China's long game

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( Xi Jinping is sticking to the plan. After four years of parrying with President Donald Trump, the Chinese leader shows no intention of scaling back his [ambitions to supplant]( the U.S. as the dominant tech power. In a speech today in southern China, Xi rallied officials and executives to seize the “technological and industrial innovation high ground.” He [expressed confidence]( that China, with its 1.4 billion consumers, could attract all the foreign investment and technology it needs close the gap. Paid Post Directed by John Maggio and based on a best-selling book by David E. Sanger, The Perfect Weapon explores the rise of cyber conflict as the primary way nations now compete with and sabotage one another. The Perfect Weapon premieres Oct 16 on HBO Max. [Learn more](. Sponsor Content by HBO Although Xi vowed to fight “rising protectionism and unilateralism,” he indicated China was not fazed by Trump's tariffs, sanctions and campaign against telecom giant Huawei. In fact, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei was on hand in the audience. Xi called for making the southern metropolis of Shenzhen a “model city for a great, modern socialist country.” The former colonies of Hong Kong and Macau would be pulled closer, with their [youth encouraged]( to relocate to the mainland. The speech highlighted a central policy question facing the next U.S. president, whether it be Trump or Democrat Joe Biden: What’s America’s plan if what has happened so far has failed to deter China? And can Washington stick to it? — [Brendan Scott]( A news report on Xi’s speech is shown on a public screen in Hong Kong. Photographer: Roy Liu/Bloomberg Tell us how we’re doing or what we’re missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net. Global Headlines [Drawn out]( | Longtime Republican election lawyer Benjamin Ginsberg puts the odds of the 2020 presidential vote ending up in a legal brawl that lasts into January at less than 1%. Going by past elections there’s a very high chance the winner will be clear on the night or within the following three weeks, Ginsberg says, though he cautions that this campaign has been particularly polarizing and involves a record number of mail-in ballots. Campaign 2020 There are 20 days until the election. Here’s the latest on the [race for control]( of the White House and Congress. Senate Democrats will question Amy Coney Barrett for a second day, having made few inroads in their fight to keep her off the Supreme Court and extracting few clues about how she’d rule on key cases. [Click here]( for more on why Biden has given himself wiggle room on whether he’d expand the number of seats on the court. Other developments - [Kamala Harris Quizzes Amy Coney Barrett — With Proper Caution]( - [Trump Hits Biden on Fracking in Appeal to Pennsylvania Voters]( - [Virginia Voter Sign-Up Resumes Amid Calls to Extend Deadline]( Sign up to receive daily election updates as a direct mobile notification on Twitter. Simply [click on this link]( and like the tweet. [Stimulus stalemate]( | House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are digging in on opposing sides, effectively killing the possibility of a pre-election economic stimulus deal. Trump’s attempts to force through a deal have exposed fractures, suggesting his once-tight grip on Republican lawmakers [is slipping](. [Brexit bravado]( | The U.K. for now is continuing efforts to reach a deal with the European Union beyond Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Oct. 15 deadline to agree on their future relationship. Johnson will make a decision on whether to end talks after EU leaders meet tomorrow and Friday, an official says. Talks have heated up with the British government deriding the EU for its hard-line stance on fisheries and the EU calling for the U.K. to cede ground in key areas such as business subsidies. [Face off]( | Thailand’s capital is on edge with a rally by thousands of anti-government protesters blocked by the police and challenged by pro-establishment groups. Demonstrators are calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha and for the constitution to be rewritten, along with less power for the monarchy. Protesters gather outside the police headquarters in Bangkok on Oct. 13. Photographer: Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP via Getty Images [Mounting complications]( | Setbacks by pharmaceutical giants Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson on their development of treatments for Covid-19 are likely to heighten concern that the pursuit of products to prevent and fight infections is moving too quickly. Regulators and drugmakers are facing questions about whether political pressure is overwhelming scientific rigor ahead of the U.S. election. What to Watch - Chancellor Angela Merkel will consult with regional German leaders, and French President Emmanuel Macron is due to appear on national television as European leaders work to contain an[alarming rise]( in virus cases. - Russia ruled out a [nuclear weapons]( deal with Washington before the U.S. election, dismissing calls for a freeze on their arsenals as “unacceptable.” [And finally]( ... The return of the severed heads of resistance fighters to Algeria from a museum basement in France was seen in Algiers as a moment of recognition of a massacre by the French more than 170 years ago. For Macron, as [Ania Nussbaum]( explains, it’s about projecting the image of a modern French state at a time of ethnic unrest at home and inroads by China, Russia and Turkey in a continent where France once played a dominant role. How it plays out could impact Macron's domestic and international standing 18 months out from presidential elections. Coffins containing the remains are presented at the Palais De La Culture Moufdi Zakaria in Algiers, Algeria, on July 4. 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