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China overtakes Japan as No.2 economy, US next by 2025.
Deflation: When you very slowly let the air out of a balloon.
Crisis: When your idiot brother shoves a pin into the balloon that you’re still blowing up.
Deflation: When you very slowly let the air out of a balloon.
Crisis: When your idiot brother shoves a pin into the balloon that you’re still blowing up.
Reminds me of my favorite quote from a university economics lecturer I had back in the day. 'A recession is when you lose your job. A depression is when I lose mine.'
Merkel on Huawei: Germany won't exclude 5G providers just because they come from China.
And now, some years later, some minds have changed in their thinking, and some decisions have been made, with real actions to be realized in installed hardware and software still yet some years into the future. But a decision has been made, and that is significant political progress.
Originally posted by DW_News
Thursday, 11 July 2024
EU has criticized Berlin for dragging its heels on ban
(07 min, 15 sec)
After a long dispute, the German government and German mobile network operators have agreed on a comprehensive ban on Chinese 5G technology. The compromise took the form of a public-law contract to prevent claims for damages.
Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser saw an urgent need for action because she wanted to protect Germany against the risks of sabotage and espionage in the expansion of the networks.
Under the compromise, providers will have more time to make the switch and can continue to use basic elements from Huawei and ZTE. In return, the providers commit to a nationwide replacement - and not just in geographical proximity to federal ministries and sensitive institutions.
The critical components may no longer be used in the core network by the end of 2026. These are the central 5G data centers for data transmission. In the second step, the access and transport networks, such as radio masts, will be affected.
Chapters
00:00 National security main reason for a move against China
00:37 Kassandra Sundt, DW Business
03:45 Mareike Ohlberg, German Marshall Fund
China's actions helped move that decision further forward.
Originally posted by EuroNews
Friday, 12 July 2024 'China is a threat to our security,' NATO deputy chief tells Euronews
(03 min, 08 sec)
Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană discusses the wars in Russia and Gaza at the 75th anniversary summit of the alliance.
NATO sees China as directly enabling the war between Russia and Ukraine, NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană said.
"China is a partner of Russia," Geoană told Euronews in an exclusive interview at the summit in Washington. "The reality is that there is a pattern of aggressiveness basically fueling the war Russia (is waging) in Ukraine. So this means that China is a threat to our security."
His words came after NATO allies at the summit crafted a stern communique calling out China as an "enabler" — making it clear that Beijing had become the focus of the military alliance.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg accused China of providing Russia with tools and microelectronics, enabling the Kremlin to build its military arsenal against Ukraine.
Beijing has refuted the claims by saying that it does not provide military assistance to Moscow, its trade partner, in a statement by its foreign ministry.
China claimed that its trade with Russia was legitimate and based on rules set out by the World Trade Organisation.
According to Geoană, the language adopted by NATO members in its communique was "more clear, but also careful".
"We are not declaring China is our enemy. It is not. They are a serious challenge to European security. And this is a fact," he added. "This no-limit partnership between Russia and China is deepening and becoming more complex."
China's trade with Russia has only grown since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, offsetting some of the effects of intense Western economic sanctions.
Geoană also namechecked Iran, North Korea and Belarus as other enablers of Moscow's war against Ukraine.
When asked about the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, Geoană said that NATO was "basically not involved" in the conflict despite acknowledging that its allies were in various forms.
He said that it was important to end hostilities in the conflict, which is entering its ninth month and avoid escalation in the Middle East.
World leaders have been quick to reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine over the summit, pledging support for Ukraine's military, including air defence systems crucial for Ukraine to stave off Moscow's advances.
However, allies stopped short of letting Ukraine into the alliance — at least until the war on its territory ended, with member states confirming that Ukraine was on an "irreversible" path to its membership.
Japan being half of the subject in the thread title, here is an anecdote highlighting aging demographics there.
Originally posted by Reuters
Friday, 12 July 2024 Aging world: in Japan, adult diapers outsell baby ones
(01 min, 40 sec)
More companies in Japan are moving from producing diapers for babies and switching to adult customers, a move in line with the country’s declining birth rate and ageing population.
from Follow the Money and Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies
Brad Setser is one of the best analysts of China’s economy
China’s Imaginary Trade Data China has a new way of calculating its good surplus in its formal balance of payments data. It is a deeply misleading. It also explains the apparent fall in the current account account surplus
Blog Post by Brad W. Setser
August 14, 2024 5:13 pm (EST)
The most important part of the IMF’s latest assessment of China is—alas—the appendix on China’s new methodology for calculating China’s trade balance.
It at least explains why China’s balance of payments trade surplus diverges from China’s customs trade surplus, and why the gap started to explode around 2022. As I have noted in the past, China’s data doesn't agree with itself. One measure of the goods deficit is a lot bigger than another measure of the goods surplus.
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