The EU may be mired in red tape, but the security at airport in Italy is probably more efficient and pleasant than any major ones in the U.S., and heavily laden with common sense.

Whether China will "win the tech race" is beside the point. By investing in tech self-reliance and decoupling, Beijing is raising the stake in any contingency (not just that over Taiwan) against the West (not just America).

Looking forward to Bondi's tell-all book (and that from Pete, Tulsi, etc etc).

People do not appreciate what a vast, fundamental sea change batteries are bringing to the electrical system.

Spain, America's Japan.

Crossing the border into Italy, in the notification for taking a photo, it’s English for the Japan passport, but Mandarin (not Cantonese) for the Hong Kong one. Perhaps the China century has arrived.

As Women’s History Month comes to an end, I want to recognize all the women who have served our country, from the Revolutionary War to today. Even when our country refused their help, they stepped up and served anyway. They’ll always be a part of America’s story.

If America closes its door on China originated AI researchers or students, perhaps other than those that have settled in the US and demonstrated loyalty, it would have no choice but integrating those from third countries. China is winning the AI talent race economist.com/interactive/...

It appears Speaker Mike Johnson has historically opposed "breaking up" DHS funding and has not yet committed to bringing the Senate's version to the floor. Sorry, spring break travellers.

So it’s not about “merit” after all.

“too much American strategic thinking is entrapped by the seductive belief that if the opening barrage is violent enough, the enemy’s coherence will unravel on schedule. Iran has spent decades developing the ability to deny that outcome.”

A key component of “reform & open” under Deng was the freedom to travel (来去自由). That era is over. Exit bans are not new, but they typically involved politically exposed persons, or companies entangled w strategic interests in natural resources, healthcare, etc. Tech talent is state interest now.

The chances of World Cup 2026 getting postponed is probably not zero.

Once again, China’s MOFA refused to confirm Trump’s date of visit at press conference despite the latter’s announcement. Did he invite himself?

Investors in Meta might question why it said a) Manus’s team has been integrated into Meta, b) there would be no continuing Chinese ownership in Manus, and c) that Manus would discontinue its services/ops in China, if China seems to have retained leverage over Manus. www.wsj.com/tech/leaders...

What would America do, if China achieved artificial general intelligence (AGI) first?

China’s industrial policy 2.0: I have your family. www.ft.com/content/d912...

Time for Beijing to boost ideological struggles to prevent The Hunt for Red October - The Sequel. www.reuters.com/investigatio...

According to China's state-backed Caixin, Iran has set up a “safe corridor” in the Strait of Hormuz that allows Chinese-owned cargo vessels through. www.caixinglobal.com/2026-03-24/e...

Suburban middle school teaches Chinese history with surprising rigor. Just told puberty boy that the 7-year-old final emperor of Song, perhaps the last respectable dynasty for the Han Chinese, being made to jump to his death around Hong Kong rhymes with our time.

Oh wow today's Anthropic hearing is going to be brutal for the government. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

At the height of the tariff stand-off with China in April 2025, Trump was essentially negotiating with himself - threatening escalation and then pulling back - while China stayed silent. We're at that stage now on Iran. China won the 2025 stand-off... robinjbrooks.substack.com/p/how-high-w...

Time to update internal policies about bringing work or personal cellphone to Hong Kong. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Strange situation where we await a statement from Iran to check whether there's any truth to what US president is saying.

"The social governance system...in #Chinese official discourse, is precisely engineered to deprive people of the ability to organize themselves, express their identity, and sustain their cultural life, thereby quietly normalizing repression in society." globalvoices.org/2026/03/11/t...

The change to the risk profile of the Strait of Hormuz seems to be permanent, which the market has not priced in.

Jump in wind/solar capacity => energy storage/battery demand => urgency in acquiring/upgrading/licensing battery manufacturing capabilities.

For those fluent in Mandarin and interested in contemporary Chinese youths and their views on politics, this interview is timely and incisive.

Waking up everyday thinking 77m Americans voted for this.

The oil and gas crisis, on balance might be favorable to China as the latter’s overcapacity issue takes a backseat.

A Trump friend in a custody fight came up with a novel way to try to get his son back: He called ICE and told them his ex-girlfriend was in the country illegally. She has since been deported. By Megan Tuohy @shawnmccreesh.bsky.social @haleaziz.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/u...

The back door for the founder of the product accused of having a back door. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

2026, the year Americans realize that oil independence isn't good enough. Investors should take another look at "new energy" tech and EVs.

Beijing's Industrial Policy 2.0 - We got your family.

As predicted, rumors circling in China that Manus executives might be subject to exit ban. The same or worse should be expected re their relatives.

A “review” into whether Manus’s move to Singapore, along with its staffers, techn, or data, crossed China’s export-control lines, typically would mean punishment is forthcoming. That’s a warning to all in that group, and opportunity for the western countries.

If more Chinese companies and engineers are allowed to compete in, or encouraged to transfer their technology to, North America, supply chains could be more secure or evolve more quickly. By the time this plant opens, the battery technology might have moved on.

Chinese AI talent is getting squeezed from both sides. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/17/t...

The most interesting part of this news is that the plant will provide (expected production launch ​in 2027) lithium iron phosphate batteries, in which China, rather than Korea, holds the world's most advanced and dominant technology. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

🧵 on likely postponement of Trump-Xi meeting: The purpose of a U.S.-China leaders’ meeting is in no small part to focus the bosses and their bureaucracies on bilateral issues. When one leader’s attention is unavailable, this won’t happen. A meeting would be a muddle at best. 1/3

As Takaichi arrives at the White House on Thursday, why wouldn't she at least suggest at a Japanese maritime role around Hormuz?

Back to the 80's. While the signors "urge the Administration to reject any attempt by Chinese manufacturers to circumvent existing restrictions by establishing production facilities in the US", Trump said he was ​open to Chinese makers building vehicles in the US. www.reuters.com/business/aut...

At what point could the Iran war be declared a national emergency and the 2026 elections delayed?

Why isn't Trump turning to this lot for help?

Just a reminder that the Washington Treaty defines the geography of NATO’s mutual defense pledge — at U.S. insistence in 1949 — to prevent allies from committing us to their wars outside of Europe.

Humanoid robots are fun to watch and possibly a huge market. But old enough to recall what the investment banks said about VR becoming a hundred billion dollar market in five years.

Here's the video of our webinar discussion yesterday on "Rethinking Diplomacy and Deterrence" with our third cohort National Security fellows Elsa Kania, @pu-xiaoyu.bsky.social & @neilthomas123.bsky.social presenting their working papers, moderated by alumni fellow @brianthart.bsky.social:

"Across the rich world, increasing hereditary wealth is creating a class more inclined to search out tax loopholes than to strive or innovate. China will have those problems and more." www.economist.com/leaders/2026...