Pinned
Four scenarios for China to 2035. In contrast with the recent past, they depend as much on the responses by others to China's policies as on its own course, incfreasingly rigid.
François Godement
4,061 posts
François Godement
@FGodement
Historian, Special Advisor Asia & America @i_montaigne , non-resident Senior Associate (until February 2025) @CarnegieEndow. Prone to irony.
- Breaking: China’s Wang Yi (MoFA) in talk with EÛ’s High Rep Borrell reaffirms opposition to use of weapons of mass destruction « under any circumstance » according to the EU. A day after China reiterated a call for a ceasefire, this is a clearer distancing from Putin’s threats.
- The most astonishing is when Macron says the Taiwan situation is "the result of an US agenda" and then cites Chinese "overreaction". Interverting cause and consequence is standard PRC and Putin propaganda, to see him fall for it shows either ignorance or a cynical nod to China.Astonishing piece, especially the part in italics at the bottom. If this is how France understands strategic autonomy, even in part, then it will be France on its own - and in a very uncomfortable position. A brain death occurred somewhere, no doubt. politico.eu/article/emmanu…
- Tôt ce matin, cinq historiens chinois (de Pékin, Nankin, Shanghai et Hong Kong) ont publié un texte condamnant l'invasion russe. Fierté pour les historiens. Leur texte vite censuré reste accessible à web.archive.org/web/2022022609… et c'est facile de le traduire avec Google et cie.
- Ce n’est pas la première fois que la question se pose: ne faut-il pas retirer l’agrément à cet ambassadeur qui menace “la population” de Taïwan de rééducation. Au Xinjiang, la même action a abouti à un crime contre l’humanité. Doit-on accepter de tels propos sur notre sol?
00:00 - I have been trying hard to stay silent over Scholz's visit to Xi, with the industry bosses joining for a quick kowtow. But reading this, what are they smoking?Replying to @KanzlerScholzReliability and trust – these two values play an important role in 🇩🇪 and 🇨🇳 culture. At the same time, they form the basis of diplomatic relations and political partnerships. It’s a good thing that we met in person and held talks.
- Macron takes the high European road by inviting Juncker and Merkel to join him in meeting Xi in Paris during Xi’s visit. Unprecedented, with apparently climate, trade and investment relations on the menu.
- It should now be obvious that if China keeps refusing a WHO investigation even under the mildest terms, and headed by a scientist who has been the leading opponent of the hypothesis of a lab accident, it is because it has something very serious to hide.According to China’s govt, the reason it cancelled plans at the last minute for WHO experts to *finally* visit China to investigate coronavirus is because ‘the question of tracing the origins is extremely complicated’ and further procedures and arrangements are needed.
- Blackmail of NL with immediate stop to export of medical supplies hinted by Global Times. First time this is raised publicly as far as I know. Netizens call for Dutch products boycott, halt to medical exports over Taiwan - Global Times globaltimes.cn/content/118698…
- Out of four car brands produced in Sweden, only one is not Chinese, and it is a tiny specialty brand. Volvo was bought by Geely, then a small Chinese company (circa 200k cars per year) with massive loans by state banks. Sweden, an example to follow for the car industry, really?German and Swedish leaders warn against "stupid" tariffs on Chinese electric cars. "We don't want to dismantle global trade, that's a stupid idea ... Punitive tariffs as a one-size-fits-all solution is not a good idea for importing and exporting countries," said Ulf Kristersson.
- Xi-Macron declaration : some joint hypocrisy beyond the pale (both countries to promote and respect human rights). Was it really necessary? A French gain in getting the Zaporizhya nuclear plant explicitly mentioned. Several Chinese gains elysee.fr/emmanuel-macro… THREAD follows
- On French tv, a remarkable event: for two hours, Macron answers and battles the most aggressive journos in France: Bourdin, a talented and boisterous interviewer, and Plenel, a skilled former Trotskyst manipulator. And Macron argues coolly and rationally his values.#MacronBFMTV
- It's going to be very difficult to justify sanctions over Xinjiang that do not involve Xi Jinping's direct responsability. Subject to the authenticity of the leaked documents, this looks like Xi's personal signatures on the crimes committed in Xinjiang.BREAKING: the first-ever leak of "Top Secret" remarks by a Chinese head of state shows how Beijing is behind nearly every aspect of the atrocities in Xinjiang: Internments / forced labor / birth control & reducing Uyghur population shares / big data policing / boardng schools/1
- This will soon become a fundamental issue for the future of Europe. If the discourse on « strategic autonomy » boils down to our right to talk and trade with strategic rivals - and enemies - while we dither on other issues, we will be marginalised as Europe @FHeisbourg 🧵Replying to @ulrichspeckIt also amazes me that the US is trying to convince Europeans to do more to help Ukraine -- not the other way around.
