Midstream tech firms to move out of China, S&P says – Asia Times

By:
On:
In: Asia

According to an S&amp, P report, some global downstream systems technology companies have started emigrating from China or adding new capacity abroad, evoking the example of their clients. &nbsp,

In phase one of the relocation, many downstream electronic manufacturing services ( EMS ) firms, including Taiwan’s Foxconn Industrial Internet, had moved to diversify their investment from China to other countries such as Vietnam and India. This step has been mostly completed. &nbsp,

Phase two of the emigration, which refers to the removal of downstream power from China, will result in higher paying, higher operating expenses, and the possibility of shoddy executions.

Over the next two to three years, tech firms may continue to diversify their supply chains away from China, with a focus shifting to the middle of the tech value chain, according to Clifford Kurtz, a major record analyst at S&amp, P.

Tech companies could maintain geopolitical risks, including the loss of important supply lines, the emergence of punishing taxes, or any other events brought on by US-China tensions, thanks to a more geographically distributed production footprint, he claims. &nbsp,

He adds that because of the significant funding in moving-related plants and equipment, phase two relocation will be challenging to change. &nbsp,

According to the S&amp, P report, technology hardware producers are suppliers of quiet components, energy electronics and motors, connectors and sensors, printed circuit boards, and contracted silicon council and check services that are likely to accelerate investment outside of China in 2024 and 2026. &nbsp,

S&amp, P has found that the exposure of 14 midstream technology firms it tracks by fixed-assets dropped to 26 % in 2023 from a peak of 30 % in 2021. Over half of these companies ‘ new investments over the past two years were spread across Asia, the European Union, or the Americas, such as Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, and India. &nbsp,

Over the next two years, Foxconn is anticipated to increase its annual capex to 13 billion yuan, according to the report. This will be used to build factories outside of China in large part. &nbsp,

Another case is Vishay Intertechnology, an American semiconductor maker, which is going to spend more than US$ 1 billion in total to expand production in Mexico, Taiwan and Europe over the next two years. The company’s capex was US$ 300 million last year. &nbsp,

Vishay currently has seven factories in Chinese cities including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Huizhou and Xi’an.

According to the S&amp, P report, global technology hardware firms will continue to move out of China despite higher costs, operational disruptions, and lower efficiency as a result of some push and pull forces.

The push factors include Washington’s restrictions on imported technology from China and export controls on expensive semiconductors and artificial intelligence technologies. The pull factors include foreign governments ‘ new incentives to grow their technology sectors. &nbsp,

Since the US-China trade war broke out in 2018, China has seen its share of imported US technology hardware decline in favor of Mexico and ASEAN nations. &nbsp,

China’s share of US imports of electronic computers fell to 44 % last year from 66 % in 2017. China’s share of US imports of other electronic components decreased from 61 % during the same time to 16 %. &nbsp,

FDI and unemployment&nbsp,

On August 17, China’s Ministry of Commerce said the country’s foreign direct investment fell 29.6 % to 539.5 billion yuan ($ 76.11 billion ) from a year earlier. Without providing a full geographical breakdown, it said FDI from Germany and Singapore increased 26.4 % and 11 % year-on-year, respectively. &nbsp,

Due to the departure of numerous foreign manufacturers, Chinese factory workers have said it is now very difficult to find employment in Guangdong. Some said they are now offered a monthly salary of about 3000 to 4, 000 yuan, compared with 8, 000 to 10, 000 yuan per month in the past. &nbsp,

According to the National Bureau of Statistics ( NBS ), China’s youth unemployment rate increased to 17.1 % in July, the highest level since the new system of record-keeping began last December. In June this year, the figure was only 13.2 %. &nbsp,

Overall, the unemployment rate in urban areas was 5.1 % during the first seven months of this year. According to economists, these figures may have understated how unemployed people in China are because they do not qualify as unemployed. For example, someone who works more than one hour per week is not considered unemployed.

” Goodbye, Guangdong”! has recently become the most popular search term in China as thousands of skilled workers decided to leave their homes in Guangdong, Hubei, Guangxi, and Sichuan provinces because they were unable to find employment or make ends meet there. &nbsp,

These workers, who have resided in Guangdong for more than ten years, typically only returned home once a year during the Lunar New Year holiday in January or February. Some of them had endured months of homelessness because they could not afford rent. &nbsp,

According to Chinese media reports from 2022, many Shenzhen and Dongguan, Guangdong, companies that manufacture electronic components, were shut down because of insufficient orders. &nbsp,

R&amp, D investment: the German factor

While many American, Japanese, and Taiwanese companies are diversifying their supply chains outside China, some German companies are increasing their R&D investment in mainland China. &nbsp, &nbsp,

Germany’s FDI in China grew 12.3 % to 7.3 billion euros ( US$ 8.1 billion ) in the first half of this year from 6.5 billion euros in the same period of last year, the Financial Times reported, citing the Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank. &nbsp,

The investment growth was mainly driven by big German carmakers, according to the report. According to experts, German businesses made about 19 billion euros in profits in China last year and made the decision to reinvest more than half of it domestically.

Germany’s FDI into China represented about 11.5 % of China’s total FDI of 498.9 billion yuan in the first half of this year, assuming both figures are calculated with similar methods. &nbsp,

In a press release released on Monday, Martin Klose, executive director and board member of the German Chamber of Commerce in South &amp, Southwest China, stated that” German companies are investing in local innovation and strategic partnerships with Chinese customers and suppliers to stay competitive in an intense and dynamic market environment.” &nbsp,

The German Chamber of Commerce in China, in cooperation with BearingPoint, conducted the Innovation Survey 2024 from February 19 to March 13 this year, with 324 German Chamber member companies participating. &nbsp,

About 19 % of the surveyed companies are automakers, while about 31 % are manufacturers of machinery and industrial equipment. The remaining are engaged in services ( 12 % ), electronics ( 8 % ) and chemicals ( 5 % ) businesses. &nbsp,

According to the survey report released on Monday, 63 % of respondents said they conducted research in China, an increase of 6 percentage points from 2022. About 69 % say they do development in China, up 4 percentage points from 2022. &nbsp, &nbsp,

In addition, according to the report, 29 % of German businesses conduct research in China for global markets, up from 25 % a year ago, indicating China’s rise as a hub for global innovation. &nbsp,

Read: Beijing rips Canada’s 100 % tariffs on China-made

Follow Jeff Pao on X: &nbsp, @jeffpao3

Continue Reading

Global depopulation: saving the Earth while killing the economy? – Asia Times

By:
On:
In: Asia, World

Right now, animal community development is doing something much thought impossible –&nbsp, it’s hesitating. It’s then possible world population was top much earlier than expected, topping 10 billion in the 2060s. Therefore, it may begin to fall.

