SCMP today reported in an exclusive that Beijing has banned China's most influential ultranationalist blogger Sima Nan from posting on his social media platforms, for at least one year. A very important signal.

Following Kaja Kallas' hearing this afternoon, it’s worth (re)reading Alice Ekman's insightful article on recalibrating EU-China relations. We need to abandon the expectation that 🇨🇳 will reason with 🇷🇺 over its actions in 🇺🇦. => full article here : iss.europa.eu/sites/default/…

This takes me back to my time at the French Consulate in Shanghai, during the Presidential visit, when Brigitte Macron wanted to go shopping on the overcrowded Nanjing Road 😅 NB : in the end, they closed the entire city center to ensure Macron’s and -mainly- Xi’s security

A must-read on Northvolt "Northvolt’s demise means the battle for dominance of the European market is likely to play out between Asian battery makers" “The depth of the crisis for the European car industry is almost unlimited. It’s incredibly grim.” ft.com/content/8b2a58…

An excellent summary and deep-dive by Lyhne-Gold into the People's Daily empire. It is so much more than the flagship Communist Party newspaper you have come to know and tolerate. chinamediaproject.org/2025/01/06/the…

As part of China’s ‘lawfare’ strategy against Taiwan, Beijing claims that over 180 countries accept the one-China principle that recognises Taiwan as part of China. As shown in this map, IISS research has, however, uncovered nine different ways that countries across the world

#Ukraine - trois types de scénarios possibles: un accord russo-américain inacceptable pour Kiev, une prolongation des discussions entraînant le désengagement américain, une issue plus positive (moins probable). Dans les 3 cas: un rôle accru pour l’Europe! institutmontaigne.org/expressions/uk…

Here to stay or bound to leave? US bases & forces in Europe👇 "For Trump, abandonment could be a policy goal or a bargaining chip" explains Giuseppe Spatafora. More on what US disengagement could look like & what 🇪🇺 needs to do: iss.europa.eu/publications/b…

💥EU ambassadors just approved the 16th package of sanctions, including blacklisting a record number of Chinese / HK firms for funnelling dual use goods to the Russian military Some background - scmp.com/news/china/dip…

China's premier Li Qiang held a State Council study session today on "vigorously boosting consumption to expand domestic demand" Should expand "cash for clunkers" scheme & support for services industries at Two Sessions in March But still not enough focus on boosting incomes

SCOOP EU trade chief plans China visit in March amid soaring tensions with Donald Trump scmp.com/news/china/dip…

Exclusive: the European Parliament has removed curbs on lawmakers meeting Chinese officials scmp.com/news/china/dip…

Public Opinion Foundation survey: 43.8% "happy" about TSMC's additional $100 billion investment in the U.S., 42.8% "unhappy." Over 60% believe it will boost U.S.-Taiwan ties, more than half still doubt the U.S. would defend Taiwan if China were to invade. asia.nikkei.com/Business/Techn…

China's March trade data out Continuation of some unwanted trends that'll stoke EU trade diversion angst China's EU exports⬆️10.29% China's EU imports⬇️7.5% China's German exports⬆️ 11.9% China's German imports⬇️ 6.5% China's French exports ⬆️4.5% China's French imports ⬇️2.6%

New from me: China has begun issuing rare earth export licenses to European firms, EU sources say scmp.com/news/china/sci…