Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 61

Foreign investors are returning to China in search of opportunities in artificial intelligence startups

There’s a murmur of excitement in China’s venture capital circles these days: foreign investors are starting to return with U.S. dollars. It’s a result of DeepSeek’s AI disruption, coupled with a buoyant Hong Kong IPO market on track to surpass Wall Street this year as the world’s largest by money raised. Beijing’s signals to support businesses in recent months have also helped.The Hang Seng

‘Utterly foolish’: 12 hours before World War II ended, the US firebombed this Japanese city

Eighty years later, the scars of the last American firebombing of a Japanese city remain — on the skin of a man who still lives mere yards from where hundreds died, on the surface of a statue of a revered Buddhist monk, and in the minds of those whose city was turned to ash in a matter of hours.Almost 90 US B-29 bombers dropped about 6,000 tons of jellied gasoline — napalm — on Kumagaya, Japan,

China, North Korea and Russia represent biggest security challenge since World War II, Japan says

Japan is facing its most severe security environment since World War II as three potential adversaries in East Asia – China, Russia and North Korea – ramp up military activities in the region, the country’s defense minister said Tuesday.“The existing order of world peace is being seriously challenged, and Japan finds itself in the most severe and complex security environment of the post-war era,”

Iran Seeks Backing from China and Russia After U.S. Airstrikes

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has urged security coordination from countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which includes China and Russia, at a summit of the group in China.The summit highlights Tehran's growing relationship with Beijing — and Moscow — following its recent conflict with Israel, which was joined by the United States in attacking Iranian nuclear sites.

Donald Trump Gives Republicans New Demand In Race With China

President Donald Trump has ordered Republicans to get behind a new bill headed to the House on Tuesday, which he says will put the United States "lightyears ahead of China, Europe, and all others." The GENIUS Act or Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, aims to regulate stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency pegged to assets like the U.S. dollar. The bill has

How Can Washington Break Beijing’s Encirclement of Taiwan?

U.S.-China relations are increasingly caught in a spiral of mutual suspicion and reactive escalation. In June, China’s navy deployed its dual aircraft carrier groups — Liaoning and Shandong — beyond the Second Island Chain for the first time, conducting more than 700 aerial sorties near Japan’s exclusive economic zone. For many in Washington, this unprecedented move signaled a heightened risk of

Taiwanese investment in China steadily declining

Investment in China fell due to increasing costs, the US-China trade war and China’s economic development slowdown, a spokesperson said.The percentage of Taiwanese businesses investing in China has been steadily declining since 2010 due to increased costs, the US-China trade war and the slowdown of China’s economic development, Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) spokesperson Li Pao-wen said.In

China’s fast-growing high-speed railway network faces reality

The financial situation of China’s high-speed railway network has raised concerns among Chinese commentators as the facility is facing growing debt and weakening passenger spending power.In February this year, a group of Chinese commentators said a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) had found that China’s high-speed railway saw an “about 100 billion yuan of total loss” in the nine months

China Blasts US Ally Over Spying in Air Defense Zone

China has accused Japan—a United States treaty ally in Northeast Asia—of sending spy planes to its so-called Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the contested East China Sea. The remarks from Beijing come after Tokyo said YS-11EB intelligence-gathering aircraft had experienced close aerial encounters with Chinese planes while conducting surveillance over the region last week.Japan

Taiwan Deploys HIMARS, Patriot, Stinger Weapons in China Invasion Exercise

Photos showed Taiwan's military training with several newly acquired U.S.-made defense systems over the weekend during the self-ruled island's largest-scale annual military exercise, now in its seventh day. The systems made an appearance in the densely packed Taipei metropolitan area as part of drills aimed at defending the capital against a potential invasion by China.The 41st Han Kuang