China tech shrugged off Trump 1.0 trade war – and can do it again – Asia Times
When Donald Trump re-enters the White House, he’ll get accompanied by a group of China hawks who will use tariffs and trade restrictions to prevent Beijing from challenging the country’s technological superiority.
China has been subject to such industry force since Trump took office in 2017 and it has continued through the Biden administration. This isn’t completely new.
However, some commentators are suggesting that the magnitude of what Trump is now proposing, including taxes of up to 60 % on goods from China, had “keep Beijing on the defense and completely transform the rivalry in America’s favor,” according to one analyst.
For a watch is premised on the belief that China’s obsolete, state-subsidized, manufacturing-for-export type is mature for disturbance by US taxes.
However, as someone who has written and edited two books on China and creativity and studied China’s systems since the early 2000s, I believe this description of its economy is at least two years out of date.
China’s industrial sectors have grown fast since 2016 as a result of the removal of American tariffs. However, since the” business war” launched by Trump in 2017, Chinese systems has really emerged as a world leader.
China’s technology climb
Thirty years ago, China’s best technology company had yet to create a competitive personal computer internally, and the country scarcely had internet access. The nation was the nation’s manufacturer fifteen years ago, where iPhones and other technology products were assembled without the ability to produce any high-tech components on their own. They were stuck at the bottom of the value chain.
No Chinese planners could have predicted the future directions that China’s technology would take it even with the best glass game in the middle of the 2000s.
Fast-forward to now: China is today ahead of rival economies across large industrial areas. The think tank Information Technology and Innovation Foundation found in a 2024 statement that China is leading or internationally competitive in five out of nine high-tech businesses – automation, nuclear energy, electric vehicles, artificial intelligence and quantum computing – and quickly catching up in four others: chemicals, system tools, biopharmaceuticals and semiconductors.
A Bloomberg research also identified China as leading or internationally competitive in 12 out of 13 technology-intensive business. And China was identified as the leader of 37 of the 44 crucial systems tracked by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
Why has the Chinese technology sector grown so fast? Some in Washington think that the decades of meticulous state planning have given rise to the world’s high-tech sectors.
But this, I believe, greatly overestimates Beijing’s vision and power. Although the Chinese government has certainly pursued the lofty objective of catching up with the West since the 1980s, having goals is not the same as having the ability to carry them out.
Many in the West level to the Chinese government subsidies that support local tech companies. While grants have contributed to some technical achievement, the Chinese government has also provided many problems.
Take electronics, for example: Despite massive Chinese state assets since the 1990s, China still lags in producing cutting-edge cards and is reliant on goods.
Dare to DREAM
In my view, China’s technological dynamism didn’t come from the magic of central planning, but through five key elements I call DREAM.
D stands for the exchange between the state and the market.
While China’s government wields significant power, the country’s private sector is neither submissive nor powerless. In 2022, businesses that are not owned by the government ( mostly private ones ) but also offshore ones in which Beijing does not hold a controlling stake accounted for 95 % of enterprise R&, D spending and 88 % of urban employment.
Beijing has stepped up its sanctions against tech giants, including a ban on Alibaba’s Ant Group from listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2020 and a Covid-19 lockdown that hurt the private sector, but the government is not bound by strict ideology, as many in the West believe it to be. It has recently begun to support the private sector, and it has even begun to draft laws to protect them.
Indeed, it’s more accurate to describe state-market relations in China as dynamic, adaptive interaction– more dialogue than dictatorship.
R refers to domestic R& and D ( R&, D).
Over the past 20 years, China has heavily invested in domestic research capacity, once dependent on imported technology. Chinese scientists and engineers continue to be deeply involved in global networks despite the fact that political tensions have accelerated the development of self-reliance.
Further, China has a higher number of highly skilled workers thanks to a supposedly anti-espionage initiative launched under Trump’s first administration.
The” China initiative” that the US Justice Department introduced in 2018 promoted the idea that Chinese and Chinese American scientists might be spying for Beijing, leading to a flood of top scientists returning to China.
