ITK Daily | March 22

Happy Wednesday.

Here’s today’s ITK Daily.

To be ITK, know this:?

Xi, Putin signal unity against US in joint statement: China urges peace talks in Ukraine, Moscow backs Beijing on Taiwan.?Nikkei

China's Xi throws support behind Putin during Russia visit: Le Monde reports that the Chinese president, who says he is 'sure' that Russians will rally behind Vladimir Putin during the country's 2024 elections, is multiplying his gestures of support towards his main ally while spiting the United States.

Russia-China summit showcases challenge to the West: Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin play up their solidarity and deepen economic and political ties.?WSJ

+ Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin play up their solidarity and deepen economic and political ties.

+ Xi noted that “political mutual trust is deepening” between Moscow and Beijing and “common interests are multiplying.”

+ Xi and Putin have denounced what they describe as a US-led geopolitical order, and have garnered support, particularly in the developing world, for their vision of a multipolar world.

+ Xi Jinping’s Moscow visit marks the first foreign trip of his third term as China’s president.

Xi and Putin bind China and Russia’s economies further, despite war in Ukraine: On the second day of the Chinese leader’s state visit in Moscow, Xi Jinping and Vladimir V. Putin declared an enduring economic partnership, in an effort to insulate their countries from punitive Western measures.?NYT

+ The Chinese government had described Xi’s trip as a peace mission, following Beijing’s release last month of a broad framework for a political solution to the war. But the noncommittal comments from the two leaders on Tuesday suggested that there had been no breakthrough.

Xi, Putin back ‘peace talks’ for Ukraine war — but blame NATO and make no offer to withdraw: China shows little sign of deviating from the official Russian narrative.?Politico

+ Reverting to the Kremlin line that NATO expansion sparked the conflict — rather than Russian aggression against a democratic neighbor, whose independence it resents — Xi and Putin proclaimed: “Both sides oppose any countries or national blocs jeopardizing the reasonable security interests of other nations in the quest for military, political or other forms of superiorities.”

WP: Xi and Putin showcase alliance but offer no path to peace in Ukraine

Here's the real lesson from the showy Xi-Putin meeting?David Ignatius

+ Pentagon strategists have always divided the world into East and West, with U.S. regional forces under European Command or Indo-Pacific Command.?

+ But looking at the embrace of Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin this week, you wonder whether we may need a single “Eurasian Command” to handle an integrated threat.

+ A strong China is bolstering a weak Russia.

+ The paradox of the Ukraine war is that Putin’s bid for greater power in Europe has made him weaker. This diminished Russia will fall increasingly under China’s sway.

+ Xi’s emerging role as the leader of a Eurasian bloc presents dilemmas for US strategists.

+ For a generation, separating China from Russia was a central goal of US foreign policy.?

+ Driving that wedge was a major reason for the historic visit to China in 1972 by President Richard M. Nixon and national security adviser Henry Kissinger.

+ Now it’s Xi who is the triangulator. He is playing off the bitter split between the United States and Russia, helping Putin, but also keeping a bit of distance, too.

+ “The President of Eurasia” — I fear that’s the invisible caption of the pictures of Xi that we’re seeing amid the Kremlin’s golden doors and red carpets.

Xi’s cocoon in Moscow: A Chinese-owned hotel over Red Square opulence?WP

State-sponsored matchmaking app launched in China: Service in Jiangxi uses data on single residents to build a platform amid the drive to boost the marriage rate.?Guardian

China's aging population threatens a Japan-style lost decade: Beijing's brutal one-child policy tackled overpopulation but did it go too far??Nikkei

I saw the face of God in a semiconductor factory: As the US boosts the production of silicon chips, an American journalist goes inside TSMC, the mysterious Taiwanese company at the center of the global industry.?Virgina Heffernan @ Wired

+ TSMC makes a third of all the world’s silicon chips.

+ The silicon microchips fashioned inside them are the sine qua non of the built world.

+ Ukraine is a kind of trauma-bonded sister state to Taiwan, another promising democracy extorted by a neighboring authoritarian hot to annex it.

