Germany's new government wants to expand solar power – while ensuring human rights in global supply chains. That will be difficult, because the solar supply chain is dominated by China. And the production of the raw material for solar modules appears to involve forced labor in Xinjiang. Trade sanctions will hardly solve the problem.
By Nico Beckert
China's social credit system poses major challenges for companies. Anyone who makes mistakes can end up on a "blacklist". Stigmatization and punishments could follow. But German companies are proving to be model students.
By Redaktion Table
Major automotive supplier Continental has been caught in the crossfire of a new trade conflict between the EU and China. The automotive industry is threatened with supply problems. The EU must formulate an appropriate response. And the German traffic light coalition is now forced to sort out its China policy on the fly at a crisis meeting at Vice-Chancellor Habeck's home.
By Redaktion Table
Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's head of government, fears a low voter turnout in the upcoming elections and is promoting free bus transport to the ballot box. At the same time, she wants to bolster police security.
By Marcel Grzanna
Not only Covid is to blame, when goods are missing. By setting trade barriers, politics had no small part in the current trade disruptions. IfW Kiel highlights the reasons for the current supply chain problems – and gives a somewhat pessimistic forecast for 2022.
By
Long-term data on ground-zero Covid patients show: About half of the COVID-19 patients from the Wuhan outbreak are still suffering from health problems. Some symptoms even become more severe after six months.
By Frank Sieren
In January, a huge economic free-trading area will be established with the RCEP. What was intended to be a free trade agreement of the Southeast Asian confederation ASEAN, now mainly benefits China, Japan and South Korea. In this way, the People's Republic is becoming part of a regional free trade agreement for the first time.
By Christiane Kuehl
The emergence of the Omicron variant strengthens Beijing's zero-covid strategy. Of additional concern is a subtype of the Delta variant, which has now led to another lockdown for half a million people in Zhejiang. Hopes for a border opening are thus fading again. Meanwhile, travel to Hong Kong is still possible – but with new rules.
By Ning Wang
Nowadays, no one is safe from the public outcry over supposedly improper remarks. Not only global corporations, but even pop stars loyal to the state are now quickly pilloried on the Internet for hurting the "feelings of the people." The government utilizes this patriotic outrage to push its foreign policy agenda.
By Fabian Peltsch
The pandemic has hit the city's casino operators hard. Now Beijing is launching a crackdown on money laundering and illegal gambling. The Chinese special administrative region is about to change fundamentally.
By Redaktion Table
