China has reached out as its economy crumbles
China’s economy slowed this spring, according to official numbers released yesterday, dashing hopes of a post-pandemic recovery. Analysts said growth was hampered by high levels of debt, real estate crisis, weak exports and foreign investment.
The faltering economy has helped prompt a shift in the willingness of senior Chinese officials to engage in diplomatic negotiations with geopolitical rivals abroad and show more openness in economic policy at home.
This week, Xi Zhenhua, the country’s top climate official, is in Beijing for talks with his American counterpart, John Kerry, for the first time in nearly a year. The debate has gained momentum because China is reeling from the hot air. In recent days, temperatures in Beijing have exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit (about 38 Celsius) and hit a record high of 126 Fahrenheit in the western region of Xinjiang.
Kerry warns that the US and China are running out of time to avoid climate catastrophe. The US has tried to isolate the climate talks from other geopolitical disagreements, such as the future of Taiwan, but with limited success.
“If the US continues its oppression of China, increasing tensions and hostility between the two sides, it will not be conducive to any form of cooperation, including on climate change,” wrote a newspaper controlled by the Communist Party.
Analysis: Listen to “The Daily” delve into the history of China’s economic challenges.
In other China news:
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Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang has not been seen in public in three weeks, fueling global speculation about his absence.
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A US congressional committee focused on national security said it had “serious concerns” about research partnerships between UC Berkeley and Chinese entities.
The bridge explosion has shocked the Russian military
The Kerch Strait Bridge, which connects the occupied Crimean Peninsula to the Russian mainland, was attacked yesterday morning. Two people died and the bridge was temporarily closed.
Train service over the bridge has resumed, but the damage will complicate Russia’s efforts to resupply its troops in southern Ukraine. Ukrainian officials celebrated the attack, which Russia said was carried out by maritime drones, but declined to officially take credit.
Initial reports indicated that today’s blasts were less intense than a similar attack in October. But after the failed coup by the Wagner mercenary group last month, the attack was cited by prominent Russian bloggers as further evidence of the failures of the Russian military command.
Grain Business: Hours after the blasts were reported, Moscow announced it was pulling out of the Black Sea Grain Agreement, which has helped stabilize global food prices. The threat of renewed volatility rattled wheat markets, exposing vulnerable countries to the prospect of a new round of food insecurity.
Biden has voiced opposition to the Israeli leader’s planned overhaul of the judicial system, which is expected to lead to mass demonstrations today. Netanyahu’s right-wing government could vote this weekend on parts of a controversial plan to reduce the Supreme Court’s powers.
Biden’s invitation came a day before he was scheduled to meet with Israel’s President Isaac Herzog at the White House, something Netanyahu found somewhat unsettling. No date has been set for the meeting with Netanyahu, and it is unclear whether there will be an invitation to the White House.
Opposition: Israeli politicians who oppose the overhaul do not have the numbers to reject the plan. But Israelis have repeatedly protested and powerful groups – including military reservists, technology leaders, academics, senior doctors and trade union leaders – are trying to persuade the government to back down.
Latest news
Worldwide
Every year, tens of thousands of Irish Travelers and Gypsies, as many still refer to themselves, gather in rural England for the Appleby Horse Fair. There they find a place to celebrate their seminomadic culture without facing discrimination.
“It gives a sense of place, a sense of belonging, a sense of ancestry,” said one organizer. “That week we feel like we’re really home.” See photos from the festival.
Arts and ideas
The manga is being translated into America
Since manga was first introduced to the U.S. in the 1980s, American companies have grappled with how to adapt the popular genre of comics — which read from right to left in their native Japanese — for American readers.
To English-readers, vernacular manga may seem like reading from back to front. Some publishers solved that problem by flipping the page order or creating mirror images of each page so that the panels read from left to right. It was expensive and controversial, as many characters were left-handed.
Words also posed a challenge: The letters were intended to be part of art, but few Americans could read them. And sound effects are difficult to characterize, because Japanese borders on onomatopoeic words that don’t exist in English.
Now, after decades of experimentation, the adapted manga is much closer to the original form. There are captions, translations and instructions on how to read the panels. “What we’re trying to do is mimic the experience of Japanese readers,” said one correspondent.
Here is a visual article that shows the transformations better than I can explain in words.
Play, watch, eat
What to cook
Make butter chicken at home.
What to watch
Friendship and jealousy collide in “Afire,” a moody German film about a sour young writer and the woman he desires.
