In 1957, Mao ordered 60 million Chinese to "cook steel" and built 240,000 small blast furnaces. That was the beginning of a steel addiction that has driven China's steel production up year after year ever since. With state-subsidized steel, Beijing floods the world market. Now, Xi Jinping says this has to stop because the steel glut is counteracting his goals for reducing CO2 emissions.
By Antje Sirleschtov
Rapid economic growth in China has been accompanied by environmental damage in many regions. Shenzhen has introduced the GEP, an alternative system to GDP that measures the growth and well-being of its citizens based on ecological factors. Figures from the new eco-indicator will be presented for the first time in June. The GEP is intended to provide incentives for more sustainable investment.
By Frank Sieren
Parag Khanna was a foreign policy advisor in Barack Obama's first presidential campaign. The political scientist is the founder of the strategy consulting firm FutureMap. In an interview with China.Table, he says Europe's sanctions against China are ineffective and merely a self-satisfaction of the West. To influence the situation in China in the long term, the West must remain present.
By Michael Radunski
The new Chinese data protection law, the Data Security Law (DSL), which is to regulate the use of personal data, is largely based on the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Unlike the EU, Beijing reserves extensive data processing powers. For foreign companies with data in China, the legal basis will change this year.
By Frank Sieren