They continued to conduct cutting-edge research and train a fresh batch of Chinese scientists there.
E is for China’s industrial ecosystem, which it can exploit.
China’s vast manufacturing base enables rapid creation and scaling of new technologies. China was the only nation to cover every major industrial sector and contributed 35 % of the global gross manufacturing output in 2023.
Silicon Valley’s innovative ecosystem, which can rely on extensive venture capital and a booming stock market, may not exist in China. However, it has over the years developed comprehensive supply chains, and it excels at repurposing them to quickly introduce new products to the market.
Take the example of robotics. Only when labor costs increased sharply, did China take the robotics industry seriously. In 2010, China’s manufacturing labor costs were about US$ 2 per hour, similar to those of the Philippines or Vietnam, by 2022, that figure rose to about$ 8 per hour – more than double the average for Southeast Asian countries.
China installs more industrial robots each year than the rest of the world combined, and its robot quality has increased exponentially.
A stands for accumulative changes.
Chinese companies excel at incremental improvements, which add up to an accumulative transforming effect rather than new discoveries. Instead of a few brilliant ideas from any leader’s creative mind, the vast manufacturing networks offer opportunities to improve already-existing products based on market feedback.
Analysts in the US have long predicted that China’s rampant intellectual property violations would end its innovation drive, believing that it would stifle people’s desire to innovate if they believed they would be robbed of their ideas.
Instead, as Taiwanese tech expert and writer Kai-Fu Lee has explained, Chinese enterprises can be dynamic and innovative in an environment with less IP protection. They frequently grow their market share quickly and establish business ecosystems to stop rivals from catching up.
M means the middle market.
Chinese firms tend to target middle-income consumers, both domestically and globally. By prioritizing affordability and functionality over cutting-edge innovation, they avoid head-to-head competition with Western giants such as Apple.
Xiaomi and Oppo, two Chinese smartphone manufacturers, cost a third to a third as much as an iPhone but have comparable features. Tesla and other Chinese electric vehicles have comparable prices, but they still have some excellent features.
Chinese firms tolerate lower profit margins, as they can rely on the expanded sales in the middle market, both domestically and, increasingly, overseas.
Tariffs as a counterproductive measure
The incoming Trump administration’s issue is that, while tariffs may change how China’s manufacturing and exports are perceived globally, they won’t eliminate any of the DREAM components. They might actually have the opposite effect: boosting China’s capacity for self-reliance and bolstering its standing in the world’s middle-class.
The issue is primarily due to the fact that American policymakers frequently view technological competition with China as a zero-sum game. However, technological competition is not comparable to a race with separate lanes and a finish line. Rather, tech transformation is a complex process in which countries and companies compete, collaborate and build on each other’s work.
Ultimately, America’s technological prowess won’t be measured by the extent to which it manages to stop China, but by how successfully American companies can address humanity’s greatest challenges. There will be little progress made in the direction of tariffs and trade wars.
Vassar College’s professor of economic geography is Yu Zhou.
This article was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
New Joo Chiat Community Hub to have co-working spaces, gym and theatre
SINGAPORE:  , A new community hub in Upper East Coast will home co-working areas, a theater and sports facilities such as a treadmill and jogging track.
The Joo Chiat Community Hub, which is located along Upper East Coast Road, may get three times as big as the 65-year-old Siglap South Community Center at Palm Road.
Minister for Culture, Community, and Youth Edwin Tong explained at a community event on Saturday ( Jan 18 ) that the plans were formulated after extensive consultation with residents so they would feel “at home” using the space. He gave a” sneak peek” of the hub’s design.
According to Mr. Tong, who is also Next Minister for Law and MP for Marine Parade GRC,” we consulted extensively, asked our people what they wanted to see in these, what they felt was pleasant for them, and what they were engaged in.”
The three main themes that kept popping up were activities, the art and “innovative spots” where people can come up to work, he added.
