I wish I could say happy Monday but based on conversations and developments since the last issue of the newsletter I do not remember ever being this pessimistic about the trajectory of US-China relations.

The Chinese side has ramped up the nationalist propaganda, including airing old movies glorifying fighting Americans in the Korean War, while the US move against Huawei is a direct strike against China’s most successful tech company and a symbol of the PRC’s achievements and its aspirations.

Each side looks to be digging in and it is really hard to see an offramp, especially if some of the other actions I am hearing about in DC come to fruition. Sorry, nothing specific yet, but it looks like the dam may have burst in DC when it comes to sentiment and policies towards the PRC.

Xi went on an inspection tour of Jiangxi and as is always the case with these tours there are key signals. The full propaganda packaging of Xi's Jiangxi inspection tour will likely hit Tuesday or Wednesday but fr…