The Economist (June 15)
The majority of Hong Kong’s courageous protestors were “young—too young to be nostalgic about British rule. Their unhappiness at Beijing’s heavy hand was entirely their own…. The Communist Party has been making clear that it will tolerate no more insubordination—and yet three days later demonstrators braved rubber bullets, tear gas and legal retribution to make their point. All these things are evidence that, as many Hong Kongers see it, nothing less than the future of their city is at stake.”
Tags: Beijing, British, Bullets, Communist party, Courageous, Future, Heavy hand, Hong Kong, Insubordination, Nostalgic, Protestors, Tear gas, Young
Reuters (April 25)
“Under Xi Jinping, Beijing has elevated its missile forces to a point where many rockets in the Chinese arsenal now rival or outperform those of the United States. This dramatic shift could render American carriers – the backbone of U.S. military supremacy – obsolete in a conflict with China.”
Tags: Arsenal, Beijing, China, Conflict, Military, Missile force, Obsolete, Outperform, Rival, Rockets, Supremacy, U.S., Xi Jinping
Reuters (January 2)
“As U.S. and Chinese delegations prepare for upcoming trade talks in Beijing, the two countries’ disputes over tariffs and trade are rattling markets, businesses, governments, consumers and workers across the globe. All of this corrosive uncertainty was entirely predictable…. Elaborate negotiations take tenacity, expertise and planning. They also take time.”
Tags: Beijing, China, Corrosive, Delegations, Disputes, Expertise, Markets, Negotiations, Planning, Predictable, Rattling, Tariffs, Trade talks, U.S., Uncertainty
CNN (May 9)
“While Beijing has slowly become mindful of the monster it has unwittingly unleashed, it still believes that it can walk both these very thin lines—a North Korea that is weak but stable, and disruptive yet not explosive—in part because it must: China’s internal instability cannot withstand much in the way of external shocks, of which the leadership is well aware.”
Tags: Beijing, China, Disruptive, External shocks, Instability, Monster, North Korea, Stable, Weak
Business Times (March 28)
Kim Jong Un’s visit to Beijing “is only the latest sign of moving geopolitical plates over the Korean stand-off. Following spiralling tensions in the peninsula in 2017 over the North’s nuclear weapons and missile programmes, 2018 has brought unexpected, and what could yet prove remarkable, diplomatic respite that has seen a mini-rapprochement between North and South.”
Tags: Beijing, Diplomatic, Geopolitical, Kim, Korea, Missiles, Nuclear weapons, Rapprochement, Stand-off, Tensions
Bloomberg (February 23)
“Beijing’s interventions in the economy don’t always merit applause, but the government’s unprecedented seizure of Anbang Insurance Group Co. deserves a round. Anbang was a toxic threat to China’s financial system.” With total assets estimated to be “a staggering 3.4 percent of China’s GDP,” Anbang had the potential to deliver a shock “comparable to Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. or American International Group Inc. in the U.S.” Chinese authorities have “nipped a potential disaster in the bud.”
Tags: AIG, Anbang, Assets, Beijing, China, Economy, Financial system, Interventions, Lehman Brothers, Threat, Toxic
China Daily (November 9)
“Although the differences that had been pestering bilateral ties have not instantly disappeared, the most important takeaway from their talks in Beijing has been the constructive approach to these issues the two leaders demonstrated…. The concordant note struck by Xi and Trump showcased not only the personal rapport they have established, but also consolidated optimism about the prospects for bilateral ties.”
Tags: Beijing, Bilateral ties, China, Constructive approach, Rapport Optimism, Trump, U.S., Xi
Financial Times (March 28)
“Helped by generous subsidies from Beijing, Chinese industrial fishing fleets are travelling further and further from their depleted home waters to find fish and squid, leading to growing tension with even friendly countries such as Argentina.”
Fortune (January 10)
“China’s air quality has been particularly bad so far this winter. Severe smog or haze episodes have occurred one after another with short breaks in between… Last week, Beijing issued its first-ever red alert for ‘fog’ due to extremely low visibility caused by haze.” While winter weather is a complicating factor, the main blame lies elsewhere. “The reality is that new regulations to curb pollution aren’t enough, and the latest alert signals that China’s government needs to do more.”
Tags: Air quality, Beijing, China, Government, Haze, Pollution, Red alert, Regulations, Smog, Visibility
LA Times (December 4)
China “has been quick to size up the environmental implications of a Trump victory, and officials in Beijing are contriving to cast China in a fresh role, to project the country as a—perhaps the—global leader on climate change.” The U.S. looks “poised to become the new climate-action outcast.” In contrast, “China is betting that clean energy and green technology will be what powers the global economy of the 21st century.”
Tags: Beijing, China, Clean energy, Climate change, Economy, Environment, Global leader, Green technology, Outcast, Trump, U.S.
