BEIJING — China’s best-known entrepreneur, e-commerce billionaire Jack Ma, made his fortune by taking big risks. The former English teacher founded Alibaba Group in 1999, when China had few internet users. Online payments service Alipay launched five years later, before regulators said such businesses would be allowed. Both long shots...
Axios Exclusive: Suspected Chinese Spy Targeted California Politicians
[aggregation-styles] Axios A suspected Chinese intelligence operative developed extensive ties with local and national politicians, including a U.S. congressman, in what U.S. officials believe was a political intelligence operation run by China’s main civilian spy agency between 2011 and 2015, Axios found in a yearlong investigation. Why it matters: The...
Lunar Mission Is Latest Milestone in China’s Space Ambitions
WENCHANG, China — China’s latest trip to the moon is another milestone in the Asian powerhouse’s slow but steady ascent to the stars. China became the third country to put a person into orbit 17 years ago and the first to land on the far side of the moon in...
China Tests Millions After Coronavirus Flareups in 3 Cities
BEIJING — Chinese authorities are testing millions of people, imposing lockdowns and shutting down schools after multiple locally transmitted coronavirus cases were discovered in three cities across the country last week. As temperatures drop, widescale measures are being enacted in Tianjin, Shanghai and Manzhouli, even though the number of new...
The Coronavirus Is Airborne Indoors. Why Are We Still Scrubbing Surfaces?
[aggregation-styles] The New York Times Subscription HONG KONG — At Hong Kong’s deserted airport, cleaning crews constantly spray baggage trolleys, elevator buttons and check-in counters with antimicrobial solutions. In New York City, workers continually disinfect surfaces on buses and subways. In London, many pubs spent lots of money on intensive...
Makers of Diapers and Baby Formula Brace for Lower Sales as Pandemic Leads To Decline in Births
[aggregation-styles] CNBC Call it the Covid baby bust. Experts are forecasting declining birth rates this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, putting pressure on the consumer giants that manufacture infant formula, baby food and diapers, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Barclays is predicting that births in China...
Most US Farmers Remain Loyal to Trump Despite Pain From Trade Wars and COVID-19
By Wendong Zhang and Minghao Li U.S. farmers have suffered a lot in the past few years: The trade war with China, natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic have all resulted in substantial losses for many producers. Farmers overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump in 2016 and remain critical to his reelection in many swing...
China’s Economy Accelerates as Virus Recovery Gains Strength
BEIJING — China’s shaky economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic is gaining strength as consumers return to shopping malls and auto dealerships while the United States and Europe endure painful contractions. Growth in the world’s second-largest economy accelerated to 4.9% over a year earlier in the three months ending in...
Pompeo Pledges US Engagement on the Balkans
DUBROVNIK, Croatia — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pledged Friday that Washington will remain engaged in the Balkans where China and Russia have been gaining political and economic influence. Pompeo spoke in the Croatian Adriatic Sea resort of Dubrovnik, the last leg of his European tour that also included...
UN Chief: ‘Epochal’ Crisis as World Powers Meet Remotely
UNITED NATIONS — Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the U.N.’s first-ever virtual meeting of global leaders Tuesday that the world is facing an “epochal” health crisis, the biggest economic calamity and job losses since the Great Depression, threats to human rights and worries of a new Cold War between the U.S....