Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 257

Torbjørn Færøvik: Årets tapere er Vladimir Putin og Xi Jinping

Året som snart er over, ender med to klare tapere, Vladimir Putin og Xi Jinping. Alt tyder på at de vil fremstå som tapere også i 2023. Hovedgrunnen er at de lever isolert fra den virkelighet som omgir dem. Både Russland og Kina befinner seg i en systemkrise, og følgene for verden kan bli alvorlige. De to tyrannene innledet 2022 med store ord og tilsynelatende grenseløse ambisjoner. Tidlig i

As COVID Surges, Chinese Turn to Black Market for Antiviral Drugs

The lack of availability of a crucial COVID-19 drug has fostered a black market in China, as the country battles its worst coronavirus outbreak following the abrupt relaxation of stringent virus control measures earlier this month.With a severe shortage of approved antivirals such as Paxlovid, which is manufactured by American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, Chinese residents have resorted to

As Cities Ride the Surge, How Rural China Can Brace for Covid Impact

After three years of stringent COVID-19 measures, China began relaxing restrictions on Nov. 30. Most recently, on Dec. 26, the National Health Commission announced that China’s management of the pandemic would be downgraded, and that incoming travellers would no longer be required to quarantine.In the month since the policy shift, COVID-19 cases have surged across the country. Beijing, Shanghai,

Covid in China: Officials must share data on its impact, says WHO

Chinese officials must share more real-time information on Covid in the country as infections surge, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said. Many of the country's strict restrictions have been lifted over the last few weeks, but cases have soared and several countries are now screening travellers from China. WHO officials say they want to see more data on hospitalisations, intensive care

Kinesisk general veiledet forsker i Norge

"Som en som arbeider med forsvarsteknologi, må jeg alltid være lydig overfor partiet og følge partiet, og jeg må huske på det president Xi har betrodd meg til å gjøre."Det sier professor Song Junqiang i en artikkel fra det statlige kinesiske nyhetsbyrået Xinhua, som blant annet er publisert på de offisielle nettsidene til Folkerepublikken Kinas statsråd – landets regjering. I midten av november

Chinese tourists are ready to travel abroad again. Here's why some countries are hesitant

A surging Covid outbreak in China. Countries imposing travel restrictions on Chinese travelers, wary of the virus being imported. Scientists warning against fearmongering and xenophobia. But this isn't early 2020. The familiar scene is playing out now as China battles its biggest-ever outbreak, after abandoning its stringent zero-Covid approach and partially reopening its border three years into

China has abandoned its zero-Covid policy. What will the economy look like in 2023?

As China moves ever closer to fully reemerging from three years of government-imposed Covid isolation and reintegrating with the world, economic expectations are high. Beijing’s recent pivot from its stringent zero-Covid strategy — which had long choked businesses — is expected to inject vitality into the world’s second-largest economy next year.Covid lockdowns and border curbs have left China

Xi and Putin to speak via video as grinding Ukraine war tests China-Russia partnership

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin are scheduled to speak Friday via video conference, the Kremlin said – with analysts watching for any sign of a softening in the Chinese leader’s support for his Russian counterpart as the war in Ukraine drags on and as China faces an unprecedented Covid outbreak. The two leaders will primarily discuss bilateral relations between their countries, and exchange views

Why did China relax its Covid policy – and should we be worried?

Experts have argued such restrictions will make little difference to the number of new cases in countries where Covid infection levels are already high. However, if positive samples from such testing are sequenced, the approach could shed light on the variants at play in China.But experts have warned that the use of border restrictions to keep out new variants has not previously worked well when

Zero-Covid was supposed to prove China’s supremacy. How did it all go so wrong for Xi Jinping?

2022 was supposed to be a triumphant year for China and its leader Xi Jinping, as he began his second decade in power with a pledge to restore the nation to greatness. Instead, China had its most difficult year under Xi’s rule as it reeled from his costly zero-Covid policy – from months of overzealous enforcement that crushed the economy and stoked historic public discontent, to a wholesale