Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi's statement that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo has plunged Japan-China relations into their worst crisis in a decade, prompting strong blowback in Beijing.

US implicit support for Taiwan appears to be ebbing, with both hosts reading Xi's confrontational pressure on Japan and Trump as evidence the US pledge of support is taking a step back—an inference reinforced by the administration's near-term priority to reduce trade tensions.

China now has 748 ski resorts, up from one when James first visited, illustrating the rapid expansion of domestic tourism supply.

By the end of the year China's trade surplus could surpass $1 trillion, possibly $1.2 trillion, with roughly $600 billion already in the first half of the year.

European countries, especially Germany, increasingly complain that China is 'eating their lunch' and replacing them in key supply chain areas from chemicals to cars.

China's trade surplus is bigger than the trade surpluses of the next eight countries combined, and is by far the largest trade surplus seen by any country in peacetime history.

Made in China 2025, launched a decade ago, identified ten areas (electric vehicles, robotics, biotech, etc.) for boosting self-sufficiency, and China has been spectacularly successful in all ten.

There is essentially nothing China wants to import that it does not believe it can make better and cheaper itself, capturing a mood that China seeks to institute import substitution wherever it can—though the claim is not literal, since China imported $2.6 trillion of goods last year.

In the phone call, Xi Jinping chose to focus on Taiwan, invoking the postwar international order and the WWII victory over fascism/militarism, in order to pressure Trump not to become emboldened about Taiwan and to reassure that the US and China will not drift further apart on the issue.

Volkswagen has stated it can make an electric vehicle entirely in China for half the cost of doing it elsewhere, and plans to release about 30 EV models in China over five years betting on localized R&D—representing a broader 'innovate in China for China' model in which European companies move their smartest work to China and hollow out their home economies.

China's holiday entitlements (13 official public holidays plus seniority-based leave totaling up to 28 paid days for long-tenured workers, often more at private/foreign firms) are more generous than in the US or UK, supporting the case that China can boost tourism spending by ramping up holidays and offering culturally immersive, adventurous experiences cheaply.

If Trump downgrades the US relationship with Japan in favor of China ahead of the April summit, it would be a tectonic shift in the Asian security arrangements that have held since World War II.

China's trade surplus, around $1.2 trillion this year, will rise to close to $1.5 trillion in 2026 because the outside world will be unable to erect enough protectionist barriers or manufacture goods cheaply enough to displace Chinese exports—keeping 'imbalances' the dominant theme of China coverage.