Beyond parody.
wsj.com/articles/old-s
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James Mayger
@JDMayger
彭博新闻社驻北京记者。Bloomberg reporter in Beijing. All opinions are my own. ブルームバーグの記者。今北京で中国経済を見てます。以前東京で日銀と財務省担当のデスク。Australian, if rather tenuously at this point.
Joined December 2011
James Mayger’s Tweets
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the balloon was "meant to assist Chinese nationals in the United States in renewing their driving licenses."
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It’s the Lantern Festival here in #China today - with a large full moon tonight - and we’re seeing these pretty funny messages going out, wishing all a happy Lantern Festival, however, instead of an image of the moon, there is…
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Quite the visual similarity between the late Balloony McBalloonface and the thing seen over Japan a few years back.
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Replying to @ShinichiR0x and @kenji_minemura
東北大学 服部誠准教授
「宮城に来たものとほぼ同型のものだと思いますね」「吊っているものがほぼ一緒ですね」
news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/7e9f5
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Really good breakdown of the many unknowns in the Chinese🎈 situation.
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One of the challenging things about international crises like the #balloon is how much ambiguity there can be about the drivers of a state’s actions.
We can see the balloon, but what does it *mean* about China’s intentions?
There are many plausible explanations:
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This is really trippy.
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Fengjing town has some increasingly rare sights: Mao mural, the site of the old Fengwei Museum and a Mao badge museum. On today’s road trip. #shanghai
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The balloon story feels warm and reassuring to me. It's been a while since we've had an international news story that's inherently silly. It's always serious this and serious that. Happy to see defence analysts speculating on TV about what might be in "the balloon"
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Reading though the history of the Japanese school in Beijing and stumbled across this hilarious event in 1990.
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Days after Japan and the Netherlands joined the US in agreeing to restrict some high-technology exports to China, Beijing has reached out to those American allies
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Chinese Foreign Ministry on Blinken's postponed visit: In fact, China and the US have never announced any visit. The US's announcements are their own matter and we respect that.
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Chinese media are talking about the UK strikes quite a bit.
Id like to say 团结就是力量。
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that's what is called a trial balloon before a major visit?
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Japan's foreign minister invited to visit China
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A great opportunity for any young researchers to work on Japanese foreign policy and politics.
It's an increasingly important topic, and Adam is not only a great researcher but a good guy.
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【RT歓迎】私のパートタイムリサーチアシスタントを募集しています
日本の政治、外交、安保等を専門とする院生の方。基本的にテレワークです。
I am looking to hire a part-time/remote work RA in Japanese politics & foreign policy. (NB:日本語 fluency is a requirement)
締め切り: 2月12日
日本の政治、外交、安保等を専門とする院生の方。基本的にテレワークです。
I am looking to hire a part-time/remote work RA in Japanese politics & foreign policy. (NB:日本語 fluency is a requirement)
締め切り: 2月12日
Covid Zero, Property Slump Drive China’s Budget Into Record Deficit - Bloomberg
China’s economy showed a few signs of improvement in January as the country charted a path through its second month without Covid Zero curbs
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Lunch today was roast sweet potatoes (焼き芋) and 冰糖葫芦. Are there any better street foods?
China is so far ahead of the rest of the world in the “toffee fruits on skewers” business. New version is hawthorn berries with walnuts inside. So good.
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First time flying into Daxing airport. Did not realise it was this far away.
The flight from Henan to Hebei was only marginally longer than the drive back into Beijing.
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Our story here on China abandoning its retaliation against Japan over Covid testing.
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And just to be clear, this doesn’t look to be in reaction to Japan also lowering or removing its requirements.
The most recent statement on this from the Japanese government is still valid today and requires both a negative test result within 72 hours and a test on arrival.
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So why the about face?
One reason is likely that Japan is the largest single foreign investor in China. China wants more investment, especially after a slump in Nov-Dec.
It’s not a good look to be saying both “come and invest” and “you’re not welcome.”
bloomberg.com/news/articles/
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It wasn’t much of a ban - Japanese media already reported two weeks ago that some businesspeople were getting visas despite the rhetoric.
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China has now retracted the “ban” on issuing normal visas for Japanese to visit, even though Japan is still requiring everyone (including Japanese) who come directly from mainland China to get a PCR test on arrival.
mp.weixin.qq.com/s/1JNW-fV1pB-s
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This is an excellent piece by my colleague @GearoidReidy on the hypocrisy of China complaining about other countries trying to prevent Covid transmission.
Especially South Korea and Japan, who could have helped China move gradually to life with Covid.
bloomberg.com/opinion/articl
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GOJ sources tell Sankei that the government is considering reinstating the ROK in its fast-track trade “white list” depending on how discussions about the wartime labor issue goes. The court case remains a sticking point.
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＜独自＞韓国の「ホワイト国」復帰検討、徴用工見極め判断
sankei.com/article/202301
いわゆる徴用工訴訟問題を巡る韓国の解決策も見極めた上で、再指定の可否を慎重に判断する。
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Important piece of info in ’s article that is not getting the attention it warrants. 🇳🇱 agrees with 🇺🇸 strategy and objectives to widen tech capabilities gap with 🇨🇳 and wants to build a broader coalition of tech-leading democracies. on.ft.com/3DKwZCn
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Interesting thread on the export controls agreement.
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The most important aspect of the 7 October export control package released by the US Commerce Department is arguably its unilateral nature, and the struggle to get other key players onboard, primarily the Netherlands and Japan, continues. A thread. 
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And whether this is just a holiday spurt or the start of something more sustained is the real question.
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Useful comments on whether to expect a consumption-led recovery in China. twitter.com/ChinaFinance40…
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My colleagues and Xiao Zibang looked at some of the indicators of demand over the holiday. Which all showed a marked improvement from 2022, even if it’s not back at pre-pandemic levels.
bloomberg.com/news/articles/
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Judging by the crowds in Xi’an and Luoyang this holiday week, people are happy to be out and about and are spending at tourist spots.
Which is a good early sign of the possibility of a recovery in consumption in China this year.
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Australia-China relations are clearly getting better.
This was in my hotel room when I got back to the room just now!
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Useful comments on whether to expect a consumption-led recovery in China.
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The key for continuous growth of #consumerdemand lies in whether the goal of steady GDP growth could be reached, said YU Yongding, CF40 Advisor Academician, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.1/5
Read more at: mp.weixin.qq.com/s/lpHJEoXf8YVj
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Globalisation is being able to get some cold Kirin Ichiban in a convenience store in Luoyang.
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A University of Tokyo study shows closing up the nose and rear end of a dead hamster removes the risk of infecting others in the vicinity. The Yomiuri has a helpful illustration. yomiuri.co.jp/science/202301
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For the first time in a long time I’m wandering around a very crowded tourist spot in China.
Let’s hope this is an indication that the economy will hare along this year, bounding back like a bunny.
兔年快乐。
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Tim Hortons - North America’s legendary coffee.
Strangely non specific on where in North America it’s from.
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I wonder how much longer these signs will last.
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Tom Jones’ favourite restaurant.
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明けましておめでとうございます。
新年快乐。
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