Wall Street Journal (May 7)
“Just as other countries need U.S. help against China, the reverse is also true.” President Trump himself, however, stands “in the way” of constructing such a “new trading system…. He simply doesn’t make much distinction between China and allies: They’re all ‘ripping us off.’” The President’s “willingness to hit friendly nations with tariffs, cozy up to Russia and threaten allies like Denmark and Canada has deeply undermined allies’ trust. With the U.S. closing its market, others are more reluctant than ever to push China away.“
Tags: Allies, Canada, China, Denmark, Friendly nations, Market, Reluctant, Tariffs, Threaten, Trading system, Trump, Trust, U.S., Undermined
The Economist (May 3)
“Relations between America and China are at a low ebb. Tariffs of well over 100% on both sides have severed trade. Each is striving to dominate 21st-century technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). A massive military build-up is under way. In the previous cold war such rivalries came to a head over flashpoints like the Berlin airlift and the Cuban missile crisis. Today American resolve is likely to be tested over Taiwan—and sooner than many think.”
Tags: AI, Berlin airlift, China, Cold war, Cuban missile crisis, Dominate, Flashpoints, Low ebb, Military build-up, Relations, Resolve, Rivalries, Severed trade, Tariffs, Technologies, Tested, U.S.
The Economist (April 26)
“Africans need jobs. The rest of the world needs workers. Migration from Africa is a mega-trend that transcends today’s populist surge” and it is already taking place on a colossal scale. Over 20 million emigrants from Africa now “live outside the continent, a three-fold increase since 1990. That is higher than the number of Indian migrants outside India or Chinese migrants outside China—two big diasporas from countries with populations of similar size to the African continent.”
Tags: 1990, 20 million, Africa, China, Diasporas, Emigrants, India, Jobs, Mega-trend, Migrants, Migration, Populations, Populist surge, Workers
Financial Times (April 23)
“While company leaders have generally avoided public criticism of the US president, they have been forced to confront his tariffs — which include levies of 145 per cent against export powerhouse China — on quarterly earnings calls with analysts this month.” Through Tuesday, “tariffs were cited on more than 90 per cent” of earnings calls while “recession” arose on 44 per cent. Corporate leaders also spoke of “escalating expenditures, gummed-up supply chains and a hit to the world’s largest economy.”
Tags: Analysts, Avoided, China, Confront, Criticism, Earnings calls, Economy, Escalating, Expenditures, Export, Leaders, Rrecession, Supply chains, Tariffs, Trump, U.S.
Reuters (April 22)
“The burning question facing China’s EV industry… is how and when it can convert explosive sales of ground-breaking vehicles into sustainable profits. The intense competition driving the sector’s innovation has also made China a market with precious few winners, foreign or domestic.” Approximately 170 domestic and automakers are competing in China, “but only 14 have a market share higher than 2%.” In 2024, excluding hybrids there were 327 EV models produced by 86 brands. Ultimately, there will be “few survivors from China’s hypercompetitive EV industry.”
Tags: Automakers, China, Competition, Domestic, EV industry, EVs, Explosive sales, Foreign, Ground-breaking, Hybrids, Hypercompetitive, Innovation, Market share, Survivors, Sustainable profits, Winners
Fortune (April 14)
“President Donald Trump’s trade war with China could lead to the end of globalization. But it’s not a certainty that the U.S. will emerge as the victor in the new economic world order.” Goldman Sachs posits “the U.S. may find it’s more reliant on China than the other way around.” Chinese imports account for 14% of total U.S. imports. Meanwhile, U.S. exports to China make up only 6% of total Chinese imports. The U.S. is also highly dependent on $158 billion worth of Chinese imports, whereas China’s relies highly on the U.S. for only $14 billion worth of goods. In these cases, the highly dependent import goods account for 70% or more of the market.
Tags: $14 billion, $158 billion, China, Dependent, Economic, Globalization, Goldman Sachs, Goods, Imports, Market, Trade war, Trump, U.S., Victor, World order
Washington Post (April 9)
“Trump grabbed a life preserver. In announcing a 90-day pause on most tariffs… he acknowledged, however reluctantly, the harsh realities of economics, foreign policy and domestic politics.” While the pause is “indeed worth rejoicing,” it is only a partial pause as the trade war continues with China. “Investors, business and consumers will still be living with uncertainty. For the long term, Trump and his team are well advised to come up with a less volatile economic strategy.”
Tags: Business, China, Consumers, Economic strategy, Economics, Foreign policy, Investors, Lfe preserver, Partial, Pause, Politics, Realities, Tariffs, Trade war, Trump, Uncertainty, Volatile
New York Times (April 6)
“It’s downright scary,” but the future is “not in America.” President Trump and his administration are “focused on what teams American transgender athletes can race on” while “China is focused on transforming its factories with A.I. so it can outrace all our factories.” Trump is ramping up “tariffs while gutting our national scientific institutions and work force that spur U.S. innovation.” Meanwhile, China is ramping up “research campuses” and “A.I.-driven innovation to be permanently liberated from Trump’s tariffs.”
Tags: A.I., China, Factories, Future, Gutting, Innovation, Outrace, Race, Research campuses, Scary, Scientific institutions, Tariffs, Transforming, Transgender athletes, Trump, U.S.
Market Watch (April 4)
Trump’s tariffs are sparking the “worst week for stocks since 2020” and leading the VIX volatility index to a new high for the year. “U.S. stocks showed signs of ‘capitulation,’ or a move toward ‘panic selling,’ on Friday” as the “tariffs wreaked havoc in the stock market… stoking fears of a trade-war escalation that could lead to a recession.”
Tags: China, Destruction, Economic growth, Empower, Families, Global trading system, Higher inflation, Highest, Rules, Tariffs, Tax increase, Trump, U.S., Unemployment, Wealth
Reuters (March 26)
“Thanks to advances in AI, chips and hardware, the United States and China are now racing to develop humanoid robots that can be deployed in factories, restaurants, hospitals and even households. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently declared that in less than five years, humanoid robots will be widely used in manufacturing.” At the moment, “China has shaky upper hand in battle of the robots” and tremendous motivation to succeed. The country faces a tremendous “labour crunch: in 2021 officials forecasted a shortage of nearly 30 million manufacturing workers by 2025” and this is projected to grow worse as China’s workforce continues to contract.
Tags: AI, Battle, China, Chips, Crunch, Factories, Hardware, Hospitals, Households, Huang, Humanoid, Labour, Manufacturing, Nvidia, Restaurants, Robots, Shortage, U.S.
