Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 89

The US-China trade escalation has no end in sight. Here’s why Beijing’s not backing down

What was supposed to be a historic, era-defining trade war launched by US President Donald Trump against a range of countries has, for now, narrowed in on a singular target: China.On Wednesday, Trump announced a three-month pause on all the “reciprocal” tariffs that had gone into effect hours earlier – with one exception, deepening a confrontation set to dismantle trade between the

Meta whistleblower alleges company worked with China on censorship

A Meta whistleblower told US senators on Wednesday that the company undermined national security in order to build a $18 billion business in China. At a congressional hearing, Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former global public policy director at Facebook, said she watched as executives decided to provide the Chinese Communist Party‬ with access to the data of Meta users, including that of Americans.Meta

Broken and in the grip of civil war, can Myanmar rebuild after earthquake?

For seven painful days, Hnin has waited for news. Her two daughters, two and seven years old, her husband and their domestic worker, were all inside a six-storey hotel in Mandalay, central Myanmar, when it collapsed.Delays to search operations have added to her agony. Hnin rushed around the devastated city, where communication lines were barely functioning, to buy head-torches and fuel for poorly

The people of Myanmar can’t seem to catch a break. Here’s my plea to the international community

Two thoughts entered my head as soon as I saw that Myanmar, my home country, had been hit by an earthquake: “Is everyone OK?”, followed by, “We just can’t catch a break”. My loved ones thankfully turned out to be badly shaken but physically OK. There were material losses but nothing compared with what so many others are going through.The quake on 28 March was both powerful and shallow, a

China retaliates against Trump's 'trade tyranny' with 84% tariffs

China's finance ministry has announced an 84% tariff on goods imported from the US as it retaliates against new levies imposed by the White House. The hike in tariffs, from 34%, came as US President Donald Trump's 104% tariff on Chinese goods came into force. Beijing says the new charges will take effect from Thursday.China has called for the world to unite against Trump's tariffs as the

Ukraine captures two Chinese nationals fighting for Russia

Ukrainian forces have captured two Chinese nationals who were fighting for the Russian army in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said. He said on Tuesday that intelligence suggested the number of Chinese soldiers in Russia's army was "much higher than two".Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Chinese troops fighting on Ukrainian territory "puts into

China is not backing down from Trump's tariff war. What next?

The trade war between the world's two biggest economies shows no signs of slowing down - Beijing has vowed to "fight to the end" hours after US President Donald Trump threatened to nearly double the tariffs on China. That could leave most Chinese imports facing a staggering 104% tax - a sharp escalation between the two sides.Smartphones, computers, lithium-ion batteries, toys and video game

RFA radio transmissions to China, Tibet halted

Radio Free Asia announced this week that its radio broadcasts have been drastically cut as transmissions were halted from relay stations owned or leased by the U.S. government. RFA informed listeners on Thursday that shortwave radio broadcasts for its Mandarin, Tibetan and Lao language services have stopped entirely. The broadcaster, which is funded by the U.S. Congress, said a heavily

Trump threatens China with added tariffs of 50% if Beijing does not drop retaliatory levies

In a flurry of early Monday social media posts, US President Donald Trump took aim at “biggest abuser” China for striking back against his hefty new tariffs, brushed off global market jitters, voiced confidence in the US economy, and told Americans not to be “stupid” or “weak”.Trump stood firm on the steep “reciprocal” tariffs he imposed on all imports entering the US, set to take effect on

‘The Tsunami Is Coming’: China’s Global Exports Are Just Getting Started

For decades, the world’s largest car factory was Volkswagen’s complex in Wolfsburg, Germany. But BYD, the Chinese electric carmaker, is building two factories in China, each capable of producing twice as many cars as Wolfsburg. Recent data from China’s central bank shows that state-controlled banks lent an extra $1.9 trillion to industrial borrowers over the past four years. On the fringes of