In wealthier states, it’s currently happening. Japan’s population is falling quickly, with a net loss of 100 people every minute. In Europe, America and East Asia, fertility rates have fallen quickly. Some developing nations with lower or middle incomes are on the verge of a decline.

This is an amazing change. Practitioners had predicted that our figures, which were away from around 8 billion immediately, could reach 12.3 billion ten years ago.

Some campaigners have tried to save the setting by halting world population growth for the past 50 years. In 1968, The Population Bomb forecast large epidemics and called for large-scale baby power.

Population growth is slowing without community control, and rich countries ‘ populations are declining, triggering furious but largely inefficient efforts to encourage more babies. What might the culture be affected by a declining global people?

Depopulation is currently happening

For much of Europe, North America, and some of Northern Asia, emigration has been live for centuries. While longer life expectancies mean that the proportion of very old people ( over 80 ) will double in these areas in the next 25 years, fertility rates have steadily decreased over the past 70 years and have remained low.

China was until lately the world’s most populous state, accounting for a fifth of the global community. But China, too, is then declining, with the drop expected to quickly expand.

By the end of the century, China is projected to possess two-thirds fewer people than yesterday’s 1.4 billion. The long neck of the One Child Plan, which ended in 2016, is to blame for the unexpected fall, which was too late to stop the decline. Japan was once the country’s 11th most filled state, but is expected to reduce before the end of the century.

shibuya crossing
For then, Tokyo’s Shibuya Crossing is one of the busiest in the world. However, Japan is starting to suffer a lot from emigration. Photo: Takashi Images / Shutterstock via The Talk

What’s going on is known as statistical change. As countries move from being mostly agrarian and agrarian to business and service-based economies, reproduction drops quickly. Communities begin to decline when low birth rates and lower fatality rates combine.

Why? Option is a significant factor. People are having more children later in life and, on average, have fewer because of better options and freedoms in terms of learning and careers.

Why are we immediately focused on emigration, given birth rates in wealthy countries have been falling for years? Most countries experienced a slight decline in birth rates before the Covid pandemic hit in 2020, while fatality rates rose as well. That strategy helped to accelerate the general trend of people drop.

A falling people poses real difficulties financially. There are fewer personnel accessible, and more senior citizens require assistance.

Countries in rapid decline may begin to halt migration to ensure they stay the fewest workers at home and stop the population from getting older and declining. The need for qualified employees will grow worldwide. Of course, migration does n’t change how many people there are –&nbsp, just where they are located.

Are these all prosperous country problems? No. People rise in Brazil, a huge middle-income state, is now the slowest on record.

By 2100, the earth is expected to have just six states where babies outweigh deaths – Samoa, Somalia, Tonga, Niger, Chad, and Tajikistan. The other 97 % of the world’s fertility rates are thought to be below replacement levels ( 2,1 children per woman ).

Bad for the business –&nbsp, good for the environment?

Fewer of us means a break for character –&nbsp, correct? No. It’s not that easy.

For example, the per capita energy consumption rate drops between 35 and 55, then drops, and then rises again at age 70 as a result of older people’s longer-term indoor habit and living only in larger homes. Population declines caused by population declines could be offset by this century’s incredible population growth.

Then there’s the great gap in reference use. Your carbon footprints is nearly twice as large as it is for residents of the United States or Australia, the world’s biggest total transmitter.

Eat more in wealthy nations. Therefore, it’s good that more of the world’s population will be higher emitters as more countries become wealthier and healthier but with fewer kids. Unless, of course, we decouple financial rise from more pollution and other economic costs, as many countries are attempting – but very carefully.

Hope more lenient immigration laws to increase the number of people who are working. This is already happening; movement has now past projected levels for 2050.

Migration to a developed nation can be useful for both the new country and the country where they were born. Environmentally, it does improve per capita emissions and economic effects, given the website between income and emissions is pretty obvious.

line at airport
As communities fall, states will compete for experienced workers. Image: PeopleImages.com – Yuri A / Shutterstock via The Talk

Then there’s the looming tumult of climate shift. As the planet heats up, forced movement– where people have to leave home to avoid drought, conflict or another climate-influenced disaster –&nbsp, is projected to jump to 216 million people within a quarter century. Forced movement may change pollution patterns, depending on where individuals find shelter.

Putting all of these things away, it’s possible that a declining global population will lower overall consumption and lessen the strain on the environment.

Environmentalists have long hoped that the world’s population will decline despite concerns about urbanization. They might shortly receive their wish. Not through imposed baby control laws, but mainly through the options of educated, wealthy women choosing to live in smaller families.

Is whether declining population may lessen the pressure on the environment remains a mystery. This is not a guaranteed outcome unless pollution reduction and consumption patterns change in developed nations.

Andrew Taylor is associate professor in population, Northern Institute, Charles Darwin University and Supriya Mathew is postdoctoral scholar in climate change and health, Charles Darwin University

This content was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original content.

Continue Reading

Why Australia wants US-made B-21 stealth bombers – Asia Times

By:
On:
In: Asia

Australia may soon get American-made B-21 Raiders, a sixth-generation cunning bomb that may offer substantial strategic benefits and quick military capabilities over nuclear submarines.

Last month, the Institute of Public Affairs ( IPA ), an Australian think tank, released a report stating that Australia’s defense strategy under AUKUS may seek to procure the B-21 Raider, which would provide long-range strike capabilities to complement Australia’s future nuclear-powered submarines.

The IPA statement says the bomb is now in low-rate manufacturing, with 100 models planned for US$ 750 million each. The B-21 Raider acquisition by Canberra had probably stoke concerns in China, which has criticized the AUKUS safety association as a means of halting its growth.

IPA touts the B-21 as a faster and more flexible alternative than ships, as it can take several weapons and cameras. Given Australia’s vast geography and fairly small military force, its specific eligibility is highlighted by its supporters.

The B-21 could give Australia a military punch right away, according to the think tank, in contrast to nuclear submarines, which wo n’t be operational until at least the 2030s.

