</strong></h1><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">In today’s issue:</strong></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">1. Why Biden Will Have a Hard Time Fixing Relationships with the World</strong></span></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">'Europe Lauds Biden but Wonders: What Will He Want? How Long Will He Stay?'</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">'Joe Biden Won’t Fix America’s Relationship With the World'</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">2. The America the World Sees - and Fears</strong></span></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">'Trump Won’t Be the Last American Populist President'</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">'America’s Next Authoritarian President Will Be Much More Competent'</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">3. The Election on Twitter from China's Point of View</strong></span></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;">'China's State Media Trolls Trump on Twitter for ‘I WON’ Tweet'</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">4. What China Sees Coming for China-US Relations</strong></span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">While the </strong><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Relevant Organs</strong></em> probably doesn’t reflect Beijing’s reaction to the outcome of the U.S. election, it does no doubt sum up how China watchers feel.</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://twitter.com/relevantorgans/status/1325123691965947904" target="_blank" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/xZ_ZVdvuyKgMjOqy01XSRjl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK" style="display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></a></td></tr><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/xZ_ZVdvuyKgMjOqy01XSRjl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">After four years</strong> of our trying to make sense of the Trump administration’s China goals and policy, Mr. Trump is out – and we have to start all over again.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">This may be easier</strong> in that most expect that a Biden administration will have an orderly and disciplined China policy.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">But it is also</strong> more difficult.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Under Mr. Trump</strong> we only had to follow the U.S. and China.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">But Mr. Biden </strong>has said that wants to engage our allies to join with the U.S. in confronting a range of issues including China.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">That means</strong> that in addition to getting the hang of how the Biden administration approaches China, we also to watch the dynamics of our Asian and European allies as they navigate between the U.S. and China.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The world of China</strong> watching just got a lot more complicated.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Or</strong> maybe not.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Just because</strong> that’s what America wants doesn’t mean that the allies share the same enthusiasm.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">There are three reasons</strong> for this.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">First, during his administration,</strong> Mr. Trump abandoned global leadership and American allies in favor of pursuing unilateral goals.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">As a result,</strong> a new spirit of independence born of the necessity of having to fend for themselves has made U.S. allies reluctant to jump to America’s requests.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Second, </strong>U.S. allies see America as unreliable.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“People have learned that the U.S.</strong> can’t be trusted on foreign policy, because the next administration will come in and wipe it away,” says Jeremy Shapiro of the European Council on Foreign Relations.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Almost all accept</strong> that serious questions about America’s role in the world would not go away just because Trump was dethroned.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The fact</strong> that the election was closer than they had expected only confirms this conclusion.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">As a result, “After Mr. Trump</strong>, there will also be a new wariness and unwillingness to take big risks on the part of America’s allies,” said Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“If you know that</strong> whatever you’re doing will at most last until the next election, you look at everything in a more contingent way.”</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“What is difficult to repair is the fear</strong> is that this could happen again,” said Stefano Stefanini, a former Italian ambassador to NATO.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“If you worry about a one-term presidency,</strong> you hold back a lot, which is why Congress will matter. If a Republican Senate tries, as under Obama, to block everything Biden does, Europeans will say, ‘OK, Biden’s fine, but let’s be careful.’ ”</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And allies know that the gap between the foreign policies</strong> of a Democratic administration a Republican administration will be vast.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘World leaders</strong> have concluded that whatever happens to Trump and Trumpism over the next few weeks and years, the causes of their rise, and the issues they have identified, have certainly not gone away,’ writes <em style="font-style: italic">The Atlantic.</em></li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Yes, these leaders believe,</strong> Trump was, and perhaps will be again, a fundamentally malign, ignorant, and dangerous president, but he was not the cause of the structural problem at the heart of the U.S.’s relationship with the world.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Third</strong> is the new nature of U.S. foreign policy.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘American foreign policy</strong> was traditionally bipartisan — the old phrase that “politics stops at the water’s edge” had merit, especially during the Cold War.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But the collapse of the Soviet Union</strong> meant that foreign policy, too, was subject to deepening political polarization in the United States,’ writes Steven Erlanger of The New York Times.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘William J. Burns,</strong> a former senior American diplomat who now runs the Carnegie Endowment in Washington, thinks the damage is lasting.