The Joo Chiat Constituency Office stated in a press release that one of the essential attributes is a treadmill and jogging trail with beautiful landscapes.
General Atomics tapped to close low-cost missile gap with China – Asia Times
While the US attempts to solve its missile hoard squeeze with low, easily mass-produced missiles, China’s production surge forces a striking reckoning with current warfare’s business and protracted realities and the race to outgun near-peer adversaries.
This month, The War Zone reported that General Atomics has unveiled a fresh low-cost air-to-surface weapon, dubbed the” Hit Missile”, at the Surface Navy Association’s annual conference.
No word on the missile’s size, performance, or another specifications from the company is provided, but instead, the company developed an air-breathing engine structure with a single dorsal consumption and a slab-sided design with two lugs on top.
The US government’s concentrate on cost-effective, mass-producible weapons like the Strike Missile reflects an immediate need for flexible, long-range abilities in high-end issues. Similar initiatives, like the US Navy’s Multi-Mission Affordable Capacity Effector ( MACE ) and the US Air Force’s Extended Range Attack Munition ( ERAM ), highlight a broader effort to balance capability with affordability.
In addition to those projects, in September 2024, Asia Times reported that Anduril Industries, a US defense contractor, has introduced the Barracuda family of Autonomous Air Vehicles ( AAVs ) to address the critical depletion of US weapon stockpiles.
The Barracuda line, designed for inexpensive, hyper-scale creation, comprises the Barracuda-100, Barracuda-250, and Barracuda-500. These air-breathing, software-defined inconsequential AAVs are compatible with different loads and implementation methods and have varying sizes, runs, and payload capacities.
The Barracuda-M configuration offers a cost-effective, adaptable cruise missile capability, thereby addressing the imperative requirement for precision-guided munitions ( PGMs) that are both producible and upgradeable for the US and its allies.
The Barracuda AAVs are engineered for rapid, low-cost assembly, necessitating fewer tools and parts, resulting in a 30 % reduction in cost compared to their competitors. Utilizing commercially available components to increase supply chain resilience, their modular design enables quick adaptation to new technologies and changing threats.
These relatively inexpensive and simple missiles may have been developed as a result of recent US Navy operations in the Red Sea. These operations revealed the sizable number of expensive missiles required to neutralize threats posed by technologically inferior forces like the Houthis in Yemen.
The US Navy’s massive missile purchases against Houthi rebels raises the question of whether the US can have enough to launch a near-peer conflict in the Pacific.
The War Zone reported in July 2024 that the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group ( IKECSG) expended 770 missiles and munitions targeting Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen during a nine-month deployment as an illustration of the enormous expenditure of pricey munitions against low-cost targets.
According to the report, the IKECSG launched 155 Standard-series missiles and 135 Tomahawk cruise missiles, while its aircraft deployed 60 air-to-air missiles and 420 air-to-surface munitions.
Scaling up such numbers in a hypothetical war with China, a January 2023 report by Mark Cancian and other writers for the Center for Strategic and International Studies ( CSIS ) think tank noted that in three to four weeks of conflict with China, the US expended about 5, 000 long-range precision missiles, mainly the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile ( JASSM) and Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile ( LRASM).
Given the enormous amount of missile spending in a hypothetical war with China in the Pacific, it is difficult to tell whether the US defense industrial base can keep the US supplied with such firepower. The challenge lies in overcoming entrenched issues in production capacity, supply chain vulnerabilities, and bureaucratic inefficiencies.
The US defense industry base faces difficulties as it ramps up missile production, according to a report released in June 2021 from the US Congressional Research Service ( CRS ). Despite rising demand due to global conflicts and evolving threats, the US industrial base is constrained by aging infrastructure, limited production capacity, and supply chain vulnerabilities.
Current PGM initiatives involve complex technologies like GPS, laser, and inertial navigation systems, which call for the use of highly developed components and skills.
The proliferation of potent anti-access/area-denial ( A2/AD ) systems by adversaries like China and Russia, such as the HQ-18 and S-500 surface-to-air missiles, further stresses the need for longer-range and higher-precision munitions. These difficulties are made worse by budgetary constraints and the lengthy delays in developing and fielding new weapons.
