US treasury secretary Janet Yellen has started a craze in China for a magic mushroom-based dish called Jian shou qing, or “see hand blue”, after she was spotted eating the fungi, known for being hallucinogenic, while on a visit to Beijing in July. “I went with this large group of people and the person who’d arranged our dinner did the ordering. There was a delicious mushroom dish I was not aware that these mushrooms had hallucinogenic properties. I learned that later,” she told CNN. The dish is made from Lanmaoa…
Day: August 15, 2023
Tennessee Refinery Could Break Chinese Chokehold on Two Critical Minerals
A solution to potential shortages of two critical minerals used in making semiconductors and advanced military equipment — exports of which were restricted by China this month — may be lying in some waste storage ponds in central Tennessee. Owners of a zinc processing facility in the southern U.S. state say they are developing a plan to extract the two minerals — gallium and germanium — from the ponds where for years the company has deposited the residue from its refining of zinc from five mines located in central and…
North Korea Says US Soldier Wants Refuge From Racism in US Army
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — North Korea concluded that Travis King wants refuge there or in another country because of “inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army,” state media said on Wednesday, Pyongyang’s first public acknowledgment of King crossing from South Korea on July 17. A private in the U.S. Army, King dashed into the North while on a civilian tour of the Joint Security Area (JSA) on the heavily fortified border between the two Koreas. U.S. officials have said they believe King crossed the border intentionally and have…
Chinese drugmakers develop copycat versions of ‘miracle’ weight-loss drug
Receive free Pharmaceuticals sector updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Pharmaceuticals sector news every morning. Chinese pharmaceutical companies are developing domestic versions of “miracle” weight-loss drugs as they take on western drugmakers selling anti-obesity medication in one of the world’s biggest markets. Chinese drug companies hope to compete with the Danish pharma group Novo Nordisk’s pioneering drugs in China, which has the world’s largest overweight and diabetic population. If successful, they could also potentially offer a cheaper alternative in the west. The new…
Shanghai expands scope of virtual asset trading to become a ‘data industry innovation highland’ worth US$69 billion by 2025
Shanghai plans to expand the scope of virtual asset trading in the metropolis over the next few years, according to the municipal government’s 2023-2025 digital economy master plan published on Tuesday. Under that plan, the existing Shanghai Data Exchange, which started trading various data products in November 2021, will be transformed into a larger “national-level data exchange” capable of covering transactions across the country by 2025 amid efforts to set up a new “digital asset board”. Some 5,000 data products are expected to be listed on the exchange by 2025,…
China’s heathcare costs fuel consumption in ageing society, but alarms are blaring in the medical insurance fund
However, some expenses cannot be avoided or put off without life-threatening or dangerous implications. “Since I turned 64, all manner of ailments, however minor, have been troublesome and have cost me more than all of my combined medical bills before that age,” Li said. Advertisement Covered by a rural healthcare scheme under which she can be reimbursed for up to 70 per cent of inpatient care, and at most 800 yuan a year for outpatient care, she has had to heavily rely on personal savings to cover the remaining cost…
FirstFT: China stops reporting youth jobless data amid economic gloom
Receive free Global Economy updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Global Economy news every morning. Good morning. We start today with more bad economic news from China, as Beijing said it would stop publishing data on youth unemployment, weeks after the gauge hit a record level. The decision is a sign of mounting pressure on policymakers as new data pointed to weakness in the recovery of the world’s second-largest economy. The People’s Bank of China on Tuesday also unexpectedly cut a benchmark interest…
China, North Korea Loom as US, Japan, South Korea Leaders Head to First Trilateral Summit
state department — Leaders of the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea are strengthening their alliance through an annual trilateral summit amid growing threats from North Korea and China, according to U.S. officials and analysts. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met virtually Tuesday with the foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea, days before U.S. President Joe Biden is set to host Japanese Pime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeo at Camp David on August 18. It will be the first time that…
Ralph Lauren investigated in Canada over Uygur forced labour claims
Canada’s corporate watchdog on Tuesday launched an investigation of Ralph Lauren’s Canadian unit over allegations the fashion giant used forced labour from China’s Uygur minority. The announcement follows similar probes of Nike Canada and Canadian mining firm Dynasty Gold, which the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (Core) began last month. A coalition of 28 civil society organisations last year filed a complaint with the watchdog alleging “Ralph Lauren Canada has supply relationships with Chinese companies that use or benefit from the use of Uygur forced labour”. “I have decided that…
Joe Biden’s US summit with Japanese, South Korean leaders looks to send ‘unity’ message
For years, Beijing has counted on the historic animosity between Japan and South Korea as part of its divide and conquer playbook, even as Washington has worked to bolster its alliances and counter China’s growing footprint. At this week’s summit between the leaders of Japan, South Korea and the United States, Washington is hoping to permanently blunt with a show of unity that Chinese advantage on the geopolitical chessboard. On Friday, US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol will convene at the…