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “One of the more insidious effects of polarization</strong> is to make foreign policy a tool of partisan politics.” ’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “It’s done enduring damage</strong> to America’s reputation in the world for being able to keep its word.” ’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And allies know that the gap between the foreign policies</strong> of a Democratic administration a Republican administration will be vast.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘World leaders</strong> have concluded that whatever happens to Trump and Trumpism over the next few weeks and years, the causes of their rise, and the issues they have identified, have certainly not gone away,’ writes <em style="font-style: italic">The Atlantic.</em></li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Yes, these leaders believe,</strong> Trump was, and perhaps will be again, a fundamentally malign, ignorant, and dangerous president, but he was not the cause of the structural problem at the heart of the U.S.’s relationship with the world.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">And until that structural problem</strong> is fixed, U.S. foreign has the potential between the ends of the spectrum.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">That makes throwing</strong> it all in for the current administration all the more risky and difficult.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Because of these three factors, </strong>when it comes to China:</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Europeans see American confrontation with China</strong> as one of the few bipartisan issues that are driving American foreign policy, and Europeans are reluctant to be made a pawn or a playing card in that rivalry, given that China is Europe’s second-largest trading partner behind the United States,’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The same </strong>is true for Asian allies.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">So, Mr. Biden</strong> might want to build a coalition of allies to confront China.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">But after four years </strong>of Trump foreign policy, it’s going to be hard to do.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">That may make it easier </strong>on China watchers.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Though it makes it </strong>a lot tougher on the world.</li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">1. Why Biden Will Have a Hard Time Fixing Relationships with the World</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="" target="_blank" title="Malcolm_Riddell" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="Malcolm_Riddell" src="https://assets-global.website-files.com/5c864c33af62620dca1373ac/5fc2c325b2be470b39241339_Malcolm%20Riddell.png" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/7YR0cq?track_p_id=9a6xSw3hBS8l6eQY_e4nLky" style="color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'Europe Lauds Biden but Wonders: What Will He Want? How Long Will He Stay?'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The New York Times</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Steven Erlanger</strong> | The New York Times</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“Europeans are afraid that there is no longer a foreign-policy consensus in the United States. Every new administration can mean a totally new policy, and for them this is a nightmare.”</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Treated with contempt by President Trump,</strong> who considers them rivals and deadbeats instead of allies, many&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/08/world/europe/biden-europe-macron-merkel.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">European leaders look forward to the Biden presidency</a>.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But they are painfully aware</strong> that four years of Mr. Trump have changed the world — and the United States — in ways that will not be easily reversed.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Even if civility can be restored,</strong> a fundamental trust has been broken, and many European diplomats and experts believe that U.S. foreign policy is no longer bipartisan, so is no longer reliable.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘For the first time,</strong> “Europeans are afraid that there is no longer a foreign-policy consensus in the United States. Every new administration can mean a totally new policy, and for them this is a nightmare,” said Ivan Krastev, director of the Center for Liberal Strategies.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “There is an incredible decay in Europe</strong> of the sense of the United States as a leader,” said Jeremy Shapiro of the European Council on Foreign Relations.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “Biden doesn’t solve</strong> their America problem.” ’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “He’s not going to be president for ever,</strong> and Democrats won’t always be in power.” ’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “And people have learned that the U.S.</strong> can’t be trusted on foreign policy, because the next administration will come in and wipe it away.” ’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘American foreign policy</strong> was traditionally bipartisan — the old phrase that “politics stops at the water’s edge” had merit, especially during the Cold War.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But the collapse of the Soviet Union</strong> meant that foreign policy, too, was subject to deepening political polarization in the United States.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘William J. Burns,</strong> a former senior American diplomat who now runs the Carnegie Endowment in Washington, thinks the damage is lasting.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “One of the more insidious effects of polarization</strong> is to make foreign policy a tool of partisan politics.” ’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “It’s done enduring damage</strong> to America’s reputation in the world for being able to keep its word.” ’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘While Europeans</strong> see a Biden presidency “as a return to civilization,” as Mr. Heisbourg called it, a new partnership would come with demands for new obligations and commitments, especially on China.