Seth Jones and Alexander Palmer’s CSIS report from March 2024 highlights the rapid development of weapons systems, particularly PGMs, as a result of China’s transition to a wartime footing.
China has launched more ballistic missiles for testing and training for the fourth consecutive year than any other country combined, and both China’s arsenal and quantity are rapidly increasing. In contrast, there are shortages of US munitions, such as those from the LRASM and Tomahawk, which are made worse by a lack of multiyear procurement plans.
Innovative solutions like General Atomics ‘ Strike Missile represent a step in the right direction as the US attempts to close its missile firepower gap with China. However, overcoming the entrenched challenges of limited production capacity, aging infrastructure, and bureaucratic inefficiencies will require more than technological advances.
Without significant changes to its defense-industrial base, the US runs the risk of losing its strategic position in the Pacific, which it cannot afford. The question remains: Can the US retain its role as the “arsenal of democracy” in 21st-century great power competition?
Xi says China, Vietnam to build community with shared future of strategic significance
Beijing and Hanoi are ready to work together to create a community with a shared future of strategic significance, according to China’s official Xinhua news agency on Saturday ( January 18 ). To mark the 75th commemoration of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Vietnam, Xi addressed the remark in aContinue Reading
Trump claiming new world order in first 100 days – Asia Times
Donald Trump’s resumption of office on January 20, 2025, is commonly believed to represent a significant shift in American foreign policy and a shift in diplomacy’s process.
Trump’s favoritism, which includes threats and rhetoric directed at foreign leaders, now seems to have paid off in helping to create a fragile peace agreement in Gaza. The offer was negotiated by Joe Biden and his team in cooperation with Trump’s coming management.
But analysts suggest Trump’s harsh comments on January 7 that” all hell had split lose” if the hostages weren’t immediately released were truly a threat to Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, to get something done immediately. And this made the Israeli authorities obligated to make a bargain.
In his first name, Trump used this sharp confrontational language. And his most recent threats to conquer Canada, purchase Greenland, and retake control of the Panama Canal suggest it does occur again. That might not be all that positive, especially for US traditional friends.
Elon Musk, one of Trump’s closest confidants, is also explicitly haughty about his attempts to overthrow the UK and Germany, in an ostensible effort to bolster a global coalition of populist leaders.
Add to that a promised agreement with Russia to end the conflict in Ukraine, a resumption of the maximum-pressure battle against Iran, and a doubling down on confrontation with China, and you have the ingredients for a basic revision of US foreign policy.
Three distinct characteristics stand out as early indicators of the potential shape of the Trump foreign policy. First is the emphasis on the Northern hemisphere. Trump’s goal appears to be reaffirming US dominance in American affairs while also removing any perceived corporate flaws.
While Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal have dominated the articles, there are also repercussions for US ties with Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, with Trump’s pull as secretary of state, Marco Rubio, being known for his aggressive approach.
Trump may inaccurately hype up China’s role in the Panama Canal, but Beijing has unquestionably increased its ( mostly economic ) footprint in Latin America. A Chinese-funded deep-water harbor in Peru has raised US safety concerns.
Mexico’s funding by China has opened a significant backdoor into the US market, making Mexico the US’s largest trading partner. In 2024, Latino exports of goods to the US stood at just under US$ 467 billion, compared with China’s$ 401 billion.
Trump is likely to use a combination of disturbing rhetoric, tariffs, and social pressure to lower the pressure in the Northern hemisphere.
His allies in Congress have now introduced a bill to “authorize the President to get to enter into discussions with the Kingdom of Denmark to stable the acquisition of Greenland by the United States” in an early indication of how seriously the incoming administration takes the matter.
The administration’s shifting emphasis on regional cooperation is the second key component of the emerging Trump international policy philosophy. Europe and the Middle East are the two primary focus regions in this environment.
