Global Shipping Delays Loom Over Retailers for the Holidays

WASHINGTON — It was 73 days until Christmas, and the clock was ticking down for Catch Co. The Chicago-based fishing company had secured a spot to sell a new product, an advent calendar for fishing enthusiasts dubbed “12 Days of Fishmas,” in 2,650 Walmart stores nationwide. But like so many products this holiday season, the calendars were mired in a massive traffic jam in the flow of goods from Asian factories to American store shelves. With Black Friday rapidly approaching, many of the calendars were stuck in a 40-foot steel…

Blinken clashes with China over US support for Taiwan

The US secretary of state has clashed with his Chinese opposite number, saying the US will provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself as China warned it must end its interference on the island. Antony Blinken also urged China to live up to its responsibilities on the climate emergency, pointing out it was the largest carbon emitter. The hour-long meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome was described by US officials as “exceptionally candid” but productive, and would help lay the groundwork for a virtual summit…

China’s Popular Electric Vehicles Have Put Europe’s Automakers on Notice

FRANKFURT — The name MG used to be synonymous with spirited but finicky sports cars from Britain. Nowadays the iconic octagonal badge serves a different kind of motoring ambition: China’s push to become a big player in the global auto market. SAIC Motor, one of China’s Big Four automakers, bought the MG brand in 2007 and is stamping it on a line of electric sport utility vehicles on sale in Germany and other European markets. MG is an example of how Chinese carmakers are exploiting the shift to electric cars…

China rejects US intelligence report on Covid origins as ‘political and false’

Beijing has lashed out against a US intelligence review into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, calling it “political and false” while urging Washington to stop attacking China. The Chinese foreign ministry’s retort came on Sunday, days after the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a fuller version of its findings from a 90-day review ordered by president Joe Biden. The paper said that, without new information, intelligence agencies would not be able to offer a better judgment on whether the virus emerged via animal-to-human transmission or…

Political reshuffle: Beijing appoints 8 new regional party chiefs

Provinces/regions led by post-1960s chiefsProvinces/regions with newly appointed party chiefs Source: Xinhua Newly appointed provincial and regional party chiefs Wu Zhenlong, 56 One of the youngest in the cohort, Wu has been promoted from governor to the top role of party secretary in eastern economic powerhouse Jiangsu. He rose to prominence after successfully executing a project to relocate hundreds of thousands of residents to make way for the Three Gorges Project when he worked at Chongqing’s Wanzhou district committee in 2002. Li Ganjie, 56 Like Wu, Hunan native Li was…

Beijing Power Struggle Sinks Red Princess’s HK Firm

A property company controlled by a niece of former Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong is sinking deeper in default as the power struggle between Zeng (above, left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping intensifies. The rivalry between Xi and his adversaries is heating up in the run-up to the sixth plenum of the Communist Party of China (CPC) to be held in Beijing from November 8 to 11.  It has grown so serious that Xi apparently declined the invitation to attend the Glasgow Climate Summit, the year’s most important such international…

Xi Jinping tells G20 ‘developed countries’ should lead on global emissions

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he had failed to convince Xi to commit to bring forward China‘s peak emissions by five years, according to The Times. Advertisement “I pushed a bit on that – ‘25 would be better than 2030’. But then I wouldn’t say he committed on that,” Johnson said en route to Rome, referring to a telephone call he held with Xi on Friday. “The other point where I was evangelical was the potential to move away from coal. [Xi] said, ‘China depends on coal for our…

Xi Jinping calls for mutual Covid vaccine approvals

China’s president, Xi Jinping, has called for mutual recognition of Covid-19 vaccines based on the World Health Organization’s emergency use list, according to a transcript of his remarks delivered to leaders of the Group of 20 leaders’ summit, published by the official Xinhua news agency. Speaking to the participants in Rome via video link, Xi said China had provided more than 1.6bn Covid shots to the world, and was working with 16 nations to cooperate on manufacturing doses. “China is willing to work with all parties to improve the accessibility…

Xi Hasn’t Left China in 21 Months. Covid May Be Only Part of the Reason.

When the presidents and prime ministers of the Group of 20 nations meet in Rome this weekend, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, won’t be among them. Nor is he expected at the climate talks next week in Glasgow, where China’s commitment to curbing carbon emissions is seen as crucial to helping blunt the dire consequences of climate change. He has yet to meet President Biden in person and seems unlikely to any time soon. Mr. Xi has not left China in 21 months — and counting. The ostensible reason for Mr.…