Sharp China: Missiles Filled with Water, Not Fuel; Foreign Affairs Work Conference; Liu Jianchao in New York and DC; US-China Updates

This episode of Sharp China is free for everyone.Show notes:On today's show Andrew and Bill begin with a note about this weekend’s elections in Taiwan before turning back to the upheaval in the PLA. Topics include: Bloomberg's reporting on a US intelligence assessment, realism on PRC capabilities, the history of PLA corruption, and recent reporting about China's nuclear ambitions. From there: Reactions to the foreign affairs work conference in late December, why Beijing sees opportunities around the world, and thoughts on Liu Jianchao's visit to the US and his future as a possible successor to Qin Gang. At the end: Xi reconnects with old friends in Iowa, balloon updates will continue forever, a listener provides more context on a December Fox News report, and a Christmas present offers a path forward for the National Zoo.Related readings:CCDI Plenum; PLA corruption; MSS, MI6 and 007; Xizang; Apple AirDrop -- Sinocism New Minister of Defense and more signs of a PLA purge; Foreign Affairs Work Conference; Reprieve for gaming?; Jimmy Lai -- Sinocism Taiwan’s Air Raid Alarm on Satellite Causes Pre-Election Anxiety -- Bloomberg US Intelligence Shows Flawed China Missiles Led Xi to Purge Army -- Bloomberg Thread by Kevin Yam 任建峰 -- X China Quietly Rebuilds Secretive Base for Nuclear Tests -- N.Y. Times How China’s Echo Chamber Threatens Taiwan -- Foreign Affairs China's Power: Up for Debate 2023 PM Session -- YouTube China's foreign minister contender seeks peace, including on Taiwan -- Nikkei Asia To old friend in Iowa, Xi says world requires stability in China-US ties -- Reuters U.S. intelligence officials determined the Chinese spy balloon used a U.S. internet provider to communicate -- NBC News CCP-tied group is quietly fueling US-based climate initiatives: tax filings -- Fox News China calls for peaceful coexistence and promises pandas on the 45th anniversary of U.S.-China ties -- Reuters Dall-E’s rendering of a DF-4 missile fueled with water: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 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