More deals with the Philippines, and ‘Soviet’-like denouncement of capitalism
Politics & Current Affairs
Top politics and current affairs news for January 23, 2017. Part of the daily The China Project news roundup "731 million internet users and a VPN clampdown."
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China, the Philippines confirm cooperation programs worth 3.7 billion USD / Xinhua
Following a political realignment last summer from the U.S. to China, the Philippines has sought out substantial and unprecedented financial cooperation with Beijing. Deals already made include a $24 billion investment and financing deal in October and a $14 million arms package in December. Today, government officials of the Philippines and China announced a further $3.7 billion in cooperation largely to build infrastructure, and set their sights on a six-year joint development plan to be signed next month. -
China slams Western democracy as flawed / Bloomberg
In contrast to the market-friendly messages about globalization and free trade in Xi Jinping’s Davos speech last week, on Sunday, the People’s Daily published a full-page spread titled “Systemic crisis: The new trend of capitalism,” featuring various articles on the dire state of Western democracies. The People’s Daily website published an additional article (in Chinese), including a scan of the full-page spread, titled “Chaos chaos chaos! Where can capitalism go from here?” Bloomberg remarks, “The unusual series of commentaries…mirrors Soviet efforts to promote an alternative political and economic system during the Cold War.”
