Tag: Economics

  • Evaluating 3 key recommendations of the Blair-Huntsman IP Commission report

    The U.S. government needs to do more to stop the theft of U.S. intellectual property (IP), mostly by China, according to a new report produced by a group of political and business leaders under the leadership of Dennis Blair, former director of national intelligence under Obama and former commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, and…

  • Five points on the deeply flawed U.S. Congress Huawei report

    A U.S. Congressional committee released a broadside attack on the Chinese telecommunications firms Huawei and ZTE this week, charging that their products represent a security risk to the United States and recommending that U.S. government and private sector organizations avoid their products. The report followed about a year of investigation that included hearings and a…

  • China Tops Japan as Biggest Holder of U.S. Debt

    Just a little note. It had been on my mind since Tobias at Observing Japan noted Japan’s erstwhile distinction as the holder of the most U.S. Treasury bills. He was discussing Niall Ferguson’s column, named with the “unfortunate word” Chimerica, and noted: “Ferguson does not mention that Japan holds more US treasuries than China, meaning…

  • Is Venezuela selling oil to China instead of to the U.S.?

    The United States is importing less oil from Venezuela, and China is buying more. Is Venezuela putting its resources where Hugo Chávez’s mouth is and using the country’s major export as a geopolitical lever? Or are U.S. imports just catching up with a 10-year decline in Venezuelan production? The U.S. Energy Information Administration released April…

  • Cuba–China Ties in Focus as Standing Committee Member Visits Fidel

    Fidel Castro met with He Guoqiang, a member of China’s powerful Politburo Standing Committee, for more than two hours yesterday, discussing numerous and diverse topics such as Tibet, Taiwan, food prices, the Olympics, and Fidel’s health (He conveyed President Hu Jintao’s wish for Castro’s speedy recovery). Earlier in the week He met with Cuban President…