Tuesday 20 April 2021

China Warns. Tesla Burns. Dogecoin Day.

 Baltic Dry Index. 2432 +47 Brent Crude 67.74

Spot Gold 1773

Coronavirus Cases 02/04/20 World 1,000,000

Deaths 53,100

Coronavirus Cases 20/04/21 World 142,713,292

Deaths 3,043,219

The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule. 

H. L. Mencken

We open today with a warning from China. As the world’s second largest national economy, it’s not an American centric world anymore. President Xi demands more respect for China. 

What he demands and what he gets are likely to be two very different things, given China’s actions in Hong Kong, the South China Sea and Xinjiang.

Amid US strains, China’s Xi warns against ‘unilateralism’

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for more equitable management of global affairs and, in an implicit rejection of U.S. dominance, said governments shouldn’t impose rules on others.

Xi’s speech at an economic forum comes amid rising tension with China’s neighbors and Washington over its strategic ambitions and demands for a bigger role in making trade and other rules.

Without mentioning the United States, Xi criticized “unilateralism of individual countries” and warned against decoupling, a reference to fears U.S.-Chinese tension over technology and security will split industries and markets into separate, less productive spheres with incompatible standards.

“International affairs should be handled by everyone through consultation,” Xi said by video link to the Boao Forum for Asia on the southern island of Hainan. “Rules made by one or more countries should not be forced upon others.”

Xi called for stronger cooperation in research on coronavirus vaccines and steps to make them available to developing countries.

Xi’s comments reflected the ruling Communist Party’s desire for global influence to match China’s status as the second-largest economy and frustration at what party leaders see as U.S. efforts to block its ambitions.

Those sentiments have been fueled by sanctions imposed by former President Donald Trump that block access to U.S. processor chips and other technology for Chinese tech giant Huawei and some other companies.

---- “No matter how far it develops, China will never seek hegemony, expand, seek spheres of influence or engage in an arms race,” Xi said.

China’s military spending is the second-highest after the United States. Beijing is developing nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, submarines, stealth fighters and other weapons to extend its military reach.

The annual Boao forum, founded in 2001, is modeled on the Davos gathering of business leaders in Switzerland.

Xi warned against decoupling, a stance that clashes with Beijing’s promotion of its own standards for telecoms, high-speed rail and other fields and pressure on companies to use Chinese suppliers instead of global sources, even if that increases costs.

Speeding up a two-decade-old campaign to make China self-reliant in technology has been declared this year’s top economic priority by the ruling party.

“Building walls and decoupling violate economic and market rules, harming others,” Xi said.

Boao Forum for Asia: https://english.boaoforum.org/

https://apnews.com/article/technology-beijing-xi-jinping-coronavirus-pandemic-asia-501ef7465614ef56e0ff1aa1d72d69bf

Back in the stock casinos, a pause or something more?

Wall Street slips off record highs, Tesla drops after fatal crash

April 19, 2021

No comments:

Post a Comment