[Tim Culpan] US nabbing Huawei is dog that caught the car 　

The US is looking like the dog that caught the car. It needs to decide what to do next.Except that Wanzhou Meng is a person. She’s the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies as well as deputy chairwoman and the daughter of its founder. She’s in Canadian custody awaiting extradition to the US, and China is outraged.　With Huawei finally being fingered for alleged sanctions-busting, a charge already leveled at compatriot ZTE, the US Department of Justice and the Trump administration have an

Dec. 9, 2018

[Bernard-Henri Levy] Will Yellow Vests reject Brown Shirts?

From the moment the French government canceled its planned fuel tax hike in the face of massive protests, it was obvious the move would be perceived as inadequate, insignificant and above all incapable of having any calming effect. Honor to whom honor is due: the Yellow Vests claim to be an expression of the sovereign people. But they now bear a heavy responsibility.For starters, they must announce a moratorium on demonstrations and blockades for a period long enough to accommodate the dialogue

Dec. 9, 2018

[Signe Poulsen] Inter-Korean talks best way to commemorate 70th anniversary of UDHR

The high-level talks that have dominated the news headlines in 2018 represent a real opportunity for decreasing tensions and improving relations between states on the Korean Peninsula and in the wider region. The successful removal of some of the most destructive weapons known to humankind would be a tangible sign that the region is emerging from an era of inter-state relations characterized by enmity, mistrust and aggression. What is currently missing from these high-level talks, involving some

Dec. 9, 2018

[Joseph E. Stiglitz] Beyond GDP

Just under 10 years ago, the International Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress issued its report, “Mismeasuring Our Lives: Why GDP Doesn’t Add Up.” The title summed it up: GDP is not a good measure of well-being. What we measure affects what we do, and if we measure the wrong thing, we will do the wrong thing. If we focus only on material well-being -- on, say, the production of goods, rather than on health, education, and the environment -- we become distor

Dec. 6, 2018

[Eli Lake] Lindsey Graham’s plan for regime change -- in Saudi Arabia

Give Lindsey Graham credit. When it comes to regime change, at least he is consistent. The Republican senator from South Carolina has supported the removal of dictators from US adversaries such as Iraq and Libya, and now he wants new leadership for a crucial US ally: Saudi Arabia. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “is a wrecking ball,” Graham said at a press conference Tuesday after he and a small group of senators had received a CIA briefing on the October murder of Washington Post journalist Ja

Dec. 6, 2018

[Bloomberg] Japan needs to change attitude to foreigners

Even as politicians in the US and Europe rage about foreigners supposedly swamping their shores, one of the world’s most insular countries -- Japan -- is on the verge of passing what might be its most sweeping immigration reform to date. Welcome as this would be, the plan isn’t sweeping enough.A bill approved by the lower house of the Diet would open Japan’s doors to two types of foreign workers. Lower-skilled laborers in 14 sectors would for the first time be able to apply for five-year visas a

Dec. 6, 2018

[Andrew Browne] Xi’s not for turning? Don’t be so sure

As president-for-life, Xi Jinping is neither bound by rules nor limited by rivals. He has upended a careful political balance by concentrating power in his own hands, and overturned a cautious approach to foreign policy, while throwing in jail anyone he views as a threat. China’s most dominant leader since Mao Zedong now has 90 days to head off an all-out trade war with the US provoked, in part, by his own mercantilist policies. Can anybody convince him to make a U-turn?Strong-willed politicians

Dec. 5, 2018

[Nisha Gopalan] Starbucks, there’s a unicorn in your china shop

Investors may worry that the trade war will wreak havoc on Starbucks’ prospects in China, its second-largest market. The real concern isn’t any kind of patriotic boycott, but competition from a homegrown challenger.Luckin Coffee, which officially launched in January, already has more than 1,500 stores in 21 cities across China. Starbucks, whose mainland adventure began in 1999, has more than 3,400 outlets in 140 cities. Both are racing to expand further: Luckin is aiming for 2,000 stores by year

Dec. 5, 2018

[Leonid Bershidsky] France faces typical Facebook revolution

The liberating role social networks played during the Arab Spring and the Russian protests of 2011 and 2012 was widely lauded. Little of that enthusiasm is on display today amid the violent “yellow vest” protests in France -- even though Facebook is still doing what it does best: letting people channel their rage.In a 2011 paean to “the Facebook revolution,” Chris Taylor of the tech news website Mashable wrote that Facebook was “democracy in action.” Philip Howard of the University of Washington

Dec. 5, 2018

[Tyler Cowen] Trump deserves some credit for a truce with China

Just because the US and China have agreed to call a truce in their trade war doesn’t mean that it’s over: This was a classic exercise in can-kicking. Nonetheless, most cans have quite a few kicks in them, and overall this is good news for the global economy. Instead of sweeping everything under the rug, as was the case before US President Donald Trump took office, America and China have found a new way of addressing conflict by talking openly.Let’s consider the announcement itself. The US has pl

Dec. 4, 2018

[Mohamed A. El-Erian] G-20 gives markets a short-term win

The G-20 Summit in Argentina ended without fireworks involving the US, which was appropriate in a way, given the pall cast by the death of President George H.W. Bush.The US went along with a watered-down communique rather than stand in the way of a consensus, as it recently did at the APEC summit and the G-7. And rather than ending the meeting with a dramatic breakthrough or a loud breakdown, America reached an agreement to freeze trade tariffs with China that went somewhat beyond the one it rea

Dec. 4, 2018

[Hal Brands] Elizabeth Warren has (half) a foreign policy

A crucial challenge for the Democratic Party is to formulate a foreign policy platform that goes beyond critiquing US President Donald Trump and lays out a compelling vision of America’s role in an increasingly dangerous world.Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who will likely be a leading candidate for the party’s nomination in 2020, offered up her vision in a recent speech at American University. That speech, and an accompanying article in Foreign Affairs, outlined a strategy of progressive internationali

Dec. 4, 2018