IPA information that generally, Australia has operated long-range hit bombers, making the B-21 a common contrast to its security arsenal. While the costs are considerable, they are still lower than the projected A$ 268 billion ( US$ 180 billion ) to A$ 368 billion ($ 247 billion ) for nuclear submarines over the next 30 years​.

The B-21 Raider’s superior capabilities coincide with Australia’s protection plan, emphasizing long-range detail strikes and swift deployment to counter potential threats in the Indo-Pacific.

Australia’s 2024 National Defense Strategy emphasizes a” method of neglect” to protect regional interests amid an increasingly fragile Indo-Pacific. This strategy aims to stop potential adversaries from safely imposing military might on Australia or using force to coerce it.

The plan also emphasizes punishment, signaling Australia’s capacity to defend its objectives and complicating any opponent’s decision to engage in fight.

In line with the plan’s focus on long-range strikes, the B-21 fits Australia’s approach by enhancing its ability to hold attack forces at risk, largely through its long-range detail strike capabilities.

The B-21’s advanced stealth and payload features would enhance Australia’s defense capabilities, enabling it to target distant threats, especially in the northern regions where risks are most probable.

In a Defense Connect article from November 2023, Michael Shoebridge asserts that B-21s are less expensive than nuclear submarines. He points out that the projected cost of 12 aircraft is A$ 81 billion ($ 54 billion ), compared to A$ 368 billion ($ 247 billion ) for eight nuclear submarines.

Shoebridge says that B-21s can be deployed faster, with the first units available by the mid-2020s, whereas the submarines wo n’t be fully operational until the 2040s. He adds that B-21s offer greater flexibility and quick redeployment capabilities, allowing them to hit targets quickly and return to base for rearming.

He notes that B-21s avoid the complexities and risks associated with nuclear technology, such as waste management and non-proliferation concerns. Shoebridge suggests that incorporating B-21s into Australia’s defense strategy could improve deterrence and strike capabilities more effectively and economically than the submarine-focused plan’s current strategy.

However, critics of Australia’s potential B-21 acquisition point to its high costs and high risk of provoking China, suggesting cheaper and more practical alternatives.

Song Zhongping points out in an August 2022 article for the Chinese state media outlet Global Times that the B-21 is intended to carry both nuclear and conventional weapons, but that the US might be able to export an export variant that can only carry conventional attacks, turning it into an exportable, tactical asset.

Although the AUKUS agreement focuses on sharing advanced technologies like nuclear propulsion, it does not include sharing nuclear weapons. Australia has ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty ( NPT ), which forbids it from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Additionally, Song claims that China has developed its own rival stealth bomber and improved anti-stealth and air defense capabilities to combat the potential threat of B-21s.

In a November 2022 Interpreter article, Hugh White contends that the B-21’s high cost and specialized capabilities are unnecessary for Australia’s defense needs, aside from the possibility of receiving a watered-down version of the B-21.

White claims that Australia could achieve similar goals more cost-effectively with less expensive aircraft or drones while the B-21 is intended to penetrate the formidable air defenses of major powers like China and Russia. He contends that China’s military might be severely damaged if B-21s were used to bomb it, but this would not lead to retaliation.

Instead, he suggests using long-range maritime patrol drones or aircraft for tasks like attacking Chinese naval installations or advance bases. He points out that China’s interest in B-21s may reflect its desire to signal strategic intent rather than actual war-fighting capability, which could lead to misinterpretation of Australia’s defense seriousness.

In September 2022, Asia Times reported that purchasing B-21s could cost Australia US$ 5-6 billion annually over the course of five to six years, which would potentially consume half of its defense capital equipment budget.

This expenditure would compete with other defense priorities, such as the Australian shipbuilding program, which the government has deemed untouchable.

Additionally, production limitations may hinder the acquisition, as the US might struggle to meet its planned 100-unit production, leaving few extra bombers for Australia.

The cost-death spiral phenomenon, seen with the F-35 and Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile ( ICBM ) programs, could also affect the B-21, leading to increased production costs and reduced unit numbers.

Given the potential security issues and the need for a significant increase in defense spending, basing US bombers in Australia may prove unsustainable in the long run.

Continue Reading

The Congo could defuse China’s EV battery dominance – Asia Times

By:
On:
In: Asia

In their struggle for its minerals, which are crucial for the energy transition, China, the US, and Europe frequently portray the mineral-rich Democratic Republic of the Congo ( DRC ) as a victim of exploitation.

However, according to our research, the DRC has the ability to affect the structure of the chrome market, where it is the second largest producer. A very significant material is copper. It is necessary for the production of electric cars because it stops capacitors from overheating.

Our studies, conducted in both China and the DRC, reveals how institutions that are often viewed as external, such as the DRC, can control and often define international sectors.

Based on our research, which included visits to China’s developing infrastructure and its artisanal and professional cobalt mines, was conducted over the course of several months. To examine legal and administrative choices, we also examined nearby media and government records.

We found that there’s a high level of power by the DRC government, both national and regional. International battery supply chains are affected by political decisions made in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, or in mining-related areas like Kolwezi.

For example, as the maker of 70 % of the world’s chrome, the DRC has control over the world electric car battery supply chain.

Despite this, the DRC is n’t using this effect for the benefit of the DRC individuals. According to estimates, 74 % of DRC residents still reside in poverty. Some mining revenues are split between the government and local communities, but their daily lives do n’t really improve.

Some continue to face hunger, waste, and unsafe working problems in and around the mine.

China’s chrome control

Cobalt was initial excavated in the DRC in 1914 during the extended period of French invasion, from 1885 to 1960, when many of the country’s beautiful resources were pillaged by Belgium.

Today, DRC cobalt is shipped to China, which accounts for 65 % of all global cobalt processing into cathodes for lithium-ion batteries ( rechargeable batteries ). China dominates the electric vehicle industry and is the world’s largest producer of these chargers. In 2023, one in five vehicles sold abroad was an electrical vehicle.

Over the past 20 years, China’s chrome refining and power manufacturing sector has experienced rapid growth. Chinese businesses have made significant investments in building sophisticated control features and large-scale manufacturing facilities.

These factories combine fresh cobalt from the DRC with high-purity chrome compounds and assemble them into battery cathodes. Chinese manufacturers like Huayou Cobalt, CATL, and BYD have positioned themselves as world leaders in chrome processing and power production, supplying the world’s electric car market.