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘After Mr. Trump</strong>, however, there would also be a new wariness and unwillingness to take big risks on the part of America’s allies, said Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “If you know that</strong> whatever you’re doing will at most last until the next election, you look at everything in a more contingent way.” ’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Europeans see American confrontation with China</strong> as one of the few bipartisan issues that are driving American foreign policy, and Europeans are reluctant to be made a pawn or a playing card in that rivalry, given that China is Europe’s second-largest trading partner behind the United States.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘</strong><a href="https://www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/fileadmin/files/BSt/Publikationen/GrauePublikationen/eupinions_China_DA_EN.pdf" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Opinion polls&nbsp;</strong></a><a href="https://www.koerber-stiftung.de/fileadmin/user_upload/koerber-stiftung/redaktion/the-berlin-pulse/pdf/2020/Koerber_TheBerlinPulse_Sonderausgabe_Grafikteilenglisch.pdf" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">show</strong></a>&nbsp;that most Europeans do not want to take sides in some battle between Washington and Beijing.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “We don’t see the China challenge</strong> the same way and we’re not the peer competitor,” said Rem Korteweg of the Clingendael Institute.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="background-color:#f5f5f5;"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:20px;">&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/7qbKwy?track_p_id=25a70jSNK_Xw5vWEvZaDdMY" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/Dk9ylcOkwjrZqhgAC9ICK0i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/7qbKwy?track_p_id=8XhDBiHKE70jSNK_wdVuCr3" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'Joe Biden Won’t Fix America’s Relationship With the World'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The Atlantic</strong></h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Serious questions about America’s role in the world will not go away just because Donald Trump was defeated.’</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Hope.</strong> That is, at least, the dominant feeling in many global capitals as they adjust to the reality that Joe Biden will soon be president of the United States and, more to the point, that Donald Trump will not be.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The grown-ups</strong> are moving back in.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The closeness of the race,</strong> though, leaves a nagging fear that the world has not seen the last of Trump.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Like an allegorical monster,</strong> he remains wounded but out there, lurking, ready to wreak his revenge.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Even if he does not reemerge</strong> from the bushes himself to claim victory in the courts or, indeed, to try again in 2024, his dogma remains.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘That Trump</strong> got as close as he did in the midst of a pandemic and a global recession means that Trumpism remains defiantly alive.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘World leaders</strong> have concluded that whatever happens to Trump and Trumpism over the next few weeks and years, the causes of their rise, and the issues they have identified, have certainly not gone away.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Yes, these leaders believe,</strong> Trump was, and perhaps will be again, a fundamentally malign, ignorant, and dangerous president, but he was not the cause of the structural problem at the heart of the U.S.’s relationship with the world.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Almost all accept</strong> that serious questions about America’s role in the world would not go away just because Trump was dethroned.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The fact</strong> that the election was closer than they had expected only confirms this conclusion.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Most leaders across Europe</strong> already took for granted that the U.S. retrenchment actually began under Barack Obama, even if it intensified under Trump.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘So even if Biden,</strong> Obama’s vice president, were able to bring together enough of the American system behind his leadership, such an analysis—fair or not—risks turning into something much more acutely problematic, metamorphosing into a shared idea that it is not Trump who cannot be relied on, but the U.S. itself.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘For the past four years,</strong> many European states have sought to wait out Trump, keeping various international treaties alive in the hope that a future Democratic president would breathe new life into them.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Given the Democrats’ narrow victory,</strong> will other countries behave similarly with Biden, awaiting the Republicans’ return in other contexts?’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">2. The America the World Sees - and Fears</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/88lfH6?track_p_id=2dB58593u_DmzLuyVmOHEtU" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/2P2LxiV-sg54VayqL9X2F0i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/88lfH6?track_p_id=dsJgVDV2LavYNG58593u_dj" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'Trump Won’t Be the Last American Populist'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Foreign Affairs</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Daron Acemoglu</strong> | MIT</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Trump and Trumpism are American phenomena, but they arose within a context that is undeniably global.</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘This contentious election season</strong> should leave no one sanguine about the future.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The autocratic, populist turn</strong> of the Trump presidency arose from deep fractures in U.S. politics and society, and Americans must understand and address these if they are to prevent similar forces from once again seizing the nation.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The roots of Trumpism</strong> don’t begin or end with Trump or even with American politics—they are closely connected to economic and political currents affecting much of the world.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The United States was ripe </strong>for a populist movement by 2016, and it remains so today.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Vast inequalities</strong> have opened in the last four decades&nbsp;<a href="http://economics.mit.edu/files/5571" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">between the highly educated and the rest</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://academic.oup.com/qje/article/129/3/1255/1818714" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">between capital and labor</a>.