Tag: China

Oil Is Flowing From the Persian Gulf, but Prices Remain High. Why?

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More oil is flowing from the Middle East than at any point since the start of the war with Iran, yet crude still costs almost $100 a barrel, much more than at other times when supplies were more constrained. That seeming conundrum can partly be explained by a change in traders’ views about how long the conflict is going to last. Optimism that an enduring peace deal might be around the corner has given way to concern that hostilities could restart. In the meantime, the United States and other countries…

Is American Culture Simply Bad Now?

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Has America lost its monopoly on cool? The Opinion culture editor Nadja Spiegelman joins the American expats and authors W. David Marx and Euny Hong to discuss how the world views U.S. culture and whether its cultural exports still have the lasting impact they used to. This episode is part of “The New World Disorder,” a series exploring the disintegration of the postwar international system and how countries are adjusting as America steps aside. Below is a transcript of an episode of “The Opinions.” We recommend listening to it in…

MI5 China alert will send chill through UK’s cash-strapped universities

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The security alert issued by MI5 regarding a Chinese state-owned conglomerate accused of conducting espionage in the UK reveals the extent to which British intelligence remains concerned about Beijing’s influence, and risks casting a shadow over UK-China cooperation at a time when the bilateral relationship is enjoying a revival. The UK’s domestic security service on Wednesday warned researchers and academics to cease work with the China Academy of General Technology (CAGT), an organisation MI5 described as a “significant threat”. The CAGT, which is also known as the China General Technology…

MI5 issues spy alert to UK universities over Chinese front company stealing research

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China’s intelligence service used a front company to pay grants to British universities and steal crucial research about technology projects, MI5 said on Wednesday in a rare public espionage warning. Britain’s domestic security service said researchers and academics should cease work with the China General Technology Research Institute (CGTRI), sometimes also known as the China Academy of General Technology (CAGT). MI5 believes it poses a “significant threat”. The Chinese organisation has given money to 100 or more academics at a string of universities across the UK, in return getting access…

A Way Out of the A.I. Arms Race?

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Over the course of two harrowing weeks in October 1962, the world came within an eyelash of nuclear Armageddon. The United States and the Soviet Union were jockeying desperately for advantage during the Cold War arms race. After the United States stationed intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Italy and Turkey, the Soviets, fearing a first strike, sought to station their own nuclear weapons in Cuba. The tense two-week standoff that ensued, the Cuban Missile Crisis, nearly escalated into nuclear war. But it didn’t. Not only did the parties step back from…

Inside the Ukrainian military unit training fighters from China

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On the makeshift workbench in the cramped front room of a cottage near the frontlines of the Russia-Ukraine war, there are all the accoutrements of a drone workshop. The walls are lined with pliers and rolls of duct tape; the table is cluttered with screwdrivers and piles of wire. Propped up against the wall are two kamikaze drones. Only one item looks out of place in this Ukrainian village house: a pot of Chinese longjing tea, the leaves wilted from repeated top-ups. Good tea is one of the many things…

China pressure accelerates Philippines-Taiwan ties, analysts say

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Taiwan’s plan to open a second trade office in the Philippines is an example of Manila and Taipei accelerating cooperation in response to Chinese pressure in the South China Sea, analysts told Radio Free Asia. During a radio interview on Sept. 15, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said that Taipei’s plan to open a second representative office in Cebu, the Philippines’ second largest city, was going smoothly. Taipei’s trade offices serve as de facto embassies and consulates in countries that officially recognize China, but maintain unofficial relations with Taiwan, which…

The Voices Behind ‘Made in China’

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When British authorities passed laws targeting working-class pamphlets during the Industrial Revolution, they did so because they knew that words can be powerful. The poetry and writing of those who experience hardship can be galvanizing. In China, the People’s Republic, a genre of literature known as “workers’ literature,” written by gig-economy and factory workers, is becoming increasingly popular. It’s also under increasing government scrutiny. Today my colleague Yan Zhuang writes about the fine line that Chinese worker-poets have to walk. In Seoul, where I live, it’s normal to place an…

Why am I obsessed with China’s ancient golden age? I took my daughter on a trip to find out

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Tang During the Tang dynasty, which lasted from the seventh to the early 10th century, Vikings were raiding the coasts of what today is called Europe. In the small archipelago now known as Britain, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms flitted by. Meanwhile, in Mesoamerica, after 3,000 years of flourishing, the Maya civilisation was collapsing. In the east, China had been united for nine centuries and the Tang dynasty was already a proverbial high point of world culture. The Tang dynasty achieved an incredible level of social and cultural sophistication. Advances in science and…