Ukraine conflict deal
One of Trump’s important objectives is to focus on China and “un-unite” Russia and China while fulfilling the promise to end the conflict in Ukraine.
Nevertheless, he insists that the incoming administration continue to prioritize transatlantic security while also urging US allies to increase their defence spending.
It simply doesn’t want to be the one making the majority of the money. And Trump has a point: Washington currently shoulders 68 % of all NATO expenditure, compared with European members ‘ 28 %.
Trump’s strategy for the Middle East is supported by the same analysis of US-mediated deals that promote US passions while allowing for a reduction in pledges.
A little clearer path to correcting relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia is now possible thanks to a peace between Israel and Hamas, which does help the release of Jewish victims. This is still dependent upon an Israeli wink towards Palestinian sovereignty, but when this materializes, Israel’s ties with the rest of the Muslim world will also increase.
This will allow Washington to begin its maximum-pressure battle against Tehran and shift the stress of containing Iran to a likely more efficient and able coalition of US allies in the region.
What future for China?
While Trump’s approach to the Northern hemisphere and to Washington’s potential relations with Europe and the Middle East are largely unambiguous, there are a lot of questions about his China plan. With the exception of Elon Musk, who has considerable business interests in China, his national security group is typically viewed as aggressive toward Beijing.
Trump himself oscillates between obnoxious and cordial speech. One of his arguments for reaffirming US control of the proper waterway is that it is under the purview of China. He also spelled out Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ability to assist with a bargain in Ukraine and yet invited him to his inauguration.
Trump may be available to a package with China – and China, in turn, has signaled involvement in this as well. While Xi did not go the commencement, his vice-president, Han Zheng, does.
Even though their 2020 deal did little more than put an end to an escalating trade conflict, Trump and Xi have a track record of making deals. The negotiations on that agreement took two years, leaving many of the tariffs in place as of Trump’s first word, though occasionally at a lower rate.
Similar events might occur right now, with Trump honoring one of his campaign promises to raise taxes on Chinese products while also starting discussions on a new deal with Beijing.
In all likelihood, this is Trump’s final term as president. For the next two decades, at least, he controls both the Senate and the House of Representatives. He has every incentive to make good on his promises – and faces some, if any, restrictions. He sees himself as a disrupter, and his MAGA center expects him to be just that. Instability is all but guaranteed.
However, it is unclear whether Trump’s idea of a more stable global order with clearly defined spheres of influence for the US, China, and perhaps Russia will come to light, let alone whether such a result would be preferable.
The University of Birmingham’s Stefan Wolff is an assistant professor of global security.
The Conversation has republished this essay under a Creative Commons license. Read the original content.
Bangkok Post, CP Group take action against online scammers
PUBLISHED: 18 Jan 2025 at 10: 53
The Bangkok Post and the Charoen Pokphand ( CP ) Group have filed a lawsuit against online phony traders who are using fake websites to extort the senior chairman’s name.
Both organizations have lodged formal complaints against those responsible for defrauding the public, including the unauthorized use of Dhanin Chearavanont, the older president of CP Group, and the development of false Bangkok Post websites to deceive the public into investing scams.
The schemes involved the sharing of fake news and images on websites and social media platforms, particularly Facebook, from reputable foreign media outlets like the Bangkok Post. These phony methods aimed to entice victims through their promise of lucrative investments.
An example of fake information that has been shared on Facebook.
Lately, CP Group presented compelling evidence to Phaholyothin police station, pleading with the authorities to find the culprits of the fraud. The proof demonstrates that the steps were merely carried out by criminal organizations that were not affiliated with the company or Mr. Dhanin.
In reply, CP Group has reiterated its commitment to taking legal action as soon as possible and making sure that these phony sites are brought to justice. Additionally, the company issued a public a cautionary note to use caution and refrain from engaging in false advertising or economic transactions.
