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  1. #1776
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    No content, no comment.

  2. #1777
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  3. #1778
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    Sit down with George Yeo: On China's ambitions

    An interview by The Straits Times, Insight Editor Grace Ho, with George Yeo Yong-Boon, Ex Singapore Minister of Foreign Affairs.
    George Yeo

    George Yeo Yong-Boon (Chinese: 杨荣文; pinyin: Yáng Róngwén; born 13 September 1954) is a Singaporean former politician and brigadier-general who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs between 2004 and 2011.


    "A former member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he was the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Bedok Reservoir–Punggol ward of Aljunied GRC between 1988 and 2011 before losing his seat during the 2011 Singapore general election—the first Cabinet minister to do so, where his team lost to opposition Workers' Party led by former Secretary-General Low Thia Khiang, after which he announced his retirement from politics. "

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Yeo

    With Grace HO:


    Grace Ho

    The Straits Times, Insight Editor.

    University of Oxford and Columbia University.

    Last edited by OhOh; 03-09-2022 at 09:03 PM.
    A tray full of GOLD is not worth a moment in time.

  4. #1779
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    double

  5. #1780
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  6. #1781
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Reaping what they've sown.

  7. #1782
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    US the biggest winner amid world energy chaos

    Amid fears of an indefinite cutoff of Russian gas flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, the EU will have to ramp up imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from alternative supplies in the run-up to the coming winter, making the US conspicuously the biggest winner in the Russia-Ukraine crisis, experts said on Saturday.

    At the meantime, a shift in European demand from Russian pipeline gas to LNG has already led to a surge in orders for LNG carriers, leading to a record number of orders being placed this year.

    Russian state energy giant Gazprom said on Friday evening that due to equipment problems, the supply of Russian gas to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline would not be resumed as planned, fueling worries of a worsening energy crisis in Europe and around world.

    After the completion of the three-day maintenance work, gas was originally supposed to begin flowing through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline again on Saturday morning. The pipeline is a key artery carrying Russian gas supplies to Europe, accounting for about 35 percent of Europe's total Russian gas imports in 2021, according to CNN.

    However, after an oil leak was detected at its Portovaya compressor station, Gazprom said that the pipeline must be shut down "until all equipment faults have been rectified." It was not specified how long this would take.

    The news came on the same day when EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Europe needs to impose a price cap on Russian pipeline gas and the Group of Seven finance ministers agreed to impose a price cap on Russian oil in a bid to curb Moscow's revenue from oil sales while taming unchecked inflation.

    In response, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, wrote on the Telegram messaging app, "There will simply be no Russian gas in Europe."

    Since June, Gazprom has slashed flows through Nord Stream 1 to 20 percent of its capacity, blaming sanctions imposed by the West for disrupting routine operations and maintenance of the pipeline.

    At a time when Russian pipeline gas supplies have been in free fall, the EU had no choice but to ramp up imports from the US at all costs, generating unprecedented profits for US gas suppliers, Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Saturday.

    Through to June of this year, the US exported about 57 billion cubic meters (bcm) of LNG with 39 bcm, or 68 percent, going to Europe, according to Refinitiv data. That is compared with 34 bcm, or 35 percent, of LNG exports shipped to Europe during 2021 when the US LNG exports totaled around 97 bcm, according to Reuters.

    "This would have been unthinkable in the past in that US LNG prices are clearly much higher than Russian pipeline gas prices because of the transport costs, but now the Ukraine crisis has made it real with the EU determined to reduce its energy dependence on Russian gas," Lin noted. "In other words, the world's energy landscape is undergoing a huge restructuring due to geopolitical factors, accompanied by soaring prices and supply shortages."

    Energy prices will remain high until the restructuring is completed, putting more pressure on the world economic recovery, noted Lin.

    "As it turns out, the US has gained the most from the energy crisis by opening up a huge market for American gas suppliers, tightening its grip on Europe and hurting Russia's key export," A Beijing-based expert on international affairs who spoke on condition of anonymity told the Global Times on Saturday.

    The US created the Ukraine crisis in the first place, but has now become the biggest winner sitting across the ocean and profiting from the crisis. This calls for reflection and vigilance, Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry, said on Friday.

    Zhao said that he is aware of reports that the gap between gas prices in the European and US markets is now as much as 10 times, a record high.

