Opinion

The drought highlights the dangers of climate change for agriculture

China is suffering under the worst drought in decades – and in regions of the south and southwest that actually have ample water. Dr. Michaela Boehme, an expert on agriculture and food in China, analyzes the major challenges the country has to face from extreme heat and drought. Both are already a consequence of the climate crisis, and so Dr. Boehme also sees the situation as a wake-up call to Beijing to take the direct effects of climate change on agriculture and food security seriously.

By Experts Table.Briefings

Germany and China – nuances are lost

There has never been so little direct interaction between China and the world in recent decades. The former SPD chairman and German Minister of Defense warns that Russia's attack on Ukraine will exacerbate this estrangement. He believes, however, that German and Chinese economies and societies are dependent on each other. And the question of peace, as a global challenge, cannot be resolved without China.

By Experts Table.Briefings

What's cooking in Strasbourg? – Von der Leyens' tarte flambée

Tarte flambée is on the menu for the week. When the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, delivers her State of the European Union address on Wednesday in the Strasbourg Parliament – in the heart of Alsace, the stronghold of tarte flambée – she will give an overview of the projects her Commission intends to tackle in the coming year.

By Claire Stam

The strange docility of the Chinese

Our "China Perspective" column is written by authors from the People's Republic. Today's part deals with the question: How can 1.4 billion people be so docile? The Chinese endure absurd Covid lockdowns and restrictions on freedom without any objections. The answer lies partly in an education system that instills obedience into people. The other reason is much simpler and far more brutal: A fear of the authorities.

By Experts Table.Briefings

Beware of Führer states

By Experts Table.Briefings

Beware of Fuehrer states

The "change through trade" strategy has proven ineffective when dealing with countries like Russia and China. The former head of the Munich Security Conference, Wolfgang Ischinger, and the founder of Table.Media, Sebastian Turner, call for a preventive approach based on credible deterrence rather than punishment after crossing red lines.

By Experts Table.Briefings

War in Ukraine: Does China benefit?

Shortly before the 20th CP Congress, China's head of state Xi Jinping is under more pressure than he has been in a long time. The tensions over Taiwan call for action of symbolic significance. Economically, a grab for Taiwan's semiconductor industry seems tempting. However, an invasion of the island for semiconductor and political motives would have fatal consequences for China.

By Experts Table.Briefings

Carbon farming: a horse saddled with the wrong bridle

Carbon farming aims to increase the carbon storage capacity of arable soils. To create economic incentives, the EU Commission plans a legal framework for the certification of these sink services. But what sounds like a good idea at first is ultimately the wrong approach, as Sarah Wiener writes in today's Opinion.

By Experts Table.Briefings

What's cooking in Brussels: turmoil at the EESC

"Whim of the gods" is on the menu. Spanish MEP Isabel García Muñoz will present a report on the budget of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) to the Parliament's Budget Committee on Monday. What may seem like a formality at first glance holds political dynamite.

By Claire Stam

China's emotional congestion

In dictatorships like the one in China, people often live a double life. Cab drivers swear vocally about the government, but are strict CP members at the same time. In schools, Orwellian neologisms and doublespeak are widespread, words are attributed new meanings, and logic is often twisted. China is drifting into a "new form of totalitarianism" that does not use terror, but massively suppresses and kills debate.

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