Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 173

China's Economy Has Peaked. Can Beijing Redefine its Goals?

Nothing in economic development is certain, but China’s economy has probably already peaked in size as a proportion of the global economy, reaching the peak in 2021. China now faces a structural economic slowdown as the financial system constrains economic growth rather than facilitating it. These economic pressures are directly linked to the end of an unprecedented credit and investment

Mao Zedong's mass political campaigns still drive Chinese politics

Seventy-five years after Mao Zedong founded the People's Republic of China, his legacy is still being felt in the form of mass political campaigns and witch-hunts that keep the people divided while shoring up Communist Party rule, analysts and scholars said. While Mao's announcement from the rostrum of Tiananmen Gate was intended to deliver the message that China was under new management

Taiwan ‘determined’ to protect its democratic way of life

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te on Thursday vowed to resist any attempt by China to annex his country and to defend its democratic and diverse way of life, as Beijing stepped up military exercises around the island. In an Oct. 10 National Day speech marking the 113th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China by the nationalist Kuomintang under Sun Yat-sen, Lai said his government,

Six countries join naval drills amid tension with China

A six-nation naval exercise led by the United States and the Philippines has begun in the waters off northern Philippines, the second such drills in 10 days, amid rising tensions with China. Exercise Sama Sama, or Togetherness in the Tagalog language, kicked off on Monday, “marking the beginning of two weeks of maritime engagements designed to enhance interoperability and strengthen security ties

Blinken warns ASEAN on China’s ‘dangerous’ actions in sea disputes

The United States is concerned about China’s “increasingly dangerous and unlawful actions” in disputed regional waterways, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Southeast Asian leaders on Friday while reiterating U.S. support for freedom of navigation and flight.Offshore territorial disputes between an increasingly assertive China and its neighbors have raised fears of an armed clash and the

Torbjørn Færøvik: På Asias himmel skal det være bare én sol

 FN skriker etter fornyelse, men Kina stritter imot. Hvorfor?Høstsesjonen i FNs hovedforsamling er i full gang. Taler holdes, gjensidige anklager flyr gjennom møtesalen, og nå og da vedtas en og annen resolusjon. Og midt i skjærsilden står organisasjonens tålmodige generalsekretær, portugiseren António Guterres. Siden han tiltrådte i 2017, har Guterres ivret for å reformere FNs struktur og

China’s Coast Guard claims to have entered the Arctic Ocean for the first time as it ramps up security ties with Russia

China’s Coast Guard claimed it entered waters of the Arctic Ocean for the first time as part of a joint patrol with Russia – in the latest sign of enhanced coordination between the two in a region where Beijing has long wished to expand its footprint.The statement came a day after the US Coast Guard said it spotted four vessels from the Russian Border Guard and Chinese Coast Guard in the Bering

Chinese hackers access US telecom firms, worrying national security officials

 A highly skilled group of Chinese government-linked hackers has in the last several months infiltrated multiple US telecommunications firms in a likely search for sensitive information bearing on national security, multiple sources briefed on the matter told CNN.US investigators believe the hackers potentially accessed wiretap warrant requests, two of the sources said, but officials are

China gives $28 billion to local governments as it vows to meet economic targets

China has set aside 200 billion yuan ($28 billion) for investment projects by local governments this year, as it promised to meet its own ambitious economic growth targets. The news was announced by the country’s top planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), at a Tuesday press conference, which disappointed investors who were expecting a much larger package of

‘Impossible’ for Communist China to become our motherland as we’re older, Taiwan’s president argues

It is “absolutely impossible” for Communist China to become Taiwan’s motherland because the island’s government is older, Taiwan’s president has said in a carefully timed speech that underscores the intense historical rivalry between the two.Lai Ching-te, who took office in May, has long faced Beijing’s wrath for championing Taiwan’s sovereignty and rejecting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s