    The remarks came in response to comments by some in the European media who have said that the US is masquerading as a savior while banking huge profits by selling gas to European countries, with the latter facing energy shortages due to sanctions targeting Russia that forced them to buy US natural gas at high prices.

    According to data published by Business Insider, an American financial and business news website, US companies are making more than $100 million per container ship of LNG bound for Europe.

    "Even with the expensive LNG imports from the US, it may still be hard for the EU to avoid facing soaring inflation, power shortages, and production disruptions in the upcoming winter, when energy demand usually picks up sharply," Lin said.

    "The EU needs more time to get itself prepared for reducing its dependence on Russian gas, which includes but not limited to more LNG ships and more gas storage facilities," the Beijing-based expert said.

    Global LNG traders have placed a remarkable number of orders for LNG ships, with Chinese and South Korean shipyards received record number of orders.

    For instance, Shanghai-based Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Co this year received LNG ship orders equivalent to the number of the past 20 years combined, an expert at Hudong-Zhonghua, who requested anonymity, told the Global Times on Saturday.

    "Even if there are enough LNG carriers, the EU may still lack enough receiving and storage terminals, which may take years to build," he noted. "To save construction time, Germany is converting LNG ships into floating storage regasification units for LNG storage, but it will difficult to finish the work by this winter."

    https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202209/1274531.shtml

  8. #1783
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabang View Post
    The US created the Ukraine crisis in the first place, but has now become the biggest winner sitting across the ocean and profiting from the crisis. This calls for reflection and vigilance, Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry, said on Friday.
    Perhaps China should have encouraged Putin to not invade, and foiled America's dastardly plan.

  9. #1784
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pickel View Post
    Perhaps China should have encouraged Putin to not invade, and foiled America's dastardly plan.

    Yes, schoolboy error from Mr. Shithole there.

  10. #1785
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    ^^ WTF has that to do with China?(apart from the fact they got some ship building out of it)

  11. #1786
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cujo View Post
    ^^ WTF has that to do with China?(apart from the fact they got some ship building out of it)

    I think sabang wants us to take the chinky whining seriously.

    As if.


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    The US did not cause the Ukraine problem. Putin’s war in Ukraine caused the problem. The unintended side effect of the European obligation to buy US gas, is also a side effect of Russian economic and military intransigence. Putin to blame yet again!

  13. #1788
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  14. #1789
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    What a crock of shit.

  15. #1790
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    More chinky funded propaganda from another witless chinky brown noser.

  16. #1791
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    Strange kinda genocide when the Uyghur population grows more than the rest of China.

  17. #1792
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabang View Post
    Strange kinda genocide when the Uyghur population grows more than the rest of China.
    And you still don't know how the UN defines Genocide.

    I suppose the Human Rights Commissioner who dodged the issue in her report just before leaving gives you something to squeal about, but she still said:

    China's "arbitrary and discriminatory detention" of Uyghurs and other Muslims in its Xinjiang region may constitute crimes against humanity
    Everyone else calls it Genocide because we know the chinkies are trying to do to the Uighurs what they did to the Tibetans.

    But not you of course, being the snivelling chinky brown noser that you are.
    The next post may be brought to you by my little bitch Spamdreth

  18. #1793
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Switch View Post
    The US did not cause the Ukraine problem. Putin’s war in Ukraine caused the problem. The unintended side effect of the European obligation to buy US gas, is also a side effect of Russian economic and military intransigence. Putin to blame yet again!
    Quote Originally Posted by Cujo View Post
    WTF has that to do with China?
    Exactly.

    However, more good news from China:

    China’s export extends double-digit growth of 11.8% despite rising external uncertainties


    By Global Times Published: Sep 07, 2022 11:08 AM

    "China's export extended double-digit growth in August at 11.8 percent year-on-year, official data showed on Wednesday, bucking market concerns of a slowdown due to cooling global consumer demand, high inflation, and growing geopolitical uncertainty.

    According to data released by the General Administration of Customs (GAC) on Wednesday, the country's foreign trade totaled 3.71 trillion yuan ($531.64 billion) in August, an increase of 8.6 percent on a yearly basis.

    In August, China's exports increased 11.8 percent year-on-year to 2.12 trillion yuan, while imports rose 4.6 percent year-on-year to 1.59 trillion yuan. The country's trade surplus expanded 40.4 percent year-on-year, maintaining a relatively high level.

