Author

Finn Mayer-Kuckuk

Finn Mayer-Kuckuk Published: April 6th, 2022

Shanghai’s citizens are on edge

Shanghai has extended its lockdown until further notice and expanded mass testing. Now, tension among authorities and citizens alike in the 26-million-strong city is growing along with the duration of the lockdown. A typical scene on social media shows a man asking for the badge number of an epidemic police officer who stopped him on […]

Finn Mayer-Kuckuk Published: April 6th, 2022

Russia buys bank card chips from China

The state-owned operator of Russia’s Mir payment system is turning to Chinese suppliers to procure bank card chips. “We are looking for new microchip suppliers and [have] found a couple in China, with certification process ongoing,” Oleg Tishakov, a member of the board of National Card Payment System (NSPK) told Reuters. Due to sanctions imposed […]

Finn Mayer-Kuckuk Published: April 4th, 2022

Purges ahead of party congress begin

Fu Zhenghua, a former senior cadre, was expelled from the Communist Party. He served as Minister of Justice from 2018 to 2020. Before that, he served as Vice Minister of Public Security and thus Chief of Intelligence. Fu had been under investigation for disciplinary violations since October (China.Table reported). As in other recent cases, the […]

Finn Mayer-Kuckuk Published: April 4th, 2022

Frustration in Shanghai grows

Food is becoming harder and harder to come by in Shanghai. The city government does distribute bags of basic foodstuffs through local committees. But the usual orders from supermarkets are almost impossible to get due to high demand and supply bottlenecks. The number of delivery drivers is noticeably lower than in regular operation. As a […]

Finn Mayer-Kuckuk Published: April 4th, 2022

Editorial 04.04.2022

As expected, the EU-China summit on Friday was merely a repetition of familiar positions on both sides. This is where the limits of an online summit become apparent. It does not leave any room for confidential discussions on the sidelines. There is also no opportunity to firmly reiterate one’s own stance to the other party.But […]

Finn Mayer-Kuckuk Published: April 4th, 2022

Personnel 04.04.2022

Michael Kruppe is active on the board of AHK Shanghai. Kruppe has been the head of the Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC) since 2014.Liu Zhengjun is said to become the new chairman of the state investment company China Huarong Asset Management. He joins from Citic Group. Huarong has not yet confirmed the appointment.

Finn Mayer-Kuckuk Published: April 4th, 2022

Beijing car show canceled

China has canceled the Beijing auto show scheduled for the end of April. The organizer did not announce a new date. It will be announced at a later date. The development of the Covid pandemic is being closely monitored.China’s largest trade show is also affected by Covid. The Canton Fair in Guangzhou will only be […]

Finn Mayer-Kuckuk Published: April 1st, 2022

Editorial 01.04.2022

Many Western media – including the public – enjoy the narrative of a united global alliance against a cornered Putin. But even if Japan, the traditional ally of the US in Asia, joins in, the anti-Russia alliance still does not span the globe as fully as the picture suggests. Not the entire South and Southeast […]

Finn Mayer-Kuckuk Published: April 1st, 2022

Dessert 01.04.2022

These tiny dots in the steppe are chirus. In fact, there are 10,000 of them. When so many of the goat-like animals gather as they do here in Gêrzê County in the western part of the Autonomous Region of Tibet, it’s good news. These animals have become rare. At present, their numbers are slowly increasing […]

Finn Mayer-Kuckuk Published: April 1st, 2022

The lockdown threatens the economy

The Omicron variant of Sars-CoV-2 is about three times more contagious than any previous type and undermines existing immunities. These biological characteristics have a severe impact on China’s economy and policy. While Germany now largely lets the variant run its course, China tries to suppress its spread. This is generally a sound strategy to protect […]