Andrew Peaple
@andypeaps.bsky.social
News editor at The Wire China @thewirechina.bsky.social. Host and founder of Asia Matters podcast. Views expressed here are my own.
Great job by the uk political media on reporting who the next chancellor was going to be
it's hard to overstate what an absolute shithole King's Cross used to be. the redevelopment is pretty amazing www.ft.com/content/6a3a...
How the DeepMind mafia brought the AI boom to London
The tech sector is buzzing in Britain. But can it ever be more than a US outpost?
ft.com
WSJ: “.. A sharp fall in China’s crude oil imports during the Iran war has been instrumental in holding down oil prices .. “.. Chinese people are driving fewer gasoline-powered cars and taking trains instead of planes.” @wsj.com www.wsj.com/business/ene...
On further thinking, Trump's China trip might be the most significant moment in global economics since 2008, a genuine follow-up to Nixon goes to China, but this time as basically surrender.
David Henig@davidheniguk.bsky.social · 3mo agoSo, welcome to the real new order of globalisation, the one in which technology-driven inter-connectivity is leading to an interplay of the largest companies and countries, transforming the economic policy space for governments in ways we're only learning.
Trump has introduced few restrictions on Beijing since resuming office last January. Noah Berman reports on the growing divide on China policy between the president, lawmakers, and the U.S. public:
As Trump Heads to Beijing, Splits on China Widen at Home - The Wire China
The president’s relatively dovish approach to the U.S.’s top rival contrasts with hawkishness in Congress, but may reflect growing pro-China sentiment among younger Americans.
buff.ly
While I am firm in my belief Starmer should go, and soon, isn’t it weird we’ve got sucked into a side argument over the process for a security clearance for Mandelson, the turning down of which had nothing to do with Epstein? It’s the British political class at its worst, I think.
This is what I wrote about the failure to prosecute anyone at Royal Bank of Scotland / NatWest in Shredded.
The whole story is a nothing burger. Robbins highly unconvincing. Says he was brought up in a culture of documentation but doesn't seem to have read the relevant forms or documented much himself
Ben Chu@benchu.bsky.social · 4mo ago...because UKSV's recommendation was just *part* of the vetting process, not the outcome. And Robbins' view was that the legal confidentiality around the UKSV process meant that he *should not* have shared UKSV's recommendation more widely.
"It was a life changing experience: the incident, the detention, the repatriation. I was on the cover of every newspaper in the United States and the free world." — Nick Mellos, the flight engineer. We revisit the 2001 Hainan spy plane crisis through the eyes of eyewitnesses: buff.ly/upEYVjl
Eleven Days, Part II - The Wire China
To mark the 25th anniversary of the Hainan spy plane crisis, The Wire China is publishing the second installment of its discussions with people who participated in the dramatic showdown. For Part I…
buff.ly
Africa, with vast unmet demand and few trade barriers, has become a more compelling market for a Chinese industry being squeezed out of the U.S. and Europe. Noah Berman analyzes China's booming solar exports to the African continent for this week’s issue of The Wire China:
China’s Solar Industry Follows the Sun to Africa - The Wire China
Chinese solar firms are exporting far more to Africa as their U.S. and European markets fade. That could make the Sino-African trade relationship even more one-sided.
buff.ly
Supermarkets across Toronto sell products from the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, a paramilitary group that is sanctioned by the U.S., UK, European Union and Canada. @eliotchen.bsky.social examines Canadian commitments to banning forced labor imports:
Canada’s Xinjiang Controversy - The Wire China
A Canadian lawmaker’s comments on Xinjiang has put a spotlight on the country’s shaky commitment to banning forced labor imports.
buff.ly
the first one is where she was being edited, the later ones (and even more so her detective stories) conspicuously not
Silly B Man@lawnerd.bsky.social · 4mo agoWhen my kid was six I read him the books and I forgot how much better the first one was than all the others. In particular, Snape’s obstacle for guarding the stone is both cleverly written AND deeply subversive of the genre in a way that that the later books just never follow through on
A lot has happened since 'Liberation Day' last year. On the surface, the Trump tariffs on China have achieved one of their apparent goals, but failed to achieve other long-lasting changes. Get the big picture:
Liberated or Losing? How the U.S. is Faring in Its Trade Struggle with China - The Wire China
The Wire takes stock of the U.S.-China trade picture and the effort to shift global manufacturing back to America a year on from Liberation Day.
buff.ly
He declared liberation day, set tariffs based on nothing in particular, became quickly astonished that an economy he underestimated could match escalation, and then sued for peace and tried to convince you unilateral retreat was prelude to a deal. (Then delayed the moribund dealing for ⬇️)
Spencer Ackerman@attackerman.bsky.social · 5mo agoHe started a war, didn’t know how to win it, was immediately over his head, became quickly overpowered by an enemy he vastly underestimated, and now is trying to sue for peace and then convince you that this was a victory. Dying empires produce leaders like this
This week’s cover story: can a start-up in North Carolina break China’s grip on rare earth magnets? Noah Berman reports on Vulcan Elements' race to onshore a crucial supply chain:
The Magnet Makers - The Wire China
A start-up in North Carolina wants to break China’s grip on rare earth magnets.
buff.ly
In small-town North Carolina, a new factory wants to make magnets without sourcing any materials from China. In our latest podcast episode, Noah Berman and Tom Mitchell discuss how the company, Vulcan Elements, is trying to get the U.S. back in the rare earths race. pod.link/1873741567
HEY SCHOOLS! I have a special #buyastrangerabook day offer just for you! @nadiashireen.bsky.social is offering to buy you a set of her brilliant Grimwood series. All five of them! If you'd like them, just get in touch. UK only
Nadia Shireen@nadiashireen.bsky.social · 5mo agoHELLO. I’d like to a buy a stranger (school) a whole set of Grimwood books. There are 5 books (so far.) Thanks!
Suggestion: turn off a certain press conference and listen to Michael Collins play the clarinet www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Classical Live - A clarinet recital live from Wigmore Hall - BBC Sounds
Clarinettist Michael Collins and pianist Wu Qian live from Wigmore Hall.
bbc.co.uk
Your weekend listen: What's behind the curtain of ByteDance's viral AI video generator, Seedance 2.0? @rachelcheung.bsky.social, @eliotchen.bsky.social, and Savannah Billman examine new developments in China's AI space in episode six of our podcast: pod.link/1873741567
pod.link
Smugglers in Texas, New Jersey, and New York. A mysterious Hong Kong client. And a plot to illegally sell Nvidia AI chips to China. Episode five maps out a chip smuggling network with @eliotchen.bsky.social and @andypeaps.bsky.social : pod.link/1873741567/
Even though China is highly online, with over 90 percent of the population internet users, the country’s top AI models have fewer regular users compared to U.S. models. Get the big picture on China's AI adoption lag:
Chinese AI Makes Its Sales Pitch - The Wire China
China’s AI models dominated headlines during the new year holiday, but struggle to overcome low user adoption at home.
buff.ly
What a take this was www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/f...
Six Nations on road to perdition unless chastening Celtic wake-up call is heeded | Robert Kitson
Championship risks becoming a two-tier affair as Ireland, Wales and Scotland all lose on the opening weekend for first time in 26 years
theguardian.com
