Thoughts
No one is on this email list, which gives me a liberating feeling. Publishing my daily notes felt most natural when I didn’t necessarily feel like I was writing to anyone else. While I initially began writing these notes to share my thoughts and views of the world publicly, I realized how such a high degree of transparency can threaten my mental health and productivity. From this point, I’m limiting the reach of my daily notes to those whom I trust deeply (enough), such as close friends, mentors, and colleagues. I don’t intend to use these notes as a platform for debate or a place for others to debate. These notes are my quiet place to clear my thoughts, and I invite you to observe if you’d like.
US-China Relations
US and China to launch economy and finance working groups to stabilise ties (Financial Times)
Washington and Beijing have created two working groups to tackle economic and financial issues, in the latest effort to increase engagement and stabilise the turbulent US-China relationship. US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen and her Chinese counterpart vice-premier He Lifeng will oversee the groups, which come two months after Yellen visited Beijing for meetings with top Chinese economic officials.
US Treasury launches US-China economic, financial working groups (Reuters)
The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday said it was formally launching two new U.S.-China working groups on economic and financial issues aimed at providing a regular policy communications forum between the world's two largest economies.
In a statement, the Treasury said the two groups would "meet on a regular cadence" and report to Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.
China's Ministry of Finance will be Treasury's counterpart for the Economic Working Group, while the People's Bank of China will be its counterpart for the Financial Working Group.
Ex-Wall Streeters Help Washington Divvy Up $100 Billion to Win the Global Chip Race (Bloomberg)
For years the titans of finance have argued Wall Street could spend money more efficiently than the government can. Now a handful of bankers will get the chance to see if they’re right.
Deep inside the Commerce Department, Secretary Gina Raimondo has pulled together a team including former executives from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and KKR & Co. to divvy up about $100 billion worth of subsidies and loan guarantees the government has set aside to turn the US back into a semiconductor powerhouse. The tiny electronic components that run everything from electric vehicles to nuclear missiles are at the center of a geopolitical struggle between Washington and Beijing.
China Economy
Chinese investors scramble to sell overseas properties amid shaky economic conditions
Property used to be the most favoured investment for Chinese people engaged in wealth accumulation, when it promised rapid and steady economic growth. Small apartments and condos in Southeast Asia, especially Thailand, were a popular choice for the Chinese middle classes in the late 2010s due to affordability and geographic proximity.
China’s outbound travel surges ahead of ‘Golden Week’ holidays (CNBC)
Bookings for popular foreign destinations such as Singapore, Australia and Thailand have increased 20 times compared to the same holiday period last year, travel provider Trip.com said in a press release Monday. Golden Week, which begins Oct. 1 this year, marks the annual weeklong period that includes the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day in China.
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