Uncle Ming’s Remarks.

A little media thing.

“Most mornings I learn more from New Items than I do from all of the traditional papers I read combined.” — Michael Blair, Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School and former presiding partner, Debevoise & Plimpton.

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1. The United States will seek to force the European Union to choose between the US and China on trade, according to briefings circulated to senior ministers and officials after Tánaiste Simon Harris’s meeting in Washington last week with US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick. The briefings, confirmed by multiple senior sources, go considerably further than before in identifying the ultimate US agenda for any future trade negotiations. They suggest that the overall US strategy is to decouple from China, and that any country who wishes to have a trade deal with the US will also have to distance itself from Beijing. At present US tariffs on China amount to 145 per cent – though some electronic products, including mobile phones and laptops – were given a temporary reprieve over the weekend. (Source: irishtimes.com)

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2. A slew of top-level visits, a string of “constructive” video calls and a repopulation of a previously sparse diplomatic calendar. The unintended consequence of US President Donald Trump’s scorning of Europe is the old continent’s re-engagement with China. The Trump shock has led the European Union’s top leaders to forgo protocol by planning to hold a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in July, even though it is Europe’s turn to host. Negotiations over ending a bitter dispute over EU tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles have been restarted. Even the bloc’s top China hawk, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, has adopted a softer tone in several speeches and on a call with Chinese Premier Li Qiang. The stark uptick from last year’s low point in bilateral relations means there is one question on many lips: is the EU pivoting towards China? (Source: scmp.com)