China-Backed Firm Faces Probe Over Bangkok Building Collapse As Chance Of Finding Survivors ‘Less Than 1%’
"Bangkok police, addressing concerns over the involvement of the Chinese-backed firm, told NDTV, “We are aware that the Chinese company was constructing the building, but they can’t take shortcuts to blame China.”"
--- Well, yeah, but it is quite extra-ordinary that the only building in Thailand - under construction or not - that collapsed, was one constructed by a Chinese company as part of BRI. Tofu dreg construction comes to mind...
China, Japan and South Korea to strengthen free trade
"Disagreements over territorial issues have prevented the three Asian exporting powers from making any significant progress on a trilateral free-trade deal since starting talks in 2012."
--- & these territorial issues will persist.
"The countries' three trade ministers agreed to "closely cooperate for a comprehensive and high-level" talks on a South Korea-Japan-China free trade agreement deal to promote "regional and global trade," according to a statement released after the meeting."
--- Translation: 'We agreed to talk about talking about free trade.' Yawn.
Japan, U.S. agree to urgently boost deterrence amid assertive China
"The two defense chiefs agreed that they oppose "any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion" by Beijing, including in the East and South China seas, according to the Japanese Defense Ministry.
[...] Later in the day, Hegseth met with Ishiba, and they shared a goal of realizing a "free and open Indo-Pacific" through bilateral cooperation, according to the Japanese government, referring to the vision widely viewed as a veiled counter to China."
--- So, Japan is very much aware of the threat China poses, & any possible free trade talks will not change that.
China to Inject $69 Billion Into Four Big Banks in Capital Boost
"The move is aimed at boosting the big banks’ capability to service the real economy, allowing them to maintain relatively high asset growth, better support the emerging industries and cope with the downward pressure on margins amid rate cuts
[...] Stronger capital buffers will allow lenders to potentially provide more loans as Beijing vowed greater support for sectors from property to consumer and technology to achieve a growth target of about 5% this year."
--- Too bad that loan demand is actually the problem, not supply.
China's EVs sink to lowest market share in Europe for two years
"This represents the lowest rate since February 2023, according to the report. The decline in sales follows last year's introduction of customs duties on Chinese electric vehicles imported into the European Union. The drop in market share in February comes at a time when sales of electric cars in Europe have risen by a quarter.
Traditional brands such as Volkswagen, Renault and Kia were the main beneficiaries of increased demand for electric cars in February, thanks in part to the introduction of new models."
--- Tariffs are actually working? Or are Chinese cars simply not good enough?
U.S. tech giants are betting big on humanoid robots — but China’s already ahead, analysts say
"Unitree made a major splash in the robot’s space in January when 16 of its highest-performing H1 humanoid robots joined a group of human dancers to celebrate the Lunar New Year in a demonstration broadcast on national television."
--- Phhh ... These robots were more a joke than anything else. Boston Dynamics had better stuff 10 years ago.
"Morgan Stanley’s February research note found that the country has led the world in patent filings mentioning “humanoid” over the past five years, with 5,688 patents compared with 1,483 from the United States."
--- Quantity is not the same as quality. Goes for Chinese patents in general.
‘Patriotic traffic business’: when China’s cyber nationalists cross Beijing’s red line
DR Congo conflict tests China's diplomatic balancing act
Bhutan’s refers to Tibet as Beijing-preferred ‘Xizang,’ sparking pushback
--- China Uncensored: "The US Wants To BAN ALL CHINESE STUDENTS"
--- DW News: So what's up with race? The Uyghurs in China
--- WSJ: Why the Effort to Contain China Matters
--- Forbes: Secretary Hegseth Asked About Countering China Amid Plans To Be Ready To Annex Taiwan By 2027
China, Japan und Südkorea wollen Freihandelsabkommen vorantreiben
"China, Japan und Südkorea sind seit 2012 immer wieder im Gespräch über ein trilaterales Freihandelsabkommen gewesen. Territoriale Streitigkeiten und Kritik an Japans Abwassermanagement aus dem havarierten Atomkraftwerk Fukushima haben eine mögliche Einigung jedoch bisher verhindert."
--- & die Streitigkeiten wird es auch weiterhin geben. Dementsprechend werden dann wohl auch die 'Fortschritte' bei einem Freihandelsabkommen aussehen.
Taiwan: US-Verteidigungsminister verspricht »glaubwürdige Abschreckung« gegenüber China