    Over the first eight months of 2022, the country's foreign trade grew 10.1 percent year-on-year to 27.3 trillion yuan, while exports gained 14.2 percent year-on-year to 15.48 trillion yuan.

    ASEAN continues to be China's largest trading partner, accounting for 15 percent of China's total foreign trade between January and August. China's trade with its top three trading partners - ASEAN, the EU, and the US - grew 14.2 percent, 9.5 percent, and 10.1 percent year-on-year, respectively.

    Trade with Belt and Road Initative (BRI) partners jumped 20.2 percent year-on-year over the period. In August alone, China's import and exports with BRI countries and regions increased 23.8 percent year-on-year, contributing to 6.9 percentage points of the country's total foreign trade growth, according to the GAC.

    Over the period, China's foreign trade with the 14 Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) economies was up 7.5 percent, according to the GAC."

    China’s exports maintain double-digit growth in Aug, showing resilience amid mounting pressure - Global Times

  19. #1794
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  20. #1795
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabang View Post
    The US created the Ukraine crisis in the first place, but has now become the biggest winner sitting across the ocean and profiting from the crisis.
    Ha ha. Had to shoehorn in that shit-nugget.

  21. #1796
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    China's Xi promises a nationalized scientific and high-tech industry amid chip bans

    The move may mean a transition to a state-planned, command economy as China seeks to end dependence on imports.


    As the United States imposes further bans on the export of high-tech software and chips to China, ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping has unveiled plans to focus resources on homegrown high-tech products and processes.


    Nvidia said on Sept. 2 that it had been banned by the U.S. government from exporting its A100 and H100 graphics processing unit chips to China and Russia, while its DGX AI server was also banned from being shipped to China with the chips onboard.


    Reports have also emerged of a U.S. ban on exports of AMD’s MI250 Accelerator AI chip to China.


    Currently, Chinese high-end chips can only compete with those made by Nvidia, AMD and Taiwan Semiconductor in a few areas, and the bans are expected to deal a heavy blow to the country's AI sector.


    Xi Jinping announced on Sept. 6 a framework of measures aimed at allowing China to "achieve breakthroughs in core technologies and establish competitive advantages and seize the strategic initiative in several important areas," state media reported.


    Xi told the 27th meeting of the Central Commission for Comprehensively Deepening Reform that the CCP and government would strengthen leadership of scientific and technological innovation, allocating nationwide resources to meet research and development needs.


    The plan envisions the nationwide husbanding of existing resources to achieve "economic and social development in all fields," according to state news agency Xinhua.


    Current affairs commentator Wang Qingyang said the reforms proposed by Xi seem to herald a return to a top-down, planned economy, and a sharp turn away from the economic reforms and opening up initiated by late supreme leader Deng Xiaoping.


    "The nationalization of science and technology is already under way," Wang told RFA. "For example, there is an annual catalog of official national subsidies for major science and technology projects."


    "In the past, they used to distribute funding to some companies, but now it's all under unified state control," he said.


    According to Wang, nationalization means that "national interests" are prioritized over everything else, following a similar model to the state-sponsored recruitment and training of elite athletes.


    "Imports of high-tech raw materials has pretty much halted under foreign sanctions, so they have to nationalize this system," Wang said. "The biggest precedent for this was the iron and steel smelting during the Great Leap Forward (1958-1960).


    Political analyst Xia Liang noted that the Xinhua news agency report on the decision mentioned "reform" seven times, but never once referred to "opening up," suggesting that this part of Deng's policy is being dropped.


    "He is taking the initiative to decouple from the entire Western science and technology community," Xia said. "[This means that] over the next two to three years, all foreign software will be replaced by homegrown, Chinese software and hardware."


    "Although these domestic products are not so user-friendly, it won't matter, because they make sense for [Xi], whose main concern is security," he said.


    "His view of security is all about regime stability," Xia said. "It prepares the public for the next step, which is active decoupling from the West."



    Two-way process


    The process appears to be a two-way one, as the passage of the CHIPS Act in the United States in July 2022 will strengthen domestic semiconductor manufacturing, design and research, fortify the economy and national security, and reinforce chip supply chains for U.S. companies.


    There are also national security concerns around Chinese companies' recent bids to acquire stakes in companies that own certain assets.


    Last month, then British secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy Kwasi Kwarteng put a stop to the planned acquisition of Bristol-based Pulsic by Super Orange HK Holding Ltd, as its electronic design automation [EDA] products "could be used in a civilian or military supply chain."


