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Kusu News 14-5-2021

Strengthen Asia to Weaken Beijing

China’s opening to grab supremacy will vanish once its neighbors develop.
10-May-2021 WSJ

 

The American debate over China policy is heating up. Last month, Foreign Affairs published an article by Charles Glaser calling on the U.S. 

to retreat from East Asian commitments as American power declines. In prominent publications ranging from the National Interest to the Atlantic, analysts argue that the U.S. should moderate its China policy for the opposite reason: Beijing is a paper tiger and doesn’t deserve this attention. Further out in the liberal mists, some blame hotheaded China hawks for violence against Asian-Americans and want a softer American China policy as a way of building community at home.

The pushback is understandable—the American discussion has moved very far, very fast. Council on Foreign Relations President Richard Haass has urged Washington to make a formal commitment to defend Taiwan against a Chinese attack, while George Soros has termed Xi Jinping the most dangerous enemy that open societies face. And Secretary of State Antony Blinken repeated his predecessor Mike Pompeo’s characterization of Beijing’s treatment of Chinese Uighurs as a “genocide.”

The doves are right that something as consequential as U.S.-China policy should be thoroughly debated. They are right, too, that unless that policy stands on a realistic assessment of the costs and consequences, America could find itself committed to policies that voters at home and allies abroad might be unwilling to support when the going gets tough.

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U.S. will not leave Australia alone to face China coercion-Blinken

14-May-2021 Intellasia | Reuters | 

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that the United States would not leave Australia alone in the face of economic coercion from China, and that such behavior toward U.S. allies would hamper improvement in U.S.-Sino relations.

Washington has repeatedly criticized what it says are Beijing’s attempts to bully neighbors with competing interests, and U.S. President Joe Biden has sought to bolster ties with allies in the Indo-Pacific to counter China’s growing power.

“I reiterated that the United States will not leave Australia alone on the field, or maybe I should say alone on the pitch, in the face of economic coercion by China,” Blinken said at a press briefing with visiting Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne.

“And we’ve made clear to the PRC how such actions targeting our closest partners and allies will hinder improvements in our own relationship with China,” Blinken said, using the acronym for the country’s official name.

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What's missing in Singapore's startup scene?

14-May-2021 The Business Times

SINGAPORE’S startup ecosystem has come a long way since the government launched a US$1 billion fund in 1999 to attract venture capital (VC) fund managers. Once a ghost town of tech players, the city-state now boasts over 3,000 startups, nine unicorns, and over 400 accelerators, incubators and VC firms.

But it battles supply gaps in both tech talent and funding for deep tech, just like any maturing ecosystem.

Here are some other growing pains:

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