The Thung Mahamek police station is the site of a similar problem that The Bangkok Post had previously filed with the Bangkok Post, accusing those responsible of using the names and photos of famous people to deceive the public. The Bangkok-based information agency has also contacted Twitter to report the issue, urging the software to take steps to stop these fictitious records and fraudulent activities.
Both organizations urge the general public to contact the Digital Police Hotline at 1441 to record any suspicious advertising or hoaxes. Victims of these scams are encouraged to file a police report at their local station or online at https ://thaipoliceonline .com.
The Bangkok Post and the CP Group continue to make unwavering efforts to combat virtual fraud, guard their reputations, and prevent the people from falling prey to such dishonest practices.
South Korea’s President Yoon attends court hearing on extending detention
Yoon claimed on Wednesday that he had agreed to leave his substance to prevent “bloodshed,” but that he had not complied with the investigation’s legality.
Since Friday, his followers have been demonstrating in front of the court, holding North Vietnamese and American flags, and pleading that judges reject the request to lengthen the president’s confinement.
The judge closed its doorway on Friday evening to the government, citing safety concerns.
Yoon’s legal team claims the leader explained his position to the authorities when he was detained on Wednesday, but Yoon has refused to respond to authorities ‘ inquiries.
The senator has also been excluded from a horizontal investigation at the Constitutional Court, which is weighing up whether to support his impeachment.
In the event that Yoon loses the president, votes may be called within 60 times.
He did not attend the initial two trials this year, but the test, which could last weeks, will remain in his presence.
Although Yoon won the 2022 national vote, the opposition Democratic Party now commands a majority in parliament after winning parliamentary elections last year.
The Democratic Party has celebrated the government’s imprisonment, with a major national calling it” the first step” to restoring democratic and constitutional order.
Late on Friday, the parliament passed a costs to start a special counsel investigation into Yoon over his unsuccessful martial law bet as the pressure mounts against the troubled head.
South Korea court to decide on extending president’s detention
Yoon claimed on Wednesday that he had agreed to leave his substance to prevent “bloodshed,” but that he had not complied with the investigation’s propriety.
Since Friday, his followers have been demonstrating in front of the jury, waving American and South Korean colors, and pleading that the judge grant the president’s detention request.
The judge closed its doorway on Friday evening to the government, citing safety concerns.
Yoon’s legal team claims the leader explained his position to the authorities when he was detained on Wednesday, but Yoon has refused to respond to authorities ‘ inquiries.
The leader has also been excluded from a horizontal investigation at the Constitutional Court, which is weighing up whether to support his impeachment.
If Yoon loses the administration and the election is called within 60 days, he may drop.
He did not attend the initial two trials this year, but the test, which could last weeks, will remain in his presence.
Although Yoon won the 2022 national vote, the opposition Democratic Party now commands a majority in parliament after winning parliamentary elections next year.
The Democratic Party has celebrated the government’s imprisonment, with a major national calling it” the first step” to restoring democratic and constitutional order.
Late on Friday, the parliament passed a costs to start a special counsel investigation into Yoon over his unsuccessful martial law bet as the pressure mounts against the troubled head.
High Court tosses widow’s claim to remove eldest daughter as HDB flat co-owner
JUDGE’S RULING
At the next HDB meeting, Justice Thean determined that Mdm Che’som understood the execution papers, which contradicted her accusations of deception and error.
She claimed that there were two meetings with HDB where an HDB officer gave explanations in Malay, but that she was not persuaded by Mdm Che’som, adding that there were also two meetings where she and another HDB official spoke.
Mdm Che’som herself accepted in cross-examination that , vital information, including the nature of the transport, the purpose of the execution meeting and the economic plan, were relayed to her in Malay, Justice Thean added.
The determine said,” I am so satisfied that for a description had been made at the next HDB conference, and that Mdm Che’som was ready enough to comprehend what was explained to her.”
Her decision was backed up by the evidence of a family companion,  , Mdm Norlina Zainol, who was called as a testimony by Mdm Ain.
In her created speech, Mdm Norlina testified that during an experience in 2018,  , Mdm Che’som had told her and her mother , that she was relieved her daughter had taken over the loan of the house and Mdm Ain was then a co-owner.
