[Andrew Polk] China’s growth woes aren’t going away

US officials seem to think they have the upper hand in trade talks with China because its economy is struggling. Judging by the string of measures they’ve recently announced to shore up growth, Chinese officials may privately agree. The trouble is, such measures aren’t going to work as fast or as well as markets seem to think they will.China’s growth woes are homegrown, not the result of US tariffs. Two factors are largely to blame: the government’s concerted effort over the last five quarters t

Aug. 28, 2018

[Mark Buchanan] Climate change’s long-term fix has short-term cost

Global warming is getting a little scary, as its consequences emerge more quickly than most scientists had expected in soaring global temperatures, unprecedented wildfires and many other effects. This year is on target to be the fourth hottest ever, only just behind the three previous years. Meanwhile, humanity has made very little progress in taking action, with CO2 emissions higher now than ever before, having actually increased 60 percent over the past 25 years -- all while we’ve been fully a

Aug. 27, 2018

[Mac Margolis] Cuba’s new constitution won’t fix economy

For anyone longing for the clarity of the Cold War, Cuba has been an enduring inspiration. Forget the gringo-sponsored Washington Consensus, messy electoral democracy or wishy-washy pink tide. The Caribbean island has remained a single-family regime serving straight-up 20th century communism.　Yet to gauge by the commotion among the leadership in Havana, those comforting assurances are gone. The Castros are out, private property is in, and the United States is no longer the enemy -- just a necess

Aug. 27, 2018

[Leonid Bershidsky] Putin hates you? Then put less data online

Microsoft’s announcement that it has taken down a number of fake domains set up by the same cyberespionage group that allegedly hacked the Democratic National Committee in 2016 shows Russia’s interest in US politics isn’t ebbing. More importantly, it highlights that the methods these malicious actors have been using since well before the 2016 US election can still be effective.　In a blog post signed by Microsoft President Brad Smith, the company said it had obtained a court order to take over si

Aug. 27, 2018

commentary-Leonid Bershidsky

US can’t bring Russia ‘to its knees’by Leonid BershidskyThe US sanctions policy against Russia is evolving from trying to nudge the Kremlin in a desired direction to inflicting maximum pain. This is a slippery slope, and it’s time to consider the most extreme consequences for Russia, as well as the US and its allies.　During a Senate Banking Committee hearing last week, a telling exchange took place between Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, and the Trump administration’s senior sanctions officials.

Aug. 26, 2018

[Ann McFeatters] Sooner or later, everyone associated with Trump gets hurt

If you are not personal friends with Donald Trump, be glad. Be very glad.　Because it is dangerous. Very dangerous.　The first member of the US House of Representatives to endorse Trump for president, Rep. Chris Collins, R-New York, was indicted for insider trading while at a White House picnic.　The second member of the House to endorse Trump, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-California, has been indicted for alleged misuse of campaign funds along with his wife (including spending donated funds on a $600 air

Aug. 26, 2018

[Michael Schuman] Trump paints Xi into a corner

With the latest round of trade talks between the US and China ending in a predictable stalemate, one thing has become clear: The Trump administration’s approach to these negotiations has made it all but impossible for Chinese President Xi Jinping to make a deal. Until that changes, there’s no end in sight for the tariff-for-tariff tussle between the two countries, and little chance of achieving Donald Trump’s stated goals.　The White House seems to misunderstand a crucial fact about modern China.

Aug. 26, 2018

[Conor Sen] China could use a little US-style suburban sprawl

China’s urbanization push helped modernize its economy and has been a key component of its boom during the past two decades. But although the migration of hundreds of millions of workers from rural China to skyscrapers in the country’s cities has been good for economic growth, it may turn out to be a weakness for the country in the future. What China needs now, given its looming demographic crisis, is more babies, and a country built around workers crammed together in dense cities isn’t the best

Aug. 23, 2018

[Kevin Rudd] Could trade war lead to real thing?

News that China and the US will resume trade talks this week swiftly lifted markets. This follows the first meetings at the annual summer retreat of the Chinese Communist Party leadership at the beachside resort of Beidaihe. As might be expected, the main topic this summer has been the US-China trade war, where it might lead and what could conceivably be done to avert it without an unacceptable loss of political face.　While we won’t have any real indication as to the tenor of the Chinese discuss

Aug. 22, 2018

[Newsday] Risks of President Trump’s Space Force

Before you get excited, this editorial about US military endeavors in space will not describe how you can join the Rebel Alliance. It will not detail an imminent jump to hyperspace for bold American pilots, or a new base for Starfleet outside Ronkonkoma. It will not include blasters or humanoid aliens visiting or attacking Earth (for now, anyway). That’s because as much as we love a good space saga, America’s reality in space is not much like science fiction.　That’s not to say our daily life is

Aug. 22, 2018

[Nisha Gopalan] Doors slam shut for China deals around globe

Doors are slamming shut in the developed world not just to Chinese investment in technology, but potentially to a wave of acquisitions with a tech element as diverse as smart heaters and robotic lawnmowers.　President Donald Trump last week signed an update to legislation for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US that broadened the interagency vetting committee group’s scope to encompass even minority and passive investments in three areas: Critical technology, infrastructure and business

Aug. 22, 2018

[Noah Feldman] Democracy needs the press as the ‘opposition party’

What’s the main value in a free press? To hear the press tell it -- as in many of the 350-plus editorials published in coordination last week in response to the president’s anti-press rhetoric -- the answer is factual, objective coverage of events.　But that’s not what the framers of the constitution thought, or what Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes had in mind when he crafted modern free-press jurisprudence during World War I. It also doesn’t match how most newspaper writers thought of themselves u

Aug. 21, 2018