    In July, Kwarteng made a similar order targeting the would-be acquisition of intellectual property developed by the University of Manchester by the Beijing Infinite Vision Technology Co, which wanted to buy SCAMP-5 and SCAMP-7 vision sensing technology.


    China claims it doesn't extend military assistance to Russia, but Chinese customs data showed increased exports of raw materials for military use to Russia.


    In the first five months of 2022, Chinese chip shipments to Russia more than doubled from a year earlier to U.S.$50 million, while exports of components like printed circuits also recorded double-digit percentage growth.


    China also exported 400 times more alumina -- an important raw material for weapons production and the aerospace industry -- to Russia compared with the same period in 2021.

    China's Xi promises a nationalized scientific and high-tech industry amid chip bans — Radio Free Asia

  22. #1797
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    Systemic Shift

    Eamon McKinney

    September 2, 2022

    Dr. Eamon McKinney is an eminent Sinologist with more than 40 years’ involvement in China foreign business. He is C.E.O. and founder (1985) of CBNGLOBAl, his company has managed more than 300 major China-Foreign projects. He lives in Qingdao, China.

    "Soon enough it is probable that most countries, however reluctantly, may have to choose which of the two incompatible financial systems they want to align with. And one of them is already obsolete.

    It is accepted that changing a deeply entrenched complex system is virtually impossible. The Western neo-liberal economic model is a prime example of this, even as it fails it is incapable of adjusting to that reality. It is a system that is driven by avarice to the exclusion of all other considerations, there is no delayed gratification, returns must be immediate, for patience is not hailed as a virtue in this system. The system has always been kind to those that created it for their own benefit. For a short time, it provided for a comfortable Western middle class. But it has always been cruel and brutal to those in the “lesser” nations of the Global South. The system had power, military power which was uncontested until comparatively recently. The military was there to ensure that nations stayed in the dollar-dominated neo-liberal model. Even when a country tried to liberate itself from the Empire model, it had nowhere else to go. There was no alternative to the international financial and banking system. Until now.

    Systems rarely change effectively, they seldom evolve, they are overtaken by better systems, systems that in time make the old systems obsolete. We are witnessing this now as China’s economic model is winning favour throughout the world. With more than 150 countries now partnered with China in the BRI, China’s approach is markedly in contrast to their partner countries’ previous experiences with the Western empire mindset. The win-win, mutual benefit approach of the Chinese is generating much goodwill globally. Generating goodwill has never been a consideration of the West, that didn’t need it, it could just pressure or threaten nations to bend to its will.

    The BRI has been slandered in the West as a debt trap, as if countries in the Global South didn’t know what a debt trap was, they had all met the IMF. However recently even Harvard University reluctantly had to admit the it wasn’t the case. Between 2000-2019 it cancelled more than $3.4 billion in loans and restructured more than $15 billion in African debt. It has just announced that it is now cancelling 23 interest free loans to 17 African nations. China is also increasing investment in Africa with more infrastructure projects planned across the continent. The differences in the Chinese and IMF approaches is clear here. The IMF is a tool of Western financial capitalism, its Empire model has always been to keep the Global South impoverished and weak, and thus easier to exploit. The Chinese model is the reverse, it depends on prosperity for all. More prosperity more customers, more business opportunities. China’s motives have long been questioned, it certainly isn’t altruism, but neither is it nefarious, China is very clear what is in it for them.

    The communist party still rules China but their economy is anything but communist. Before the reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping in 1979 China had already abandoned many of the tenets of communism. They had learned from their own failures in collectivism and the State control of production, they had also witnessed these failures in Soviet Russia. The main lesson they learned was that the fixation on “the distribution of wealth” missed the essential point, you have to create wealth before you distribute it. And they understood that only private enterprise provided the incentive for the necessary wealth creation. China’s growth since 1980 has mainly been driven by private enterprise. China’s state sector covers mainly, energy, education, medical, banking, transportation and infrastructure. All the essentials of everyday living and business, to be clear none of those are free, but they are affordable, and the basic necessities of life don’t account for a huge portion of the average Chinese income. Freeing up more disposable income to spend into the economy. The state provides the world class infrastructure and affordable energy required to run a functional business. In China, the state sector is there to enable private business, not compete with it. The competitive advantages that have driven Chinese growth globally, have grown out of the business-friendly environment created by the government.

