This episode of Sharp China is free for everyone. Show Notes: On today’s show Andrew and Bill return from the holiday break with reactions to the latest round updates to the US export controls on semiconductors. Topics include: Why some think the updates are weaker than they should’ve been, takeaways from the past two years of chip controls, TikTok’s new hopes, and whether the U.S. has now passed the peak of tough-on-China policies. From there: The suspension of Admiral Miao Hua, member of the Central Military Commission and director of the Political Work Department of the PLA, reports (and denials) that Defense Minister Dong Jun is under investigation, and thoughts on the way into the CEWC after November comes and goes without a public announcement of a Politburo meeting. At the end: Trump threatens 100% tariffs over a BRICS currency that does not yet exist, Beijing continues to guess at Trump’s objectives with tariff policy, the latest on the US telecommunications hack, and good news for unfairly maligned grandmothers in the PRC. Subscribe to Sinocism here . Subscribe to Stratechery here . You can listen to the podcasts in the Substack app: Or click here for instructions to add the podcast to your preferred player. Related Readings: No mention of November Politburo meeting; US updates chip controls; Xi on the BRI; Lai in Hawaii; Miao Hua; US-China prisoner swap -- Sinocism CEWC; Reactions to chip controls; Studying Xi Thought on Culture -- Sinocism Commerce Strengthens Export Controls to Restrict China’s Capability to Produce Advanced Semiconductors for Military Applications -- BIS Biden tightens tech controls on China as clock ticks down -- WaPo Biden’s Final Export Control Salvo Misfires by ChinaTalk The True Impact of Allied Export Controls on the U.S. and Chinese Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment Industries -- CSIS- Greg Allen How TikTok’s Trump Whisperer Changed Minds in Washington -- WSJ High-ranking military official in China suspended and placed under investigation -- AP China’s defence minister placed under investigation for corruption -- FT China probes top officer discipline ‘violations’ -- FT China's Top Leaders to Meet to Discuss Stimulus Plans, Economic Targets for 2025 - Bloomberg Trump threatens 100% tariff on Brics nations if they try to replace dollar -- BBC Faced with Trump’s Tariff Outburst, Beijing is Looking For a Way In -- WSJ Emerging Details of Chinese Hack Leave U.S. Officials Increasingly Concerned -- N.Y. Times China Tells Drama Creators: No More Evil Grandmothers -- Sixth Tone To add the Sharp China feed to your preferred podcast player: Click on the "listen on" button and you will see a dropdown with several options. Make sure you are logged into your account when you do it so you get the correct private RSS feed for subscribers. If you have not logged in for a while you can enter your email and then we will send you a login link. The “email link” in the pulldown shown above will send you an email that also makes it easy to set it up in your preferred podcast app on your phone. If you use the Substack app it has a built- in podcast player. Thanks for listening. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sinocism.com/subscribe
