- Xi offers Putin a place on the stage at BRICS
- Faraway dream: solar power from space
- Subsidy for EVs could remain
- BMW to start production at a third plant
- Civil rights activist charged after open letter to Xi
- Prices for solar feedstock at 10-year high
- Coastal ecosystems still under severe strain
- Opinion: increasing vaccination rates through transparency
Things have been rather quiet around the emerging power alliance BRICS in recent years. Its members were too busy with domestic concerns (Brazil, South Africa) or conflicts with each other (India – China). But in the geopolitical competition between the West and China, the BRICS alliance seems to become a new platform for Xi Jinping, analyzes Felix Lee. Together with the Western-shunned Vladimir Putin, Xi wants to strengthen the cooperation in the BRICS bloc.
The German government sees this development with concern and wants to prevent the formation of a new bloc. According to analysts, this could be almost impossible to avert. China tries far too hard to divide the world into factions. And not without reason: China would be the strongest player in any alliance that excludes the United States. The People’s Republic has left the other BRICS countries far behind economically, militarily, and power-politically.
Solar power from space – what may at first glance sound like the plan of a James Bond villain is under serious research by Chinese scientists. The first step is to send a test satellite into space to transmit solar power to a ground station via microwaves or lasers. By 2050, the capacity is to be gradually increased to two gigawatts – the output of two nuclear reactors. This is far too little for the energy transition and would also come too late. Our team in Beijing looked at the pros and cons of this technology. It could potentially be more suited for military purposes: To supply remote military bases with power.
Nico Beckert
Feature
Risk of bloc formation: BRICS versus G7
The Western world stares at an eight-day marathon of events over the next few days, including the EU summit in Brussels, the G7 meeting in Elmau, and the NATO summit in Brussels. And as far as the war in Ukraine is concerned, the participating leaders agree, at least in principle: Russia is the aggressor in this conflict. The country is sanctioned, and Russian President Vladimir Putin is ostracized.
Some eight thousand kilometers to the east, China’s President Xi Jinping is presiding over an online meeting of politicians from BRICS countries, the association of the largest emerging economies Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. In this circle, Putin is no pariah.
On the contrary, Xi once again sharply criticized Western sanctions against Russia at the opening of the summit. “Facts once again have proven that sanctions are a double-edged sword.” Xi did not mention the United States or the NATO countries by name. And he also avoided formally declaring support for Russia. Apparently, Xi does not want to risk Western sanctions expanding to China. Nevertheless, his opening speech made it clear that he sees Moscow as an important partner against a common enemy: the United States.
Continue reading now
… and get free access to this Professional Briefing for a month.
Are you already a guest at the China.Table? Log in now