Although large chrome deposits are controlled by Chinese mining companies, both private and public, our research revealed that the DRC has a major influence on the industry as a whole.

For example, when the DRC government suspended imports from the largest Chinese-owned chrome me in 2022 over economic problems, it temporarily halted about 10 % of global chrome creation.

More recently, when governor Fifi Masuka Saini was appointed in the cobalt-rich Lualaba province of the DRC, she seized trucks loaded with cobalt to avenge Chinese companies that had been a close ally of President Kabila. The end result was a reshaping of Chinese businesses in line with the new administration.

Local politics can also cause a standstill in production. For instance, China’s cobalt industry sources some cobalt from artisanal miners, and in 2021, the national government of the DRC canceled contracts with artisanal sites despite having received provincial government approval.

Although Kinshasa pushed for the establishment of a central purchasing unit for the province’s artisanal cobalt, provincial interests fought against this strategy. Chinese businesses found themselves in the middle.

The Chinese and Congolese engaged in lengthy negotiations, which placed the company in a delicate position depending on Kinshasa and Kolwezi’s political wills.

The government has also been able to exert its influence on minerals by promoting more domestic processing and better mining contracts. In 2018, for instance, it declared cobalt a” strategic” resource and tripled export taxes.

Locals have n’t benefited

However, despite the influence the DRC can exert over the sector, those that should be benefiting from the lucrative cobalt industry, like the miners, are n’t.

In the south-eastern region of the country, there are currently at least 67 artisanal cobalt mines. About 150, 000 artisanal miners work in the industry, and face hazardous conditions.

These include being exposed to radioactive gas and buried in collapsing mine pits.

Up to 50 % of miner’s income is seized by cooperatives, which are frequently run by powerful politicians. An estimated 40, 000 children labor in the DRC’s artisanal cobalt mines under dangerous circumstances.

Our research demonstrates that the shift to clean energy technologies is not just a result of revolutionary research or powerful elites. Global supply chains may even be shaped by local elections in mining towns in Africa.

The transition to renewable energy is a global phenomenon. Countries like the US and China must treat producers like the DRC as partners in the global energy transition rather than as sole producers of raw materials whose local populations could suffer as a result.

Supporting localized supply chains, more local added-value, including further cobalt transformation in the DRC, fairer contracts, and other things, could be done to accomplish this.

Especially as the electric vehicle revolution accelerates, the often-overlooked voices and interests of mineral-producing regions like the DRC must be heard.

This study provides insights for policymakers, businesses, and concerned citizens working toward a cleaner energy future by revealing these less well known power dynamics.

Raphael Deberdt is a postdoctoral fellow in the Colorado School of Mines ‘ mining engineering division. Assistant professor Jessica DiCarlo is employed by the University of Utah.

This article was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Continue Reading

Perfect storm looming large over global markets – Asia Times

By:
On:
In: Asia

SEEOUL — Wednesday’s sharp decline in South Asian stocks on September 4 demonstrated how fast Wall Street’s sudden drubbing is felt all over the world.

The KOSPI index dropped 3 % right away amid worries about the US crisis, and Friday’s jobs report could confirm this.

The fallout from the mini-crash of US tech giant Nvidia Corp, which suffered a record-setting US$ 279 billion stock market defeat on Tuesday only, even shook markets.

However, this is only one of three threats to worldwide industry. The other two concerns are China’s weakening demand for raw materials, its effect on commodity prices, and the possibility of more Bank of Japan rate increases.

Talk about a “perfect wind” of danger bearing down on bourses everyday.

Even by the most cliche-filled people’s criteria, this phrase is overused. However, it fits in this situation because traders are speculating what may cause the following significant shock to world markets.

Does the US Federal Reserve ‘s&nbsp, September 17-18&nbsp, plan meet get the motivator?

A preliminary lowering action by the Fed might keep marketplaces disappointed and disoriented in light of the growing concerns about the world’s largest economy. Or does a buy-the-rumor-sell-the-fact feeling slam assets?

The fact that China, the country’s No 2 business, is losing speed rarely helps. Despite Xi’s attempts to drive progress, the official producing purchasing managers ‘ index fell for a fourth consecutive quarter in August. It&nbsp, has now been below the 50-mark separating expansion and contraction in&nbsp, all but three months&nbsp, since April 2023.

Wang Zhe, senior analyst at Caixin Insight Group, says,” The problems and troubles in stabilizing progress over the upcoming month may be significant.” China needs to increase its policy support an extremely serious have, according to.

China’s dispositions has fuel and metal costs reeling. Additionally, it makes Tokyo decisions more difficult, as BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda claims to stick to vows to raise costs even further.

Ueda reiterated on September 4 that the central banks intends to tighten even further if economic conditions emerge as anticipated, which may increase the yen’s value.

The “yen-carry trade “‘s path, which is a crucial component of this great global market storm, may become even more problematic.

Japan became the most important borrower after more than 20 years of zero rates. Investors of all kinds began to invest in higher-yielding resources outside by taking cheap loans in the yen.

This approach has kept all afloat, from West African commodities to South African real estate to compounds on New York markets to cryptocurrencies.

That’s why the dollar’s current surge caused markets all over the world to pull the floor out of the market. When the renminbi zigs quickly, markets have lengthy tended to zig.

But the BOJ’s walk on July 31 to increase prices to the highest levels since 2008 was anything of a financial disaster.

Areas from New York to Shanghai may become more constrained by the possibility that Ueda may keep braking. Any significant and persistent rise in the yields of Chinese government bonds was unfavorably affect debts and stock prices.

Arif Husain, brain of fixed salary at T Rowe Price, calls it the” San Andreas fault of fund”. He views the July 31 tightening as the first major shift, with more to come. Trading may be kept on their toes for months as BOJ office prepares to release significant surprises.

So will the ways in which the&nbsp, November 5&nbsp, vote in the US effect world businesses. Regardless of who wins, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, the Republican standard-bearer, are likely to remain enforcing trade restrictions.

The magnitude may fluctuate, of course. Harris, for instance, would definitely add fewer taxes than the 60 % tax Trump says he plans to establish on China.

On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that US President&nbsp, Joe Biden&nbsp, plans to block&nbsp, Nippon Steel Corp’s more than$ 14 billion bid for United States Steel Corp. It’s the most recent example of how both US parties are continuing to veer away from the unrestricted capitalism that Washington after supported.

