Confucius Institutes around the globe are suspected of involvement in propaganda and espionage. In Japan, the Ministry of Education has even launched an official investigation. A fight with critics often take on bizarre forms, as the latest example in Slovakia shows, where the director of one of the institutes surprised with crude remarks.
By Marcel Grzanna
A new venture capital wave is on the rise in China: vegetarian meat substitutes. Since Buddhists already perfected meat and fish imitations centuries ago, China is serval steps of other countries in this area. This new food trend also offers several advantages for the government.
By Frank Sieren
The von der Leyen Commission is massively restructuring digital law. The goal: To make Europe a sovereign player in the global digital world. One legislative act follows the next – coherence is becoming a problem.
By Falk Steiner
The US company Starlink, founded by Elon Musk, is currently the leading provider of Internet access via satellite connection. But China is also planning to go on the offensive with the new technology. Tens of thousands of satellites will be launched into orbit over the next few years.
By Redaktion Table
Despite the political confrontation between China and the US, Liang Hua, Chairman of the Board of Huawei, does not expect the world to split into two technological systems. He sees the fight against climate change as a major challenge. "Data centers need to become more power-efficient," Liang said in an interview with Frank Sieren. Huawei wants to score points here, especially with artificial intelligence and renewable energies. In the automotive sector, Huawei aims to become a tech partner, but does not plan own models, Hua said. In Europe, Huawei wants to in particular cooperate with small and medium-sized enterprises in the future.
By Frank Sieren
Tech company Bytedance is entering the digital education sector with the introduction of a surveillance camera built into a lamp. Parents should be able to keep an eye on their offspring from a distance while they do their homework. The driving force behind the favorable sales figures is the guilty conscience of parents who are trying to reconcile work and family. But the lamp with a built-in screen and tutoring function casts a grim shadow on the future of learning.
By Ning Wang
China's foreign policy has so far followed a clear pattern: economic aid is followed by political influence. And then? In Djibouti, Beijing's next step is apparent. The state of the Horn of Africa could serve as a template for many other countries.
By Michael Radunski
According to Harvard University, 93 percent of the Chinese population is satisfied with the work of their central government. But figures of social-science studies in an authoritarian-ruled country should be taken with a pinch of salt. There are enough reasons to doubt their validity.
By Marcel Grzanna
The increasing number of IPOs of Chinese companies abroad is apparently a thorn in Beijing's side. Officials claim that there is great concern that foreign powers - for example in the US - could access their collected data. It is not yet clear whether the tightened rules are about a power struggle between the state and the private sector, or whether the state is actually committed to protecting its citizens' personal data. It's quite possible that both is true.
By Frank Sieren
China, which has been sanctioned by the USA, wants to become more independent of foreign countries in the field of semiconductor technology and is already putting its money where its mouth is. In the past five months alone, it has raised a total of six billion US dollars for new investments in the sector. While China is quick to implement and create capacity, it is technically lagging behind South Korea, the island of Taiwan and the US. The auto industry is watching the semiconductor arms race closely.
By Frank Sieren