+ I’ve thus come to see TSMC as both futuristic and a touching throwback: a tribute to Savary’s largely expired romance in which liberal democracy, international commerce, and progress in science and art are of a piece, both healthful and unstoppable. More practically, however, the company, with its near monopoly on the best chips, serves as the umbo of the region’s so-called Silicon Shield, which is perhaps the sturdiest artifact of 20th-century realpolitik.

+?I also learn a meme made famous in the 1920s by the Chinese philosopher Hu Shih: chabuduo. The word means something like whatever. Or close enough.

+?TSMC was so pleased with the efficiency of AR for this purpose that it has stepped up its use since 2020. I’ve never heard anyone except Mark Zuckerberg so excited about the metaverse.

+ Up against the face of God.

+ Taiwan’s commitment to semiconductor technology was born of economic necessity.

+ TSMC’s economic strategy, then, is the same as its strategy for corporate architecture and the protection of Taiwan: Be indispensable but invisible.

+ Make Chinese products work but never claim credit. Make Apple’s products work but skip all “Intel Inside” preening.

+ I’ll later learn that even the hand-washing room has extraterrestrially clean air. Ordinary air can have up to 1 million particles of dust per cubic meter. The fabs and cleaning rooms have no more than 100. As I step into the fab at last, I can tell at once it’s the cleanest air I have ever inhaled.

+ Given the role of TSMC as the Sacred Mountain of Protection, the fabs could be simply terrifying, nuclear warheads in a hanger champing at the bit to destroy worlds.

China gives chipmakers new powers to guide industry recovery: Beijing is changing strategy and relying on a select group of companies to shape its domestic sector.?FT

Bloomberg: Biden to stunt growth in China for chipmakers getting US funds

+ Commerce unveils new curbs on firms that take federal money.

+ Intel, Samsung, and TSMC may lose more growth due to guardrails.

How Taiwan’s top diplomat sees the world: Foreign Minister Joseph Wu thinks a conflict with China is neither imminent nor inevitable, so long as international support for the island does not waver.?Nisid Hajari

Bloomberg: US, South Korea plan ‘largest-ever’ live-fire drills in June

+ Seoul aims to strengthen its security cooperation with the US.

+ Drills to involve mobilizing high-tech military equipment.

US speeds up deliveries of Abrams tanks, Patriot systems to Ukraine: Politico reports: “The Pentagon is working as fast as they can,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said.

Japanese leader heading to Ukraine for talks with Zelenskyy: Politico reports Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was under pressure at home to visit Ukraine.

AP: Japan’s Kishida heading to Ukraine for talks with Zelenskyy

Kishida tells Zelenskyy G7 will stay united on Ukraine support: Nikkei reports Ukrainian leader says he will participate virtually in Hiroshima summit.

The world needs Japan to rally the G7 against nuclear weapons: Amid Ukraine war, the summit in Hiroshima presents an opportunity to show leadership.?Nancy Snow

Philippines eyes $1.5bn from sale of state-owned casinos: Nikkei reports gross gaming revenue may return to pre-pandemic level by 2024.

Sri Lanka, its economy reeling, is approved for $3 billion rescue loan: NYT reports the nation, having weathered negotiations with Japan, India, and China, hopes the emergency funds from the International Monetary Fund will see it through its debt crisis.

Meta manager was hacked with spyware and wiretapped in Greece: Artemis Seaford, a dual US-Greek national, was targeted with a cyberespionage tool while also under a wiretap by the Greek spy agency in a case that shows the spread of illicit snooping in Europe.?NYT

Macron to face nation as crises over petrol and pensions deepen: The Times reports bins and rubbish have been set alight and blockades are leading to fuel shortages.

Fears of petrol shortages resurface as French refineries strike against pension reform: Le Monde report in the southeast of France, queues at filling stations have been getting longer since Saturday, as energy workers continue to fiercely oppose the French government's pension reform.

French pension reform: What happens next??Macron speaks, and more strikes: Opponents to the reform are still hoping they can convince the president not to sign the bill into law, while the government looks for a way to calm spirits.?Le Monde?

