China Communications Intelligence today:
1. China stocks tumble in 'panic selling' amid broad crackdown
2. US + China leave room to talk after contentious meeting
3. US calls on China to be responsible power
4. Huawei hires Democratic super-lobbyist Tony Podesta
5. VP Harris planning to visit Vietnam + Singapore
China stocks tumble in 'panic selling' amid broad crackdown: Bloomberg reports a selloff in Chinese private education companies sent shockwaves through the equity market Monday, as investors scrambled to price in the growing risks from an intensifying crackdown by Beijing on some of the nation's industries.
+ "I see panic selling in the market now as investors are pricing in a possibility that Beijing will tighten regulation on all sectors that have seen robust growth in recent years," said Castor Pang, head of research at Core Pacific Yamaichi. "I don't think investors can do any bottom fishing at this point. We don't know where the bottom is."
What we got here is a beautiful example of capitalism with Chinese characteristics.
Worrisome for global markets and global business is that it is unclear what Chairman Xi's end game is with all this economic tinkering.
US + China leave room to talk after contentious meeting: Bloomberg reports Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng told visiting Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman during a meeting Monday that the relationship was "in a stalemate and faces serious difficulties." Xie presented the No. 2 American diplomat with two lists of demands he portrayed as necessary to stabilize ties, including "US wrongdoings that must stop" and "key individual cases that China has concerns with," according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
Even with all this tension, the US and China left open the possibility of a summit between Biden and Xi on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Rome.
The next G20 meeting will take place in Rome on October 30-31, 2021.
US calls on China to be responsible power: Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, speaking in an interview with the Associated Press after talks Monday with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng, said the US welcomes vigorous economic competition with China but does not want it to veer into conflict.
Sherman's comments to the Associated Press are in line with a tweet Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) posted last week stating that "the world must wake up to the threat China poses to global order."
Such desire from the United States to have China act as a responsible power is not new.
In 2005, Robert Zoellick, then US Deputy Secretary of State, argued that China should "become a responsible stakeholder" in the international system.
Huawei hires Democratic super-lobbyist Tony Podesta: The WSJ reports the hiring comes amid renewed DC lobbying push by the company that was a target of the Trump administration.
Podesta's resurfacing in the lobbying world comes as Democrats once again control both chambers of Congress and the White House.
He has long relationships with President Biden and some top White House aides, including senior counselor Steve Ricchetti. His brother, John Podesta, is chairman of the liberal Center for American Progress and is close with the administration.
Huawei spent $1 million on lobbying in the second quarter of 2021, up from $180,000 in the previous quarter.
In addition to Podesta, the company's new lobbyists include former congressman Lee Terry (R-NE), one of close to a dozen ex-lawmakers lobbying for Chinese tech giants. As a member of Congress, Terry was part of a bipartisan working group that examined supply chain issues.
Huawei has hired and retained top political advocates for years and from both sides of the aisle, all with little success or impact.
Vice President Kamala Harris is planning to visit Vietnam and Singapore later this summer.
Once again, Team Biden showing the importance of allies and the Indo-Pacific.
Details of the trip are not final yet.
China Communications Intelligence is actionable insights + global political trends for senior corporate communications executives.
