China
Wirecard + CO2 border tax + Aircraft carrier + CGTN + Censorship + Minxin Pei
Dear reader,
The media dispute between London and Beijing over CGTN and the BBC is, unsurprisingly, also being played out on the journalists' playground Twitter. The EU correspondent of the state-run daily China Daily, Chen Weihua, made fun of the fine imposed on CGTN by the British media regulator Ofcom there: "Is the UK that broke?" he wrote. You can read about the background to the fine in today's News section – it's not unlikely that there will be more resentment brewing on both sides of this issue in the future.
Trouble is also looming in the Bundestag, and for Angela Merkel: For a long time, there was talk of a routine procedure when the Bundestag's investigative committee talked about the German chancellor's influence on the China business of the scandal company Wirecard. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that this was at best only half the truth. Finn Mayer-Kuckuk has the latest developments in the case.
Shandong and Liaoning are already in the service of the Chinese Navy – this year, a third aircraft carrier is now to be added. Gregor Koppenburg and Jörn Petring present the new ship, its technology, and China's associated quest for even more world power status.
