Day: September 3, 2021

Sep 4th 2021 ASK MEMBERS of China’s elite—from senior officials to academics at leading universities, well-known commentators or bosses at big companies—to explain the beliefs of the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, and their replies are surprisingly unhelpful. Even simple questions elicit waffly answers. Take an ongoing campaign to clip the wings of some of China’s largest firms, notably technology giants. The authorities have variously accused such businesses of seeking excessive profits, harming national security with a cavalier approach to data, abusing workers, bullying smaller firms or exploiting young consumers with…

Sep 4th 2021 NEW YORK SINCE JOE BIDEN became America’s president in January, few senior American officials have visited China. But as The Economist went to press, Mr Biden’s special envoy for climate change, John Kerry, was in the middle of his second trip this year. With relations so rancorous in almost every other domain, the two countries appear to welcome the chance to talk about a problem they hope can be tackled together. There may be political dividends for both. Listen to this story Your browser does not support…

Sep 4th 2021 HONG KONG OCTOBER 6TH 1979 was a beautiful Saturday in Washington. It was not the kind of day that augured wrenching change in economic policy. But on that date Paul Volcker, then chairman of America’s central bank, announced a radical plan to quash persistent inflation. Before the battle was won, America’s interest rates reached 20% and unemployment surpassed 10%. Car dealers sent him the keys to vehicles they could not sell, in coffins. China is now facing its own “Volcker moment”, according to Ting Lu of Nomura,…

“The migration benefits the US in terms of talent acquisition and furthering the innovation ecosystem,” says Kevin Desouza, a business professor at the Queensland University of Technology who has done research on China’s digital currency policy. In return, the bitcoin miners get access to a thriving and innovative community, as well as more diverse sources of capital, according to Prof Desouza. BBC

“That’s the current discussion,” he said. “I mean the organising committee and relevant authorities are not releasing any of these plans until September, so yeah there will definitely be some sort of a bubble involving the athletes and there will be discussion as to who’s vaccinated and who’s not and how those flows work. But, from a winter sports perspective, they tested all of these protocols in Europe last year.” BBC

Advertisement John Kerry, the U.S. special envoy for climate issues, was in Tianjin this week to discuss climate change and emissions reductions. It was the second stop of a broader Northeast Asia tour. Kerry started his trip in Japan and moved on to South Korea after departing China on September 3 local time. In China, “Secretary Kerry emphasized the importance of the world taking serious climate actions in this critical decade and strengthening global climate ambition ahead of COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland,” a State Department spokesperson said. There were no…

Advertisement Last week, the Beijing-based China-Africa Business Council (CABC) released a report detailing the size, pattern, and future trends of Chinese companies’ investment in Africa. The report was published in order to influence the outcomes of the upcoming 8th Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Dakar, the date for which is still to be announced. The CABC report reveals that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, China has become Africa’s fifth most important bilateral investor, and based on current trends China could be the top investor by 2024. That assessment and…