China's Attack on Tech
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Can Afghanistan be saved? Time to lift travel restrictions The IPCC’s methane fix Our German election model AUGUST 14TH–20TH 2021 China’s attack on tech 012 012 Contents The Economist August 14th 2021 3 The world this week Asia 5 A summary of political 17 Afghanistan’s anxious and business news neighbours 18 The mood in Kabul Leaders 19 Badminton in Indonesia 7 Industrial policy China’s attack on tech 19 South Korean justice Banyan Democratic decay 8 The war in Afghanistan 20 Last chance China 8 Covid-19 and borders Open up 21 Factory-workers’ inner lives 9 Climate change It is not all about the co2 10 Germany On the cover After Merkel, muddle Xi Jinping’s assault on his country’s tech titans is likely to Letters prove self-defeating: leader, 13 On risk and vaccines, United States page 7, and analysis, page 47. science fiction, climate 23 Function in Washington Can the government boost change, lending, beer, 24 Oye, Cuomo va productivity? Briefing, page 14. rainfall How the delisting of Chinese 25 Tech and crimefighting companies on American Briefing 25 Back to school in Texas exchanges might play out: 14 Growth in China 26 Vaccine mandates spread Buttonwood, page 56 Pinning hope on 27 Lexington The armed productivity forces and race Can Afghanistan be saved? Yes, if America tries: leader, page 8. Regional powers are The Americas preparing for an Afghanistan run 29 Police violence in Brazil by jihadists, page 17. Bigcity 31 Cuba liberalises a little Afghans are defiant, page 18 Time to lift travel restrictions They are illiberal and often ineffective: leader, page 8. The disruptive effects of covid19 on travel will long outlast this Middle East & Africa chaotic summer, page 45 32 Mozambique’s war 33 Ghana’s oil buy-back The ipcc’s methane fix Carbon 33 Niger’s cry for help dioxide is by far the most important driver of climate 34 Nigeria’s supercop change. But methane matters, 35 Tunisian jabfest too: leader, page 9. The ipcc’s latest report is starker and more certain, page 61 Europe 37 Germany’s big election Our German election 38 Why the French panic model The race to replace Lexington America’s Poland’s tv takeover Angela Merkel is wide open, armed forces face their 39 page 37. Voters deserve a more biggest racial reckoning 39 The shy rich of Sardinia serious election campaign: since the 1940s, page 27 40 Covid-19 in Bulgaria leader, page 10 40 Balkan eu hopefuls 41 Charlemagne A tale of two flights → Activating the digital element of your subscription means that you can search our archive, read all of our daily journalism and listen to audio versions of our stories. Just visit economist.com/activate Contents continues overleaf 012 4 Contents The Economist August 14th 2021 Britain Biology brief 43 The crumbling courts 59 Organisms’ organisation 44 Park wars International Science & technology 45 Travel during covid-19 61 The ipcc's sobering climate report 62 Solar geoengineering Business Books & arts 47 The tech China wants 64 Fifty years of “Fear and 49 America’s biotech boom Loathing” 50 Bartleby Flexibility is key 65 Art, mental illness and the Nazis 51 tv’s Olympic enigma 66 Billie Jean King 51 French bankruptcies 66 Tricksy fiction 52 Schumpeter The grocer wars Economic & financial indicators Finance & economics 68 Statistics on 42 economies 53 The rich world’s jobs gap Graphic detail 54 Inflation in America 69 Lionel Messi, Europe's greatest-ever footballer 55 India’s retroactive tax spac 55 s and the City Obituary 56 Buttonwood Delisting 70 Graham Vick, bringer of opera to the people Chinese stocks 57 Japan’s clout 58 Free exchange Explaining asset prices Volume 440 Number 9258 Published since September Subscription service Please to take part in “a severe contest between For our full range of subscription offers, including The best way to contact our Customer Service intelligence, which presses forward, digital only or print and digital bundled, visit: team is via phone or live chat. 