President Trump, ever hear of the Smoot-Hawley tariffs?

This is the kind of downward spiral you may be triggering.. Can you spell d-e-p-r-e-s-s-i-o-n? From Wikipedia: The Tariff Act of 1930 (codified at 19 U.S.C. ch. 4), commonly known as the Smoot–Hawley Tariff or Hawley–Smoot Tariff,[1] was a law that implemented protectionist trade policies in the United States. Sponsored by Senator Reed Smoot and Representative Willis C. Hawley, it was signed by President Herbert Hoover on June 17, 1930. […]…

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Tom Friedman and the New York Times editorial page continue to day dream when it comes to China

When I was Beijing bureau chief for United Press International in the early 1980s, we press hacks used to joke about visitors making their first trips to China, spending perhaps two weeks in the country. They could write entire books, they were so confident of their knowledge. But if a visitor spent two months in […]…

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Why America Can’t Get The Chinese Out of our Communications Networks

As this New York Times front page article attests, U.S. officials believe the Chinese cyber attack groups, Volt Typhoon and Salt Typhoon, are still in American telecommunications networks. The author of the article, David Sanger, calls it “the most significant assault on American critical infrastructure in the digital age.” He adds: “Officials have said they do […]…

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The New York Times editorial page runs another silly opinion piece about China

The editorial department, as opposed to the news department, today prints a very long guest essay by Jameel Jaffer and Genevieve Lakier, who both have legal backgrounds in Chicago. It is entitled, “The Supreme Court Must Intervene in the TikTok Case.” These two are complete unknowns to most people involved in China watching, myself included. […]…

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