The narrative of China's inevitable rise is nurtured in both West and East. China seems to be rushing from victory to victory. Economic and political challenges such as overcapacity, bubbles, and the "demographic bomb" often fall by the wayside. Yet China's rise as a high-income country is anything but certain.
Von Redaktion Table
After the authorities surprisingly canceled the IPO of Alibaba's financial subsidiary Ant Group, the group is threatened with further cuts. According to reports, Beijing wants Alibaba to drastically scale back its media holdings. The independence of the South China Morning Post is in danger.
Von Redaktion Table
The Social Credit System is to become a defining feature of Beijing's data-based governance. It leads to more transparency about compliance with rules and laws. Breaches of rules but also particularly rule-compliant behavior, will be recorded in publicly accessible databases. German companies are also affected. While some see the system as a regulatory jungle, others use it to better assess Chinese business partners. It remains to be seen in which direction Beijing will develop the system further.
Von Nico Beckert
Some EU countries are reacting to Beijing's sanctions by summoning their ambassadors – in Berlin, too, there was a meeting with Wu Ken. Meanwhile, resistance to the CAI investment agreement continues to form in the European Parliament: First, the punitive measures against EU parliamentarians must be withdrawn before the agreement can be discussed, emphasize the Greens and Social Democrats. The large EPP group and the EU Commission, however, continue to adhere to CAI and its goal.
Von Amelie Richter
