Winners and Losers, Happiness and Sorrow, for 2024. Many things have changed and we would only know what they are once 2025 arrives. Happy 2025!

The Eternal Core and his Temporary Winning Coalition

So flattered by my dear friend @dakekang.bsky.social 's compliment...😂

Yes, Trump thought of Xi as a bro, genuinely. Bromance in past tense - halted by covid and sleepy joe - could easily be revived by his unrivaled presidential charm.

But would this bromance and the recent gestures of friendliness be of strategic importance, or just tactical importance, to Trump?

Trump said he and Xi together can solve all the problems in the world. True, they can, but would they?

State-owned VC/PEs are told to be "optimistic" with 2025 projections and scale up investments in AI/sci/tech and other "new forms of productivity" to catalyze high quality development.

A very busy year-end for some (lucky fews), a very puzzling few weeks for many, a very uncertain period for all.

State Council discussed "high quality development" of state owned investment funds. Key points - state led, policy oriented (same old); invest "around the big picture" + long term + with patience (old + new); foster enabling conditions for innovation and "tolerate failures" (new).

China's visa-free transit policy extended to 10-day stay period + 60 ports of entry, including some of the country's most exciting destinations. Come visit :D

Mao's famous dichotomy of "enemy - friend" relationship, coined 98 years ago, later became a must read for all in China (谁是我们的敌人，谁是我们的朋友, from 《中国社会各阶层的分析》).

Sits very top on my very long to-read list 😉

Economy is vibrant in China. Am at a skewer stand in SZ and my neighbor (table of three) ordered...20+ bottles of beer and 200+ chuan'er. Their convo, tho, is still about tanking housing prices and inability to make ends meet. This is not something of any importance to "the People", just the masses.

A few members of the masses (myself included) who crossed paths with "People" contend that BGG was not intending to achieve anything "practical" - power, money...nothing. Having not to worry about "practicalities" is a privilege for "People", not masses. He just wants to let his stories out.

Purged and exiled, BGG remains a member of "人民" (the People, the ruling class). His views inevitably differ from members of "群众” (the Masses, the being-ruled). They read politics - struggles, rivalries, trade-offs, murders, purges - very differently from us, esp. if they are born into that clan.

Many thought BGG's X account was fake (for how innocent he seemed) and scorched his two tweets for "factual mistakes", "naivetes" and "misinterpretation of Bo-Xi family bonds". No, it's authentic AF. That's definitely him.