The Evening: Trump in Beijing, Saudi Arabia, Bob Dylan and More

Good Evening,

It's Wednesday, November 8th.

In Beijing

President Donald Trump arrived in China on Wednesday, primed to ask his host President Xi Jinping to curb financial ties with North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, as the NYT reports . Talks are also expected to focus on trade, as China’s efforts to dominate the technology sector have raised concerns in Washington.

Dive Deeper: See CSIS’s Victor Cha on “The Rollup on Trump’s Korea Leg of the Asia Trip.”

And, see congressional testimony from CSIS’s Scott Kennedy on China’s technology practices.

Saudi Arabia

The White House on Wednesday condemned attempted missile attacks launched against Saudi Arabia from Yemen, blaming the Iranian government for arming rebels with such weapons systems, as Politico reports.

“We condemn the Iranian regime's activities and stand with Saudi Arabia and all our Gulf partners against the Iranian regime's aggression and blatant violations of international law,” the White House said in a statement released early Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabian authorities made further arrests and froze more bank accounts on Wednesday, expanding the anticorruption crackdown underway on the kingdom’s political and business elites, as Reuters reports.

Dive Deeper: See NPR’s profile of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia.

And, from Brookings: “Trump’s bet on Saudis looks increasingly dangerous, and the $110 billion payoff? Unlikely.”

Defense Authorization Deal

Congressional negotiators on Wednesday agreed on a $700 billion defense authorization plan for fiscal 2018, including a 2.4 percent pay raise for troops and a boost in military end strength of more than 20,000 service members, as the Military Times reports . It also rejects plans for a new “Space Corps” in favor of less ambitious bureaucratic changes within the Defense Department’s space programs.

Dive Deeper: CSIS’s Mark Cancian has a report, U.S. Military Forces in FY 2018.

In That Number

$5.6 trillion

U.S. wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Pakistan have cost American taxpayers $5.6 trillion since they began in 2001, according to a new study, a figure more than three times that of the Pentagon’s own estimates.
Source: WSJ.

Critical Quote

“The Saudis are willing to fight in a way the Saudis haven't been willing to fight before.”

—Jon Alterman.
Source: NPR.

iDeas Lab

China’s population is expected to peak around 2025 before charting a steady decline. CSIS’s China Power Project has an extensive study on China’s aging and population demographics.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and video.

Optics

(Photo credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images.) President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, President Xi Jinping, and his wife Peng Liyuan pose in the Forbidden City in Beijing on November 8, 2017.

Recommended Reading

“Russia Activated Twitter Sleeper Cells for 2016 Election Day Blitz,” by the Daily Beast’s Kevin Poulsen.

This Town Tomorrow

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga will join CSIS’s Africa Program at 9:30 a.m. for a discussion on the Kenyan elections and what to expect moving forward. Watch live on our website.

Also at 9:30 a.m., CSIS will host a panel discussion on the lessons that can be learned from the Obama administration’s Power Africa Initiative. Watch the event live here.

At 1:00 p.m., join CSIS for “Great Powers in Asia,” a discussion on where Asia fits into the grand strategic visions of China, Russia, and the United States.

And, at 4:00 p.m., join CSIS for a book talk about the battle for North Africa in World War II and the Allies invasion.

Video

CSIS hosted a conference with President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d'Ivoire to discuss the progress and potential of the country’s fast-growing economy.

Sounds

CogitAsia’s new podcast discusses changes in the space domain since the end of the Cold War, China’s expanding capabilities in space, and the implications for international cooperation in space exploration.

Listen on Apple Podcasts or SoundCloud.

Smiles

One more encore for the great Bob Dylan and the Bootleg Series “Trouble No More.”

I invite you to email me at aschwartz@csis.org and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz