AP: White House report blasts Chinese ‘malign activities’
“Beyond its hard-hitting rhetoric against China over its handling of the coronavirus, the White House has issued a broad-scale attack on Beijing’s predatory economic policies, military buildup, disinformation campaigns, and human rights violations. The 20-page report does not signal a shift in U.S. policy, according to a senior administration official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the report and spoke only on the condition of anonymity, but it expands on President Donald Trump’s get-tough rhetoric that he hopes will resonate with voters angry about China’s handling of the disease outbreak, which has left tens of millions of Americans out of work…” (Reichmann, 5/21).

Wall Street Journal: China’s Xi Seeks to Portray Unity and Pivot to Economy Under Coronavirus Shadow
“Chinese leader Xi Jinping is racing to revive a battered economy as he tries to project a united Communist Party and quash dissent against his authority. An annual legislative conclave will bring thousands of lawmakers and political advisers to Beijing this week, after a 2½-month delay, and give Mr. Xi an opportunity to lay out his economic goals and pivot back to sidelined priorities through the staging of China’s first major political assembly since the Covid-19 pandemic started…” (Wong, 5/20).

Additional coverage of the U.S.-China relationship is available from Reuters and Washington Post.