No commentary today, at a loss for words. Thanks for reading.

The Essential Eight

1. China's Says Xi Didn't Blink Over US Threats

And they did not, lots of wishful thinking and spinning out there....

China Says Xi's Reform Pledges Unrelated to U.S. Trade Tensions - Bloomberg:

“I can tell you clearly that China’s announcement of major opening-up measures has nothing to do with the current China-U.S. economic and trade conflicts,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a regular news briefing Wednesday in Beijing. “China’s opening up is free from outside interference and the outside world cannot interfere with it.”...

“People who understand the operations of the Chinese government should all understand that the introduction of so many major initiatives requires repeated consideration, thoughtful and careful planning,” Geng said Wednesday. “And it is impossible to make decisions in a short period of time.”