PremiumFear Of Economic Collapse Forced China To Negotiate With Trump, Quietly Reach Out First: Reuters Report
Three weeks ago, when we first reported that as a result of the ongoing Trump trade war with China, "chinese factories are shutting down, laying off workers", we said that as a result of this war of attrition in which the outcome of every incremental clash and battle will be used just as aggressively for media propaganda, "the fact that any marginal pain will be amplified as trade war weakness will mean that Beijing will do everything in its power to prevent the full extent of the shutdowns from being revealed."
Sure enough, last week the WSJ reported that whereas "not long ago, anyone could comb through a wide range of official data from China... then it started to disappear."
Wang Xiaohong, who is the minister of public security and a senior leader within the State Council, China’s cabinet, will be part of the Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier He Lifeng, a trusted aide to Xi and a gatekeeper to the world’s second-largest economy.... Xi has designated Wang, a close lieutenant, as the point person in Beijing’s recent discussions with Washington over how to address President Trump’s concerns about China’s role in the fentanyl trade, The Wall Street Journal has reported, helping pave the way for the weekend trade talks.