Be careful what you wish for as yuan nears 6 mark

By William Pesek
Beijing mouthpieces like China Daily are working overtime to warn yuan bulls not to take this year’s rally too far. A case in point was a headline this week declaring that the “Rapid Rise of the Yuan Is Unsustainable.” Fair enough. But to what extent is the yuan surging toward 6 to the dollar really President Xi Jinping’s call?

Southeast Asian countries edging closer to the US

By Richard Javad Heydarian
After a slow start, there are signs that the Biden administration could potentially nudge Southeast Asian countries toward a tougher stance on China. With Beijing aggressively pushing the envelope across the South China Sea, smaller claimant states are becoming more receptive to stronger cooperation with the United States.

China, Russia mapmakers chart post-unilateral order

Subscribe to AT+ premium to read Pepe Escobar’s story on expectations that the upcoming Putin-Biden summit will see the US attempt to drive a wedge between Moscow and Beijing amid moves by the two countries to deepen their “comprehensive strategic partnership.”

Northeast Asia must avoid ‘nuclear domino effect’

By Andrew Salmon
As strategic risks rise across Northeast Asia, the region desperately needs a security dialog framework, a leading expert said in Seoul Thursday. If that is not emplaced, and if attempts to denuclearize North Korea fail, multiple states across the region could go critical, Moon Chung-in, a senior academic and former advisor to President Moon Jae-in (no relation) said.

Guessing game: Will Kim’s sister become his No 2?

By Bradley K. Martin and Andrew Salmon
The Kim family regime in North Korea plays its cards extremely close to its chest, but Pyongyangologists don’t complain. After all, if we don’t know what’s going on, we can always play an entertaining guessing game. Commentators thus far disagree on whether the Party’s “first secretary” post was created for ruling family members or a hired executive.

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Inflation Dragon China: from price cuts to hikes

By David P. Goldman
Durable consumer goods prices fell steadily for the past quarter-century as ever-cheaper computing power drove consumer electronics. Until 2021, that is. Consumer durables registered their biggest monthly price increase in a generation in April, preceded by the first big monthly increase in the producer price index for Chinese consumer goods.

Huawei’s Android rip-off system sows disharmony

By Frank Chen
Chinese tech giant Huawei embarked on its long haul to more self-reliance with the launch on Wednesday of its own mobile operating system (OS). The company has named its system “Harmony” in a likely dig at discordant China-America ties which are hamstringing its business that speaks volumes about Huawei’s high hopes for its homegrown OS.

A380 was a Super Jumbo ‘mistake’: CEO

By Dave Makichuk
Nothing like a US$445.6 million mistake to make a CEO cry in his coffee. Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said this week the Airbus A380 — one of the most expensive and lavish airplanes ever built — has no future in the company’s fleet. “The biggest mistake we made was the purchase of Airbus A380s,” said the executive in a recent webinar.

India’s second wave may cause more pain: experts

By KS Kumar
India’s finance ministry officials believe the current second wave of Covid-19 will not impact the economy as much as the first wave, and the central bank agrees, but some experts say this will not be the case. Following the first wave of Covid-19, the country’s gross domestic product contracted 7.3% in 2020-21, its first contraction since 1979-80.