Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 175

Utenriksminister Espen Barth Eide: Sikkerhet og handel. En ny balansegang

I en verden mer preget av geopolitisk konkurranse enn på flere tiår, står avveiningen mellom sikkerhetshensyn og videre økonomisk globalisering helt sentralt. Det gjør at vi står overfor en rekke krevende avveininger i utenrikspolitikken, noe som både påvirker vårt forhold til land som Kina så vel som vårt forhold til våre partnere i Europa.At sikkerhetspolitikken trumfer handelspolitikken, er

Guoguang Wu: Has Xi Jinping Reached His Peak? Power Concentration versus Governance Capability

Two factors show that Xi has successfully consolidated his power: his “dismantling” of established norms within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), through winning a third term to “rule over the party, state, and military,” and the absence of high-level political opponents following the 20th Party Congress. It is likely Xi is at the peak of political power in China, yet he has had difficulty

Minxin Pei: Do Chinese Leaders and Elites Think Their Best Days Are Behind Them?

China’s economy has likely peaked or is peaking, yet there is little sign the country’s leaders agree. Its GDP relative to the United States (US), in dollar terms, was lower in 2023 than in 2021, for example. An analysis of elite statements and speeches indicates they vehemently deny signs that China’s economy needs reform. Without initiating difficult reforms, however, the favorable factors

China's bright young minds are having a hard time landing av job

For much of the past year since China reopened to the world following the Covid-19 pandemic, a pall has hung over large swathes of the country as its economy struggles to regain momentum. The country’s bright young minds are having a hard time landing a job; its white-collar professionals are hit by pay cuts and layoffs; its entrepreneurs struggle to finance their businesses and pay off debts;

China’s astronauts are aiming to land on the moon by 2030. They now have a new spacesuit to do it

China has taken a step forward in its ambitious plan to land astronauts on the moon by 2030 – unveiling the specially designed spacesuit its crew will don for what’s expected to be a landmark mission in the country’s space program. The new red-and-white suit – revealed by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) over the weekend – is made to withstand the moon’s extreme temperatures, as well as

Walz says he ‘misspoke’ after unearthed newspaper reports undercut claim he was in Hong Kong during Tiananmen Square protests

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said on Tuesday he “misspoke” when he previously said he’d visited Hong Kong in the spring of 1989 during protests in China’s Tiananmen Square but insisted he “was in Hong Kong and China” during the pro-democracy protests.His comments during Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate followed the unearthing of reports that contradict previous claims he made about his travel

In Retrospect: Cultural Revolution. The pain, passion and power struggle that shaped China today

While the Communist Party has strongly denounced the revolution, it has been careful to preserve the image of Mao Zedong, who saw the movement as one of his two greatest achievements, the other being winning the civil war against the Nationalists in 1949.The party’s 1981 document attributed blame for the revolution’s many wrongdoings to the Gang of Four and Lin Biao who reportedly did so “behind

In Retrospect: President Jimmy Carter and China

During the height of the Cold War former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping looked beyond their nations’ many differences and found common ground.On Jan. 1, 1979, the two leaders normalized diplomatic relations between their countries, which had been estranged since the Communist Party established the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and the United States chose

Xi vows ‘reunification’ with Taiwan on eve of Communist China’s 75th birthday

Chinese leader Xi Jinping reiterated his pledge to achieve “reunification” with Taiwan on the eve of Communist China’s 75th birthday, as Beijing flexed its military might in the run-up to the national holiday. At a state banquet celebrating the founding of the People’s Republic on Monday, Xi used his address to underscore his resolve to achieve the “complete reunification of the motherland.”“It’s

Hong Kong: “We Can’t Write the Truth Anymore”

Following months of massive pro-democracy protests in 2019, the Chinese government on June 30, 2020, imposed the National Security Law on Hong Kong. The draconian law contains overly broad and vague provisions that severely punish peaceful speech and activities, create secret security agencies, give sweeping new powers to the police, impose restraints on civil society and the media, deny fair