Torbjørn Færøvik: New Delhi - fra hageby til gasskammer

Edwin het han, og vi må anta at han gråt da han ble født. Men med årene smilte han fra øre til øre, og som arkitekt av den klassiske skolen ble han en suksess. I 1912 ble han til og med forespurt om å tegne en splitter ny by, New Delhi, og han takket ja med én gang.

Calcutta hadde lenge vært hovedstad i Britisk India, men tidlig på 1900-tallet mente britene at de trengte en ny. «Gamle» Delhi viste seg å være uegnet, for byen var forfallen og kaotisk, og gatene var så altfor trange. Dermed ble 42 år gamle Edwin Lutyens  - en ekte sønn av London - kalt til dåd.

Resultatet ble en flunkende ny hovedstad som også ble omtalt som «The Garden City». For her var det alléer, hager og grønne lunger, og luften var ren og klar. Men i dag? Innbyggerne får knapt nok puste, og tusener dør av lungesykdommer hvert eneste år. 

Nå er vi i desember, og forurensningen er verre enn noensinne.

The US Is Selling H200 AI Chips to China – So Why Isn’t China Buying?

In a major policy shift on December 8, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Nvidia (the world’s leading designer of AI accelerators) is allowed to export advanced H200 chips to “approved customers” in China. However, more intriguing is the fact that China – despite lagging in the area of high-end chip design for at least two generations – has responded by limiting domestic buyers’ access to these advanced AI processors.

To understand China’s refusal, one must look beyond the silicon to the software. Nvidia’s dominance is secured not just by chip performance but by CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture), a proprietary software platform that has become the global standard for AI development. If Chinese AI developers were allowed to purchase the H200 chips, they would inevitably build their next generation of models on CUDA, creating a self-reinforcing cycle in which Chinese developers optimize for American standards.

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Wu Huiyuan: The Island, the Man, and the Long Goodbye

The wind off the South China Sea sweeps across the beach of Donghai Island, Guangdong province, carrying its familiar briny scent. On an empty stretch of sand, Chen Liang stands beside an old house half-buried in sand — a side effect of land reclamation. He wears his late father’s dark-gray suit — too tight at the shoulders — and holds a leather suitcase and a black umbrella. After adjusting his Mamiya 7 camera and setting the self-timer, he walks to a mark in the sand, straightens his jacket, and waits for the shutter. The resulting photograph, part of his series “Returning Home,” shows a man who appears to “return in glory,” though the landscape around him has been reshaped beyond recognition.

For a decade, Chen has photographed Donghai Island, shooting thousands of rolls of film and spending more than 400,000 yuan ($57,000) — enough, he notes, “to buy a decent apartment here.” His work has won awards and been widely exhibited.

At home, the response has been different. “In my mother’s eyes, I was the family’s greatest failure,” he says. No house, no children, no stable job — only “useless pictures.” He is now 41. In 2013, he returned to the island thinking he would stay. Today, he is preparing to leave again.

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China’s Hainan Free Trade Port heralds new era of openness

An iPhone that costs about $100 less might not sound like a trade policy story, but in China’s Hainan Island, it is.

As global trade faces rising tariffs and growing protectionism, China is moving in the opposite direction by opening one of its doors wider. That door is Hainan, a tropical island now being positioned as China’s most ambitious experiment in free trade and economic openness.

On December 18, the country launched island-wide special customs operations in Hainan, transforming the entire island into a high-standard free trade zone, encompassing not a single port or industrial park, but the whole island. Expanded zero-tariff policies and new value-added rules are reshaping costs for international companies and delivering real savings to consumers.

China already has 22 free trade zones (FTZs), but Hainan represents a fundamentally different level of openness. Most FTZs are limited to specific urban areas and focus on upgrading local industries. Hainan has transformed an entire island into a unified free trade port, with its own customs, tax and regulatory system.

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Russia and China’s Nuclear Bomber Cooperation Is Evolving

The Russian and Chinese militaries have expanded their joint air patrols since 2019, with bombers—including those capable of carrying nuclear weapons—flying beyond East Asia into the broader Pacific and near Alaska, according to a Newsweek map.

Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for China's Embassy in Washington, D.C., told Newsweek that the military maneuvers were part of annual cooperation to demonstrate the two sides' determination and capability to jointly address regional security challenges. Regarding the most recent, 10th joint air patrol conducted on December 9 near Japan, the Russian Defense Ministry previously said it was part of the Russia-China military cooperation plan for the year and denied that it was directed against third countries.
Why It Matters

Russia and China—the world's largest and third-largest nuclear powers in terms of warhead numbers—have forged a so-called "partnership without limits," with Moscow and Beijing closely cooperating in military matters, including joint patrols and war games, as part of efforts to counter the United States and its European and Asian allies.

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China Looks On As Ally Fights Border War

The ongoing border skirmish between Thailand and Cambodia continues, with a December 7 exchange of fire breaking the fragile ceasefire signed in Kuala Lumpur less than five months before. China, a diplomatic heavyweight and major source of weapons for both countries, seems to be taking a wait-and-see approach as the conflict rages on its doorstep.

