Good evening. As U.S. Trade Representative under Donald Trump, Robert Lighthizer launched a trade war with China and challenged decades of mainstream economic thinking. What has Katherine Tai, Biden's USTR, done since? Our cover story this week looks at the much quieter, but equally critical, change she is responsible for. Elsewhere, we have infographics on TikTok's breakup in the US; an interview with Steve Tsang on Xi Jinping's way of thinking; an article on the global electric vehicle price war in China; and an in-depth look at Qin Hui, the Chinese billionaire who pleaded guilty to federal charges of illegal donations to the mayor of New York. If you are not already a paid subscriber to Threadplease register here.
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The tsars aligned
When Joe Biden took office, many of his supporters thought the first order of business would be to end Donald Trump's trade war with China. But his commerce czar, Katherine Tai, has been largely MIA, a stark contrast to her predecessor, the fiery and omnipresent Robert Lighthizer. So what did Tai do? As Brent Crane reports, it is quietly continuing the Americas' withdrawal from the free trade era.
Overview: The History of TikTok
TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, may soon face a difficult choice in the United States: divest the wildly popular app or see it disappear from its largest market. This week's infographic by Aaron McNicholas traces the path of TikTok's popularity in the United States and identifies some of the key senators who will decide the app's fate in the coming weeks.
A Q&A session with Steve Tsang
Steve Tsang is the Director of the China Institute at SOAS University of London. He is co-author of a new book with Olivia Cheung called Xi Jinping's political thoughtwhich offers a lucid analysis of China's official political doctrine since 2017. In this week's Q&A with Eliot Chen, he explains why it's important to understand the Chinese leader's political beliefs, where they come from as well as their faults.
Steve Tsang
Illustration by Kate Copeland
China's EV price war goes global
BYD's cheapest car, a compact called the Seagull, now costs just 69,800 yuan, or just under $10,000. Like its Chinese counterparts, it threatens to disrupt overseas markets, in part because of its ability to offer vehicles suited to a wide variety of buyers. Rachel Cheung reports.
Crimes of passion
The Chinese billionaire who pleaded guilty this week to illegally transferring money to New York politicians has a colorful business background in China, owning a famous nightclub in Beijing and building a media empire, while amassing a long list legal problems. Katrina Northrop reports.
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