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banned by the idiots in washington, the chinese make their own stuff....Just 15 years ago, Chinese consumers were flocking to Western brands. Now they prefer Chinese ones. The fate of the Starbucks Group is telling: Sales and profits in its current 7,300 stores in China are declining. The Chinese are not drinking less coffee, but prefer Chinese brands, partly because they offer more for less money. Luckin Coffee, which was only founded in 2017, is rapidly taking market share from the American market leader. Even outside of China, such as in Singapore, Luckin Coffee stores are popping up everywhere and competing with Starbucks. The Economic War Against China Has Backfired By Felix Abt
Bloomberg reported that Luckin Coffee, and no longer Starbucks, is now the largest coffee retailer in China. The turnaround of the company, which was on the verge of bankruptcy four years ago, is due to the chain’s automated stores, low-cost offerings and innovative drinks that cater to local tastes. In terms of volume, it offers the same amount of coffee, but at one-third the price of Starbucks. Luckin Coffee is not the only thriving Chinese coffee company; another example is Manner Coffee, which has opened more than 1,000 stores in China. Of course, Luckin Coffee and Manner Coffee are just two examples from one industry. The same is happening in many other sectors. With increasing Sinophobia from the West, Chinese consumers are becoming consumer patriots who prefer Chinese products and services: In 2011, only 15% of Chinese said they would prefer Chinese over foreign brands; by 2020, 85% said they would prefer Chinese products. Given the increasingly anti-China policies and rhetoric, this proportion is likely to be even higher today. “Sanctions” to contain China Since 2016, the U.S. has imposed thousands of sanctions and other “penalties” against China. More than 70 Chinese technology companies have been targeted by Washington, and entire regions, such as the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, have been banned (by the U.S.) from exporting goods to the U.S. Hundreds of Chinese government officials have been banned from visiting or communicating with U.S. companies. Not only is the economic assault continuing, but it is being relentlessly intensified, with allies allowing themselves to be used by Washington against their own interests. The unilateral coercive measures under Washington’s leadership were implemented with the intention of “containing” China and keeping it poor, rather than allowing it to rise again. The Trauma of the Opium WarsThis brings back extremely bad memories in China: Before the Opium Wars against China under British leadership, which began the “century of humiliation,” China’s economy was strong and self-sufficient and had a trade surplus with European countries. Huawei became too strong for the WestHuawei is one of the companies that had to be destroyed. The world’s leading manufacturer of telecommunications equipment counted 80% of the world’s 50 largest telecommunications companies among its customers. Huawei sold its products in more than 170 countries. In order to eliminate this serious competitor for U.S. companies, the U.S. government ensured that Huawei no longer had access to foreign microchips and to Western and other markets. As a result, Huawei had to sell its leading computer and smartphone subsidiary Honor in 2020. Denied access to key components such as chips, which are essential for the production of smartphones, Huawei decided to sell its cell phone business to a lesser-known Chinese company to ensure the survival of its successful product, as the buyer could operate without the same restrictions. This move was also intended to protect Honor’s suppliers, partners and employees and ensure that the brand could maintain its market presence and continue to innovate. In 2020, Huawei parted ways with Honor completely. Huawei’s turnover and profitability slumped dramatically. Washington almost managed to drive Huawei into bankruptcy. However, like many other Chinese companies that the U.S. wanted to kill, Huawei has reinvented itself and resurrected itself as China’s most productive high-tech company. It is expanding into new sectors such as port automation and electric vehicles. Huawei, which is once again manufacturing laptops and cell phones using only Chinese components, is currently taking significant market share from Apple, which used to be highly profitable in China. What the major Western media did not report, the Indian business and financial news service “ET NOW” did: Apple was defeated by Huawei in its largest overseas market.
Today, China accounts for 70% of Huawei’s revenue. Huawei not only produces excellent products and services, but has also positioned itself as China’s national champion. Chinese consumers, who have been anxiously watching the economic assault by foreign powers on Huawei and countless other Chinese companies, sided with the “underdog,” recalling the centuries of humiliation China suffered at the hands of foreign powers in the not-too-distant past. Decline and outflow of foreign investmentThere are headlines all over the world about the exodus of investors from China. This is partly because foreign investors are afraid of being penalized by Washington. Even Tesla cars made in China and exported to the U.S. are now subject to high U.S. import taxes. Other products that foreign investors manufacture in China are also being targeted. The withdrawal of foreign investment is not the end of China. It is merely a reaction to the weaponization of foreign investment and trade by the U.S. and, what is more, to the failure of Western companies in the Chinese market. U.S. car manufacturers, which sold millions of cars in China every year and made billions of dollars in profits, are no longer competitive and are scaling back their investments. The outflow of foreign investment from China reflects two things: the threat to foreign investment from U.S. anti-China policies and the loss of competitiveness of foreign investors in China. The increase in Chinese investment abroad reflects the increased competitiveness of Chinese companies, which are capturing more and more market share outside China, including market share from the same competitors that are losing out in China’s domestic markets. China has the largest middle class (with substantial savings) in the world, which continues to grow, in contrast to the Western middle classes, which are shrinking and becoming increasingly indebted. There is still plenty of room for expansion for companies that cater to the needs of the Chinese middle class. But it would not be surprising if Starbucks were to leave China in the not-too-distant future. After all, it is what Western China hawks have longed and worked so hard for. It will do the U.S. little harm if its remaining companies lose the world’s largest market—measured in terms of purchasing power parity and not GDP. This is because the United States already has a large trade deficit with China and, unlike Japan, South Korea and the European Union, it is not a strong exporter. But the U.S.’s allies will suffer a considerable economic setback if they support Washington’s tough anti-China measures. Chinese customers will no longer be well-disposed toward them. This will jeopardize the prosperity of their populations. China has the advantage that its growing domestic economy accounts for the lion’s share of its overall economy. In the worst-case scenario, China’s economy could become self-sufficient and strong as it was before the Opium Wars.
