Good Wednesday morning. Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today.

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• The use of social media by Chinese government operatives for what American officials and executives call nefarious purposes has drawn heightened scrutiny. The most recent red flag is the use of LinkedIn by Chinese agents to contact thousands of foreign citizens, including former government officials, in attempts to recruit spies.

• As farmers grow unsettled about President Trump’s trade war with China, his agriculture secretary, Sonny Perdue, is tasked with fending off a revolt from the heart of the president’s base.

• The trade conflict between the United States and China has become so caustic that the two countries cannot even agree if they are talking, leaving Trump’s top economic aides straining to back up the president without contradicting him.