# China-US Policy Evening Brief: Nov 7 — He-Bessent Call, Trump Names Miller Chief of Staff, Berkshire Q3 Out

Source: https://aistim.cn/en/policy/policy-20261108-a5ec860e
Language: en
Published: 2026-11-08T01:11:09.591Z
Updated: 2026-11-08T01:11:09.591Z
Author: AISTIM

On Nov 6, He Lifeng held a video call with Bessent and Greer, with Beijing lodging solemn concern over US restrictions. Trump named Stephen Miller chief of staff, effective Nov 9. Markets price a roughly 79% chance of a December Fed hike. Berkshire's Q3 operating profit was $12.71 billion.

## I. US Policy

### 1. Trump Names Stephen Miller as White House Chief of Staff

President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social on Nov 6 that Stephen Miller, currently deputy chief of staff, will become White House chief of staff starting Monday, Nov 9, replacing Susie Wiles, who moves to the Trump Political Operation. Wiles submitted her resignation on Thursday evening, Nov 5; Nov 6 was her final day in the role.

This is the first major White House personnel shake-up since Republicans lost both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections. Miller is the architect of Trump's hard-line immigration agenda and has widened his portfolio across domestic policy over the past year. The move signals that Trump does not intend to retreat from his agenda despite the midterm losses, and points to a sharper confrontation with the incoming Democratic-controlled Congress, which takes office in January 2027.

Sources: CNN; USA Today

### 2. Trump Confirms Limited US Strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island

Trump confirmed new limited US strikes on Iran that hit an air defense system on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, saying the device was knocked out in about 15 minutes. The move revives Middle East geopolitical risk; Brent crude had already recovered to around $106 per barrel.

Source: Zark News

### 3. China Confirms Talks on a First Xi-Trump-Putin Meeting

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning confirmed that talks are under way on a first meeting of Presidents Xi Jinping, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, which could take place at the APEC leaders summit on Nov 18-19 in Shenzhen. The Financial Times reported about two weeks of quiet talks. If it happens, it would be the first time the three leaders meet together, with major implications for US-China relations, the Ukraine war and global energy trade.

Source: Zark News

### 4. Fed Watch: Warsh Formally Nominated; December Hike Odds Around 79%

Trump formally announced on Friday, Nov 6, the nomination of Kevin Warsh as chair of the Federal Reserve, subject to Senate confirmation. Barron's notes that with Democrats controlling the Senate, it will be harder for Trump to reshape Fed leadership, potentially giving Warsh greater autonomy; the election outcome could also reshape his policy direction through government spending and AI data-center construction.

Data: CME FedWatch puts the chance of a 25-basis-point hike at the Dec 8-9 meeting at about 79% (as of Nov 6), and roughly a 45% chance rates reach 4.25%-4.50% before the March 2027 meeting. September PCE rose 0.5% month-on-month — the fastest since March — with core PCE up 0.3% on the month and 3.1% year-on-year, still well above the Fed's 2% target; third-quarter GDP grew 3.4% annualized. Warsh called the next six weeks "information-rich" and gave no forward guidance for December; Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack dissented at the latest meeting, calling for another quarter-point increase. The Fed also announced it will cut annual policy meetings from eight to seven in 2027 and six in 2028.

In contrast, Trump recently claimed inflation is "way down," but three New York Fed economists found tariffs had added 2.9 percentage points to goods price inflation by February 2026, and without them goods prices would have fallen slightly. September CPI of 3.7% year-on-year is nearly double the target. The next key data point is US October CPI on Nov 10.

Sources: Longbridge (citing Barron's); Bloomberg; Motley Fool

### 5. Berkshire Hathaway Q3: Operating Profit $12.71 Billion, $9.6 Billion in Buybacks

Berkshire Hathaway reported third-quarter results on Nov 7: operating profit of $12.71 billion, down 5.8% year-on-year; net income attributable to shareholders of $22.11 billion, versus $30.80 billion a year earlier; $9.6 billion of share repurchases in the quarter; cash holdings of about $356.9 billion at the end of September (Caixin/Cailian Press). It is the most-watched earnings report since Greg Abel took the helm.