King’s state visit to France will be hit by strikes, vow protesters: The Times reports King Charles’s trip comes amid turmoil over President Macron’s pension reforms.

France's Assemblée Nationale adopts 'nuclear acceleration' bill on first reading: Le Monde reports in the bill, which aims to ease the construction of new reactors in the country, the reform on nuclear safety was the only section rejected by the opposition.

Politico: Johnson says no evidence he ‘intentionally or recklessly’ misled MPs on Partygate

Why Westminster can’t stop talking about Boris Johnson … again: The ex-prime minister’s Partygate fightback explained.?Politico

+ Love him or hate him, Westminster just can’t get enough of Boris Johnson.

Drought caused 43,000 ‘excess deaths’ in Somalia last year, half of them young children: Guardian reports a new report uncovers the tragic scale of the climate-led crisis and warns of up to 34,000 more deaths so far this year.

WP: US pushing Canada to lead international force to Haiti

Trudeau's chief of staff Katie Telford to testify at committee probing Chinese government interference: Conservative motion calling on Telford to testify before another committee was defeated.?CBC

AP: Possible Trump indictment forces another moment of choosing for GOP

'The circus continues': For Trump, legal woes resurrect old habits: NYT reports the former president strengthened his political position in recent weeks, but an impetuous response to his potential indictment could alienate voters he will need to win back the White House.

At House Republican retreat, the focus, once again, is on Trump: NYT reports for the third year since he left office, former President Donald J. Trump continued to dominate an annual GOP gathering in Florida, underscoring his grip on the party.

Nobody likes Mike Pence: In focus groups, Republican voters are brutal in their assessment of the former vice president.?McKay Coppins

Iowa’s sharp right turn: From centrist state to ‘Florida of the North’?WP

From red bastion to blue bulwark: What political shift in Colorado and West means for the US.?Mark Barabak

Elon Musk’s global empire has made him a burning problem for Washington: Between Twitter, Starlink, SpaceX, and Tesla, the CEO’s clout — and unilateral decision-making — has made him a big headache for Biden.?Bloomberg

Italy investigates TikTok over 'dangerous content': DW reports the Italian probe comes as the Chinese-owned video-sharing app battles growing restrictions in Europe and the US. The Netherlands has become the latest country to take aim at the app.

Shou Zi Chew’s ‘death wish’ mission: Defend TikTok on Capitol Hill: The app’s chief executive helped invest in the Chinese engineers who founded its parent company. Now, he’s a lonely defender of one of Washington’s most pummeled punching bags.?WP

+ Chew said he’s working to overcome the “trust deficit” that lawmakers have with not just TikTok but any company coming from China, the world’s second-deepest wellspring of tech innovation.

+ His congressional testimony will probably be widely watched by TikTok’s millions of American fans, its thousands of US employees and its investors across the West, who worry that a US government crusade could puncture its multibillion-dollar empire.

+ After years of saying little about its negotiations with US officials, TikTok has in recent months moved to more aggressively tell its side of the story, saying it had for too long ceded ground to critics who were slamming the company with baseless claims.

+ Earlier this month TikTok announced that it would add tabs to its main feeds in the United States dedicated to educational videos about science, technology, engineering and math.

Bloomberg: TikTok’s CEO will tell Congress his app is safer than most

+ ByteDance’s TikTok has recently implemented safeguards.

+ CEO is fighting to prevent a TikTok ban or forced sale.

US state-government websites use TikTok trackers, review finds: WSJ reports security firm’s report shows states might be inadvertently helping Chinese-owned app collect data.

TikTok reassures advertisers over ban threat as some set backup plans: WSJ reports advertisers take a wait-and-see approach after Biden administration demands that video app’s Chinese owners sell stakes.

How TikTok broke social media: Whether or not it is banned, the app has forced its rivals to adopt a less lucrative model.?Economist

+ In less than six years TikTok has weaned the world off old-fashioned social-networking and got it addicted to algorithmically selected short-form video.