The judge determined that the witness and her evidence were reputable despite Mdm Che’som’s lawyer’s efforts to emphasize contradictions in Mdm Norlina’s accounts, such as the location of the meeting and a divergent interpretation of Malay language.
She had noted the close relation between the testimony, and Mdm Che’som and her family, and that , Mdm Che’som did not dispute the existence of nor offer a unique version of the conversation.  ,
” Mdm Norlina’s testimony contributes to my finding that Mdm Che’som has not proven that she did not understand what was signed” , , Justice Thean said.
She even noted that Mdm Che’som’s written comments and during cross-examination were not regular.
Justice Thean pointed out that the plaintiff, in her written speech, did not mention her father’s claimed asthma attacks had occurred during the discussions with HDB.
These are plastic facts, in my opinion, that a sensible person would have put in the petition to support her claim that undermined the accuracy of her account.
The prosecutor added that Mr. Yusope’s asthma attack may occur during both HDB meetings while the Malay officer was presenting the transaction at the time.
” Despite this accident of stress, neither affair was detailed in Mdm Che’som’s testimonies”, Justice Thean said.
As for Mdm Che’som’s another contestations, the prosecutor dismissed there had been any deception by Mdm Ain, as the original could , certainly prove that she did not understand what was being signed.
Justice Thean also argued that the structure required that Mdm Ain reside with her kids, take care of them, and own their mutual relatives assets.
The details were likewise inappropriate for Mdm Che’som to show on the balance of probabilities that she was excessively influenced, she added, prompting her to reach out the defendant’s state.
Cholas: How a dynasty in India created a cultural and economic superpower
Getty ImagesIt’s 1000 CE- the spirit of the Middle Ages.
Europe is in flow. The strong countries that we know today, such as Norman-ruled England and the squabbling regions that will become France, do not yet emerge. Gothic churches with towers have not yet erected. Aside from the remote and rich city of Constantinople, some fantastic industrial centres dominate the landscape.
However, that same year, an Indian prince from southern India was gearing up to construct the largest church in the world.
Completed just 10 years later, it was 216ft ( 66m ) tall, assembled from 130, 000 tonnes of granite: second only to Egypt’s pyramids in height. A 12 foot high Hindu god Shiva sign was enshrined in gold and embellished with gems and pearls at its core.
There were 60 bronze sculptures with thousands of jewels from Lanka, which were adorned in its illuminated house. In its bonds, some kilograms of gold and silver coins, as well as earrings, jewels, trumpets and drums torn from defeated kings across India’s southern coast, making the king the richest person of the time.
He was called Raja-Raja, King of Kings, and he belonged to one of the most remarkable kingdoms of the mediaeval world: the Cholas.
His family altered how the mediaeval world operated, but they are generally unfamiliar outside of India.
Getty ImagesPrior to the 11th Century, the Cholas had been one among the many fighting power that dotted the Kaveri floodplain, the wonderful system of sand that flows through India’s present-day state of Tamil Nadu. However, what made the Cholas unique was their unending ability for development. By the standards of the feudal earth, Chola queens were likewise extremely popular, serving as the kingdom’s people face.
Travelling to Tamil villages and rebuilding little, old mud-brick shrines in gleaming marble, the Chola duchess Sembiyan Mahadevi – Rajaraja’s great-aunt – properly “rebranded” the home as the main devotees of Shiva, winning them a favorite next.
Sembiyan prayed to Nataraja, a societies little-known variety of Hindu god Shiva as the King of Dance, and all her churches featured him strongly. The pattern persisted. Now, Nataraja is one of Hinduism’s most recognizable images. Nataraja was, however, actually a Cholas mark in the feudal American mind.
With one notable change, the king Rajaraja Chola shared his great-aunt’s love for public relationships and passion.
