There are hundreds of these takes obviously but I thought this was a pretty insightful article actually, including bits about what the Chinese public is saying about reneging and strifes within the CPC inner circles.
https://thehill.com/opinion/international/443511-why-xi-jinping-reneged-on-the-trade-deal-with-trump
'Some in China described Xi’s last-minute reneging on the deal as “huiqi (悔棋),” a metaphorical reference to a chess player who regrets a legal move he made and insists on retracting it.'
'Within his clique, there seem to be major disagreements about the trade deal, and about Xi’s handling of the trade war. These doubts in the inner circle pose a threat to Xi’s authority to hold onto power. Thus, the agreement would have hurt his ability to rule. That’s why he torpedoed it, while claiming to be solely responsible for “all the consequences.” Importantly, he did not want the Chinese people to know about the deal’s failure because he initially blocked all news regarding the deal’s termination.'
Submitted May 14, 2019 at 02:42PM by ShaidarHaran2 http://bit.ly/2JHxodw