Since taking over, Abel has invested more than $10 billion in Alphabet and $930 million in Italy's Bending Spoons. Alphabet shares have fallen more than 24% since June, below Berkshire's cost basis, so the stake is likely underwater. Berkshire holds about 106 million Alphabet shares; Barron's estimates its average cost at probably more than $300 per share, possibly close to $320.

Sources: TradingView (citing Cailian Press); JRJ.com

## II. China Policy

### 1. He Lifeng Holds Video Call with Bessent and Greer; Beijing Lodges Solemn Concern over US Restrictions

On the evening of Nov 6 Beijing time, Vice Premier He Lifeng, China's lead person for China-US economic and trade affairs, held a video call with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The two sides exchanged views on implementing the consensus reached at the two countries' presidential meetings in Beijing and Washington and on the outcomes of economic and trade consultations. China expressed solemn concern over recent US economic and trade restrictive measures against China. Both sides agreed to keep leveraging the consultation mechanism, strengthen cooperation, properly manage differences, and promote the sustained, stable and sound development of bilateral economic and trade relations.

The US readout was more forceful: the Treasury Department said Bessent and Greer demanded that China immediately honor the commitments in the trade agreement reached in Busan, with Greer highlighting US agricultural purchases and rare-earth and critical-mineral supplies. The gap between the two readouts shows implementation-level differences persist, even as the consultation mechanism keeps running. The "US$30 billion for US$30 billion" mutual tariff-reduction framework and the trade truce extended to Jan 10, 2027 still face execution uncertainty.

Sources: Xinhua; BigGo Finance

### 2. State Council Financial Work Report: Digital Yuan Repositioned as Deposit Currency, Tighter RWA Tokenization Oversight

PBOC Governor Pan Gongsheng, entrusted by the State Council, reported to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on financial work since October 2025. The report sets out five priorities: continue a moderately accommodative monetary policy; strengthen and improve financial regulation; improve the fit of financial services to the real economy; deepen financial reform and high-level opening-up; and implement monetary-policy tools supporting the capital market, consolidating the market-stabilization mechanism and holding the bottom line of no systemic financial risk.

New details disclosed on Nov 7: the digital yuan's positioning shifts from cash to deposit currency; the regulatory framework for virtual currencies will be improved, with stronger action against underground money changers, a normalized crackdown on crypto "mining," and tighter oversight of real-world-asset (RWA) tokenization; a new round of crackdowns on financial "black and grey" industries was launched, and a nationwide campaign against illegal fundraising was completed. New social financing totaled 33 trillion yuan from October 2025 to September 2026.

Sources: Xinhua; Odaily

### 3. Draft Revision of Tax Collection Administration Law Open for Public Comment

On Nov 6, the draft revision of the Tax Collection and Administration Law was published for public comment after its first reading at the 25th session of the 14th NPC Standing Committee. The draft requires internet platform companies to handle tax filing and related matters for operators and workers on their platforms, in line with regulations, to support the healthy development of the new economy and new business forms. The move clarifies tax rules for the platform economy and favors large platforms with mature compliance systems.

Source: Xinhua Finance

### 4. Seven Departments Issue Guidance on High-Quality Shipping Insurance

Seven departments, including the National Financial Regulatory Administration and the Ministry of Transport, jointly issued guidance on Nov 6 on accelerating the high-quality development of shipping insurance, aiming to build a modern shipping insurance system. Shipping insurance is key financial infrastructure for Shanghai's international shipping center and foreign trade, benefiting large property insurers and the shipping chain.

Source: Xinhua Finance

### 5. MIIT Tightens Network-Access Management for AI Agent Terminal Devices

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a notice on Nov 6 on strengthening network-access management for AI agent terminal devices, covering agent-terminal adaptation, permission calls, communication capability, network and data security, user rights and task execution. As AI agents move from software to hardware terminals (AI glasses, earphones, embodied-intelligence devices), the rules mark a shift from rapid growth to regulated development, favoring leading vendors with compliance capacity and shipment scale.

