Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 372

MI6 boss warns of China 'debt traps and data traps'

MI6 chief Richard Moore has warned of China's "debt traps and data traps" in his first live broadcast interview. Mr Moore - known as "C" - told BBC Radio 4's Today programme these traps threatened to erode sovereignty and have prompted defensive measures. He denied the fall of Afghan capital Kabul was an intelligence failure and signalled closer ties with tech giants.The decision to speak more

Multi-billion EU bid to challenge Chinese influence

The EU is to reveal details of a global investment plan that's widely seen as a rival to China's Belt and Road initiative. Insiders say it'll set out "concrete" ideas on digital, transport, climate and energy schemes. It's regarded as part of the West's efforts to counter Chinese influence in Africa and elsewhere.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will present the "Global Gateway"

The growing rift between Europe and China

On November 4, Raphael Glücksmann, a French member of the European Parliament, concluded his delegation’s visit to Taiwan beside Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen by declaring, “Europe is standing with you.” The paradigm shift in Europe’s thinking on China has been obvious. 2021 has seen the EU freeze a landmark investment deal with Beijing, sanction the country over human rights abuses in

How do Chinese people view the United States?

Welcome to the Sinica Podcast, a weekly discussion of current affairs in China, produced in partnership with SupChina. Subscribe to SupChina’s daily access newsletter to keep on top of all the latest news from China from hundreds of different news sources. Or check out all the original writing on our site at supchina.com, including reported stories, editorials and regular columns, as well as a

Why China is genuinely worried about AUKUS

On September 15, 2021, with much fanfare and to China’s great chagrin, the leaders of Australia, the U.K., and the U.S. launched an “enhanced trilateral security partnership for the 21st century” known as AUKUS. The partnership’s immediate implications, according to official readouts, are wide in scope, and include information and technology sharing as well as a commitment to deeper integration

Dr. Adrian Zenz: The Xinjiang Papers. An Introduction

The “Xinjiang Papers” are a cache of government documents from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), most of them classified, that were originally leaked to the New York Times by a “member of the Chinese poliEcal establishment” and published on November 16, 2019.2 (The Xinjiang Papers are not to be mistaken with the China Cables, a set of classified documents published by the InternaEonal

Chinese plan to cause Australia ‘economic pain’ from trade bans backfires

Communist China’s plan to bring Australia’s economy to its knees through economic boycotts has backfired after the nation had to wind back some of its policies as its energy crisis worsened. Since September, the Asian superpower has been struggling to cope with a power crisis leading to rolling blackouts and factories shutting down across the country.Some of the outages were so severe that

China and Lithuania: An Unlikely Feud with Bigger Implications

Here's What You Need to Remember: Not only has Lithuania not budged in the face of relentless CCP sanctions and démarches, but the Baltic country has seemingly managed to impose some small costs on Beijing in return. The China-Lithuania feud highlights the extent—and surprising limits—of Beijing’s ability to wield economic power as a tool of foreign compulsion.The Republic of Lithuania has

Pentagon to build up US bases in Guam and Australia to meet China challenge

The Pentagon will focus on building up bases in Guam and Australia to better prepare the US military to counter China, a senior defense official said on Monday. The moves have been prompted by the Department of Defense's global posture review, which President Joe Biden ordered Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to undertake shortly after taking office in February. Austin started the global posture

China surveillance of journalists to use 'traffic-light' system

The Chinese province of Henan is building a surveillance system with face-scanning technology that can detect journalists and other "people of concern". Documents seen by BBC News describe a system that classifies journalists into a "traffic-light" system - green, amber and red. Journalists in the "red" category would be "dealt with accordingly", they say. The Henan Public Security Bureau has not