Cambodia is widely viewed as a client state of Beijing. Phnom Penh is heavily dependent on Chinese investment, receiving $12 billion in Chinese funding between 2013 and 2022.

Cambodia also leans heavily on China for arms sales, and the modernization of Ream Naval Base, which officially opened earlier this year, was carried out with Beijing's assistance—raising concerns in Washington that the People's Liberation Army Navy might enjoy privileged access to the deep-water port and further strengthen its posture in the region.

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The 12 Zodiac Signs That Climbed Mountains and Crossed Seas to Reach Ancient China

When archaeologists back in 2017 discovered that semicircle-enclosed crab and ram-horn motifs had appeared on bronze mirrors during the Wu Kingdom period (222–280), they regarded it as proof that Western astronomical zodiac signs had at one point crossed the seas and reached China.

Based on birth month in the tropical year, the 12 astronomical signs bore no relation to the traditional Chinese zodiac animals. All the same, images of these imported star signs would find their way into Chinese culture and traditional works of art.

Pictorial evidence of the signs did not mean that the names and connotations associated with them had been appearing in Chinese districts. The system of astronomy — originating from the ancient Mesopotamian region and maturing in ancient Greece — had reached India through Alexander the Great’s eastern campaigns. Later, as Buddhism began to spread in China in 2 BC, elements of Indian culture entered China, with these cosmic symbols in tow.

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Torbjørn Færøvik: China Is Rising — but Not for the First Time in History

 “China is winning on all fronts,” goes the refrain as the year draws to a close. The country has not only won the trade war with the United States; it is also on its way to becoming a high-tech superpower.

These claims are largely true, and many people ask: How has a country that was so poor fifty years ago managed to rise so abruptly? The answer is, of course, complex, but much of the explanation lies in the fact that China’s ancient creative capacity never completely disappeared. It merely lay dormant—until Mao’s successors roused it into action.

In our Europe-centred historical tradition, we are prone to overlook the fact that China was for centuries an economic and political great power. The red thread running through Marco Polo’s travel account from the second half of the thirteenth century is the prosperity he witnessed. “The Chinese surpass all other nations in refinement and in knowledge of many things,” he wrote.

Torbjørn Færøvik: Kina reiser seg, men ikke for første gang i historien

Kina seirer på alle fronter, lyder omkvedet idet året ebber ut. Landet har ikke bare vunnet handelskrigen med USA, men er også i ferd med å bli en høyteknologisk supermakt.

Påstandene stemmer langt på vei, og mange spør: Hvordan har et land som var så fattig for femti år siden, klart å reise seg så brått? Svaret er naturligvis komplisert, men mye av forklaringen er at Kinas eldgamle skaperevne aldri helt forsvant. Den ble bare liggende i dvale – inntil Maos etterfølgere vekket den til dåd.

I vår Europa-sentrerte historietradisjon har vi lett for å overse at Kina i århundrer var en økonomisk og politisk stormakt. Den røde tråden i Marco Polos reiseberetning fra 1200-tallets andre halvdel er velstanden han så. «Kineserne er alle andre nasjoner overlegne i dannelse og kunnskap om mange ting», skrev han.

20 Million Gen Z Are Jobless in Urban China

The unemployment total for young Chinese city‑dwellers stood at roughly 20 million, or about 12 percent, according to a Newsweek analysis of the latest statistics from China's statistics bureau.The figure is a sign that the general economic recovery and a raft of stimulus measures have not eased the economic pressure facing China’s young people.

The world’s second‑largest economy has had a bumpy ride since the end of its strict COVID‑era lockdowns, amid slowing growth, tepid consumer demand and a years‑long real estate downturn.

Youth, defined in China as ages 15 to 24, have been particularly hard hit, as job competition intensifies amid record numbers of university graduates—a trend that analysts warn could threaten the Chinese Communist Party’s top priority: social stability.

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China’s Population Crisis—Xi’s Greatest Test in 2026

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has linked child rearing with national progress, faces the challenge of slowing, if not halting, a looming demographic crunch. Over two-thirds of the world's population now live in countries with fertility rates below the replacement level, or the rate of 2.1 births per woman necessary to sustain a population. And despite the significant amount of resources some governments have thrown at the problem, there have been few success stories so far.

China's total fertility rate, or births per woman during her lifetime, is among the lowest in the world, driven by an arduous and competitive work culture, the rising cost of living, workplace discrimination and fears of losing out on career, and changing attitudes among younger generations. And while the fertility rate ticked upward last year, this was driven by the COVID-19 pandemic's delaying effect on births and because 2024 was an auspicious Year of the Dragon.

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Canada’s time to ditch US and go with China

US President Donald Trump has mused about destroying Canada’s economy as a prelude to annexing the country and making it America’s “51st state.” Trump threatenedto increase tariffs on Canadian products after seeing an anti-tariff TV advertisement sponsored by the government of Ontario.

