Sharp China: Flooding Hits Beijing and Hebei Province; The PLA's Rocket Force Shakeup; US-China Updates; Unpacking the Beidaihe Mystique

Click here for instructions to add the podcast to your preferred player.This episode of Sharp China is free for everyone. If you are not a full subscriber and would like have access to all podcast episodes as well as every issue of Sinocism please click this button:Show notes:On today's Andrew and Bill begin with the heaviest rainfall in at least 140 years in Beijing this week. Topics include: Best wishes to all those affected by the floods, the astounding scale of these storms and resulting damage, citizens angry after local officials allegedly divert floods to protect Xiong’an, and the CPC playbook that will likely restrict information and hide the full extent of the tragedy. From there: Changes atop the PLA Rocket Force raise questions about espionage, the PLA nuclear program, and a years-long anti-corruption campaign under Xi Jinping that may not be over. From there: Follow-up to last week's Intel discussion, officials concerned about Chinese malware in America's military and civilian infrastructure, and a question about the American media and strategic alternatives to dialogue. At the end: The potential security pact between South Korea and Japan, the history and contemporary reality of the Beidaihe Meetings, and a reminder that the podcast will be off until the week of August 21st. We would love to hear feedback and suggestions/questions for future episodes in the Sinocism Chat, which is always open.Related readings:Awful flooding in and around Beijing; MSS on counter-espionage; More signals of real estate support; Wang Yi invited to visit US -- SinocismBeijing records heaviest rainfall in at least 140 years, causing severe flooding and 21 deaths -- APChina floods: Dramatic rescue in Hebei, Beijing neighborhoods submerged -- YouTube Collage: Floods in Beijing and Hebei -- Sixth Tone China Official’s Call to Save Xi’s City Angers Flood Victims -- Bloomberg New PLA Rocket force leadership; Consumption measures; Hopes for real estate policy support; US-China -- Sinocism China ousts top generals from nuclear Rocket Force -- Financial Times China names General Wang Houbin as new PLA Rocket Force chief after former commanders snared in corruption scandal -- South China Morning Post The Week of LK-99 Intrigue, China and Trailing Edges Chips, Intel Goes to Washington -- Sharp Tech U.S. Hunts Chinese Malware That Could Disrupt American Military Operations -- N.Y. Times China Doesn’t Want to Compete. It Wants to Win. -- The Atlantic US seeks to deepen Tokyo-Seoul security links to boost Pacific deterrence -- Financial Times China hints leaders started annual seaside vacation in flood-hit province -- Reuters At Mao’s Beach, China’s Leaders Still Make History as Lifeguards Hide From the Sun -- N.Y. Times To add the Sharp China feed to your preferred podcast player:Click on the "listen on" button and you will see a dropdown with several options. Make sure you are logged into your account when you do it so you get the correct private RSS feed for subscribers. If you have not logged in for a while you can enter your email and then we will send you a link login link.The “email link” in the pulldown shown above will send you an email that also makes it easy to set it up in your preferred podcast app on your phone.If you use the Substack app it has a built- in podcast player.Thanks for listening. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sinocism.com/subscribe