Heard today the view from a knowledgable German friend that getting pork import restrictions lifted was the only tangible deliverable of Scholz’s China visit. Well it turns out that it is withheld by the Chinese side until Berlin moves on Huawei’s access to German 5G network ⬇️

Fantastic thinking of 'pulling a Nixon' (or its reverse) fails b/c the US didn't decouple China from Russia but China used the US to decouple itself from Russia. That's why these sorts of 'engagements' only work when the other side wants them to. Today's Russia does not.

10/10

Chinese🇨🇳 and Russian🇷🇺 approaches to #peacebuilding are part of the evolving and contested landscape of international peace and security. Understanding their impacts requires understanding the similarities and differences between them.
Read more➡️bit.ly/4cXxjNX

of interest. theins.ru/en/society/270…

‼️ a must-buy.

Second day of the Rondeli Security Conference started with an insightful session on great power competition. Thank you for your input Nicolas Tenzer Klaus Larres Ana Palacio 秋田浩之(日本経済新聞）Hiroyuki Akita (Nikkei, Commentator) Kim Campbell Giorgi Badridze Jiayi Zhou

This new SIPRI report by Jiayi Zhou, Fei Su and Jingdong Yuan examines the 🇪🇺EU’s and 🇯🇵Japan’s de-risking measures to managing economic relations with 🇨🇳China.

Find out more ➡️doi.org/10.55163/OBGL3…

Monday, Feb 5 (8AM EST, 2PM Berlin time) don't miss our Carnegie China event on China-Central Asia relations, with Nargis Kassenova and Jiayi Zhou.
carnegieendowment.org/2024/02/05/car…

BTW, if you want to ask experts a question, you can tweet them here.

Is #Beijing on the verge of supplanting #Moscow as the dominant power in #CentralAsia ? How does the region view China’s growing engagement?

Join our 2nd #CarnegieGlobalDialogue2024 ft. Temur Umarov 马铁木, Nargis Kassenova & Jiayi Zhou on China–Central Asia relations. carnegieendowment.org/2024/02/05/car…

Fascinating presentation from Dr. Natalia Mamonova of Ruralis at SIPRI today, on the topic of wartime agriculture in Ukraine. Themes of equity, sustainability, reform and resilience. Read her recent report here: tni.org/en/article/ukr…

On 13–14 December, SIPRI hosted a workshop to help navigate current geopolitical shifts.

Read more➡️ bit.ly/3Hm1j7B

💡✈️Check out this article on the impact of geopolitics on green finance and climate cooperation between the US and China, written by SIPRI's Jiayi Zhou Jiayi Zhou and Peking University's Zha Daojiong:
sipri.org/commentary/ess…
SIPRI #China #environment #climatepolicy

China🇨🇳 and the USA🇺🇸 have an opportunity to rise to the occasion in the climate finance space, not only despite but perhaps even because of their strategic rivalry.

Read more in this new SIPRI Essay from Jiayi Zhou and Prof. Zha Daojiong ➡️ bit.ly/49XYq9Z

Arendt adds, “The alternative is no longer between good and evil, but between murder and murder.”

The second thing I've been thinking about is how history keeps teaching us that when there is a choice between politics and humanity, humanity will lose.

3. The final step is the destruction of all spontaneity. “After the murder of the moral person and the annihilation of the juridical person, the destruction of individuality is almost always successful.”

2. “The next decisive step in the preparation of living corpses is the murder of the moral person in man.” Which means, the invader will try to destroy human solidarity by making people complicit in their crimes.

1. “The first essential step on the road to total domination is to kill the juridical person in the man.” Which means, stripping a people of their political rights.

Thread.

I finished teaching Hannah Arendt's Origins of Totalitarianism last night. I shared the handout for week three on imperialism. Here are the handouts for weeks one and two on antisemitism, racism and power politics. As we finished class I kept thinking about two things.

Anyone who tries to convince you that a vast group of people are somehow not as diverse in their virtues and vices as other humans. Or that their lives aren't as valuable, or their pain isn't as valid, or their freedom less important.
You don't need an 'expert' for that.