Despite the fact that Trump has indicated he does preview his stolen election handbook from 2020 if he loses the ballot, the competition is proving to be one of the most controversial in modern US history.

The insurrection&nbsp, Trump fomented on January 6, 2021, dragged America’s record standing down with it. When Fitch Ratings last month revoked Washington’s Professional position, it cited the fragmentation behind the mob as a key component in its choice.

As Fitch put it, the conflict on January 6, 2021, was a “reflection of the deterioration in management” imperiling US money.

Those funds have seen the US federal loan best US$ 35 trillion, imperiling Washington’s last AAA grade maintained by Moody’s Investors Service.

At the same time, China’s weakening need causes the US economy’s growth to moderate, and vice versa. In response to a worsening home crisis that is putting strain on negative pressures, China has been slowing more.

The US, nevertheless, may become losing level faster than some saw coming. ” The US labor sector is no longer cooling down to its pre-pandemic heat, it’s dropped past it”, warns Nick Bunker, an analyst at work styles expert Really Hiring Lab.

” Nothing, and certainly not politicians at the Federal Reserve, really like the labour market to get any cooler at this point”.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller&nbsp noted in July that a” continuing decline in the job position price and the vacancy-to-unemployment percentage may result in a larger increase in unemployment than we have seen the last two years.”

Not all analysts are worried, yet. ” The US economic growth continues even as prices slows”, says Gus Faucher, general economist at PNC Bank. Real GDP growth was strong in the second quarter and appears to be improving even more with a downward update.

Even so, important commodity costs like fuel and copper are being affected by the devastation that is occurring on asset markets.

Old Hansen, Saxo Bank’s mind of product strategy, argues oil could wonder on the downside. Brent crude oil futures contracts, he says, have “key support in the$ 75 area” and warned that” a break below” this&nbsp, “may attract fresh momentum selling and a move towards the next major area of support around$ 71”.

Arrangements were trading near$ 74 per barrel on Wednesday, indicating they’re challenging important assistance, Hansen adds.

Mizuho Bank analyst Vishnu Varathan says that with” sweet areas” in US information, Nvidia problems and” China gloom”, there’s “plenty of blame to go around” as property markets drop.

On Wednesday, the Nikkei stock score plunged more than 4 %, its third-largest collapse of the year, amid weaker-than-expected US manufacturing data.

The monthly Institute for Supply Management&nbsp, purchasing managers measure came in at 47.2 %, below the 50 % level denoting expansion.

According to planner Shingo Ide at NLI Research Institute,” problems that the US economy will no longer be able to create a smooth landing, that perhaps it is… entering a period of stagflation” are fueled by this Chinese path.

China’s domestic challenges, however, are colliding with an additional picture that’s looking more precarious – and stormier – by the day. As challenges build up from all directions, from here in Seoul to New York’s buying pits, the picture is anything but great.

Observe William Pesek on X at @WilliamPesek

Continue Reading

Pro-Putin movement spreading fast across ex-Soviet bloc – Asia Times

By:
On:
In: Asia

Regional elections in two state in eastern Germany have seen a rise in support for celebrations on the extreme straight and extreme left as Russia continues to bomb Ukrainian cities with attacks and advance along the front in Donbas.

What is especially concerning is that both parties support Ukraine while supporting a more Kremlin-aligned perspective of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. They owe the West the most of the blame for provocation of Russia, tapping into a tank of apprehension about being dragged into a full-fledged defense conflict with Moscow.

For opinions, and their success at the ballot box, are not exclusive to the former East Germany. Similar sentiments have risen in other countries in central and eastern Europe that were under Communist rule up until 1989, most notably among EU and NATO members Hungary and Slovakia.

Similar things are true for some former Soviet Union says, like Georgia and Azerbaijan. This does not mean the Soviet union was being restored by cunning, but rather that at least some of that region’s residents are resonant with an odd mix of fear, hatred, and memories.

In Hungary, this pro-Russian place is largely associated with the country’s nationalist prime minister Viktor Orban. Since taking office in 2010, Orban has shifted his state and his own country away from the liberal political principles he supported in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The European Commission and legislature are now furious about Orbán’s denigration of democracy and the rule of rules.

Hungary has been fined by the European Court of Justice for intentionally violating EU asylum rules by paying a €200 million ( US$ 221 million ) fine. None of those prevented Orbán from capturing a fifth straight victory in 2022’s national elections, but it also resulted in his party receiving less than 50 % of the voting in the 2024 German elections.

For the first time in 20 years, Orbán reaffirmed his support for Putin position in Western elections, winning less than half of the voting.

He was the EU and NATO member’s primary to hand Donald Trump his hat. He repeated the same prank in Moscow in October 2023, just weeks after Hungary assumed the rotating presidency of the EU in July 2024, in Beijing.

His Czech rival, Robert Fico, regained his country’s championship in October 2023, even on a more pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian program.

In contrast to Orban, Fico is a left-leaning nationalist and has moderated his position on Ukraine since making a January 2024 visit to Kiev. In the presidential primaries in April 2024, the general pro-Russian mood was palpable among the majority of the public.

Other officials have also cooped up with Putin, besides NATO and the EU. One instance is Azerbaijan’s long-serving king, Ilham Aliyev, who visited Moscow in April 2024 and welcomed Putin to Baku in August.

Azerbaijan has been a key partner of Russia since the start of the conflict with Ukraine in February 2022, providing access to trade hallways that are crucial for avoiding American sanctions. The global north-south transportation passageway that connects Russia through Azerbaijan to Iran is one of them.

Azerbaijan also submitted its formal application to join the BRICS empire ( Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa ) a moment after Putin’s attend in August. It likewise applied, at the end of July, for observer standing in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, bringing Azerbaijan one step closer to full participation in the Chinese-led union.

Georgia is another example of how political registration in the post-Soviet world is slowly slipping into pro-Russian monarchy. Tbilisi and Moscow have eventually rekindled relations under the Georgian Dream social group, which has been in power for more than a decade, despite the Russian-Georgian conflict of 2008, under the leadership of the country for more than a decade.

Philosophically, the Greek government remains determined to EU account. A December 2023 German Council decision&nbsp, granted&nbsp, Georgia candidate-country position. Since the spring, when the government in Tbilisi rammed through the so-called&nbsp, foreign providers law despite open and International protests, relations with the EU have deteriorated considerably.

The law, which is based on just expanded Russian policy, serves as a potentially valuable resource for Georgia’s authorities to encircle the activities of pro-European civil society organizations.