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘No serious discussion</strong> of the political ills that have befallen the United States can ignore these economic trends, which have afflicted the American middle class and contributed to the anger and frustration among some of the voters who turned to Trump.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The root causes of this inequality</strong> have proved surprisingly difficult to pin down.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But regardless of its origin,</strong> economic inequality has become a source of cultural and political volatility in the United States.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Those who have failed to benefit</strong> from economic growth have become disillusioned with the political system.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In areas</strong> where&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20170011" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">imports from China&nbsp;</a>and&nbsp;<a href="https://academic.oup.com/oxrep/article/34/3/418/5047377" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">automation</a>&nbsp;have led to the loss of American jobs, voters have turned their backs on moderate politicians and have tended to vote for those who are more extreme.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Together with economic resentment</strong> has come a distrust of all kinds of elites.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Much of the American public and many politicians now</strong> express a mounting hostility toward policymaking based on expertise.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Trust in American institutions,</strong> including the judiciary, Congress, the Federal Reserve, and various law enforcement agencies, has collapsed.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Neither Trump nor recent party polarization</strong> can be held solely to blame for this anti-technocratic shift.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The almost complete rejection </strong>of scientific facts and competent, objective policymaking among many in the electorate and the Republican Party predates Trump and has parallels in other countries—Brazil, the Philippines, and Turkey to name a few.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Without more deeply understanding</strong> the root of such suspicion, American policymakers can have little hope of convincing millions of people that better policies, designed by experts, will improve their lives enormously and reverse decades of decline.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Nor can policymakers</strong> hope to put a lid on the discontent that fueled Trump’s rise.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Trump and Trumpism</strong> are American phenomena, but they arose within a context that is undeniably global.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Under Boris Johnson in the United Kingdom,</strong> the Tory Party is transforming in a manner similar, if more benign, to that of the Republican Party.'</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The French right</strong> has fallen behind the National Rally (the new name for the far-right National Front).’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘And the Turkish right</strong> has remade itself in the image of a strongman, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Together,</strong> these and other cases demonstrate not just polarization but a complete unraveling of the old political order.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘How and why</strong> this unraveling has happened is not self-evident.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The first place to look for an answer</strong> is in the major, crosscutting economic trends of the present era: globalization and the rise of digital and automation technologies, both of which have induced rapid social changes coupled with unshared gains and economic disruptions.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘As institutions</strong> proved unable or unwilling to protect those suffering from these transformations, they also destroyed public trust in establishment parties, the experts claiming to understand and better the world, and the politicians who appear complicit in the most disruptive changes and in cahoots with those who have stealthily benefited from them.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘From this perspective,</strong> it isn’t sufficient to decry the collapse of civic behavior or even to defeat toxic populists and authoritarian strongmen.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Those who seek to shore up democratic institutions</strong> must build new ones that can better regulate globalization and digital technology, altering their direction and rules so that the economic growth they foster benefits more people (and is perhaps faster and of a higher quality overall).’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Building trust in public institutions and experts</strong> requires proving that they work for the people and with the people.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="background-color:#f5f5f5;"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:20px;">&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="" target="_blank" title="Malcolm_Riddell" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="Malcolm_Riddell" src="https://assets-global.website-files.com/5c864c33af62620dca1373ac/5fc2c325b2be470b39241339_Malcolm%20Riddell.png" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/8QvzbE?track_p_id=dNz6CZfb4TpFH39B0Y2w_IX" style="color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'America’s Next Authoritarian Will Be Much More Competent'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The Atlantic</strong></h3><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Zeynep Tufekci</strong> | University of North Carolina</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Make no mistake: The attempt to harness Trumpism—without Trump, but with calculated, refined, and smarter political talent—is coming.’</strong></em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Now that&nbsp;Joe Biden has won the presidency,</strong> we can expect debates over whether Donald Trump was an aberration (“not who we are!”) or another instantiation of America’s pathologies and sins.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘One can reasonably make a case</strong> for his deep-rootedness in American traditions, while also noticing the anomalies.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘From an international perspective,</strong> though, Trump is just one more example of the many populists on the right who have risen to power around the world.