Associated Press
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South China Morning Post
how China hit Donald Trump’s supporters where it hurts as tariffs target Republican Party’s heartlands
Beijing has been making a 'sophisticated play' with the tariffs they are selecting, and is playing hard ball with their US counterparts, Erlend Ek, agriculture and trade research manager at Beijing-based consultancy China Policy, said.
Bloomberg
Trump scoffs at China trade war `lost’ years ago by predecessors
'Chinese strategists are seeing no good economic argument for escalating the situation,' said Erlend Ek, an agriculture and trade research manager at China Policy, a consulting firm based in Beijing. 'They see good economic reasons for de-escalating it, however.'
Financial Times
China moves its factories back to the countryside
'In the long term, China’s continued economic development will depend on people in fourth-tier cities, county towns and villages joining the consumer class,' says Even Pay, an agriculture analyst at the Beijing-based research firm China Policy. 'This is the real aim of the rural revitalisation strategy.'
CBC News
the biggest loser in a trade war between China and the U.S.? It’s you (but don’t worry about it)
'They've prepared well for this,' said Erlend Ek, research manager with Beijing-based China Policy consultancy. 'They've done investigations into how to retaliate.'
South China Morning Post
China tries to improve running of strategic food and energy reserves
Erlend Ek, agriculture and trade research manager at Beijing-based consultancy China Policy, said the grain reserve was far bigger than the government wanted it to be, which had resulted in some of it rotting. Ek expected the new agency to push for marketisation, saying it could advise the government on how much to buy and sell based on market conditions. '[The new administration] means a move towards marketisation, which the Chinese government has realised is a more sustainable move, and it means a different way of looking at national security,' Ek said. 'It will also support [the government to] import more, because if this mechanism works, the government will have more confidence in the market.'
Sydney Morning Herald
Xi Jinping further centralises power with ‘revolutionary’ reshuffle
The reforms, which will cut the number of ministries and vice-ministries by more than one-third, meant, 'we are seeing the party placing its stamp on a wider range of government functions,' according to China Policy research director David Kelly.
Bloomberg
the five most important moves in Xi’s big China cabinet shake-up
The changes create the country’s first specialist agency focused on anti-monopoly issues, said David Cohen, a Beijing-based managing editor for the China Policy consulting firm. The agency will also oversee the State Intellectual Property Office, the focus of a potential trade dispute between the U.S. and China.
Reuters
China plans new competition, food watchdog in government revamp
But even with the new structure, regulatory power may still be split with the newly-expanded Agriculture and Rural Affairs Ministry remaining in charge of ensuring the farm produce quality, said Erlend Ek, a Beijing-based agriculture and trade research manager at China Policy, a consulting firm. 'China is clearly on the way to creating a single (food safety) agency, but it’s not clear if they’ve done it now,' Ek said.
Bloomberg
China to hold trade talks with US in Beijing as tensions rise
'Trump is in a rush for quick results, and his reckless trade remedy measures could turn out badly for both sides,' said Erlend Ek, agriculture and trade research manager at China Policy, a consultancy based in Beijing. 'However, China does not see any need to panic, as the volume of disputed trade cases is quite small. And Trump is largely not supported by major U.S. companies.'
Reuters
Xi’s expansive agenda gets boost with move to end term limits
David Kelly, director at the China Policy research company, said Xi’s full agenda on the domestic front, including concerns over high levels of debt in the economy and tackling a major overhaul of the country’s financial sector, 'require you not be in a lame duck role'.
TR Mondo