Most Canadian goods entering the US remain tariff-free, provided they comply with the Canada-US-Mexico Free Trade Agreement (CUSMA). However, that agreement is under review in 2026 and was being renegotiated before Trump’s outburst led him to suspend the talks. The American ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, regularly threatens and insults Canadians.

Canadians are anxious about the US as it declines into authoritarianism and government-sponsored racism. A president willing to unleash the National Guard on American cities, ignore judicial orders, use the Justice Department to pursue his political opponents, assault and corrupt American higher education, execute people in international waters and attack the liberal democratic foundations of the state may indeed use the US military against Canada.

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Thai-Cambodia conflict escalates perilously from land to sea

The US-trained Royal Thai Navy on Saturday (December 20) geared up to stop all Thai ships in the Gulf of Thailand transporting fuel and military supplies to Cambodia, the first major use of the artillery-firing navy in the five-month-long border war.

The US Seventh Fleet uses the Gulf of Thailand when its aircraft carriers and other vessels dock near Bangkok at Sattahip port where Thailand’s First Naval Area Command is based to secure the gulf, which is peppered with inhabited Thai and Cambodian islands, navy facilities and oil rigs.

In addition to intercepting Thai ships, including fishing and commercial vessels, the navy said it would stop Thai-owned ships sailing under foreign flags and registrations, if they are suspected of transporting fuel, weapons, ammunition or other military equipment across the gulf to reach Cambodia’s south coast.

Thai shipping companies facilitating their travel, vessels’ owners, suppliers, chandlers and others linked to Thai ships violating the ban would also be held responsible, officials said.

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China figured out how to sell EVs. Now it has to deal with their aging batteries.

Wang, who is 39, had bought the car in 2016, when EVs still felt experimental in Beijing. It was a compact Chinese brand. The subsidies were good, and the salesman talked about “supporting domestic innovation.” At the time, only a few people around him were driving on batteries. He liked being early.

But now, the car’s range had started to shrink as the battery’s health declined. He could have replaced the battery, but the warranty had expired; the cost and trouble no longer felt worth it. He also wanted an upgrade, so selling became the obvious choice.

His vague plans turned into action after he started seeing ads on Douyin from local battery recyclers. He asked around at a few recycling places, and the highest offer came from a smaller shop on the outskirts of town. He added the contact on WeChat, and the next day someone drove over to pick up his car. He got paid 8,000 yuan. With the additional automobile scrappage subsidy offered by the Chinese government, Wang ultimately pocketed about 28,000 yuan.

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US tech enabled China’s surveillance empire. Now Tibetan refugees in Nepal are paying the price

The white dome of Boudhanath rises like a silent guardian over the chaotic sprawl of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, crowned by a golden spire that pierces the sky. Painted on each of the spire’s four sides are the benevolent eyes of the Buddha — wide, calm, and unblinking — said to see all that unfolds below.

Those eyes have served as a symbol of sanctuary for generations of Tibetans fleeing the Chinese crackdown in their homeland. But today, Tibetan refugees are also watched by far more malevolent eyes: Thousands of CCTV cameras from China, perched on street corners and rooftops to monitor every movement below. This intense surveillance has stifled the once-vibrant Free Tibet movement that had resonated around the world.

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PHOTO ESSAY: Under watch by Chinese tech, the Tibetan community in Nepal is slowly suffocating

In Nepal, the unseen eye has changed Tibetan life. The cameras are not just machines perched on the thick bundles of wires that twist through narrow lanes of Kathmandu in Nepal. They are a presence, an unseen watcher that Tibetans have learned to fear.

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Chinese Weapons Fueling Both Sides of Neighboring Border War

Thailand is looking into guided anti-tank missiles the army captured along the border amid the fighting with Cambodia that has renewed. The GAM‑102LR is a fifth‑generation precision‑guided anti‑tank missile (ATGM) developed in China.

The Royal Thai Army said the captured missiles are in its custody and will not be handed over to anyone, according to Thai Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Beijing’s defense exports are increasingly visible in regional conflicts, illustrating how Chinese military technology is shaping security dynamics in Southeast Asia. China has supplied VT‑4 tanks to the Royal Thai Army, based on a 2017 agreement.

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Why China Is Suing Missouri—And Demanding $50 Billion

China is suing Missouri and demanding $50 billion over a court judgment related to the COVID-19 pandemic. China has filed a lawsuit to attack the State of Missouri, according to Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, who has indicated that she is now moving toward seizing Chinese assets.

Earlier this year, Hanaway won a landmark $24 billion judgment against the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party, and affiliated entities for their role in "unleashing and worsening" the coronavirus pandemic—and the attorney general is determined to collect.

"This lawsuit is a stalling tactic and tells me that we have been on the right side of this issue all along," said Hanaway. "We stand undeterred in our mission to collect on our $24 billion judgment that was lawfully handed down in federal court."

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