My guess is that actual and threatened Trump tariffs are now having, and will continue to have, the (unintended, I think) effect of reinvigorating the mainland Chinese economy.

Tariffs themselves are making Chinese goods sent to the US less attractive. As I see it, Xi is now in kind of the same position as Deng was in the late Seventies (see the history section below). Central planning doesn’t work and domestic businesses are starting to shift out of China as a way of dealing with US tariffs. So the status quo of Party control that Xi has instituted isn’t good enough any more. Xi needs support from entrepreneurs. Hence, the rehabilitation of Jak Ma, for instance. Xi also has to have something to counteract the influence of Elon Musk in Washington as he seeks to protect his troubled auto business from cheaper and better-made Chinese offerings coming from Mexico.

For the first time in a decade, I find myself interested in Chinese and Hong Kong names.

history, starting from way out in left field…

In the early 19th century, Hegel developed an evolutionary theory of history–that through “dialectical” struggle mankind is evolving to ultimate cultural/economic perfection

In the mid-19th century, Marx applied this theory to Europe, incorrectly thinking horrible working conditions and pay would cause German workers to revolt, triggering the advance to a better social order

In the late 19th century, Lenin theorized that the evolutionary process needed to be jumpstarted by a revolutionary cadre. He put this idea into practice in Russia

(Btw, in the 1980s, George Soros, the brilliant currency trader, wrote a book, The Alchemy of Finance (1987), in which he claims the Hegelian theory, as laid out in the Phenomenology of Mind (1807), as his own invention. ???)

After WWII, Mao Zedong followed Lenin’s lead in China, installing central planning by Party elders. This was a total social and economic train wreck

In 1977, Deng Xiaoping, ditched central planning in favor of “communism with Chinese characteristics,” i.e., Western capitalism. This set off a decades long explosion of private entrepreneur-led economic growth

In 1997, Deng died and was succeeded by Xi Jinping. Around ten years ago, Xi began to reassert the primacy of the Communist Party over the domestic economy. Mao-style, he arrested and “reeducated” prominent businesspeople, He also effectively ended Hong Kong’s role as a commercial meeting place to conduct business and arrange financing with non-Chinese entities.

…here’s where Trump comes in

As I see it, Xi is in the same position as Deng was in the late Seventies. Central planning doesn’t work and domestic businesses are starting to shift out of China as a way of dealing with US tariffs. So Xi needs support from entrepreneurs. Hence, the rehabilitation of Jak Ma, for instance. And, as I see it, Xi needs something to counteract the influence of Elon Musk in Washington as Musk seeks to protect his troubled global auto business from Chinese rivals.