China
Chinese looted art + Fight against blue-green algae
Dear reader,
The mystery of where Xi Jinping is headed on his first foreign visit since the start of 2020 has now been solved. Recent speculation pointed to Saudi Arabia. A hoax, as is now clear. Instead, China's president and party leader is traveling to Central Asia. On Wednesday, Xi will be in Kazakhstan; from there he will continue to Uzbekistan for a summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Russia's President Vladimir Putin and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among others, are also expected to attend there. We will monitor and analyze Xi's trip and possible meetings with Putin or Modi for you.
The topics of today are poisonous algae and stolen art treasures. Fabian Peltsch has taken a closer look at stolen art. So far, the debate has focused mainly on objects from Germany's former African colonies. But now China is also shifting into the focus of so-called provenance research, for unflattering reasons: German soldiers were involved in the suppression of the "Boxer Rebellion," which resulted in an "orgy of looting". Many Chinese art pieces have since been scattered all over the world and can also be found in Germany.
Frank Sieren presents an invention by Chinese researchers who want to fight blue-green algae with relatively simple methods. These harmful algae are spreading rapidly in many countries as temperatures rise. The process developed in China could thus attract interest worldwide.
