Global Political Communications Daily
September 1, 2021

Sponsored by Caracal

Xi Jinping, Angela Merkel, Joe Biden, Alex Salmond, Ron DeSantis

TOP FIVE

1. Xi Jinping = China's ultimate tiger mom

2. Afghanistan pullout chills US-German relations

3. Hidden message in Biden’s Afghanistan speech

4. Brazil’s recovery threatened by inflation + rising rates

5. Calls for mediation grow over Ethiopia's conflict

ASIA

Xi Jinping shows China he’s the ultimate tiger mom: Setting boundaries on youth education and entertainment is part of Beijing’s moves to create common prosperity. The games sector needs to fall into line.
Tim Culpan

Xi Tests ‘common prosperity’ policies in Alibaba’s home province
Bloomberg

Chinese media back diatribe calling for crackdown to be expanded: Nationalist commentator says Xi’s campaign will transform China from a capitalist ‘paradise.’
FT

SCMP: Xi Jinping says Big Tech crackdown is making progress, calls for Communist Party to ‘guide’ companies

+ Xi says antitrust campaign against internet platforms has seen early results and called for the Party to do more to supervise businesses

+ Beijing’s crackdown has led to a market rout this year that has wiped US$1 trillion off Chinese tech stocks

China’s videogame limits signal move to regulate private lives, shape next generation
WSJ

China may be its own worst cold war 2.0 enemy: Its government crackdown on private companies risks making its economy less dynamic.
Mark Gongloff

US Treasury says China private equity's Magnachip purchase poses security risks
Reuters

Taiwan grows ever closer to Japan over vaccines, China fears: Ties have blossomed since the 2016 election of the Beijing-skeptic Tsai.
Nikkei

Google, Apple hit by law ending dominance over app payments: WSJ reports the companies will have to open their app stores to alternative payment systems in South Korea under newly passed legislation there, threatening their lucrative commissions on digital sales.

In Afghanistan, an unceremonious end, and a shrouded beginning: The last American flight from Afghanistan left behind a host of unfulfilled promises and anxious questions about the country’s fate.
NYT

After withdrawal: How China, Turkey, and Russia will respond to the Taliban
War On The Rocks

India’s economy grew by 20.1% year-on-year in the quarter to June, as business bounced back strongly from a 24.4% decline in the same period last year.

EUROPE

Afghanistan pullout chills US-German relations: The US pullout from Afghanistan after 20 years has made the erratic Trump years look like more than a blip of American unilateralism. But German-American relations have a long history of highs and lows.
DW

World’s center-right lacks a unifying figure: Angela Merkel’s departure is another blow for the western alliance, which depends on its parties’ confidence and cohesion.
Daniel Finkelstein

Joe Biden ‘holds grudges’ and will punish Britain for Afghanistan criticism, allies say: British Cabinet insiders were quoted as suggesting the US president 'looked gaga' and described him as 'doolally.'
Telegraph

UK wants end to transatlantic blame game over Kabul blast: Some MPs fear the US is playing politics over suicide bombing.
Politico

Allies fear foreign secretary faces ‘brutal’ fall from grace
The Times

After the fall of Kabul, the case for a Royal Overseas Regiment is stronger than ever
Henry Hill

Boris Johnson’s problems are piling up
Katy Balls

Alex Salmond book extract: ‘Working for him was like an abusive relationship’: Details of the botched government inquiry into allegations of sexual harassment by Alex Salmond are revealed in a book by David Clegg and Kieran Andrews.
The Times

Sturgeon aide ‘knew Salmond allegations a year before claimed’
The Times

Guardian: Ireland’s population passes 5m for first time since C19th famine

+ Population returns almost to level recorded after the famine that killed 1m and forced millions more to emigrate

About 70% of adults in the European Union are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said Tuesday.

Big Tech tops EU lobbying spending, study finds: DW reports Google, Facebook and Microsoft have contributed to "the largest ever effort to lobby the EU" in a battle against new laws aimed at curbing their powers.

+ The Russian internet giant Yandex is buying out Uber’s stake in its food tech, delivery, and self-driving ventures in a $1 billion deal.

OTD: In 1698 Tsar Peter I (Peter the Great) imposed a beard tax. After his fact-finding tour of Europe, it was among ambitious reforms to modernize Russia.

NORTH AMERICA

‘Don’t you ever forget that name’: Biden’s tough meeting with grieving relatives
WP

For Biden, ‘forever war’ isn’t over, just entering a new, perilous phase
WP

The hidden message in Joe Biden’s Afghanistan speech: Biden’s caution about the limits of US power could launch a debate that many Americans have wanted for decades.
Jeff Greenfield

Biden’s speech on Afghanistan is one he has been rehearsing for years
Dan Balz

Will Joe Biden pay a political cost for America’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan? Foreign policy rarely moves voters, but risks remain.
Economist

Joe Biden and Europe are going different ways: For EU governments, the contrast with Donald Trump’s policies is more apparent than real.
Edward Luce

US needs to 'shore up' competitiveness to meet China challenge: Biden: President says foreign policy must focus on fundamental national interest.
Nikkei

Corporate America launches massive lobbying blitz to kill key parts of Democrats’ $3.5 trillion economic plan: Drugmakers, big banks, tech giants and others are preparing to fight the party’s package, including its proposals for raising taxes.
WP

CNBC: ‘They have better things to do’ – Major Republican donors are staying away from Trump

+ Several of the Republican Party’s biggest and most influential donors are signaling that they don’t plan on helping fund former President Donald Trump’s political operation, at least for now.

+ Wealthy financiers have instead opted to spend money on the GOP’s efforts to take back Congress or to support other potential 2024 presidential candidates such as Ron DeSantis and Tim Scott.

+ Donors are also concerned about how Trump’s organization is spending the money it has raised from smaller donations.

+ “Big money, sophisticated people are just losing interest in this s--- show,” said an advisor to longtime Trump allies in Silicon Valley.

Trump acolytes poised to push out Senate dealmakers: In the five states where Republican senators are retiring, the midterm elections could usher in a wave of hardliners who are nothing like their GOP predecessors.
Politico

+ Citigroup committed $1 trillion to sustainable finance by 2030, and Goldman Sachs is allocating $750 billion toward sustainable finance by 2030.

Amazon is investing heavily in a new live audio feature that's similar to other live audio offerings like Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces, and Spotify's new live audio platform, sources tell Axios.

Bloomberg: Apple plans to add satellite features to iPhones for emergencies

+ Device will be able to deliver messages without cell service

+ Apple plans an emergency-reporting tool for future iPhones

Apple has acquired Primephonic, a classical music streaming service, ahead of the launch of an Apple-branded music app focused on that genre next year.

Canada’s election to foil FX traders hunting for volatility
Bloomberg

LATIN AMERICA

Brazil’s post-pandemic recovery threatened by inflation and rising rates: Annual growth estimates for Latin America’s largest economy downgraded as drought and looming election also bite.
FT

Venezuelan opposition declares end to boycott, agrees to participate in local and state elections
WP

NOTABLES

Global calls for mediation grow over Ethiopia's conflict: Africans around the world have signed an open letter enjoining the African Union to mediate in the war in Ethiopia. Analysts agree on the need for intervention to end the bloodshed and prevent a major refugee crisis.
DW


Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

Curation and commentary by Marc A. Ross | Founder @ Caracal