Source: Xinhua Finance

### 6. Six Departments Promote Consumption of Elderly-Care Products

The Ministry of Civil Affairs, the NDRC, MIIT, the Ministry of Commerce, the market regulator and the National Working Commission on Aging issued measures to cultivate diverse scenarios and promote consumption of elderly-care products, including smart elderly-care applications. Silver-economy policy support continues to build, resonating with medical-device exports.

Source: Xinhua Finance

**Looking ahead**: The second China-Canada Economic and Financial Strategic Dialogue will be held in Canada on Nov 9; China releases October CPI/PPI on Nov 9; the foreign-exchange reserve requirement ratio hike takes effect Nov 15; the second tranche of special treasury bonds for capital injection is issued Nov 18; the APEC summit runs Nov 18-19 in Shenzhen.

## III. US-Stock Watchlist

### 1. Alphabet (GOOGL) — Search, Cloud and AI

**Key data**: Q3 revenue of $127.6 billion, with Google Cloud growing 103%; EPS of $2.12 versus roughly $3.02 expected, hit by an $8.7 billion equity-investment loss; shares closed Nov 6 at about $283.93 (GOOG), down more than 24% since June. Wall Street consensus price target is about $412.51 (MarketBeat), with TipRanks consensus near $427.68; P/E is about 14.5x.

**Why watch**: Cloud is growing at a triple-digit pace and the search franchise remains solid, but a one-off loss dragged earnings; Berkshire holds about 106 million shares at an estimated cost of $300-$320, above the current price, so the market is pricing in pessimistic growth assumptions.

**Risks**: Heavy AI infrastructure capex, antitrust and regulatory pressure, advertising cyclicality. Targets are analyst consensus opinions, for informational purposes only, not investment advice.

### 2. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) — Diversified Holding Company

**Key data**: Q3 operating profit of $12.71 billion (-5.8% year-on-year), net income of $22.11 billion (versus $30.80 billion a year earlier), $9.6 billion in buybacks, cash of about $356.9 billion. UBS raised its price target to $628 on Oct 22 and reaffirmed Buy (issued before the Alphabet-loss debate); MarketBeat consensus target is about $554.50 with a Hold rating; shares were about $579 on Nov 4.

**Why watch**: Cash reserves sit near record highs and buybacks continue, giving Berkshire flexibility to deploy capital during market dislocations; new chief Greg Abel's capital-allocation record is under scrutiny.

**Risks**: The Alphabet stake may drag fourth-quarter book results; insurance and operating earnings are declining. Targets are analyst opinions, for informational purposes only, not investment advice.

### 3. Eli Lilly (LLY) — Pharma, GLP-1 Leader

**Key data**: Q3 revenue of $24.4 billion (+39% year-on-year), net income of $6.45 billion (+15.6%); Mounjaro sales of $10.72 billion (+65%), Zepbound $5.35 billion (+49%); full-year 2026 revenue guidance raised to $91-$92 billion (from $85-$87 billion). On Nov 6 Lilly announced a deal with Hims & Hers to sell Zepbound and Foundayo through its telehealth platform at regular self-pay prices. Wall Street consensus target is about $1,445 (FMP), roughly 6.7% above the $1,354 price; Bank of America raised its target to $1,557 on Nov 5 and Morgan Stanley to $1,596.

**Why watch**: GLP-1 demand keeps beating expectations, with Mounjaro and Zepbound as twin growth engines and oral drug Foundayo opening a new channel; 26 of 31 analysts rate the stock Buy.

**Risks**: Rich valuation (about 40x forward P/E), intensifying GLP-1 competition, pricing and reimbursement pressure. Targets are analyst consensus opinions, for informational purposes only, not investment advice.

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For informational purposes only, not investment advice.

By: AISTIM