- Brussels wants to protect itself against economic blackmail
- Hunting criminals with artificial intelligence
- China’s vaccination diplomacy – charity with ulterior motives
- Surplus of certificates in China’s emissions trading system
- China launches construction of its space station
- Shenzhen plans to expand free schooling
- Johnny Erling: Jiang Yanyong – China’s unforgotten hero
Today, Johnny Erling introduces to you a hero that political Beijing would prefer to forget. Jiang Yanyong exposed the lung disease Sars before it could become a pandemic. After his criticism of the Tiananmen massacre, the brutality of which he witnessed first-hand in his clinic, the soon-to-be 90-year-old has been under house arrest for two years for one reason only: His civil courage disgraces the CCP.
Whether trade sanctions against Australian wine or pineapples from Taiwan – international conflicts are increasingly being fought out by economic means. The EU no longer wants to stand by and arm itself against economic blackmail. Amelie Richter shows why the planned “anti-coercion instrument” is primarily directed against Beijing and how it could work. The relevance of the instrument is also shown by a news item from yesterday: According to Reuters, Adidas was briefly excluded as a supplier of the half marathon in Shanghai. This is not the first company to be hit by Beijing’s ban.
Online courts, blockchain, and apps – China’s legal system is increasingly relying on IT. In the future, artificial intelligence is also expected to play a stronger role. Frank Sieren analyses: Information technology and software can speed up court proceedings and relieve overburdened legal systems. But there is also a risk that China’s dominance in the legal tech sector will lead to the export of Chinese legal opinion.
Beijing now supplies its COVID-19 vaccines to dozens of countries around the world. Not out of charity but to pursue its own diplomatic, geopolitical, and economic interests, as Michael Radunski explains.
An exciting read and have a great weekend!
Nico Beckert
Feature
Brussels wants to protect itself against economic blackmail
European clothing manufacturers are speaking out against cotton from Xinjiang and, as a result, are facing a boycott of the Chinese market – with a loud drumbeat from the government. Canberra stands up to Beijing and refuses to interfere in national affairs, whereupon several Australian industries are hit by import duties, import boycotts, and massive negative campaigns by the Chinese government. It is becoming clear that international conflicts are increasingly being fought with economic means of pressure. The European Union now wants to arm itself against precisely such economic blackmail – with the “anti-coercion instrument”, which is intended to enable a rapid response to coercive economic measures, Brussels plans to take action against practices by non-EU countries that attempt to pressure the EU or member states into taking or withdrawing certain policy measures.
This afternoon, stakeholders will meet for the first time at a virtual stakeholder meeting as part of the public consultations and exchange views on the planned instrument. The public consultation process will continue until June 15. Until then, companies, organizations, and associations can give feedback to the EU Commission. The concrete proposal of the Brussels authority is expected for the fourth quarter. At Wednesday’s meeting of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade, there were calls for rapid progress on the issue. The process is still in its infancy, and what the instrument will ultimately look like is still largely open. Whether extraterritorial sanctions will play a role in the process has not yet been decided by the EU Commission, said Denis Redonnet, deputy director-general of the EU Commission’s Directorate-General for Trade, to MEPs.
Deterrence against possible adversaries
The problem of economic coercion does not only affect the EU, Redonnet said. There are also a large number of actors who make use of them. However, it is clear to observers that, following the reawakening of transatlantic relations between Brussels and Washington, Beijing, in particular, has been identified as a potential aggressor. The latest attempt at intimidation from the People’s Republic is only a few weeks old: At the end of March, Beijing imposed sanctions on several European politicians, academics, and organizations in response to punitive measures from Brussels based on human rights violations.
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