Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 167

Where Companies Are Going After They Leave China

Following economic reforms that provided tax breaks, subsidies, and other incentives and thereby opened China's proverbial doors to foreign investment, China swiftly became the world's most popular manufacturing hub. Low labor costs and a robust infrastructure, including roads, ports, and airports that make it easy to transport goods in and out of China, and a strong technology sector that placed

Rising challenges for foreign firms in China

China remains critical for multinational firms. It is the world’s second-largest economy and its largest manufacturing location and trading nation. China is also among the world’s greatest beneficiaries of foreign direct investment (FDI). As of the mid-2010s, approximately a third of China’s GDP could be traced to foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs), their supply chains, and the consumer spending

In Retrospect: Remarks by President Barack Obama at Town Hall Meeting with Future Chinese Leaders

Remarks by President Obama in Shanghai, 2009:«This is my first time traveling to China, and I'm excited to see this majestic country. Here, in Shanghai, we see the growth that has caught the attention of the world -- the soaring skyscrapers, the bustling streets and entrepreneurial activity. And just as I'm impressed by these signs of China's journey to the 21st century, I'm eager to see those

Vietnam accuses China of ‘illegal detention’ of South China Sea fishermen

Vietnam has accused the Chinese coast guard of “seriously violating” its sovereignty in the Paracel islands, which both countries claim, by detaining a number of Vietnamese fishermen and their fishing boats in the area. A foreign ministry spokesperson told a press briefing in Hanoi on Thursday that the Vietnamese government had “resolutely” protested and demanded China “immediately release all

Across Asia, crimes against journalists keep mounting

In the decade since the U.N. first launched its International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, nearly 800 journalists have been killed across the globe. Many more have faced violence, threats, harassment and lawfare, with the perpetrators often going unpunished. This is the situation in war zones like Myanmar, where journalists find themselves trapped in crossfire. But it is

China honors late general linked to Cultural Revolution cannibalism

The ruling Chinese Communist Party has enshrined the ashes of a general who presided over a Cultural Revolution massacre that included cannibalism of those deemed “enemies of the people” by late supreme leader Mao Zedong. On Oct. 24, officials reburied the ashes of People’s Liberation Army founding general and former Guangxi regional party chief Wei Guoqing – 35 years after his death. The

Alex Joske: The Party Speaks for You - China and the United Front

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is strengthening its influence by co-opting representatives of ethnic minority groups, religious movements, and business, science and political groups. It claims the right to speak on behalf of those groups and uses them to claim legitimacy.These efforts are carried out by the united front system, which is a network of party and state agencies responsible for

Torbjørn Færøvik: Hvem «stemmer» Kina på? Harris eller Trump?

Verden holder pusten, i neste uke er det valg i USA. Også de kinesiske lederne følger nøye med. Hvem «stemmer» de på? Kamala Harris eller Donald Trump? Spekulasjonene har vært mange. I tidsskriftet Foreign Affairs skriver kommentatoren Agatha Demarais at Kina «heier på Trump». Andre mener at lederne i Beijing er usikre på hvem de er best tjent med. Professor Zhao Minghao ved Fudan-universitetet i

EXPLAINED: How would Harris and Trump differ on Asia?

As the result of Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election teeters on knife’s edge in a handful of evenly split swing states, the rest of the world is bracing itself for two starkly different potential futures.One prospect is the return of former President Donald Trump’s turbulent “America First” foreign policy, which last time around downplayed any U.S. obligations as a world leader to prioritize

American democracy ‘messy,’ Chinese state media says

As China watches the countdown to the U.S. presidential election results, state media has been hammering home the point that American democracy is messy, violent and encourages extreme behaviors on both sides, while ordinary people seem to support Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in roughly equal measure, commentators told Radio Free Asia. “In the past