No lockdown, hardly any tests, and no vaccination campaign: Yet hardly any other country has managed to contain the pandemic as successfully as Taiwan. Unlike the authoritarian People's Republic, the island republic used democratic means.
By Felix Lee
China can't seem to let it go: Despite agreements with Western countries to the contrary, hackers from the Far East are repeatedly accessing the data of authorities, banks, and companies. With access to Microsoft's Exchange servers, a particularly spectacular case is now causing outrage. But is the state really behind the espionage?
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China is to be further digitized – even underground. The first innovation laboratory in the coal-rich province of Shanxi shows how this can be done: Fully automated mines could not only prevent mining accidents but also increase productivity – and thus make China less dependent on raw material imports. In addition, the technology could also supply the countries of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), whose mining sector is mostly still backward.
By Frank Sieren
The European draft for a supply chain law goes further than the German approach – but some questions of detail are still open. Some MEPs are calling for an additional import ban on products from forced labor. For goods from the Chinese province of Xinjiang, the control of the specifications could become problematic.
By Amelie Richter
China wants to make its financial markets more solid with the 14th Five-Year Plan and bring the regional governments and the economy down from high debt levels. It also aims to reduce the risk of bubbles. Can this be achieved without slowing down the momentum on the markets?
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When the cameras pan to President Xi Jinping at the National People's Congress, six men are visible to his left and right. They are between sixty and seventy years old and belong to the most powerful body in the state: the Standing Committee of the Communist Party's Politburo. The concentration of power on Xi makes their appearance fade somewhat, but nevertheless: Everyone in this exclusive circle plays a clear role in steering the party, developing its ideology, and thus ensuring its hold on power.
By Redaktion Table
Nuclear power is considered an important component of the energy concept in the new five-year plan – it is supposed to enable growth without emissions. With 20 new reactors by 2035, the expansion is now proceeding more rapidly. However, it is still well below the original, much more ambitious plans.
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The leadership in Beijing has set growth at a relatively low six percent. Apparently, it fears overheating and stresses that it is aiming for "qualitative" growth. The IMF expects growth of over eight percent. Exports, in particular, have been booming for several months.
By Felix Lee
In his annual press conference, Foreign Minister Wang Yi raised controversial issues – and made China's positions clear: In Hong Kong, the politicians there must "love their motherland", and the accusations of genocide in Xinjiang are "rumors". He called for more cooperation with the USA but, at the same time, forbade Washington to interfere in internal affairs. With regard to the ILO's forced labor requirements, he promised "efforts". However, there were no concrete announcements.
By Frank Sieren
China's official military budget is growing by 6.8 percent. This means that the increase is in line with previous years. In any case, experts assume that the actual expenditure is higher. For example, pensions, construction projects, and the military police are booked in other budgets. Beijing wants to have modern, technologically powerful armed forces by 2027 – and thus also protect its own investments abroad.
By Christiane Kuehl