Rajaraja was even a king. He led his forces over the Western Ghats, a range of hills that protect India’s west coast, in the 990s, and burned the boats of his enemies while they were in interface. Then, he used the inner strife of the island of Lanka to create a Chola outpost that, becoming the first continent Indian king to establish a sustained presence there. Finally, he finally broke into the steep Deccan Plateau, which is where Germany meets Italy on the Tamil coast, and seized a piece of it for himself.
Getty ImagesThe treasure of conquest was lavished on his excellent royal church, known now as the Brihadishvara.
In addition to its precious treasures, the great church received 5, 000 tonnes of wheat annually, from conquered province across southern India (you’d have a fleet of twelve Airbus A380s to have that much grain now ).
This allowed the Brihadishvara to function as a mega-ministry of public works and welfare, an instrument of the Chola state, intended to channel Rajaraja’s vast fortunes into new irrigation systems, into expanding cultivation, into vast new herds of sheep and buffalo. Few nations on earth could have imagined economic control on such a large and deep scale.
The Cholas were just as significant to inner Eurasia as the Mongols were to the Indian Ocean. Rajaja Chola’s successor, Rajendra, established alliances with Tamil merchant banks, a partnership between traders and the government that foreshadowed the East India Company, a powerful British trading company that later oversaw large parts of India, that was to follow more than 700 years later.
In 1026, Rajendra sacked Kedah, a Malay city that dominated the world trade in priceless woods and spices, by placing his troops on merchant ships.
While some Indian nationalists have proclaimed this to be a Chola” conquest” or” colonisation” in Southeast Asia, archaeology suggests a stranger picture: the Cholas didn’t seem to have a navy of their own, but under them, a wave of Tamil diaspora merchants spread across the Bay of Bengal.
By the late 11th Century, these merchants ran independent ports in northern Sumatra. A century later, they were deep in present-day Myanmar and Thailand, and worked as tax collectors in Java.
AFPIn the Mongol-ruled China in the 13th century, Tamil merchants operated successful businesses in the port of Quanzhou and even constructed a temple to Shiva on the coast of the East China Sea. It was no coincidence that Tamils made up the majority of Indian administrators and workers in Southeast Asia during the British Raj in the 19th century.
South India, which was the nexus of planetary trade networks, was transformed by Chola-ruled India thanks to globalization and conquests.
Chola aristocrats poured war-loot into a wave of new temples that sourced fine goods from a truly global economy that connects the world’s furthest shores with Asia and Europe. Egypt, or perhaps even Spain, supplied copper and tin for their bronzes. Sumatra and Borneo were the sources of the gods ‘ sandalwood and camphor.
Tamil temples developed into enormous complexes and public spaces, which were surrounded by markets and had rice-estates. In the Chola capital region on the Kaveri, corresponding to the present-day city of Kumbakonam, a constellation of a dozen temple-towns supported populations of tens of thousands, possibly outclassing most cities in Europe at the time.
These Chola cities had an astonishing diversity of religions and were rife with Bengali tantric masters who traded with Lankan Muslims and Chinese Buddhists who rubbed shoulders with Tunisian Jews. Today the state of Tamil Nadu is one of India’s most urbanised. Many of the state’s towns grew around Chola-period shrines and markets.
Getty ImagesThese changes in urbanism and architecture were found in literature and art alike.
The artists ‘ appreciation of the human figure rivals Michelangelo or Donatello in the production of medieval Tamil metalwork for Chola-period temples, which is perhaps the finest ever produced by human hands. To praise Chola kings and adore the gods, Tamil poets developed notions of sainthood, history and even magical realism. If the Renaissance had taken place in south India 300 years before its time, you would get what you would get.
It is not a coincidence that Nataraja bronzes, especially Chola bronzes, can be found in the majority of the most significant Western museum collections. They are the remnants of a period of brilliant political developments, of maritime expeditions that spanned the globe, of titanic shrines and incredible wealth, of merchants, rulers, and artists who have shaped the world we live in today.
Anirudh Kanisetti is an Indian writer and author, most recently of Lords of Earth And Sea : A History of The Chola Empire