In Europe and the United States, the media, investors and politicians are stunned about a regulatory U-turn in China, which shows no signs of ending anytime soon. The initial regulatory changes appeared more to be a consolidation of President Xi's power rather than "regulatory changes", although this is a conclusion not necessarily shared by all China experts. [Listen to the Insightview podcast interview with Casper Wichmann, China expert: Who is next in Beijing's crackdown on the corporate sector?] However, the main aim of this week's Beijing measures has been presented as initiatives to benefit the broader part of China's population - which is not far from the truth.  
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‌On Tuesday, President Xi Jinping launched a proposal, which puts China’s wealthiest citizens on high alert, by "offering an outline for common prosperity that includes income regulation and redistribution," according to Bloomberg. This shows that Beijing has turned more socialist, but, this time, with "real socialist [social-democratic] characteristics". 
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‌If correct, this could dramatically change the rules of the game in China. This applies not only to domestic companies, which have had to adjust quickly in the last few months. [Read the FT article, Tencent warns investors China’s tech regulation will intensify.] This will impact foreign companies as well. Moreover, this is a political agenda, which will gain widespread support from the broader population. In fact, Beijing appears to have launched a political agenda, which could attract attention or popular support in many other countries. Beijing offers an alternative to a US-dominated economic system. Whether this is the truth or not, does not matter. It is, however, a fact that market liberalism and capitalism are forced into the defensive.
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‌Generally speaking, Beijing is playing its cards much better than the United States and Europe. In fact, Beijing does not even have to play its card because Western powers are failing big time, unfortunately. Instead, China picks up the pieces. [Read the CNBC article, China may align itself with Taliban and try to exploit Afghanistan's rare earth metals: analyst.] Furthermore, soon, Europe will see the aftermath of the failure in Afghanistan in the form of hundred thousands of refugees. 
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The humiliating "Afghanistan exit" underscores, yet again, that Asia and Europe are left alone. They are more dependent on China than ever before. Who dares to bet on a long-term alliance with the United States, which is no more robust than the outcome of the next US election? Unfortunately, the geopolitical turmoil intensifies at the same time as the Federal Reserve, "five minutes past twelve", slowly recognises that artificial tailwinds created by the central bank and fiscal expansion are now turning into headwinds in the form of a global supply chain in disarray. [Read today's Insightview article, USA: Tapering combined with a recovery in inflation and real growth rapidly reduces excess liquidity to the disadvantage of asset prices.] The timing could not be worse!
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‌19. August 2021 - Vacation: There will be no updates from August 23 to September 3, 2021
‌18. August 2021 - The global bottlenecks will not go away because the Delta variant will aggravate the mismatch between the supply and demand sides. The US Federal Reserve will soon have to make a difference
‌9. August 2021 - Podcast interview with Casper Wichmann, China expert: Who is next in Beijing's crackdown on the corporate sector?
‌8. July 2021 - Podcast interview with China expert Joergen Delman: The Party that was not meant to be
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