https://covertactionmagazine.com/2024/10/29/the-economic-war-against-china-has-backfired/
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World attention is focusing on the US presidential election as the political atmosphere within America is getting increasingly intense as the November 5 Election Day approaches, with multiple states, especially the swing states, preparing for potential election violence and unrest. Analysts said instead of uniting the country, the election makes the US further divided and uncertain.
The AP reported on Sunday that Democrat candidate Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump "zeroed in on the Sun Belt (the southern states of the US) on Saturday as they embarked on one last weekend quest to sway every undecided voter in the battleground states. They pitched rival agendas on the economy - and more - that each insisted is what Americans want."
The two candidates "make their final push in swing states," as they are spending the final weekend before Election Day urging their supporters to the polls and trying to persuade any last holdouts, making their cases in a string of rallies in the South on Saturday, the New York Times reported on Saturday.
As the campaign gets intense, the concern over possible violence caused by the election is also rising. According to Reuters on Wednesday, with the US election just days away, officials in the most competitive battleground states are bracing for misinformation, conspiracy theories, threats and possible violence.
In Philadelphia, Detroit and Atlanta, three of Trump's favorite targets for false claims of voter fraud, officials have fortified their operations against a repeat of the chaos of 2020. Philadelphia's ballot-counting warehouse is now surrounded by fencing topped with barbed wire. In Detroit and Atlanta, some election offices are protected by bullet-proof glass.
In Wisconsin, election workers have been trained on de-escalation techniques and polling stations rearranged so workers have escape routes if they are menaced by protestors.
In Arizona, an epicenter in 2020 for false claims by Republicans about rigged voting, the secretary of state is working with local officials on how to respond to misinformation, including deep-fake images of purported fraud, Reuters reported.
The concern is not just in swing states. According to Reuters, the governor of Washington state on Friday said he was activating some members of the National Guard to be on stand-by after information and concerns regarding potential violence related to the 2024 election. The state, where Democrat Kamala Harris is easily expected to defeat Trump according to polling, was one of two where ballot boxes were set on fire earlier in the week.
CNN reported that National Guard is also on standby in Oregon and Nevada as a precaution for "potential" election unrest.
The Guardian reported on Saturday that in the last week, the US saw numerous attacks on the voting process, not only burning the ballot boxes in Oregon and Washington, but also including a bomb threat in Pennsylvania, a fight between a poll worker and a voter in San Antonio, and a person got arrested in Arizona as local authorities say the person had amassed an arsenal of weapons and ammunition and was believed to be "preparing to commit an act of mass casualty."
Problematic political system
The International Crisis Group (ICG), a non-governmental organization for conflict prevention, said in an article published on Tuesday that, the risk of election-related violence has not been eliminated. "Partisan polarization remains high, helping create an atmosphere in which both sides claim that the election stakes are existential. Popular support for political violence has risen."
In an April NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll on the presidential election, 20 percent of respondents agree that "Americans may have to resort to violence to get their own country back on track."
Current projections suggest that just three states, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, may wind up picking the next US president. These and other possible battlegrounds (Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina) are the most likely hotspots in the event of a protracted fight over who won, said the ICG article.
Jin Canrong, associate dean of the School of International Studies at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Sunday his observation of the US presidential election.
First, the judiciary has been used for political ends. Judicial system of the US is supposed to be independent from the two parties, but now the two parties are both using legal approaches to attack each other; second, the policymaking is politicized, as policies are no longer serving the interest of the public but have absolute connection with the interests of the two parties, Jin said.
In addition, US politicians are not going to accept and acknowledge defeat easily, Jin said. "The US society is highly divided, and will it be further divided after this election?"
Shen Yi, a professor of international relations at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Sunday that "according to the polls, the gap between the two candidates will be very close, so whoever wins the election eventually, the other side and their supporters are very likely to doubt and challenge the result. Throughout the whole election campaign, both sides have claimed that the election this year matters for the future of US democracy, or it's a matter about survival of the country, in addition to that one of the candidates has been shot in an assassination attempt, hence many people worry that neither Democrats nor Republicans will be ready to accept the defeat peacefully."
Allies worry about policy change
The US presidential election is not only making its own people concerned, but also countries around the globe, especially US allies that are deeply affected by US policy.
The US' European allies "are bracing for an America that's less interested in them no matter who wins the presidential election - and for old traumas and new problems if Donald Trump returns to the White House," said a report by the Voice of America on Thursday.
The election comes more than 2 1/2 years into the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in which Washington has made the single biggest contribution to Kiev's defense. There are question marks over whether that would continue under Trump, and how committed he would be to NATO allies in general, said the VOA report.
Shen said with the uncertainty increasing in the US, countries around the world are likely to make more efforts to keep distance with the US when making significant decisions in the future, as they need to prevent risks of frequent policy U-turns in Washington.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202411/1322359.shtm
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EU Rebels? Europe Secretly Pours $3.9 Billion in China as Policymakers Preach DecouplingREAD FROM TOP.
YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.
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Gus Leonisky