Eight Plus Things to Read About China and More, Part 4

This is part 4 of our series listing out eight+ things to read about China and a lot more. We constantly get emails from readers asking what to read on China and all sorts of things related and even barely related to China and the plan of this series would be to constantly and consistently answer this very question. We also have a few very loyal readers who often send us truly great articles on China (and other things). We owe these unpaid and truly superb researchers a big debt and this week’s post is dedicated to them!

As I said in our initial post on this, our plan is to list out eight (or so) articles we benefitted from reading and think you our readers would also benefit from reading, along with a very brief explanation why the particular article was included. More specifically:

The articles will likely include many on China and on Asia and a few on international trade, international politics, Spain and Latin America, economics and really just anything else we believe might benefit our readers or even that we just want people to read. We do not plan to choose articles that push our or any other political agenda or any other agenda for that matter, but having said that, we are not objective and our views may creep through. Our goal though is to focus on articles that are important or helpful or — most importantly — that make you think. Our posting of an article will NOT mean we agree with all of it or even any of it. Most of the articles will be from the week preceding the post but we will also sometimes throw in older articles (classics if you will) as well.

Please do not hesitate to comment at the end of this or any other post. We cannot tell you how much we appreciate your comments, good, bad and indifferent.

Here we go, in absolutely no particular order.

1. Trump Trade War Starts to Threaten Hollywood’s Business in China. Variety Magazine. Because this article highlights China doing what China always does, which is to block foreign companies from doing certain things but do it in a surreptitious way so it can claim it isn’t really doing anything at all. As per our lead China movie and entertainment lawyer, Mathew Alderson, China has instituted “a de facto ban on U.S. content in the theatrical and streaming sectors . . .  . without writing anything down.” China has down the same thing with canola oil from Canada. See PM worries China could target more Canadian goods as fears about soybeans rise. 

2. Sudan crisis: Military arrests opposition figures after mediation bid. BBC. Because the world needs to know what is happening in the Sudan and the U.S. media has utterly failed to cover this story. Because China and Russia are helping to prop up the dictatorial regime there.

3. 1 in 5 corporations say China has stolen their IP within the last year: CNBC. Because anyone who says China IP theft isn’t rampant either does not know or is not telling the truth. Because if the question were attempted IP theft the number would likely be four or even five out of five.

4. I Can No Longer Continue to Live Here. Politico. Because no matter your position on immigration, it is important that you not forget that we are dealing with real life human beings.

5. Decades of Being Wrong About China Should Teach Us Something. Atlantic Magazine. Because, at minimum, reading this article should teach us all at least a bit of humility. Because it reminds me of a great phrase Madeline Albright used at her speech I saw earlier this week to describe what so many are suffering from China these days: “Promise Fatigue.” 

6. Ethiopia and Kenya are struggling to manage debt for their Chinese-built railways. Quartz. Because some countries have benefitted from China’s Belt and Initiative has its plusses and minuses for participating countries.

7. “Flight shame” a threat to airlines as flyers worry about their carbon emissions. Stuff. Because I love trying to be in the forefront of everything and because something like this might have real legs.

8. Online store Gilt is being slammed for listing some clothes for higher prices than their retail value. Business Insider. Because reputation is everything for most businesses. Because this highlights the importance of critical thinking and doing your own research and fact-checking.

9. Why Elizabeth Warren Matters. The Bulwark. Because like her or not, Elizabeth Warren is smarter than hell and does not mess around.

10. A world divided by 5G: Russia’s Huawei deal is the latest sign of an emerging internet iron curtain. CNN. Because this is the new normal. Because this is where the US-China Cold War is inexorably heading.Because the world is going to be divided between mostly authoritarian countries on one side and the West and countries like Japan and Australia on the other side. Because boning up on the US-Russia Cold War will give you a better read of the world we will be facing over the next 10-50 years. Because in my undergraduate class on the US-Russia Cold War I read (and loved) Graham Allison’s Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis and now many are referencing Allison’s latest book, Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap? to explain the US-China Cold War.

Your thoughts?