Bloomberg: Vanguard said to shutter business in China, exit Ant venture

+ The US giant first started retreating from China in 2021.

+ Exit stands in contrast with global rivals’ onshore expansion.

Google launches Bard AI chatbot to counter ChatGPT: WSJ reports Alphabet unit stops short of integrating new conversational computer program into its search function.

Bill Gates sees GPT’s AI as revolutionary tech breakthrough: Philanthropist sees huge potential for reducing inequalities but also wants to balance inherent risks.?Bloomberg

+ “The development of AI is as fundamental as the creation of the microprocessor, the personal computer, the internet, and the mobile phone,” Gates wrote on his Gates Notes blog.

+?“It will change the way people work, learn, travel, get health care, and communicate with each other. Entire industries will reorient around it. Businesses will distinguish themselves by how well they use it.”

Deeply, truly, very sorry:?How tech CEOs talk when they lay off workers?WP

+ Whether they use 200 words or 2,000, their memos bear remarkable similarities.

+ They point blame inward but also outward, for instance, alluding to the pressure of larger economic forces. They urge a positive outlook despite momentary clouds. And they rarely actually use the word “layoff.”

+ 22 out of 48 layoff memos used pet names or refer to the company as family.

+ A surprising number of these communications address workers using a corporate pet name, a practice that has roots in the ancient tradition of using one’s surname to indicate one’s profession.

+ 24 out of 48 layoff memos citied overhiring or growing too fast.

+ 46 out of 48 layoff memos mentioned the economy.

+ 30 out of 48 layoff memos referenced company efficiency.

+ The most basic requirement for a layoff announcement is to show some humanity, show some humility and do no additional harm.

Ford?will be an all-electric carmaker in Europe by 2025.

BMW’s new factory doesn’t exist in real life, but it will still change the car industry: BMW partnered with Nvidia to build a digital replica of its soon-to-open EV factory. The tech is saving them millions—and a lot of headaches.?FC

Electric vehicle battery makers test a future without lithium: A test vehicle unveiled by Chinese carmaker JAC has the battery world buzzing about sodium-ion cells.?Bloomberg

+ CATL was working on battery packs that would use lithium-ion and sodium-ion cells. While sodium is more abundant and offers potential safety benefits over lithium, the latter is dominant in EV batteries. Lithium-ion chemistries offer superior energy density, enabling drivers to travel further between charges.

+ While the auto world can expect to see some cars using sodium-ion batteries, they’re still at least a few years away from meaningful scale.?

+ With so much growth ahead for EV battery demand, sodium-ion has the potential to complement lithium-ion cells and help fill gaps in the global market.

In Quebec, small business owners compete to keep their employees: CEOs are bending over backwards to keep pre-Covid corporate culture alive, but are worried about their employees' ingratitude.?Le Monde

From the Great Resignation to the Great Refusal—here’s what the 5 ‘Great Rs’ mean for the future of work: We are no longer centered on where we work, but rather where work fits in our lives.?FC

Job listings abound, but many are fake: In an uncertain economy, companies post ads for jobs they might not really be trying to fill.?WSJ

When architects design their own family getaways: Two upstate homes — one modern, one cozy.?Curbed

Jam or cream first? Notes from one woman’s decade of eating scones.?A Londoner spent 10 years sampling scones at hundreds of historic sites across the UK. Here’s why her story made headlines — and which essential topping she says should come before the other.?NYT

+ The jam-first position is generally associated with Cornwall and the cream-first one with Devon, a neighboring region of Southwest England where the clotted cream tends to be easier to spread as a base layer.

The Premier League’s fiercest battle is at the bottom of the standings: As the season enters its final third, the fight to stay in the cash-rich Premier League has roped in nearly half the teams. Nine clubs are separated by just five points.?WSJ

+ All of them are locked in a desperate scramble to remain in the world’s richest soccer league, where simply showing up is worth more than $100 million a season.

+ Heading into this weekend, the nine teams from 12th to 20th place are separated by just five points.

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc?

Marc A. Ross | Chief Communications Strategist @ Caracal