Xi inspects Guangdong; Lula to China; Draft AI rules; Macron; Sandstorms; Substack Notes open to all
Summary of the Essential Eight:
Xi on Guangdong inspection tour - Xi combined his trip to Guangdong to woo Macron with an inspection tour of the province. So far the propaganda organs have just issued a brief report on his visit, most likely we will get the full propaganda rollout Wednesday.
Economic data - Consumer inflation is still low, producer prices fell again, so there are hopes for the possibility of more fiscal and/or monetary stimulus. Credit data for March came in above expectations.
More on Macron - Macron’s comments on his flight home to France, discussed in the Monday newsletter, are still reverberating. Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, arrives in Beijing Thursday. While there is little prospect of the CAI returning from the dead, disunity in the EU is something that Xi and his diplomats can work with.
Cyberspace Administration drafts rules for AI - The CAC has issued a proposed set of rules for AI in China. As expected, PRC AI is expected to have high political consc…