(Preview) Xi Jinping Comes to Washington; US-China Agenda, Questions and Expectations; The September Politburo Meeting
On today’s show Andrew and Bill discuss Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States and what to expect in Washington D.C. this week. First: Reactions to the meeting between Scott Bessent and He Lifeng in New York City Sunday, including outstanding questions about the “hotline” that was mooted for AI, details that remain fuzzy on the board of trade that’s been “operationalized,” and lingering rare earths frustration that may or may not delay an extension of the Busan truce. Then: Xi’s agenda in D.C., why asymmetric pageantry is fine, the PRC business delegation that failed to materialize, questions about Taiwan, Iran and Chinese automakers, and a note on Min Zin as he remains detained in China. At the end: Protesters and counter-protesters in New York City, the September Politburo brings the official expulsion of Generals Zhang and Liu, and evidently unfounded Xi rumors make their triumphant return at the BRICS Summit in India last week. Get all episodes of Sharp China, Sharp Tech, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year. Bill Bishop is the author of Sinocism To email the show: email@sharpchina.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Fifth Plenum date set; Xi’s US visit confirmed as negotiators meet in New York; Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli expelled from Party and PLA — Sinocism National Advanced Manufacturing Conference; China pushing Iran to rein in the Houthis?; Xi’s visit to DC and US-China AI Dialogue — Sinocism I Led A.I. Diplomacy for the U.S. The Coming Safety Talks Will Not Save Us. — The New York Times ‘The scientific, technical term is BS’: Inside the new Bessent-China AI hotline — Politico China Probes DeepSeek, Moonshot Over Potential Data Leaks to Anthropic — The Information Businesses ‘frozen out’ of Trump’s tariff channel with China — Politico Scott Bessent hails US-China AI dialogue ahead of Trump-Xi meeting — Financial Times Trump Summit With Xi Unlikely to Include Chinese CEOs — The Wall Street Journal China’s Xi expected to press Trump to halt Taiwan arms sales under 1982 agreement, sources say — Reuters In Trump, Xi Sees ‘Rare Window’ to Convince Taiwan That Resistance Is Futile — The Wall Street Journal Top US Senate Democrat Jeanne Shaheen warns Trump not to waver on Taiwan ahead of Xi meet — South China Morning Post US, China discuss cutting tariffs on US LNG ahead of Xi visit — Reuters Researchers Drove a Chinese EV Into an Underground Mine. It Kept Calling China Anyway. — Yahoo A U.S. Scholar Was Invited to China. Then He Vanished. — The Wall Street Journal Xi Jinping Skipped One Dinner—and Sparked a Flurry of Questions About His Health — The Wall Street Journal How to Avoid Fistfights and Poisonings at a World Leaders Summit — The Wall Street Journal