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Nico Beckert

Nico Beckert Published: August 11th, 2021

Switzerland warns media against phantom biologists

The Swiss embassy in Beijing has called on Chinese media to stop referring to the supposed Swiss biologist “Wilson Edwards” in their reporting on the origin of the Covid virus and to delete articles that cite him as a source. There is simply no Swiss person registered under that name. Nor are there any scientific […]

Nico Beckert Published: August 11th, 2021

Editorial

China likes to present its Belt and Road Initiative as the project of the century. For the people and communities along the Belt and Road, however, the supposed progress often brings misery and exploitation. A new study by the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre lists numerous human rights abuses of China’s outbound investments: From […]

Nico Beckert Published: August 11th, 2021

Beijing sticks to climate plans

China will not tighten its climate plans in the short term, despite Monday’s alarming report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. China’s foreign ministry proclaimed “full confidence in the implementation of China’s climate action,” news agency AFP reported Tuesday. In July, China missed a deadline to send updated 2030 mitigation plans to the United […]

Nico Beckert Published: August 11th, 2021

Dessert 11.08.2021

A food delivery man checks new orders on an empty street in Zhangjiajie, Hunan. Since last Tuesday, residents and tourists have not been allowed to leave the central Chinese city in an effort to contain the recent local Covid outbreak. Delivery services are providing people with essential supplies such as food and medical products. Zhangjiajie […]

Nico Beckert Published: August 11th, 2021

New Silk Road: Beijing violates human rights

Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a multi-billion dollar project with dozens of partner nations worldwide. While many numbers on the reach and scope of the initiative are artificially inflated, there are constant reports of human rights abuses in Belt and Road projects. The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre has compiled these allegations […]

Nico Beckert Published: August 9th, 2021

Report: ByteDance pursues plans for IPO

The Financial Times (FT) reports on ByteDance’s plans for an IPO by the end of this year or early 2022. According to the three sources referred by FT, the company is currently filing the necessary documents with the Chinese authorities and is planning an IPO in Hong Kong. ByteDance did not initially comment on the […]

Nico Beckert Published: August 9th, 2021

Executive Moves

Khalid Mansoor will become Pakistan’s new head of the “China-Pakistan Economic Corridor”. The local authority of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is responsible for projects worth around 50 billion dollars in Pakistan. Mansoor, an energy expert, succeeds General Asim Saleem Bajwa. Mansoor is considered a favorite of Beijing. He is expected to push forward […]

Nico Beckert Published: August 9th, 2021

Edi 09.08.2021

Reinhard Bütikofer is one of the most seasoned China experts in German politics. In our interview, Felix Lee speaks with him about Merkel’s China policy and what a Green Chancellor would do differently. Bütikofer criticizes Germany’s unilateral moves, which tend to weaken Europe’s position against Beijing. He explains why Xi’s inauguration in 2013 represents a […]

Nico Beckert Published: August 6th, 2021

Biden: U.S. safe haven for Hong Kong citizens

U.S. President Joe Biden had ordered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Thursday to postpone the deportation of Hong Kong residents from the United States for up to 18 months. In a memo to the department, he named “compelling foreign policy reasons” for doing so, according to news agency Reuters. The decision potentially allows […]

Nico Beckert Published: August 6th, 2021

Dessert 06.08.2021

The Olympic Games in Tokyo end on Sunday. Are the athletes in the Olympic village already discussing the best destinations for their beach vacation? For the Chinese triple jumper Zhu Yaming, the working days already regularly end in the sand. Afterward, he was allowed to attend the award ceremony. He won the silver medal.