Eight+ Things to Read About China and Other Things, Part 16

This is the sixteenth episode in our ongoing Saturday series on eight+ things to read about China and a lot more. We constantly get emails from readers asking what to read on China and all sorts of things related and even barely related to China and this series is intended to constantly and consistently answer these questions.

As we said in our initial post on this, our plan is to list out eight (or so) articles we benefitted from reading and think you our readers would also benefit from reading, along with a very brief explanation as to why the particular article was included. More specifically:

The articles will likely include many on China and on Asia and a few on international trade, international politics, Spain and Latin America, economics and really just anything else we believe might benefit our readers or even that we just want people to read. We do not plan to choose articles that push our or any other political agenda or any other agenda for that matter, but having said that, we are not objective and our views may creep through. Our goal though is to focus on articles that are important or helpful or — most importantly — that make you think. Our posting of an article will NOT mean we agree with all of it or even any of it. Most of the articles will be from the week preceding the post but we will also sometimes throw in older articles (classics if you will) as well.

Please do not hesitate to comment at the end of this or any other post. We cannot tell you how much we appreciate your comments, good, bad and indifferent.

Here we go, in absolutely no particular order.

1. Are We Creating “Big Marijuana”? YouTube (Ted Talk). Because cannabis is legalizing around the world and the United States and because its not yet clear what that will mean. Because this is an amazing talk that has garnered more than 88,000 views for a reason. Because this talk is by one of my law partners, Hilary Bricken, who has to be one of the most dynamic/charismatic lawyers on the planet and because I cannot even tell you how many times I’ve heard people marvel at her speaking abilities. Because the dude does abide and because you will greatly enjoy this video, I promise!

2. The Two Most Mysterious Words in Modern Shopping.  Atlantic. Because sales of private label goods are growing in the United States and because in Spain (where ), more than half of all product sales are private label. Because this trend is having a huge impact worldwide.

3. Merkel Has Made a U-Turn on China But It May Be Too Late. Bloomberg. Because China’s unfair treatment of foreign companies is resented by more than just the United States. Because every time I talk about the growing fissure/decoupling between China and the West, someone will insist that it is just the United States. Because so many of our firm’s European clients have made a point of letting us know that they hope the United States “wins” the trade war against China because its doing so might open up China’s economy for European companies as well.

4.  Discovery of Long-Lost Silent Film With All-Indian Cast Has Historians Reeling. Indian Country Today. Because this is just so flat out amazingly cool.

5. Tariffs are no longer China’s biggest problem in the trade war.CNBC. Because this article posits that China is eagerly returning to the trade negotiating table with the United States because it fears decoupling from the West way more than it fears U.S. tariffs. Because I do not think China fears decoupling but I do agree that decoupling is what we are seeing and will continue to see over the next decade. See Does China WANT a Second Decoupling? The Chinese Texts Say That it Does and The US-China Cold War Starts Now: What You Must do to Prepare.

6. Covert Wars, to What End? Texas National Security Review. Because there have been so many covert wars and yet they have a “sorry track record.”

7. America’s Orthodox Jews Are Selling A Ton Of The Products You Buy On Amazon. BuzzFeed. Because who knew? Because our International manufacturing lawyers and our international IP lawyers knew because many of them are our clients!

8. Popeyes customer pulls a gun after being told there were no more chicken sandwiches. CNN. Because this person was hungry and because these sandwiches have been so over-hyped (spoken by someone who has never had one).

9 Investors have set their eyes on Thailand as the trade war deepens. CNBC. Because our law firm has been super bullish on Thailand as a China alternative for manufacturing, pretty much since the trade war started. See Doing Business Outside China: It’s Thailand’s Time.

10. Hong Kong Good Citizen Applications Jump as People Eye Exit. Bloomberg. Because Hong Kong as an international business and financial center is over and the sooner people realize this and act accordingly, the better off they will be. See also Hong Kong protests fuel buyer interest in Australia, New Zealand luxury homes. Not surprisingly, our immigration law team has seen an uptick in Hong Kongers looking to flee HK for the United States.