IntelliBriefs

5 min read Nearing its 100 th  anniversary, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) appears stronger than ever. On the one hand, the party state lead by Xi Jinping has fared comparatively well in containing the coronavirus pandemic, increasing Chinese citizen’s trust in their government. From another perspective, what helped the leadership overcome challenges in recent decades was an unusual combination of political control and planning with economic flexibility and experimentation.    The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was established in Shanghai on July 23, 1921. But it has little in common with the present-day CCP. Mao Zedong was very present at the first Party Congress, which announced the fight against class distinctions, the overthrow of the bourgeoisie through a proletarian revolution and the collectivization of production. What followed were years of civil war against the ruling Kuomintang party, violent propaganda campaigns and internal party purges.   Ever since the CCP started intr

  The European Commission published the outstanding market access annexes of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) last week.  What you need to know Key market openings in China: Automobile manufacturing  – After 2022 foreign investors can increase their shareholding to above 50 percent in the production of cars with internal combustion engines. Carmakers will also be allowed to establish more than two equity joint ventures at the same time from 2023. There continues to be no limitations on new investments in electric vehicles projects valued at over USD 1 billion. Medical services – China will allow establishment of fully foreign-owned private hospitals and clinics in eight selected cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and on Hainan island. The hospitals and clinics must employ a majority of Chinese nationals.  Telecommunication services  – Foreign investment of up to 50 percent will be allowed in online data processing and transaction processing services (e-commer

Seizing the advantage   by   Charles W. Hooper Defense Industry Defense Policy Defense Technologies Security & Defense An F-35 pilot prepares for take off from the Vermont Air National Guard Base with the flag of the United States, before a flyover honoring Vermont’s front line coronavirus disease (COVID-19) responders and essential workers in South Burlington, Vermont, U.S. May 22, 2020. U.S. Air National Guard/Miss Julie M. Shea/Handout via REUTERS. Join Forward Defense for leading-edge commentary and key recommendations as we help chart the course for the United States’ next National Defense Strategy. As the Biden administration’s Pentagon begins developing its new defense strategy, it should consider the future of one of the most important tools of foreign policy: foreign military sales (FMS). There’s a debate underway about the role of FMS in US statecraft. Some argue it is overused, represents a “militarization” of foreign policy, and produces unintended consequences for glob

22.03.2021 16:00  CONFERENCE HALL, BOLSHAYA TATARSKAYA, 42, MOSCOW, RUSSIA © Reuters Accreditation On March 22, at 4:00 pm Moscow time (GMT+3), the Valdai Club will host an expert discussion, titled “Competing Technological Platforms in the 21st Century”. The Russian information technology industry is very young. However, Russia has every opportunity to start an advanced technology platform, say Valdai Club experts Andrei Terekhov and Stanislav Tkachenko, who prepared a report , titled “ Russia and Competition Between Technological Platforms: The Political Economy of the ICT Market ”. A similar system is now being created by the United States. China claims to be creating its own platform. The growing competition between technology platforms is contributing to the restructuring of the global economy and technology. For example, until recently, the idea of ​​creating a "sovereign Internet" seemed irrational and technologically difficult to implement. Today, it is gaining more s

03.03.2021 Nandan Unnikrishnan  ,  Nivedita Kapoor © Sputnik/Vitaly Ankov The current period of flux is exactly the time for the two sides to bank on their “special and privileged strategic partnership” to pursue a multi-vector foreign policy. The most important, critical takeaway from the relationship for both countries is the strategic space they provide each other to deal with the US, China and other great powers, write Nandan Unnikrishnan and Nivedita Kapoor. The article is published as part of the Valdai Club’s  Think Tank  project, continuing the collaboration between Valdai and Observer Research Foundation (New Delhi). As the world grapples with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the reshaping of the international system has added to the uncertainty confronting nation-states at this historical juncture. While the US-China rivalry hardly comes as a surprise, its acceleration due to the pandemic has made this bipolar dynamic the pivot around which the new world order is likely t

History Vignettes By  Sandeep Balakrishna 11th Aug, 2020 at 11:00 AM The Dawn of Civilisational Darkness By the close of the tenth century, even as  Shakti Kavi  (Brawny Poet) Ranna was writing supercharged verses of brilliant Kannada poetry extolling his patron, the Western Chalukya King Tailapa II, classical Bharatavarsha was perched on the edge of implosion into irretrievable civilizational pieces. In the faraway impregnable  alcazar  at Ghazni, Mahmud had decided to cast his predatory eyes on mainland India. Blissfully unaware, Taila II had at last, successfully vanquished the great Paramara King of Malwa, Munja (or Vakpati Munja) sometime in 994-95 CE. History is unclear on whether Munja died in battle or was executed by Tailapa II. Indeed, the entire century was a fiery cauldron of extraordinary but heedless heroism, which witnessed the spectacular, self-inflicted death of three major Hindu dynasties.  vināśakāle viparītabuddhiḥ . The flame burns the fiercest before turning into