Ford’s planned joint venture with Geely will place its established Valencia plant under shared ownership with a Chinese automaker. Ford will retain 66%, Geely 34%, and the first new models are scheduled to roll off the line in 2028. 1/5

Beijing has now written transnational repression into law. Article 63 of China’s Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress claims authority over critics abroad and gives legal cover to coercion against Uyghur, Tibetan and other diaspora communities. 1/2

Recommended viewing on the Second China Shock: an in-depth video discussion with @cfr.org's ace economist Brad Setser. What I found most compelling was host Markus Brunnermeier's introductory framework. 1/6

China’s electric-vehicle export surge reflects a political system that subsidizes overproduction and converts the resulting exports into strategic power. 1/8

For years after the CCP took me hostage, Ottawa struggled to manage crises when Beijing targeted Canadian exporters for coercion and leverage. Restoring leader-level dialogue under @mark-carney.bsky.social has helped rebuild communication channels, clarify intent, and manage risks of escalation. 1/5

Slovenian cycling superstar Tadej Pogačar just won a fifth Tour de France. His and other star cyclists’ performances offer some metaphorical lessons for dealing with China – specifically how cyclists coordinate into pelotons to spare energy and reduce friction from the wind. 1/12

China’s auto exports are continuing to flood the world with no letup in sight. To understand this seismic shift, please join Wendy Cutler, Michael Dunne, Jorge Guajardo and me for an @asiapolicy.asiasociety.org online panel discussion today at 10:00 a.m. ET. 1/10

China’s auto exports are continuing to flood the world with no letup in sight. To understand this seismic shift, please join Wendy Cutler, Michael Dunne, Jorge Guajardo and me for an @asiapolicy.asiasociety.org online panel discussion on July 29, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. ET. 1/10

Treating China as a solution to Canada’s problems with the United States would be a risky misreading of both the challenge and the opportunity facing Canada. 1/6

The numbers are in — and they're damning. New @oecd-ocde.bsky.social data show industrial subsidies hit their highest level since the 2008 global financial crisis — $108 billion across 15 major sectors in 2024 alone. But the headline figure buries the real story. 1/7

Worth your time this week: Jonathan Czin’s essay in @foreignaffairs.com, “The False Promise of U.S.-China Stability.” 1/10

The Chinese Communist Party’s economic strategy is not free trade. It is aggressive mercantilism. Xi Jinping has been explicit about the goals: to seize the commanding heights of advanced technology and manufacturing, increase other countries’ dependence on China and minimize reliance on others. 1/6

Like most Canadians, I don’t usually agree with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, nor do I care for his abrasive style. But on at least one issue, he’s right: Canada should not become a “drop-off port” for Chinese EVs entering North America. 1/8

Hostage-taking by nation-states is a growing problem. Once the domain of terrorist and criminal organizations, it's now a tool wielded by Iran, Russia, China, North Korea and Venezuela to extract prisoner swaps, payments and sanctions relief. 1/10

Canada’s auto industry ties with the U.S. are under pressure and Ottawa is looking for options. But moves toward China risk signaling unreliability in Washington and could trigger a stronger response across the broader economic relationship. 1/6

Canada’s quota for Chinese electric vehicles is now in place. The question is no longer whether to allow them in, but how tightly to manage the risk. Very tightly, I’d argue, which is what I told the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry and Technology. 1/8

The Trump-Xi summit in May was not a reset. It was a pause to reload. 1/7

The Tour de France just left Barcelona. Watch the pelotons — riders taking turns in the wind, drafting, protecting leaders. They’re game theory on wheels, the best metaphor I've found for the West's uncoordinated China diplomacy under Trump. 🧵1/4

Radio host Mike Smyth asked why Canadians shouldn’t buy Chinese EVs. Because the hidden costs are high. The short-term price advantage is real. But the playbook is well documented: once domestic competitors are gone, the cheap prices go with them. 1/2

Deeper economic entanglement with China is not the answer as the EVs-for-canola deal begins to move from policy into practice. As I told Parliament this week, this is not a long-term route to Canada’s goals. It’s a dead end. 1/5

China’s officials take advantage of leaders who are focused on short-term business deals while they play the long game. 1/3

Canada’s EVs-for-canola deal is not a normal trade arrangement. It provides five years of EV market access in exchange for canola tariff relief, an asymmetric deal where China holds the leverage. 1/6

De Gaulle predicted "Europe will be united by the Chinese." Macron is trying to prove him right. A record EU-China deficit is gutting industry. Most leaders' visits to Xi are buck-passing, not hedging. At least Macron is balancing, and trying to bring Europeans with him. Will they rally or delay? 👇

Canadian court documents reveal that China’s Ministry of Public Security targeted at least 25 Canadian residents through Fox Hunt and SkyNet. Beijing calls them anti-corruption operations. Rights advocates say they’re also tools of transnational repression. 1/4

Canada’s EV policy is developing a coherence problem. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly is in China this week meeting EV makers BYD, Chery, and Geely to discuss building vehicles in Canada. 1/8

For years, Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy has quietly laid institutional foundations for more influence in Asia. But against such a vast geographic and economic region, measurable impact has been hard to discern. Until now. 1/6

Wang Yi told visiting U.S. senators that Washington should “address mutual misperceptions,” “develop a rational perception of China,” (implying the current one is irrational) and “earnestly respect China’s core interests.” What’s a “rational perception”? Whatever the CCP tells you it is. 1/2

In a Global News interview, I warned that as global crises unfold, more leaders are turning to Beijing, reinforcing a dangerous strategic trend. They are playing into China’s narrative as the rising, stable power while accommodating its preferences. Watch here:

China’s push to reshape the world order is getting a boost from the Iran war

The war in Iran is playing into China’s long-term vision of a new world order with the country securing a stable supply of discounted energy after the U.S. extended the waiver on Russian oil…

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Australia’s problem with the Trump-Xi summit is that it stabilized things just enough to make the next phase more ambiguous. Lower tension helps: less volatility around trade, tariffs and rare earths eases pressure on fuel, shipping, commodities and exports. 1/3

World leaders have been beating a steady path this year to see Xi Jinping. Through the first five months of 2026, 21 heads of state or government have visited China. 🧵1/6