Authoritarian fall

Russia as the aggressor state enjoys a kind of rise in love after more than two and a half years of a terrible war, which must be alarming for Ukraine and its European partners.

The totalitarian trend in northeast Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, Azerbaijan, and Georgia did not begin with the Ukrainian conflict, but it has certainly gotten worse.

The democratic leaders driving it leverage on, and thoroughly route, various public sentiments. One of these is a long-standing concern about starting a war with Russia. Another is the anger of a self-serving social establishment that has handled the Covid fallout and the Ukraine war-stricken cost-of-living crisis poorly.

There is also, at least for some, a sense of nostalgia for the “order” that powerful, essentially socially liberal, Communist leaders at the time imposed, in contrast to the liberal” chaos” that have developed since.

The kind of political stalling seen elsewhere in the original Soviet bloc may be stopped and reversed with the results of last year’s presidential elections in the Czech Republic and legislative elections in Poland.

Also, Armenia’s decision to pull out of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization — a little post-Soviet Warsaw Pact son — indicates that political configurations are not set in stone.

These changes indicate a dysfunctional German and global surveillance order. What kind of fresh purchase is most likely to emerge from the Ukraine war and how it ends.

However, with the rise of proper- and left-wing democracy, of older and newer autocracies, and their intellectual position with the Kremlin, a note of extreme precaution is that the reconstruction of a new liberal order is not without a doubt, despite of who, if any, wins in Ukraine.

Stefan Wolff is a University of Birmingham professor of global stability.

This content was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original post.

Continue Reading

Emulate South Korea’s policy on food waste, for a start – Asia Times

By:
On:
In: Asia

According to an old saying, everyone talks about the wind but no one actually does anything about it. Before South Korea attempted it, the same could be said about foods misuse, or something else. More on that test in a minute.

The data everyone has been quoting has essentially remained the same for what seems to have been years: A third of the food produced by farmers around the world is wasted. Oh, sure, sometimes the number is nearer 30 %, sometimes 40 %. However, it usually falls within a few percent details of a second.

If somebody is doing something about it, therefore, it’s not working.

Institutions insist that they want to lower the bar. In June, for instance, the Biden administration put out a “fact plate” listing what it’s done about the issue and what it plans to do.

Some of these suggestions seem fine, such as easing the constraints on giving food to food businesses or clarifying the definition of “best by” dates. Whether they’ll walk the needle substantially off a second is debatable.

It seems food waste is n’t a problem governments are well-equipped to solve. In developing countries, some of what producers raise never makes it to one’s board. Poor transit and lack of cooling cause the produce to suffer. Fixing these problems costs money developing-country governments do n’t have.

Big restaurant components and the unwillingness of many consumers to purchase unhealthy foods are two examples of waste in wealthy nations. Governments can raise awareness, but they ca n’t make people eat all the food they buy or give what they do n’t eat to someone who does n’t have enough.

The injury in wasting food is not just the wasted money or the unused opportunities to provide for the thirsty. What happens to foods waste is a less visible damage.

If it’s buried in waste, it releases methane, which is 20 to 30 times worse than carbon monoxide in trapping heat in the atmosphere. Wasted food accounts for 24 % of municipal solid waste in the United States, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency, making up the single most landfilled material in the country.

Compost or disposal are other options to waste. Both are great thoughts. Neither is a cure. According to what South Korea has done with them, as reported late in the Washington Post, one of the negative effects of food waste can be reversed.

Methane is the injury that the Koreans have abated. ” When South Korea started tackling this problem 20 years ago, it threw away 98 % of its food waste”, the Post reported. ” Today, 98 % of food waste is turned into feed, compost or energy, according to the South Korean Ministry of Environment”.

To put that in perspective, in the US only 40 % of food waste is recycled or composted.

To complete the alter, South Korea banned food scraps from waste. Everyone is required to maintain food waste and additional recyclables out of the garbage.

And South Koreans pay for the opportunity. Some people purchase waste bags from the state and place filled bags in garbage trucks along the streets. When trash is weighed in their room complexes, people record it on digital cards. Those found separating their meal spare are subject to fines.

Many of what’s collected is converted into renewable energy. Daejeon, a town of 1.5 million persons 85 miles north of Seoul, recycles 400 lots of food spend every moment into power that power and heats 20, 000 homes.

Composting is smaller. South Korea’s farmers do n’t like using food-waste compost as animal feed or fertilizer, it smells bad, has high levels of sodium and may contain the occasional toothpick.

All this suggests South Korea is certainly “doing something” about foods waste. What it is n’t doing, however, is cutting down on the quantity of it. Despite the problem and cost of citizens having to recycle it, the Post reported that the amount of food spare produced annually, which is about 5.5 million tons, has no significantly decreased over the past five years.

South Korea turned to recycling and composting because it has a population that is almost 52 million people, which is roughly equal to the number of people in Florida and Texas combined, and has an area that is the length of Indiana. South Koreans were complaining about odory waste and opposed to local incinerators.

Researchers doubt that South Korea, which has much more land and has fewer people per square mile, can achieve this feat. New York City, a densely populated city, has been attempting to promote compost, but its program just ran into financial difficulties.

However, if knockoff refiners and composters are unable to reduce food waste to the third stage like South Korea, significant sums of money will continue to go down the drain and some people will continue to get hungry.

These are issues that someone needs to address.

Previous lifelong Wall Street Journal Asia journalist and editor&nbsp, Urban Lehner&nbsp, is writer professor of DTN/The Progressive Farmer.

This&nbsp, content, &nbsp, previously published on&nbsp, September 2&nbsp, by the latter news business and then republished by Asia Times with authority, is © Copyright 2024 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved. Follow&nbsp, Urban Lehner&nbsp, on&nbsp, X @urbanize

Continue Reading

Terahertz chips are key to the future of 6G – Asia Times

By:
On:
In: Asia, Technology

Envision a future where online relationships are not only lightning-fast but even wonderfully credible, even in crowded places.

This perception is fast approaching truth, thanks to new study on thz communications technologies. These advancements are expected to change cellular communication, especially as 6G becomes the next wave of sites.

I’m an expert who specializes in studying photonics, the production and detection of light and various electromagnetic waves. My coworkers and I have created a silicon geometrical beamformer device for this study.

