Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 29

China’s Role in Global Innovation Is Changing

For many years, China was widely viewed as a fast follower, leveraging access to foreign technology, expanding its manufacturing capacity, and competing primarily through cost advantages. While that characterization may have once captured the essence of China’s role in the global economy, it is increasingly incomplete. A growing body of evidence suggests that China is transitioning from

U.S. President Donald Trump said Chinese President Xi Jin...

U.S. President Donald Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping gave him a personal assurance that he wouldn't invade Taiwan while Trump was in the White House. Trump made the comment during an interview with Fox News' Special Report ahead of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.The Chinese government has long regarded Taiwan, an island democracy with about 23

Yu Jie: What China Wants

With many commentators eulogizing the liberal international order that had hitherto underpinned US hegemony, some are wondering if President Donald Trump has given his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, a gift. While Trump prizes unpredictability, Xi aims to position China as a force for global stability. Thus, there is a widespread assumption that China will rush to fill the vacuum left by an

Rare Earth Elements - China's Strategic Dominance and the U.S. Response

The current US-China trade war under President Trump’s second term differs significantly from the first trade war (2018-2020) in both scope and strategy, particularly with the central role of rare earth elements (REEs). During the first trade war, broad-based tariffs were implemented on China, aimed on reducing trade deficits and addressing intellectual property theft. The scope includes mainly

The coming rare earths war China has the advantage

If there is a moment of origin for the China shock that has hit the United States, it is events around rare earths in the late summer and early autumn of 2010. That August, China reduced its export quotas for the rest of the year. The following month, it stopped selling rare earths to Japan after the Japanese Coastal Guard detained the captain of a Chinese fishing trawler that had struck one of

Torbjørn Færøvik: August 15, 1945. The Emperor Speaks

 It could not be true.On August 15, 1945, at exactly noon, Japanese citizens who turned on their radios leaned forward, ears straining, and stared at one another in disbelief. They were told that none other than Emperor Hirohito himself would address them. It had never happened before.Seconds passed, and then a thin, deliberate voice slipped into millions of homes. “To my subjects,” he began

Final arguments in Jimmy Lai’s national security trial in Hong Kong delayed over health concerns

The final arguments in prominent Hong Kong activist Jimmy Lai’s national security trial were postponed Friday after his lawyer said the former pro-democracy newspaper founder had experienced heart palpitations and the judges wanted him to receive medical treatment first.Lai, the 77-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, was arrested in 2020 under a national security law

Japan and China commemorate World War II anniversary on different dates

Eighty years after the end of World War II, Japan and China are marking the anniversary with major events, but on different dates and in different ways.Japan remembers the victims in a solemn ceremony on Aug. 15, the day then-Emperor Hirohito announced in a crackly radio message that the government had surrendered, while China showcases its military strength with a parade on Sept. 3, the day

“REVERSE RUNOLOGY?” SOME ÉMIGRÉS RECONSIDER THEIR ESCAPE FROM CHINA

The struggle for a better life has long pushed many Chinese citizens to escape difficult conditions at home. In the most recent waves of emigration, tens of thousands of Chinese migrants have made perilous journeys through Central America along the “walking route,” or zǒuxiàn, in an attempt to reach the southern U.S. border. But the political climate at their destination has become increasingly

CENSORSHIP AND PROPAGANDA FUEL ANTI-JAPANESE NATIONALISM DURING CHINA’S WAR ANNIVERSARIES

Last month, a Chinese man attacked a Japanese woman and her child in a subway station in Suzhou, sending her to the hospital for treatment. Media reports about the attack were censored on WeChat. The Japanese government called on Chinese authorities to “punish the suspect, prevent similar incidents and ensure the safety of Japanese nationals.” As some Chinese commentators wrote online, the