It was another breathless week for those keeping an eye on all things China. If you were asked to pick a highlight, you could easily land on Xi Jinping’s diplomatic doubleheader on Wednesday: First, a video call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to sketch out a new blueprint for strategic integration. Then, another call with US President Donald Trump, shoring up the trade
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What a year, huh? Captain, it’s January. To say 2026 has been off to a volatile start geopolitically is putting it lightly. From abducting the Venezuelan president, to threatening to annex Greenland from a NATO ally, to a bevy of new tariffs (both real and threatened), the Trump administration has been ~*subverting expectations*~ globally. This uncertainty sent a ripple (or
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This note was originally published for subscribers of Trivium Tech Daily on January 9. It has been republished here with minor changes and edits. On December 29, Meta announced it would acquire Chinese AI startup Manus AI – reportedly for USD 2.5 billion. Inside China, the deal was widely applauded as a canonical home run: a blockbuster exit for startup founders who built a
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With each passing day, the trade truce struck by Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in Busan looks more durable. In the month since the two leaders met, Beijing and Washington have both taken significant steps to show good faith by rolling back countermeasures, lifting sanctions, pausing trade investigations, and reopening communication channels between military and security authorities. This week was no exception, with
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Fixed asset investment (FAI) – covering everything from roads to rail, ports to bridges, houses to factories – has long been a key pillar of China’s economic growth. But in June, something unexpected happened: China’s fixed asset investment (FAI) fell into the red, declining 0.1% y/y. Since then, FAI’s decline has accelerated, falling a whopping 12.2% by October. This is
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Even as US-China trade dynamics command the global spotlight, Chinese leaders are focused on “doing [their] own work well.” That goes double when it comes to their push toward tech self-sufficiency and AI development. After weeks of dissecting the trade war drama, it’s nice to be able to turn back to analyzing China’s domestic regulatory environment – aka “the Trivium
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