The silicon’s geometric and beamformer terms, respectively, refer to the physical characteristics that help the device convert thz waves into directed beams.

For 6G, which telecommunication companies intend to introduce around 2030, optoelectronic frequencies are important. Current mobile networks ‘ radio frequency band is becoming more and more congested.

The somewhat vacant part of the electromagnetic spectrum between radiation and infrared can be used as a solution by terahertz waves. These higher wavelengths are capable of storing a lot of information, making them ideal for the data-intensive uses of the future.

beams shoot out from a chip with angled circuits
Ultrafast thz columns are spread around an experimental device represented in this instance. Image: Wenhao Wang, Guillaume Ducournau, and Ranjan Singh via The Talk

Our device divides a thz signal from a single source into 54 smaller signs, which are then guided through 184 little streams with 134 sharp goes. Each beam may transmit and receive data at speeds of 40 to 72 gigabits per second, many times stronger than yesterday’s 5G network.

We created a particular micro honeycomb pattern to create roads for the photonic waves using artificial intelligence. The range of channels produces powerful, focused beams that span the chip’s whole 360 degrees.

This enables a telephone or other mobile device to obtain the high-speed signal anywhere near a Wi-Fi modem or other communication device using the chip. We created four production beams from a streaming HD video’s input signal, which was then used to demonstrate the device.

Beamformers in cellular network

In 4G and 5G networks, lower-frequency signs have a shorter range than lower-frequency ones. Transverse high-frequency signals are perfectly directed by transistor beamformers to assure they reach their intended destination without loss or degradation.

Beamformers are crucial to the upcoming cellular communication technology. Unlike conventional antennas that broadcast indicators blindly, beamformers focus signals in certain directions, boosting both performance and reliability. Our technology makes sure those beams have protection in all directions.

This focused strategy not only extends the transmitter variety but also improves its excellent, yet over long lengths. As the earth adds billions of connected devices, beamformers are likely to be essential for managing steady connections by reducing intervention.

A potential with thz beamforming

Terahertz beamforming cards have a significant impact on daily living. For instance, these chips may help immersive virtual and augmented reality experiences without any slowdown or allow for a 4K ultrahigh definition movie to be downloaded in as few seconds as it did with today’s Wi-Fi, as opposed to 11 minutes.

Beyond amusement, they could create real-time lenticular communication a fact, where people appear as vivid holograms. Smart cities could use this technology to effortlessly organize emergency responses and transportation systems, and hospitals could benefit from distant surgeries where doctors may use mechanical devices from afar to manage their care.

By overcoming the difficulties of high-frequency message transmission, the optoelectronic beamforming device represents a major step forward on the path to faster, more reliable wireless connection.

Ranjan Singh is professor of electronic executive, University of Notre Dame

This content was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original post.

Continue Reading

China’s Belt and Road hasn’t fast-tracked Africa’s cities – Asia Times

By:
On:
In: Asia

American officials have grown significantly drawn to Chinese investment and borrowing over the past 20 years.

These opportunities are made quickly and apparently with less restrictive requirements than traditional funding sources. Some even suggest that China’s strategy aligns more strongly with American interests.

This attitude was summarized by the past president of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, in 2008:

China’s response to our needs is just better adapted than the sluggish, if occasionally patronizing post-colonial strategy of Western investors, donor organizations, and non-governmental organizations… China has assisted African countries in constructing infrastructure projects in record time.

African leaders attending this year’s 8th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing will, no doubt, want to get more Foreign finance and investment. Every three years, the platform, which serves as the cooperation mechanism between the American nations and China, takes place. It aims to promote politics, business, protection and purchase relations between China and Africa.

Beijing has given American nations more than US$ 170 billion in provides and loans since the summit’s annual meeting in 2000. This has included bridges, ports and industrial road.

These opportunities have, among other things, begun to actively shape the nation’s cities. And the investment that African leaders want for the future is even more urgently required to make American cities more successful, livable, and sustainable.

Discussions at the annual Africa Urban Forum in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia’s cash, are centered on the issues facing towns. This event’s goal is to influence and promote diverse people settlement development.

Although possible coincidental, the juxtaposition of these events serves as a reminder that American cities need the investment Beijing seeks.

As an urban economist with a focus on funding public infrastructure and services, I’m interested in understanding why Africa has n’t benefited from Chinese investments and how to reverse this trend in my comparison of Africa’s and China’s urbanization experiences.

The power of equipment

China has influenced Africa’s industrialisation through the Belt and Road Initiative. This system project, which was launched in 2013, aims to establish a system of trade and economic links connecting China and the rest of the world.

As of December 2023, 44 of 54 African nations had signed on to the Belt and Road Initiative. According to estimates, China has contributed 2.5 times more to the development of African network through this program than the West has combined.

Significant multiple consequences can be had by investing in infrastructure on economic growth and development. In the short term, it generates demand for goods and services, particularly in design.

Over the long term, if well-planned and executed, it may increase economic growth and development. This is especially true when it comes to purchases in urban equipment. Cities are known for facilitating the exchange of input between businesses and local organizations, as well as the promotion of domestic and export areas.

China’s experience at home has shown how this can be done. China built the most substantial high-speed rail network in the world in less than ten years, for prices that are up to a second lower than those in other nations.

And between 1980 and 2000, China constructed over 184 fresh ships, some in cooperation with foreign firms, to ease the export of goods it was producing in its expanding market.

China’s change from a generally economic market to the second-largest economy in the world has been aided by these huge infrastructure investments. This move through urbanization and industrialization, in move, has helped China raise more than 800 million people out of poverty since 1978.

What has n’t worked

American nations have yet to fully realize the potential advantages of China’s system investments for urbanization. Some of the Belt and Road Initiative’s most expensive purchases are still unconnected and could turn into” white animals.”

These include Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway. To fund it, the Kenyan authorities took on higher levels of debt. However, the route’s business practicality depends on whether or not it expands to Rwanda and Uganda.

In Uganda, another instance is the road between Entebbe aircraft and Kampala, the capital city. The Chinese built it, and it was funded. One of the most expensive streets per mile in the world is the program’s rising costs, which has resulted in its cost-per-kilometer record. If the road does n’t draw much more traffic and generate enough toll revenue, repaying the Chinese loans will be difficult.

The other problem with some Chinese-financed projects refers to long-term preparing.

Addis Ababa’s industrial light road, for instance, was constructed for$ 470 million and began operating in 2015. The Ethiopian state is now struggling to maintain the program because it has overestimated the costs of operation and maintenance.