    Their model of “public banking” enables China to affordably build enormous infrastructure projects with long-term low interest loans. Not just in China, but in more than 100 countries around the world. These produce growth, development and prosperity. Sadly, in the West, private capital shuns infrastructure development because the returns are too low and take too long to mature. Ever wonder why nothing gets built in the West anymore? That’s why. The West’s model of “financial capitalism” incentivises all the wrong things. The financial predators have been detached from the real, the physical economy for too long. It is at the heart of the problems that the West is now facing. China’s model is more “industrial capitalism”, like they used to have in the West, back when they still invested in industry. When it invests, it builds, it develops and everyone wins, except of course the financial predators. National, public banking is what the financial powers have been violently resisting for centuries. They continue to do so.

    More than 70 countries are hovering dangerously close to defaulting on their international debts according to the World Bank. Traditionally, the IMF would already be in those countries to administer some neo-liberal solutions to their problems. Yet they have no solutions that will provide for hungry, increasingly angry people who can’t afford the basic necessities of life. The only concern of the IMF is that irrespective of a country’s problems, servicing the debt is the most important thing. The IMF is not known for its forgiving nature when it comes to debts, and as may be expected it cares little about goodwill. China’s debt forgiveness in Africa has shown it to be reasonable and understanding of other nations problems. For many suffering countries, China may be their last, best hope of avoiding a future of IMF financial control.

    Many countries through Africa and Latin America are turning away from the Western financial system and are developing their own regional currencies. These countries have never had the opportunity to develop their own economies independent of Western interference. For them the example set by the Chinese economic model shows how a country can rise out of absolute poverty to become the most dynamic economy in the world in just 3 generations. It is not necessary to adopt China’s political model, and China wouldn’t suggest so. Yet the economic lessons learned from China on how to run a political economy, how to industrialise and develop, will be used by many of the newly independent nations.

    The neo-liberal model is in its death throes, it is about to unleash a global financial cataclysm upon all and yet still presumes to lecture countries about their economies. It is a system that can’t protect itself from its own greed and arrogance, and now all will pay. That model has been exposed of all its frailties. Like the Chinese model the neo-liberal model depended on prosperity in their domestic economies, but unlike the Chinese they never invested in that prosperity. Little or no infrastructure has been built in North America or Western Europe for decades, the evidence for this is everywhere and can serve as metaphor for the wider societal decay. Neo-liberalism won’t disappear overnight, but it has been proven obsolete, exposed by a more equitable and productive model and mindset. Many countries will be forced to reset their economies in the near term, availed of the choice, most countries would not choose the neo-liberal model, but another, a better system, like the Chinese one but with their own unique national characteristics.

    In 2008 when the Western financial system last crashed, it threatened to take down the world economy with it. While in the West the response was austerity and cutbacks, China
    launched the BRI initiative and increased investment in all areas. At the outset of the crisis it lost 30 million jobs in China, it replaced them in a year. China’s policies saved the world economy from total collapse through its increased purchases in raw materials and food stuffs. It is now faced with a similar dilemma. With an economic philosophy that depends on global prosperity what do you do when everyone is broke? If it doesn’t assist partner countries in rebuilding their economies, its own model will be in jeopardy.

    The long spoken of de-coupling is already happening. Distinct blocs are shaping up U.S./Europe, Russia, China, countries are being pressured by the West not to do business with the other side. The threat of sanctions don’t carry the weight they once did and are widely resented and ignored. Most nations proclaim neutrality, at least publicly.

    However, soon enough it is probable that most countries, however reluctantly, may have to choose which of the two incompatible financial systems they want to align with.

    And one of them is already obsolete."


    Systemic Shift — Strategic Culture

  23. #1798
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    ^^^China's life expectancy is now higher than that of the US

    The US’s life expectancy continued its decline from 2020 to 2021, dropping sharply to 76.1 years.


    With the latest decline, US life expectancy is now at its lowest since 1996, according to new data (pdf) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Center for Health Statistics. It also means that the gap in longevity at birth between people in the US and China has now widened to a full year.

    Covid is the main cause of shortened US life expectancy


    The biggest driver in the drop in US life expectancy is covid, accounting for 50% of the decline, according to the CDC. Government figures show that as of Aug. 31, over 1.04 million deaths in the US have been attributed to covid.

