Editor’s Note for Thursday, April 7, 2022
A note for Access newsletter readers from Jeremy Goldkorn. Today: Pelosi mulled a visit to Taiwan, China commits to coal, Xi may or may not speak with Zelenskyy, and Shanghai grinds on with COVID-zero.
My thoughts today:
Nancy Pelosi was planning to visit Taiwan: Earlier today, there were media reports that the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives would visit Taiwan next week. China was displeased. But now Pelosi has COVID, so sheโs not going.
China is doubling down on coal, as we report in our top story today. And who can blame them? China has a lot of coal, and who in their right mind would prefer to depend on Russian gas or Saudi or Iranian oil?
In other unsurprising news, Beijing continues to balance between Ukraine and Russia, offering the prospect of a phone call between Xรญ Jรฌnpรญng ไน ่ฟๅนณ and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but still refusing to say even the faintest word of criticism of Moscow. Thereโs a lot more about Beijing-Moscow relations in our weekly China-Russia column, briefly summarized below or in full on our website.
Also predictable: Shanghai grinds on with COVID-zero. Why? The best explanation Iโve read comes from my favorite interpreter of elite Chinese political thinking, Rรฉn Yรฌ ไปปๆ, aka Chairman Rabbit ๅ ไธปๅธญ. Here he is, via translation by Ginger River Review.
Our word of the day is coal (็ ค็ญ mรฉitร n).