The light rail, which is transporting a fraction of the people compared to initial forecasts, requires an estimated$ 60 million in maintenance.

Funding

Due to the lack of transparency with China’s banking, critics have labeled these kinds of projects as “debt-trap diplomacy.” In essence, they assert that China is purposefully providing loans to American nations with terms that are challenging to recover, making borrowers obligated to turn over their assets in default.

However, there are three things to consider. Second, business loans from Western organizations or multilateral organizations also account for the majority of lending to many African nations.

Next, China is concerned about the viability of its debt and the payments of its loans. For this reason, its financing to African countries in terms of the Belt and Road Initiative dropped by 55 % between 2021 and 2022 from$ 16.5 billion to$ 7.5 billion.

Eventually, this narrative disregards the influence of American leaders in approving and negotiating Chinese financing deals.

Governments and president ratify these loans and approve them by American ministers. Hence, African leaders are held accountable for making wise investment choices on the part of citizens whose income will need to be used to pay off.

China’s knowledge

It is now crucial to assess what has been effective and identify areas for improvement with the over 20 years of Chinese investment in Africa’s rapidly urbanizing and possible much more to come.

China possesses reputable knowledge in urbanization. It has new experience guiding an industrial change similar to the one taking place in Africa right now. This change occurred in addition to a decline in poverty and economic change.

So it has a role in shaping American industrialization, benefiting both sides. But it’s up to American leaders to champion their interests.

Astrid R N Haas is alternative doctor, University of Toronto

This content was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original post.

Continue Reading

Africa can and should get more from China – Asia Times

By:
On:
In: Asia

China’s relation with Africa is vital to Beijing’s efforts to expand its impact in the Western-dominated world purchase. China is Africa’s most important trading companion and a major contributor to western investment, so the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is important to both.

The site’s mountain, which takes place every three decades, provides a platform for China to showcase its international control and for American nations, both individually and collectively, to join with the country’s second-largest market on political and economic matters.

Africa will have a chance to overcome the difficulties of the post-Covid time at this year’s mountain. Earlier summits have had visible effects on African countries. For example, Kenya has become the largest producer of plants to China, with monthly export valued at US$ 800 million, since the ninth China-Africa conference in Dakar in 2021.

The expansion of e-commerce is another beneficial outcome of the opening of new business between American nations and China since 2021. This, for example, has enabled African caffeine to be exported to China. Additionally, Chinese funding and technology were directed toward the American Peace and Security Architecture through the China-Africa Peace and Security Fund.

53 African countries will take part in the three-day summit, which is obvious given the significance that American states area on the community. The only exception is Eswatini, which has diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

As a scientist who has closely followed China’s rise as a world authority and published a lot on the subject, I want to know how American states can make the most of this opportunity.

China’s Africa approaches

China’s ideas are obvious. It outlined complete techniques in 2006, 2015 and 2021. In addition to its wider goals as a global power, these details detail China’s position in relations with American states.

At the last Forum on China-Africa Cooperation conference in 2021, four papers were adopted. Of these, the 2035 Vision for China-Africa Cooperation stands out. It provides a general model for cooperating for 15 times.

China and American nations worked together to create the program. But, spectators noted that its most striking&nbsp, aspect&nbsp, was that its time shape coincided with China’s personal 2035 plan: &nbsp, Vision 2035.

Unlike China, American states have yet to develop a complete, unified plan document outlining the country’s corporate interests, and how these coincide with the China-Africa Vision for Cooperation 2035.

The 2063 Agenda, the framework for turning Africa into a forthcoming economic powerhouse, is one of the goals of the vision, which is to encourage participation for the development of China and Africa. China’s industrialisation of Africa would also be a positive thing. Additionally, the perspective encourages participation in the blue business.

Strengthening Africa’s location

In light of difficulties confronting China-African relations, the seventh Forum on China-Africa Cooperation takes position. Africa’s debts to China is a moving place. Between 2000 and 2022, China provided more than$ 170 billion in loans to 49 African countries and regional institutions.

Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya and Zambia bear especially higher levels of Chinese loan. They are conscious that Beijing is unlikely to quickly write off more debts.

Despite these challenges, Africa is not without company in its relations with China. With 54 UN member states out of 193, the globe has a significant political significance, despite not having strong economic growth as a whole.

China is certainly aware of how important a continent’s voting power is in foreign affairs is. Africa needs to have a proper perspective and a clear vision in order to use this energy in its connection with China.

To improve their position, American states must join and follow a more organized approach. African nations generally negotiate separately, rather than as a union. Their negotiations skills are weakened by this.

If there is n’t a unified African position, is it still possible for African states to negotiate as regional economic communities? This is a huge undertaking. However, the local blocs and the leading American states could begin by developing engagement plans and then use their domestic advantages to boost China’s relations.

Given that China is a very powerful entrepreneurial state with a solid strategy and substantial financial resources, this is especially crucial. A strong head of state is essential to the creation of an all-encompassing American approach.

The American private sector may enjoy a more active part in advocating for the country’s passions in discussions with the nation’s second-largest market. It’s worth noting that in July, the judgement Chinese Communist Party unveiled major market-oriented changes.

These innovations continued President Xi Jinping’s transition from high-speed to high-quality growth. Conversations to prepare for the 2024 mountain also highlighted the issues of economic practicality, local society benefits and environmental sustainability.

Market-oriented reforms are expected to accelerate the trend seen at the 2021 Dakar summit, moving from state-led initiatives to increased private-sector involvement.

To enhance the continent’s position, African states should have already discussed and adopted a unified stance ahead of the 2024 summit. Africa is at a disadvantage because it fails to work and bargain in a more organized way. It enables China to set the agenda and use the forum as a tool for its political objectives.

Looking forward

Some observers have claimed that China’s involvement with the African continent is motivated by a desire to access its natural resources in recent years. The relationship has become, in fact, much more nuanced and multifaceted.

Africa also contributes to China’s call for a community of developing nations as a counterweight to a Western-based international order. In this context, the Beijing 2024 summit will be a crucial event for both China and Africa.

It has a strong impact on how their partnership will go in the future. China and its global priorities, as well as Africa, are both interested in using their interactions with China to advance the continent.

Theo Neethling is professor of political science, Department of Political Studies and Governance, University of the Free State

The Conversation has republished this article under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Continue Reading