Reuters (November 16)
“Restructuring a restructuring isn’t good news. Alibaba scrapped the spinoff of its prized cloud computing business, blaming U.S. curbs on advanced chips,” causing its shares over 10% lower. “The U-turn dashes market expectations of stability among technology companies after the end of Beijing’s years-long regulatory crackdown. The country’s weak economy and bad geopolitics mean the sector hasn’t yet hit a bottom.”
Tags: Alibaba, Beijing, China, Chips, Cloud computing, Economy, Geopolitics, Market expectations, Regulatory crackdown, Restructuring, Shares, Spinoff, Stability, Technology, U.S.
Forbes (October 15)
“Amid chatter about the ‘Japanification’ of China’s economy, it’s wise to keep an eye on how Beijing’s troubles might scuttle Tokyo’s recovery, too…. Japan is uniquely vulnerable to China’s downshift amid myriad global headwinds and other dynamics—including controversies over patents.”
Tags: Beijing, China’s economy, Controversies, Downshift, Headwinds, Japanification, Patents, Recovery, Tokyo, Troubles, Vulnerable
Washington Post (July 1)
July 1 “used to be a day of celebration in the city. Now, it has morphed into a morbid reminder of Hong Kong’s tragic decline under the ever-worsening repression brought on by Beijing.” Hong Kong’s tragedy has great bearing for Taiwan. It “proves that Beijing’s proposal of ‘one country, two systems’ is a delusion — and that any promises Xi makes regarding Taiwan’s continued autonomy under reunification are worthless.”
Tags: Autonomy, Beijing, Celebration, Decline, Delusion, Hong Kong, July 1, Morbid reminder, Promises, Repression, Reunification, Taiwan, Tragedy, Worsening, Xi
The Telegraph (July 1)
“Twenty-six years ago today, Hong Kong was handed over to China on a promise…. Beijing made the commitment, under an international treaty, to protect Hong Kong’s freedoms, the rule of law, human rights, way of life and autonomy.” China has effectively “ripped up its promises. If there is one lesson from the city’s suffering, it is that China cannot be trusted on any commitments it makes to the West.”
Tags: Autonomy, Beijing, China, Commitment, Commitments, Freedoms, Hong Kong, Human rights, International treaty, Promise, Rule of law, Suffering, Trusted
Washington Post (June 22)
“America’s Asian allies are quietly joining forces to confront China.” Beijing may want “to split off Asian allies from the United States and each other, but its actions are pushing them together.” Amid perceived threats from China, “mini-laterals” have been cropping up, including the very first meeting of JAROPUS, which brought together “national security advisers from Japan, the Republic of the Philippines and the United States.”
Tags: Actions, Asian allies, Beijing, China, Confront, Japan, JAROPUS, Joining forces, National security advisers, Philippines, U.S.
Time (May 22)
“Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky was the undisputed star of the G7. But Summit’s focus remained firmly on China…. The bulk of business in Hiroshima was not focused on Vladimir Putin’s war of choice, but some 3,600 miles east of Moscow: Beijing’s growing assertiveness.”
Tags: Beijing, China, G7, Growing assertiveness, Hiroshima, Putin, Star, Summit, Ukraine, Undisputed, War of choice, Zelensky
Wall Street Journal (March 18)
“Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s planned visit to Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin is the latest marker of the deep ties between Beijing and Moscow as the war in Ukraine continues into its second year.” As Xi advances “an increasingly assertive diplomacy” to “pursue… his country’s rightful place as a great power…. China’s relationship with Russia is especially important.”
Tags: Assertive, Beijing, China, Deep ties, Diplomacy, Great power, Moscow, Putin, Relationship, Russia, Ukraine, Visit, War, Xi
Reuters (February 4)
“The global trade war is taking an unexpected turn. Beijing may ban the export of technology used to make solar panels, an industry which China dominates by controlling at least 75% of its global supply chain. That has repercussions for the West’s drive to create its own green energy industry.” Any such move is more likely “to slow, not halt” the West’s solar push. “Losing access to Chinese solar technology, such as furnaces for melting silicon, would not be an insurmountable problem.”
Tags: Ban, Beijing, China, Export, Furnaces, Global trade war, Green energy, Repercussions, Silicon, Solar panels, Solar technology, Supply chain, Technology, Unexpected, West
Financial Times (December 15)
“Evidence of a wave of Covid-19 deaths is beginning to emerge in Beijing despite official tallies showing no fatalities since an uncontrolled outbreak began sweeping through China’s capital this week. Staff at one crematorium in Beijing said they cremated the bodies of at least 30 Covid victims on Wednesday.”
Tags: Beijing, China, COVID-19, Crematorium, Deaths, Evidence, Fatalities, Official tallies, Outbreak, Uncontrolled, Victims, Wave
New York Times (December 13)
With Zero-Covid restrictions lifted, Beijing again “looks like a city in the throes of a lockdown — this time, self-imposed by residents. Sidewalks and pedestrian shopping streets are barren, and once busy traffic thoroughfares are deserted. Residents are hunkering down indoors and hoarding medicine as a wave of Covid sweeps across the Chinese capital.”
Tags: Barren, Beijing, Deserted, Hoarding, Hunkering down, Lockdown, Medicine, Residents, Restrictions, Self-imposed, Shopping streets, Zero COVID
