[Leonid Bershidsky] Russia’s thugs may be too much for its technocrats

Many countries present a number of different faces to the world, but Russia goes them all one better. Its government is a Janus whose faces are so at odds they might come from separate species.　One of these faces got a lot of airtime last week. First, Gen. Viktor Zolotov, head of Russia’s National Guard, published the video of his out-of-control rant against anti-corruption activist Alexey Navalny, who had accused him of involvement in corrupt procurement practices. Zolotov runs an armed force o

Sept. 18, 2018

[Christopher Balding] A road map for the great US-China divorce

As the trade war between the US and China drags on with new tariffs and no end in sight, we need to ask ourselves: What do they want? A fundamental objective for both is to become less reliant on the other. The trade war should thus be reframed as a conscious uncoupling.　Behind the rhetoric from both sides lies a profound distrust. US suspicion stems from two specific issues. China is increasingly seen as a national security threat that fails to play by the rules. The Trump administration’s stan

Sept. 18, 2018

[James Stavridis] Suffering Venezuelans need US to stay hands-off

When I served as commander of the US Southern Command, my first four-star assignment, I visited every country and territory in Latin America -- except Venezuela. By the end of the first decade of the 21st century, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had destroyed relations with the US, cratered the country’s economy and polarized its electorate.Death by violence soared, hitting levels 10 times that of the US, and 50 times higher than Western Europe. The nation’s abundance of oil became a curse, as

Sept. 17, 2018

[Anjani Trivedi] China’s look beneath Toyota’s hood sets uneasy precedent

Watch out car companies, here comes the long arm of the Chinese state.　Toyota Motor Corp. is preparing to hand Beijing the technology behind the Prius, its almost-eponymous hybrid car, Bloomberg News reported Thursday. The move comes as Chinese officials push for bluer skies and cleaner vehicles, but it’s an aggressive overture for a company that had, until recently, a passive presence in the world’s biggest car market.　For Toyota’s peers, the agreement would set a scary precedent. Sharing know-

Sept. 17, 2018

[Dov Waxman] PLO can’t be pushed into peace deal

The Donald Trump administration’s decision to close the Palestine Liberation Organization’s office in Washington last week is the latest in a series of punitive actions it has taken against the Palestinians. The purpose is clear: to force the PLO and its ailing octogenarian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, to restart peace talks with Israel and, ultimately, to accept the administration’s long-awaited peace plan. This strategy of coercion and collective punishment is bound to fail.　In a recent pre-Rosh Has

Sept. 17, 2018

[Adam Minter] China’s dimming its biggest stars

By late spring, Fan Bingbing, China’s most popular actress, had become a cultural juggernaut. She had 63 million followers on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social network, and high-profile endorsement deals with some of the world’s most prominent luxury brands. Besides roles in major Chinese and Hollywood films, she’d just enjoyed a prestigious turn as a juror at the Cannes Film Festival. If Anne Hathaway and the Kardashians merged, they would still have fallen short of Fan’s ubiquitous stardom.　T

Sept. 16, 2018

[David Ignatius] Kerry’s memoir shows a man strong enough to not worry about looking weak

The public conversation this past week was dominated by a book about a man who is obsessed with winning, President Trump. Too little attention was given to a book about someone who illustrates the benefits of losing, former Secretary of State John Kerry. Kerry’s memoir, “Every Day Is Extra,” was published in early September. It’s interesting less for new revelations about diplomacy or politics (there aren’t many) than for its study of a politician’s character, and how it was shaped by personal a

Sept. 16, 2018

[Trudy Rubin] Will anyone save Syrians in Idlib from possible massacre by Putin, Assad?

The world is watching as Russia and the Syrian regime prepare to unleash the biggest bloodbath yet in the Syrian saga of horrors. Yet no one seems to know how to prevent a massive attack on Idlib, the last Syrian rebel-held stronghold, where nearly a million civilians are trapped.　UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres just warned that a full-scale Russian assault on Idlib “would unleash a humanitarian nightmare unlike any seen in the blood-soaked Syrian conflict.” Moscow rebuffed the pleas of Gu

Sept. 16, 2018

[Anjani Trivedi] China’s imperial growth delusion just won’t die

The big state-owned Chinese enterprise is back. But this time, it isn’t looking sturdy enough to prop up the economy.As growth stumbles, Beijing is falling back on a tried and trusted solution: using large, government-backed companies to spur activity. That’s squeezing out private and small firms.　The economy certainly merits concern. Trade frictions and Beijing’s crackdown on the underbelly of the financial system have combined to sap confidence. Higher borrowing costs, weak household spending

Sept. 13, 2018

[Fu Ying] How should China respond to a changing US?

Visiting the US recently, I was told by virtually every American I met that attitudes toward China had shifted. This phenomenon, they claimed, cut across bipartisan lines as well as government, business and academic circles. The US was frustrated at not having shaped China in its own image, despite bringing the country into the World Trade Organization and helping to enable its economic takeoff. Instead, China had “ripped off” the US by taking advantage of it in trade and business. There was con

Sept. 12, 2018

[Zack Wasserman] Russian hijacking of US tech didn’t start with Facebook

The 2016 presidential election wasn’t the first time Russia attempted to use Silicon Valley and its technologies against the US. During the 1980s, Soviet spies plied their trade up and down the San Francisco peninsula, stealing technology, recruiting agents and infiltrating local banks. It’s worth remembering that those efforts were ultimately thwarted and may have contributed in a small way to the collapse of the Soviet Union.　The episode almost 40 years ago even inspired an otherwise forgettab

Sept. 12, 2018

[Nicolas Loris, Katie Tubb] Coal and nuclear industries: Avoiding duct-tape solution

We’ve all been there. Something breaks in your home or knocks your car bumper loose, so you turn to every American’s trusted helper: duct tape. But while duct tape may offer an easier, quick-fix solution, it doesn’t fully solve your problem, no matter how many new layers you slap on.Similarly, the Trump administration is offering a duct tape solution to bail out struggling coal and nuclear power plants. A taxpayer- and ratepayer-funded lifeline may help certain plants in the short-term, but Cong

Sept. 12, 2018