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘He campaigned</strong> like they did, too.'</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'He railed against</strong> the particular form of globalization that dominates this era and brings benefit to many, but disproportionately to the wealthy, leaving behind large numbers of people, especially in wealthier countries.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘He relied on</strong> the traditional&nbsp;<a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/Decoder/2016/0322/Tapping-into-anxieties-of-white-America-Donald-Trump-isn-t-the-first" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">herrenvolk idea of</a> ethnonationalist populism: supporting&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/economy/welfare-chauvinism/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">a kind of welfare state</a>, but only for the “right” people rather than&nbsp;<a href="https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/williamson/files/tea_party_pop_0.pdf" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">the undeserving others</a>&nbsp;(the immigrants, the minorities) who allegedly usurp those benefits.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘He channeled and fueled</strong> the widespread mistrust of many centrist-liberal democratic institutions (the press, most notably) —just like the other populists. And so on.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But there’s one key difference</strong> between Trump and everyone else on that list.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The others</strong> are all talented politicians who win elections again and again.’’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In contrast,</strong> Trump is a reality-TV star who stumbled his way into an ongoing realignment in American politics, aided by a series of events peculiar to 2016 that were fortunate for him.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Luck aside,</strong> though, Trump is not good at his job.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Trump ran like a populist,</strong> but he lacked the political talent or competence to govern like an effective one.’&nbsp;</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The situation is a perfect setup,</strong> in other words, for a&nbsp;<em style="font-style: italic">talented</em>&nbsp;politician to run on Trumpism in 2024.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Make no mistake:</strong> The attempt to harness Trumpism—without Trump, but with calculated, refined, and smarter political talent—is coming.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘And it won’t be easy</strong> to make the next Trumpist a one-term president.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘He will not be</strong> so clumsy or vulnerable.’</li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘He will get into office </strong>less by luck than by skill.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘At the moment,</strong> the Democratic Party risks&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/Lawrence/status/1324724174208724992?s=20" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;">celebrating Trump’s loss</a>&nbsp;and moving on—an acute danger, especially because many of its constituencies, the ones that drove Trump’s loss, are understandably tired.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘A political nap</strong> for a few years probably looks appealing to many who opposed Trump.'</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But the real message of this election</strong> is not that Trump lost and Democrats triumphed.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘It’s that a weak and untalented politician lost, </strong>while the rest of his party has completely entrenched its power over every other branch of government: the perfect setup for a talented right-wing populist to sweep into office in 2024.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘And make no mistake:</strong> They’re all thinking about it.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">3. The Election on Twitter from China's Point of View </td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/8j6JvM?track_p_id=2WI5kcByA_GYQbBG3qe5n3O" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/l4X-JOaTf1Gw47cVqjImb0i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/8j6JvM?track_p_id=1Y5kcByA_zz3X1JV4njP3VO" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'China's State Media Trolls Trump on Twitter for ‘I WON’ Tweet'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://sco.lt/8j6JvM?track_p_id=2Nu5kcByA_Fd5%40VB4r3FKXS" target="_blank" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/tez3Evye6QTsVAxc26vsmzl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK" style="display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></a></td></tr><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/tez3Evye6QTsVAxc26vsmzl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">ilsussidiario.net</strong></h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Evidently the Chinese have decided to "take revenge" with a bit of sharp irony.’</strong></em></h2><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;"><em style="font-style: italic">translated from the Italian</em></h3><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ "</strong><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The elections are an internal affair</strong></em><em style="font-style: italic"> of the US and China has no position on the issue</em>”.’&nbsp;</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘So said the spokesman</strong> for the Foreign Ministry,&nbsp;<strong style="font-weight: bold">Wang Wenbin,</strong>a few days ago.’&nbsp;</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But,&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.ilsussidiario.net/news/finanza-borse-e-covid-da-cina-e-asia-uno-schiaffo-a-usa-e-ue/2088019/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">China</strong></a><strong style="font-weight: bold">&nbsp;in its own way</strong> has taken a position on the challenge between&nbsp;Joe Biden&nbsp;and&nbsp;Donald Trump.’</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Just look at the tweet</strong> [now deleted] by the “<em style="font-style: italic">People's Daily</em>”, the largest Chinese newspaper, published around the world with a circulation of 3 million copies and the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party.’&nbsp;</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘When outgoing President Donald Trump</strong> today posted on November 7 the tweet “<em style="font-style: italic">I won the election, by a lot</em>”, Twitter intervened, explaining that the tycoon was giving the announcement without having been given the “call ”.’