WORLD ROUNDUP – 30 DEC. 2024 – 4 JAN. 2025Why China Isn’t Scared of Trump | An Israeli Order in the Middle East | Argentina Is Responding to Shock Therapy | Is the Age of American Air Superiority Coming to an End?, and more

Published 5 January 2025

CHINA WATCH

·  US probes China chip industry on ‘anticompetitive’ concerns

·  How Chinese Espionage Conquered Western Capitalism

·  How China’s Antitrust Tactics Undermine U.S. Tech Leadership

·  Why China Isn’t Scared of Trump

·  China’s Getting Ready to Throw Its Weight Around

·  Is the U.S. Answer to China’s Belt and Road Working?

·  What China Got Right in Latin America

·  China’s Quiet War Against America

·  Man Who Ran Secret Police Office in New York Admits He Was Chinese Agent

MIDDLE EAST

·  Everyone Wants to Meet Syria’s New Rulers

·  Mass Graves Shed a Light on Assad’s “Killing Machine” 

·  Israel Is Demolishing Northern Gaza and Fortifying Military Positions, Imagery Shows

·  Trump Will Confront a More Vulnerable but Determined Iran

·  How Google Maps Makes It Harder for Palestinians to Navigate the West Bank

·  The Cost of Lawlessness on the West Bank

·  Assad’s Fall

·  An Israeli Order in the Middle East

·  One of Assad’s Mass Graves Is Found, with as Many as 100,000 Bodies

·  RIP, the Axis of Resistance

THE LONG VIEW

·  Trump’s Wish to Control Greenland and Panama Canal: Not a Joke This Time

·  Repression of Climate and Environmental Protest Is Intensifying Across the World

·  Europe’s Microstates: The Medieval Monarchies That Survive in Our Midst

·  The Elitist Truth About Far-Right Populism

·  Is the Age of American Air Superiority Coming to an End?

MORE PICKS

·  NATO to Boost Military Presence in Baltic After Cables ‘Sabotage’

·  How Finnish Youth Learn to Spot Disinformation

·  The Tsunami Detection Buoys Safeguarding Lives in Thailand

·  The Invisible Russia-Ukraine Battlefield

·  Prince Andrew and the British Establishment’s “Target-Rich Environment” for Spies

·  Argentina Is Responding to Shock Therapy

·  South Korea Military Faces Scrutiny Amid Officer Arrests

·  Dexit? Far-Right AfD Wants Germany to Leave the EU

·  Ukraine Is Winning the Economic War Against Russia

CHINA WATCH

US probes China chip industry on ‘anticompetitive’ concerns  (Beiyi Seow, AFP / Techexplore)
The United States said Monday it is opening an investigation into China’s policies for its semiconductor industry, over concerns that Beijing is turning to “extensive anticompetitive and non-market means” to undermine other economies. The probe centers on foundational semiconductors—which go into everything from cars to medical devices—and whether China’s actions create burdens for US commerce, said the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) office.

How Chinese Espionage Conquered Western Capitalism  (Ben Wright and Rosa Silverman, The Telegraph)
Spy networks controlled by Beijing pose a growing threat around the world –as Yang Tengbo’s links to Prince Andrew have shown.

How China’s Antitrust Tactics Undermine U.S. Tech Leadership  (By Ruby Scanlon, Foreign Policy)
U.S. firms are caught in China’s regulatory crossfire, with billions at stake.

Why China Isn’t Scared of Trump  (Yan Xuetong, Foreign Affairs)
U.S.-Chinese tensions may rise, but his isolationism will help Beijing.

China’s Getting Ready to Throw Its Weight Around  (Giselle Donnelly, The Bulwark)
The latest edition of an annual Pentagon report details how China is bulking up its military budget and its nuclear stockpile.

Is the U.S. Answer to China’s Belt and Road Working?  (Lili Pike and Christina Lu, Foreign Policy)
The International Development Finance Corporation has put the United States more on the map, but China remains king of global infrastructure.

What China Got Right in Latin America  (Yu Jie and Christopher Sabatini, Foreign Policy)
To compete in the region, a second Trump administration needs to do more than saber-rattle.

China’s Quiet War Against America  (Frank Fannon, National Interest)
China is waging a war against the United States through minerals and refineries. It’s past time for Washington to acknowledge this reality so America can adopt the war footing necessary for victory.

Man Who Ran Secret Police Office in New York Admits He Was Chinese Agent  (Hurubie Meko, New York Times)
Chen Jinping used the office in Lower Manhattan to quash dissent against the Chinese government. The Justice Department is fighting Beijing’s efforts to wield its influence secretly.

MIDDLE EAST

Everyone Wants to Meet Syria’s New Rulers  (Economist)
But a flurry of diplomatic meetings in Damascus points to the obstacles ahead.