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Neither this publication nor any part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of The Economist Newspaper Limited. Published every week, except for a year-end double issue, by The Economist Newspaper Limited. The Economist is a registered trademark of The Economist Newspaper Limited. Publisher: The Economist. Printed by Times Printers (in Singapore). MCI (P) No.045/09/2020. PPS 677/11/2012(022861) 012 The world this week Politics The Economist August 14th 2021 5 The Taliban continued their At least 65 people were killed onslaught, capturing ten of in wildfires that swept through Coronavirus briefs Afghanistan’s 34 provincial forests and villages near To 6am GMT Aug 12th 221 capitals in less than a week. Algiers, the capital of Algeria. They have murdered civil The dead included 25 soldiers Weekly confirmed cases by area, m 3 servants and ordered single who were evacuating resi India women to “marry” their dents. More than a dozen Other 2 troops. America, Britain and countries sent firefighters and Western Europe India have asked their citizens equipment to help contain 1 to leave immediately. The fires that have ravaged Greece. US Afghan army chief has been 0 sacked. Joe Biden, whose Brazil’s populist president, 2020 2021 The Intergovernmental Panel abrupt withdrawal of Amer Jair Bolsonaro, ordered the Vaccination doses on Climate Change released ican forces has emboldened military to parade tanks % of over-11s with the first part of its latest the jihadists, said Afghans through the streets of Brasília, Total ’000 1st dose nd assessment report. The Earth must “fight for themselves”. the capital, where congress Malta 779 >99 >99 is warming. Even with a drastic was voting on a proposal to Iceland 477 95 88 reduction in greenhousegas Protesters and police clashed add paper receipts to the elec UAE 17,197 92 82 emissions temperatures will in Bangkok, as anger mounted tronic voting system. Mr Seychelles 141 92 86 probably be 1.5oC above their over the Thaigovernment’s Bolsonaro claims, without Mongolia 4,211 91 83 Uruguay 4,934 89 80 late19th century levels by mishandling of a worsening proof, that electronic voting is Israel 11,880 87 81 2050. Climate change is under covid19 outbreak. rife with fraud and has threat Chile 26,285 87 79 way, the report laments, with ened to suspend the presi Bhutan 1,010 86 77 all the environmental conse Indonesia’s army said it would dential election in 2022 should Denmark 7,790 85 70 quences that brings. The no longer force female recruits paper receipts be rejected by Sources: Johns Hopkins University CSSE; extent of the damage depends to undergo “virginity tests”. congress, which they were. Our World in Data; United Nations on the cumulative buildup of The tests had been intended to emissions and can be limited ensure that women in uniform Poland agreed to alter a body Vaccine mandates spread if the world strives for netzero were “moral”. Critics pointed that disciplines judges after rapidly across America. The carbon emissions. out that they were invasive, the eu’s highest court said it Pentagon laid out plans to humiliating and deterred clashed with the bloc’s prohi make vaccination mandatory Andrew Cuomo said he would women from serving. They bition on political control of for all American troops by resign as governor of New also conveyed no information the judiciary. Separately, the midSeptember. California York, after his Democratic about a question the army ruling Law and Justice party said all teachers and schools’ colleagues in the state assem should not have been asking in moved ahead with a bill to bar staff would have to be either bly prepared to impeach him the first place. foreign ownership of broad jabbed or tested regularly. over allegations from 11 women cast media. The European of sexual harassment. Mr Zambians voted in a presi Commission called it a threat Despite having one of the Cuomo insists his actions did dential election on August to media freedom. highest vaccination rates in not amount to misconduct and 12th. Polls suggest that the the world, infections in Israel said he was forced out by a incumbent, Edgar Lungu, A British security guard at the surged to their highest levels political system “driven by the would lose in a fair contest. British embassy in Berlin was since February. extremes”. But he has abused state arrested for passing docu resources to tilt the balance. ments to Russia in exchange More than 75% of adults in Republicans in the state legis for cash. Relations between Britain have now received lature in Texasissued arrest Ethiopia’s government called the United Kingdom and Rus both doses of a vaccine.