Wall Street Journal (September 9)
“A new superpower is about to enter the fray, one that is unknowable and unending and potentially dwarfs the U.S. and China individually or collectively.” Artificial intelligence already poses significant threats, “yet AI’s most consequential advances—starting with recursive self-improvement—are still ahead.” At their upcoming summit, Trump and Xi “need to make AI safety the top priority for the rest of their tenures.”
Tags: Advances, AI, China, Consequential, Priority, Recursive self-improvement, Safety, Summit, Superpower, Threats, Trump, U.S., Unending, Unknowable, Xi
New York Times (September 1)
“Chinese cars could be huge in U.S., and that’s the problem, officials say.” The New York Times “test-drove a stunning crossover from Geely that would cost under half of what its rivals charge.” There is no doubt “that Chinese cars, if ever sold in the United States, would give the competition a frightening run for its money. (Its competition would be approaching the luxury tier, like the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV; its price is more in line with a fully equipped Honda Civic.)” This appears to be why a bill is being sponsored in Congress “to permanently ban internet-connected vehicles from China from being sold in this country.”
Tags: Ban, Cars, China, Competition, Congress, Cost, Crossover, Frightening, Geely, Honda Civic, Luxury tier, Mercedes-Benz, Officials, Problem, Rivals, Stunning, Test-drove, U.S.
Bloomberg (August 31)
“BYD Co.’s overseas revenue exceeded what it made at home for the first time, helping end one of the company’s longest profit slumps and illustrating why Chinese carmakers have no choice but to try their luck outside of the world’s largest auto market.” Annual vehicle sales in China’s “vast” market are twice as high as the U.S. Despite that scale, however, China’s market “has become so brutal that not even its national champion can count on making money there. That’s why Chinese carmakers have increasingly turned abroad, where they can charge more for their vehicles, to make money despite ongoing geopolitical risks.”
Tags: Abroad, Auto market, Brutal, BYD, Carmakers, Charge more, China, Geopolitical risks, Largest, National champion, Overseas, Profit slump, Revenue, Scale, Vast, Vehicle sales
Wall Street Journal (August 26)
“Americans are now paying roughly 75% more for aluminum than the rest of the world. Steel prices in the U.S. are also about 64% higher than in northern Europe.” This is partly because the “metal tariffs are stacked on top of other tariffs on China, which is the world’s largest producer of steel and aluminum.” Under Trump, “the metal tariffs (including copper) have raised some $46.9 billion in revenue for the government during the current fiscal year through June, plus $21.8 billion in 2025. That’s … a nearly $70 billion tax on Americans.”
Tags: $70 billion, 75%, Aluminum, Americans, China, Copper, Government, Metal, Northern Europe, Producer, Revenue, Stacked, Steel prices, U.S.
New York Times (August 17)
America “is making it easier” as “China hunts for scientific talent…. Young researchers have long come to the U.S. for academic training, but a combination of Chinese money and U.S. restrictions is shifting the balance.” China can “match the funding and infrastructure that attract prominent scientists,” but still struggles to reproduce “the freedom, trust and institutional stability that allow young talent to flourish. Those remain among America’s strongest advantages, and the very advantages its current policies are putting at risk.”
Tags: Academic training, China, Flourish, Funding, Infrastructure, Institutional stability, Money, Researchers, Restrictions, Risk, Scientific talent, Scientists Freedom, Trust, U.S.
The Guardian (August 9)
“India is attempting to do something the world has never seen before…. No major economy has tried to expand GDP nearly eightfold within a generation while simultaneously redirecting its energy and industrial systems to reach net zero within two generations.” This is remarkable. “China industrialised at vast scale, but not on a sustainable net zero path. Korea, Japan and Europe became wealthy by industrialising before decarbonizing,” but “the world’s most populous country has to do this while also reducing emissions.” And India doesn’t have much choice. “In April, on a single day, all of the planet’s top 50 hottest cities were in India.”
Tags: China, Decarbonizing, Emissions, Energy, Europe, GDP, Hottest cities, India, Industrial systems, Industrialized, Japan, Korea, Major economy, Net zero, Scale, Sustainable, Wealthy
The New York Times (August 8)
“President Trump’s war against Iran has depleted U.S. weapons stockpiles to troubling levels, siphoning supplies from Asia and Europe…. The rapidly shrinking supply of air-defense missiles and other critical weaponry in Europe and Asia not only leaves the U.S. military less equipped, but could also leave Russia and China feeling emboldened should they contemplate a potential conflict with the United States.”
Tags: Air-defense missiles, Asia, China, Conflict, Depleted, Emboldened, Europe, Iran, Military, Russia, Shrinking supply, Troubling, Trump, U.S., War, Weapons stockpiles
Wall Street Journal (July 23)
“In AI software, China is giving the U.S. an unexpected run for its money. Last week, Beijing-based startup Moonshot AI unveiled a new model, Kimi K3, that closely trails the performance of top models from American AI giants OpenAI and Anthropic. Xi delivered a speech positioning China as the global champion of open, accessible AI. Shares in U.S. chip makers fell.”
Tags: Accessible, AI, Anthropic, Beijing, China, Global champion, Kimi K3, Moonshot AI, Open, OpenAI, Performance, Shares, Startup, Top models, U.S., Unexpected, Xi
McKinsey (June 30)
“As its 250th birthday approaches, the United States holds its place as the world’s most competitive economy. But safeguarding this economic edge means continuing to evolve.” The U.S. had, for example, been “the world’s leading manufacturer just before the 20th century and held the top position for decades. In the past 25 years, however, mainland China’s share has grown exponentially.”
Tags: 20th century, 250th birthday, China, Competitive, Economic edge, Economy, Evolve, Exponentially, Manufacturer, Safeguarding, Top position, U.S., World’s leading
The Guardian (June 26)
“Xi Jinping has hosted more than a dozen leaders this year, as ‘middle powers’ look beyond the US. China’s leader wants to promote his alternative to the current world order, and his efforts are being assisted by a capricious US.”
Tags: Alternative, Assisted, Capricious, China, Dozen leaders, Efforts, Hosted, Middle powers, U.S., World order, Xi
