Palace intrigue in Beijing [Geopolitical Futures]

AtomicPiss

Palace intrigue in Beijing. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, President Xi Jinping’s top economic adviser, is set to be replaced as chief economic envoy to the U.S. by Vice Premier Hu Chunhua. The Commerce Ministry denied the report. But if there’s something to it, it’d be interesting since, unlike Liu, Hu is not a member of Xi’s inner circle and, as a result, has generally had his wings clipped since being touted as a potential successor to Xi in the past. One could then interpret this as a sign of dissatisfaction with Xi’s handling of the U.S.-China relationship. More likely, this merely signals that Xi isn’t expecting much in the way of meaningful dialogue with the U.S. anytime soon, and thus is transferring back responsibilities from Liu (who is nearing retirement age and has more important things to worry about) to Hu, who is supposed to take on this role anyway as the vice premier in charge of agriculture and trade.

RaceBannon

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He was executed at Gitmo and replaced by a clone