The Yawning Gap of Understanding Leading to War

After spending two intensive weeks in Beijing, I now sense more than ever a yawning gap in understanding global affairs between China and the rest of the world. I am haunted by the images on Chinese TV of Zhao Leji, China’s number three top leader, visiting Pyongyang. Zhao and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hugged […]

Politics of Technology Between China and the West

China’s domestic imbalances and overcapacity, due to state subsidies, have for the first time taken center stage in trade talks with the USA, further complicating the already complex bilateral ties. In Beijing last week, American Secretary of Commerce Janet Yellen argued that Chinese internal overcapacity in crucial sectors such as electric cars, solar panels, and […]

US and China: Difficult Coups and Institutions

American newspapers are voicing growing concern that Donald Trump, who is running for president, is sounding more like Mussolini and Hitler.[1] Also, following the 2020 January 6 attack on Capitol Hill, something like a preview of an attempted coup, some fear Trump may be tempted to repeat the game, only this time better organized. However, […]

Wars distractions and tough economic decisions for China

On the eve of American and Chinese presidents Joseph Biden and Xi Jinping meeting in San Francisco on November 14, Beijing may feel better than 24 months ago, when its main and sole objective was to take on China. As reported by David Goldman,[1] Beijing may feel it holds a few aces in the game. The […]

Chinese trust drain?

A forty-year bond of trust between entrepreneurs and the government, the backbone of China’s meteoric rise, is in jeopardy because of short-term mistakes and long-term neglect. Some Chinese are apparently voting with their feet or lack of activity against what they don’t like. It fuels and is also fueled by growing foreign mistrust of China.[1] It […]