I hear whatever occurred in Beidaihe has concluded, but images or video of Xi and the top leadership have not reappeared in the media, with the exception of Li Zhanshu for the NPC Standing Committee meeting.

This year’s Beidaihe break has had far less public ferment surrounding it than ones in recent years. I do not think that means that everything is calm behind the scenes, as things like the program to educate and rectify the cadres of political and legal affairs system, first discussed here in the July 8 newsletter, are signs that Xi is still working to root out possible political problems before the 20th Party Congress in 2022.

CCP Propaganda Department head Huang Kunming may be previewing a further elevation of Xi and his eponymous thought in a long essay on page six of the Thursday People’s Daily. He praises the newly published volume three of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China and urges cadres to read the book carefully to learn a wide range of things, including Xi’s:

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