&nbsp;</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;">‘The&nbsp;<em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">People's Daily</strong></em>&nbsp;also intervened, in a concise but significant manner.'&nbsp;</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘It retweeted Trump's post</strong> and added “Ha Ha” to it, complete with an emoticon crying with laughter.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The stance of the outgoing president,</strong> who promised battle, evidently aroused hilarity in China, with which relations were nothing short of "turbulent".’&nbsp;</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Evidently the Chinese</strong> have decided to "take revenge" with a bit of sharp irony.’</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="background-color:#f5f5f5;"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:20px;">&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://sco.lt/91GeFU?track_p_id=eMFFWvpNPgh6Ehc6kVpSI_s" target="_blank" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/QtzizD-HIrQFJkRbel_OoDl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK" style="display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></a></td></tr><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/QtzizD-HIrQFJkRbel_OoDl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="background-color:#f5f5f5;"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:20px;">&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://sco.lt/8j6JvM?track_p_id=3iEz5kcByA_%40ABrOWCI2ZwG" target="_blank" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/ptscuELHUiXhQEXtVrjNKzl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK" style="display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></a></td></tr><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/ptscuELHUiXhQEXtVrjNKzl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://sco.lt/7GGgIi?track_p_id=7%40mkduKo6pT2HW_nyQyf3Bi" target="_blank" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/WLHqEW3oOLNL98A_8XXg7zl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK" style="display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></a></td></tr><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/WLHqEW3oOLNL98A_8XXg7zl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:2rem; font-size:0; background-color:#f5f5f5;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="display:block;padding:10px 3.5% 15px 3.5%;background-color:#c80000;text-align:center;font-family:'Lato';font-size:1.8rem;line-height:1.5em;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:20px;">4. What China Sees Coming for China-US Relations</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table class="noBorder" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:3.5%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/9JQyZc?track_p_id=dfuthDdlUNWhXW88Dbbi_Lh" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 0px solid #008dc8!important;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/nbSpQhfywFV6yV2TEE8ij0i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%; color:#001544; font-size:28px; line-height:40px; font-weight:700; font-family: 'Lato'"><a href="http://sco.lt/9JQyZc?track_p_id=4mVYb88Dbbi_rlgRgD66ph1" style="color:#001544; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'Biden wins: What's next for China-US relations?'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="noPadding" style="padding:0 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%;"><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p><h3 style="font-family: 'Lato';font-size: 14px;line-height: 21px;font-weight: normal;color: #5d5d5f;display: block;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;">Global Times</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 34px;font-weight: normal;color: #c80000;display: block;background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 2.5% 5%;margin-block-start: 2rem;margin-block-end: 2rem;"><em style="font-style: italic">‘Regardless of who resides in the White House, the US will to some extent maintain its current approach toward China.’</em></h2><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The Global Times </strong>is a daily newspaper&nbsp;under the auspices of the&nbsp;Chinese Communist Party's&nbsp;<em style="font-style: italic">People's Daily</em>&nbsp;newspaper.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">So while not as authoritative </strong>as the <em style="font-style: italic">People’s Daily</em>, the views expressed won’t contradict Party policy and opinions.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘While the US</strong> is about to welcome its new president, some Chinese academics and observers on China-US relations have been keeping a close eye on the outcome of the race, which may also bring changes to deteriorating bilateral relations that have been trapped in a vicious circle under the Trump administration.’</p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The article</strong> highlighted these comments.</p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 1rem!important;margin-block-start: 0px!important;margin-block-end: 0px!important;margin-inline-start: 0px!important;margin-inline-end: 0px!important;padding-left: 40px!important;padding-inline-start: 20px!important;"><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;margin-top: 1rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-top: 0rem!important;padding-bottom: 0rem!important;padding-left: 0rem!important;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The infographic below</strong> sums them up.</li></ul><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif!important;font-size: 17px!important;line-height: 30px!important;font-weight: normal!important;color: #001544!important;display: block!important;margin-top: 0rem!important;margin-bottom: 0rem!important;margin-block-start: 1.5rem!important;margin-block-end: 0.75rem!important;margin-inline-start: 0rem!important;margin-inline-end: 0rem!important;"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="background-color:#f5f5f5;"><tbody><tr><td style="height:0rem; font-size:0px;">&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="margin:0 auto; background:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://sco.lt/9JQyZc?track_p_id=cIxhaDNMOi3IA88Dbbi_NJH" target="_blank" style="color: #001544!important;text-decoration: none!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #008dc8!important;"><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/ZRpfu57AzmY_LGEfq7JtODl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK" style="display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></a></td></tr><tr><td style="background-image: url(https://img.scoop.it/ZRpfu57AzmY_LGEfq7JtODl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBWpnB4YU4myT9-8UqDpoJyK); display:block; width:100%; border:none; height:auto"></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div>