After the PLA purges and on the eve of the 2027 Party Congress, a trade deal is much more than tariffs for China and the US. It is the heart of politics.

During the war with Ukraine, Russia discovered that its oil supply to Europe is a two-way street: your essential product goes out, and money and technology come in. China is in the same position with its exports to global markets, supplying crucial consumer and capital goods.

The US, Europe, and Asia all need Chinese industrial products, but China also needs foreign wealth and technology. This is especially true because China’s domestic economy is sliding into a prolonged slump. Its sluggish internal consumption cannot offset in the near future the lack of a possible cut in the surplus.

At least since 2019, when trade talks with the US broke down, China has been preparing for American decoupling. Is the US, which announced the policy a decade ago, preparing as well?

It’s not about trade, as China saw clearly. It’s about national security and the.

On Sunday, February 8, Thailand will hold general elections to determine the composition of the 500-member House of Representatives, which, along with the Senate, constitutes the country’s National Assembly.

Additionally, Thai citizens will be asked to vote in a referendum on whether to start drafting a new constitution to replace the one adopted in 2017 under the military junta.

Catholic Bishops and the Common Good of the Country

In the run-up to the elections, the Catholic bishops of Thailand addressed citizens with a pastoral letter emphasizing the importance of voting as a moral duty and a way to participate democratically in the common good of the country: «Neglecting to vote is a failure to participate in the ‘common good’ of society.»

The bishops reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s «solidarity with Thai society» and emphasized its «independence from any political party». They manifested this independence by reminding citizens that their duty to participate in the country’s democracy «does not stop at the polling booth but includes monitoring, scrutinizing, and upholding moral truth at every stage.»