Clutch those pearls. For all the finger pointing directed at #China, it isn’t often you see a sitting President state the obvious. “Yeah! Well, we do that too.” There are no heroes and there are no villains, only nation states seeking to gain an advantage over any/all rivals.

The Independent

Trump leaves Maria Bartiromo speechless after suggesting US is hacking China

‘That

China Morning Missive It might be best to take the “over” on this declaration by Trump. There’s already been multiple extensions to the legally required sale and/or ban of TikTok in the US and here we still are. Knowing the Chinese, the sale will only take place if there are material concessions provided by the Trump administration including a lifting of export restrictions on chip and chip related technologies. I just don’t see any of that happening, or at least being made public. My expectation is for all of this to continue to fester and for there to be yet another “extension” of the ban come September. I also continue to state that if Trump and his team are unable to come to come agreement with China of a social media app, when does this tell of how capable the Trump team is in combating China on those issues that truly matter. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/society-equity/trump-says-fox-interview-he-has-group-wealthy-people-buy-tiktok-2025-06-29/

China (Sunday) Morning Missive An interesting take here in the SCMP, but both WeChat and Alipay - both of which I use daily - aren’t anywhere close to being similar to a stablecoin. Both platforms are directly linked to my bank account and both act as more of a debit card alternative as opposed to a stablecoin. Still, it is interesting to see a quasi-State Owned investment bank - CICC - jumping into the conversation. No doubt that Beijing is watching closely at the rollout of the GENIUS Act. Keep in mind, too, that Hong Kong passed its own stablecoin law just a few weeks back. There’s also been more chatter on local social media on the subject of stablecoins and a growing expectation of Beijing looking to follow - somehow - in the footsteps of the US. Nothing concrete mind you.

South China Morning Post

China’s stablecoin edge? WeChat and Alipay, says top economist

As calls grow for Beijing to embrace digital currencies, e-payment giants seen as aiding yuan’s global push.

Here’s the article. Again. Sold out in 3 minutes.

CarNewsChina.com

Xiaomi YU7 sold over 200,000 units in 3 minutes in China

Xiaomi did it again.

China Evening Missive What the Wall of Chinese Money can accomplish. It isn’t that the Chinese don’t consume. The issue is that there’s never been any real product that they desire to consume. And that is changing at a rapid pace. 3 minutes!! More critically, by the time Trump exits stage left, China will have done to the global robotics industry what it has accomplished in the EV space.

CarNewsChina.com

Xiaomi YU7 sold over 200,000 units in 3 minutes in China

Xiaomi did it again.

Hey all. I’m trying something new for all of you interested in my various posts of #China content. Work in progress, but sending this clip through as a test run. If you’ve any specific questions, I plan to post a couple of videos a week and would love nothing more than to directly address any/all questions. No topic is off the table.

Something else to add as important signal often resides on the margins. While American continues to play defense on the issue of trade, China plays offense. This is perhaps my favorite anecdote. Ramping up direct flights between the high-tech production hub of Shenzhen and Mexico City. Nike might be struggling to overcome its dependence on China for production, but you can be certain that Chinese firms are working quickly to ensure that the same fate doesn’t befall them. https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2025/02/10/china-southern-airlines-boosts-mexico-city-service/&ved=2ahUKEwj50O-ZypCOAxWiHUQIHc8LI-wQxfQBKAB6BAgTEAE&usg=AOvVaw2pXo1xFQ6IIs-cbNzHLnP6

The Faustian Bargain is very much alive and well in #China. Nike shifted virtually all of its production to China 30 years ago and made a financial killing. Now the company is boxed in. Ignore all the talk. It was clear back in Trade War 1.0 in 2018 that there was a gross over dependence on China for production. Those that could, moved manufacturing to a more friendly jurisdiction. Those groups, like Nike or Apple, didn’t move out of China because they were greedy or dumb. They didn’t move out of China because they couldn’t. There simply wasn’t another alternative location that could provide production at scale, with quality and at a competitive price. China was, and remains, the only option. For these companies, either profitability takes a major hit, or prices to the consumer will rise markedly. https://www.reuters.com/business/nike-posts-smaller-than-expected-drop-fourth-quarter-revenue-2025-06-26/

China Morning Missive But what did the US agree, in totality, to deliver in return? Here again there are zero details. For China to lift the export controls on rare earths would have required the US to deliver on items that were blocked for export to China. Namely chips and chip related technology. Clearly, lifting such restrictions would be a political negative for Trump at home and with that we see no details. The Chinese do not agree hastily to a meeting and never reach agreements over a short two day time frame. And yet this is what went down in London the other week. Such an outcome will only occur if China were given everything which they demanded. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-06-26/us-china-have-finalized-tariff-understanding-lutnick-says?utm_source=website&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=copy

Had a truly solid time with this conversation. For those out there looking for a different #China dialogue have a watch/listen. You can also search “The covered call” on any podcast platform if that’s more you style.

As expected, China is being awfully quiet. Just sitting back and letting it all play out. No need to even comment on the current state of global affairs.

“You’d think by now people would learn.” Such a highly applicable statement for a host of different issues present this very day. Namaste all.

China Morning Missive (from jolly old England) Third times a charm??!! For me, the entire TikTok episode is a reflection of America’s actual ability to “quit” China. And it isn’t looking all the good as Trump kicks the can yet again. Here again, the Beijing leadership sees clearly all of the various pressure points which can be applied. Rare earths was just one example. There are dozens more. Trump to extend TikTok deadline for third time, pushing decision out another 90 days

CNBC

Trump to extend TikTok deadline for third time, pushing decision out another 90 days

President Donald Trump plans to again extend the deadline requiring China's ByteDance to divest TikTok's U.S. business or be effectively banned in ...

China Morning Missive First, before anything else, American policy makers need to stop underestimating the Chinese. This below is just one example of how true ingenuity is applied to overcome obstacles. This sort of activity happens all the time.

China Late Night Missive It’s called brute force innovation. The Americans attempt to contain China through export controls on chips and advanced technology and in return China’s STEM army takes up the challenge. Same goes for DeepSeek and Xiaomi and more names than I can even recall. Thing is, I recall vividly that this was how America operated back in the 90s. Damn. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-says-chinas-huawei-cant-make-more-than-200000-ai-chips-2025-2025-06-12/

Meanwhile in Asia, Pete Hegseth is committing to a further “let’s surround China more” strategy. Rather interesting that this map doesn’t highlight S. Korea or Taiwan. This new Trump administration sure has a far more of a warmonger-vibe than the last go around.