Normally G7 summits are about battling for the free world comma by comma, as diplomats parse lengthy communiques of ephemeral significance long into the night. Words, after all, constitute much of a diplomat’s work. At the Hiroshima G7 some of the communiques emerging from the summit do matter, notably the toolbox on de-risking trade with China, but the true significance of the summit lay in Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s scene-stealing visit courtesy of a ride in Emmanuel Macron’s French aircraft. It was the culmination of a Ukrainian realisation that for months they…
Day: May 21, 2023
Deadly Storm Compounds Need for Aid in Myanmar
Washington — One week after deadly Cyclone Mocha, Rohingya survivors are desperate for help. Residents at a camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) told VOA that the storm made hundreds of Rohingya refugees “disappear.” The Category 4 cyclone destroyed bridges, power lines and huts in refugee camps and towns in Rakhine state, home to over 600,000 Rohingya Muslims, of whom nearly 150,000 are currently living in camps outside of the state’s capital, Sittwe. “Every camp and village has been devastated,” Aung Zaw Hein, a resident of Thet Kay Pyin camp,…
US and Papua New Guinea set to sign security agreement amid Pacific militarisation concerns
The United States is scheduled to sign a new security pact with Papua New Guinea on Monday amid concerns in PNG about increasing militarisation and as the US continues to compete with China for influence in the Pacific. The state department said the new agreement would provide a framework to help improve security cooperation, enhance the capacity of Papua New Guinea’s defence force and increase regional stability. A draft copy of the Defence Cooperation Agreement leaked last week sparked concern in PNG about the extent of US military involvement in…
Global investment banks’ profits drop in China
Profits at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and a clutch of other western banks in China fell sharply last year, as Covid-19 lockdowns and geopolitical tensions thwarted hopes that their operations in the country might finally start to be lucrative. Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and HSBC reported losses in their China-based units in 2022 and Morgan Stanley’s profits fell, figures published by the lenders and seen by the Financial Times show. Among a group of seven Wall Street and European groups with investment banking units in mainland China, JPMorgan…
China’s war chest: how the fight for semiconductors reveals the outlines of a future conflict
Signs of the burgeoning conflict between the US and China can be spotted in many different places, from balloons in the sky to videos on TikTok. But nowhere is it more apparent than on the microscopic wafers of silicon, otherwise known as semiconductors. Semiconductors, or microchips, are tiny pieces of technology that power everything from microwaves to military weapons. The industry is worth more than $580bn (£466bn), but even that figure belies their importance to the global economy. Their existence powers several trillion dollars’ worth of goods and processes; without…
FirstFT Asia: China bans US chipmaker Micron
Good morning. China has said that US chipmaker MicronTechnology’s products posed “serious network security risks’‘ and banned operators from buying them. The decision comes amid escalating tensions between the world’s superpowers and marks the first big measure taken against an American semiconductor group. The Cyberspace Administration of China on Sunday announced that the company, which is the biggest US maker of memory chips, “posed significant security risks to China’s critical information infrastructure supply chain”. The move follows a seven-week investigation into the Idaho-based Micron by the CAC, a probe that…
Biden Ends G7 Summit With Warning to China on Taiwan
Wrapping up a three-day summit with allies of the Group of Seven leading democracies in Japan, U.S. President Joe Biden sought to reassure Beijing that conflict with the West is avoidable, even as the G7 ramps up pressure to push back against China’s rising military and economic security threats. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara traveled with the president. Here is her report. Voice of America
China Tells Tech Manufacturers: Stop Using US-Made Micron Chips
BEIJING — Stepping up a feud with Washington over technology and security, China’s government Sunday told users of computer equipment deemed sensitive to stop buying products from the biggest U.S. memory chipmaker, Micron Technology Inc. Micron products have unspecified “serious network security risks” that pose hazards to China’s information infrastructure and affect national security, the Cyberspace Administration of China said on its website. Its six-sentence statement gave no details. “Operators of critical information infrastructure in China should stop purchasing products from Micron Co.,” the agency said. The United States, Europe…
China Bans Some Chip Sales of Micron, the US Company
Beijing on Sunday told Chinese companies that deal with critical information to stop purchasing products from Micron Technology, the U.S.-based manufacturer of memory chips used in phones, computers and other electronics. Many analysts viewed the move as retaliation for Washington’s efforts to cut off China’s access to high-end chips. In a statement on its official social media site, the Cyberspace Administration of China said that in a cybersecurity review it had found that the chip maker’s products posed “relatively serious cybersecurity problems.” The problems could “seriously endanger the supply chain…
US Inking Cooperation Deals with Papua New Guinea
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has traveled to Papua New Guinea to sign defense cooperation and maritime agreements with the Pacific island nation and meet with regional leaders. The trip comes as China exerts its influence in the region. Blinken was visiting the capital, Port Moresby, in place of U.S. President Joe Biden, who cut short an Asia-Pacific trip to return to Washington for negotiations on the U.S. debt limit. Biden would have been the first U.S. president to visit Papua New Guinea.…