Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 231

Xi Jinping vows to make China’s military a ‘great wall of steel’ in first speech of new presidential term

China’s leader Xi Jinping on Monday vowed to bolster national security and build the military into a “great wall of steel,” in the first speech of his precedent-breaking third term as president. Speaking at the closing of the annual meeting of China’s rubber-stamp parliament, Xi underscored the need to comprehensively modernize national defense and the military. “(We must) build the People’s

Chinese companies and founders rush to calm investors after SVB collapse

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which courted Chinese start-ups, has caused widespread concern in China, where a string of founders and companies rushed to appease investors by saying their exposure was insignificant or nonexistent. SVB, which worked with nearly half of all venture-backed tech and healthcare companies in the United States before it was taken over by the government, has

How to break the Xi-Putin axis? Biden must engage with Beijing

Is there a school for autocrats? As if by rote, authoritarian leaders around the world trot out remarkably similar justifications for their repressive actions, democratic deficits and policy failures. These typically include scary claims that their country is under attack by foreign forces and saboteurs or is the victim of a global conspiracy.Perhaps they have all taken an online correspondence

Myanmar army kill more than 20 in monastery attack - insurgent group

At least 21 people were killed by the Myanmar army in a monastery in southern Shan State, an insurgent group said. Troops shelled the Nan Nein village on Saturday, the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) said.Myanmar has seen a growing number of deadly battles between its military and armed resistance groups since the junta seized power in a coup two years ago. Some of the fiercest

Li Qiang: New premier tries to boost confidence in Chinese economy

China's new Premier Li Qiang has sought to restore confidence in the country's economy in his first public address since taking up the role. He said that a growth target set last week - 5% - would "not be easy" to meet, but added that the "economy is stabilising and picking up again". The world's second-largest economy is still reeling from the effects of Beijing's zero-Covid policy. Challenges

A Key Plank of China’s Planned Economy Is Making a Comeback. Why?

Last October, the central province of Hubei caused a minor panic when it announced the resurrection of a once obscure relic of China’s high socialist period. Known as “grassroots supply and marketing cooperatives,” they were once a fixture of China’s planned economy, facilitating the trade of grain, cloth, and other necessities nationwide from the 1950s to the 1990s. In an era when private

In a Chinese Factory Town, Migrants ‘Lie Flat’ for a Better Deal

China may finally be moving on from three years of strict anti-COVID-19 lockdowns, but it’s clear that migrant workers in Kangle Village are in no hurry to get back to work. The urban village in central Guangzhou is one of China’s largest clothing hubs — a labyrinth of narrow lanes filled with thousands of workshops. For decades, people from all over the country have flocked here to find work

Climate Change: China Experiences an Unusually Warm March

Many parts of China have been hit by unusually warm temperatures this week with the mercury in several cities climbing to record seasonal highs on Thursday, as scientists warn of more frequent occurrences of extreme weather this year due to global climate change. Six cities, including Shijiazhuang, Jinan, Beijing, Tianjin, Shenyang, and Changchun saw their temperatures hitting a record high for

Chinese city proposes lockdowns for flu – and faces a backlash

A Chinese city has sparked a backlash on social media after saying it would consider the use of lockdowns in the event of an influenza outbreak. The city of Xi’an – a tourism hotspot in Shaanxi province that is home to the famous terracotta warriors – revealed an emergency response plan this week that would enable it to shut schools, businesses and “other crowded places” in the event of a severe

Li Qiang: China elects Xi Jinping ally as premier

The man nominated as China's next premier by President Xi Jinping has been formally elected by parliament. Li Qiang is the former Communist Party leader of China's biggest city, Shanghai. The 63-year-old received almost every vote from more than 2,900 delegates at the National People's Congress.A close ally of President Xi, he is considered a pragmatist and will be tasked with reviving the