    “Unintentional injuries”—which include opioid overdoses and motor vehicle crashes—were the second-largest contributor to the drop in life expectancy, making up 15.9% of the decline.


    Chinese data on life expectancy for 2021 is not yet available. Remarkably, however, Chinese life expectancy actually increased by 0.2 years in 2020 from the year prior. By contrast, US life expectancy fell 1.8 years in 2020 over the same period.


    China’s zero-covid strategy has averted staggering mortality


    A key reason for the disparity is China’s stringent covid controls, beginning in the early days of the pandemic, with the Wuhan lockdown that began in January 2020, and continuing with today’s aggressive zero-covid policies.

    Beijing has repeatedly said that it cannot diverge from its zero-covid approach without further safeguards such as higher vaccination rates, as doing so would risk 1.5 million deaths nationwide. As of March, vast swathes of the elderly Chinese population were still unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated, according to official figures. An attempt to implement a vaccine mandate in Beijing in July was abruptly rolled back.


    Still, while China now has several homegrown covid interventions, including an antibody therapy combination and a promising antiviral pill candidate winding its way through the regulatory approval process, Beijing shows no signs of easing off its zero-covid strategy.

    China'''s life expectancy is now higher than that of the US — Quartz

  24. #1799
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    ^ This is another impending health catastrophe for China (which they will again cover up).
    Last edited by hallelujah; 08-09-2022 at 02:34 PM.

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    ^ ^^ Oh my. This will happen again and again as long as covid circulates. They have really backed themselves into a corner with this zero covid policy.


    Chengdu, Chinese city of 21m, has Covid lockdown extended indefinitely

    Chengdu, the capital of the south-western Chinese province of Sichuan, has extended the coronavirus lockdown of most of its districts indefinitely as it hopes to stem further transmissions in the city of 21.2 million.


    The mega city, which has most recently battled with heatwaves, power cuts and an earthquake, was locked down on 1 September after detecting a number of cases, becoming the largest Chinese metropolis to be slapped with the curbs since Shanghai earlier this year.


    The lockdown was expected to be lifted on Wednesday, but local government officials said “there are still risks of social spread in some areas,” according to Chengdu authorities.


    Residents under lockdown in 16 districts, cities, counties and special zones out of the 23 under Chengdu’s jurisdiction remain under lockdown, the authorities said. They will be tested for the virus every day, authorities said late on Wednesday, without giving a date for when the lockdown would be lifted. A handful of districts were released from a full lockdown, but residents still have to undergo mass testing on Friday and Sunday.

    Residents in districts no longer under a full lockdown are barred from going to other districts and are discouraged from leaving Chengdu for non-essential reasons.
    The policies will be “dynamically adjusted according to the development of the epidemic,” the statement said.


    The news of the extended lockdown sparked concerns that global supply chains could face further disruption. Chengdu houses a major factory for Apple suppliers Foxconn – producing iPads and MacBooks – and Jabil, which makes components for MacBooks. Both suppliers were already struggling with the power crisis sparked by China’s unprecedented heatwave.


    On Thursday, the local government reported 116 new local cases, down from 121 a day ago. Of the cases reported, 57 were symptomatic and 59 were asymptomatic.


    The mega city locked down last week as cases rose across several districts, allowing authorities to complete another round of mass testing. It said in an official notice that residents must “stay home in principle” to combat a new wave of infections.

    Each household would be allowed to send one person out to buy groceries and essential goods a day, provided they have tested negative in the previous 24 hours, the notice said.


    About 90% of flights at Chengdu’s Shuangliu Airport were cancelled on Monday.


    China this year has been battling to contain the highly transmissible Omicron variant, imposing various degrees of lockdown on cities to stop its spread.


    Shanghai, locked down for two months in April and May, was one of the more prominent cities that were affected by China’s so-called “dynamic zero-Covid policy”, where infections are to be stamped out when they emerge.


    The flare-ups in recent months come in a year when President Xi Jinping is widely expected to secure a precedent-breaking third term as China’s leader at a once-in-five-years congress of the ruling Communist party in mid-October.


    In the run-up to the congress and also to the week-long National Day holidays at the start of October, more and more cities have been urging residents to refrain from non-essential trips out of town in view of the Covid outbreaks, which have been reported in every region and province in recent weeks.

    Chengdu, Chinese city of 21m, has Covid lockdown extended indefinitely | China | The Guardian

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