Flagship

Alarm bells on China’s threat to EU

Analysts and European politicians are ramping up warnings that China’s export-heavy economy puts the continent at risk. French President Emmanuel Macron, who just visited China, said the EU faces “a question of life or death” over its severe trade deficit with Beijing. A stronger Chinese export sector is expected to lower the eurozone’s GDP by 0.5% by 2029, according to a recent Goldman Sachs estimate. “Many countries are frustrated by China’s strategy, which is squeezing out their own manufacturing sectors and export opportunities,” The Wall Street Journal’s Greg Ip wrote. “None has a solution.” Macron floated tariffs against Beijing, but getting other EU countries onboard could prove difficult. “Europe has a real problem,” JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said Saturday.

China, Japan tensions flare

The diplomatic spat between Beijing and Tokyo escalated on Saturday after a Chinese fighter jet trained its radar on Japanese aircraft. Both sides gave conflicting accounts of the incident, which follows weeks of retaliation from China after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested Tokyo might intervene if China invades Taiwan. “There is ample room for further escalation,” two CSIS experts wrote. Japan has grown frustrated at the US’ silence, the Financial Times reported. The White House’s new national security strategy, released Friday, no longer lists China as the US’ No. 1 challenge, and makes minor, but significant, linguistic shifts on its Taiwan policy that will be cheered in Beijing, analysts said.

Beijing bets on Taiwan firebrand

Beijing’s best bet in its ambitions around Taiwan may be a firebrand who once railed against China’s influence on the island. Cheng Li-wun, elected in October to lead the main opposition Kuomintang party, joined protests in the 1980s against the Kuomintang, which many students saw as a Chinese occupying force. Now, she pushes a pro-Beijing platform, and her rise “speaks to powerful political currents stirring in Taiwan at a grassroots level,” Semafor’s Andy Browne argued: Many on the island, which Beijing views as a breakaway province, worry the ruling party’s provocations risk triggering a Chinese military onslaught. Skepticism toward the US is also building, while a plan to hike military spending may hit hurdles. “Public morale is sinking,” Browne wrote.

India faces mass air travel crisis

The worst aviation crisis in India’s history has frustrated government officials and spurred calls for accountability. Budget airline IndiGo, which commands 65% of the domestic market and is typically known for punctuality, canceled thousands of flights over the last several days due to a pilot shortage stemming from new rules that limit pilots’ work hours. The meltdown has crippled air travel across the world’s most populous country; New Delhi is especially irritated that the crisis occurred during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India and diverted media attention, Indian outlet The Tribune reported. Opposition politicians, meanwhile, accused the government of allowing IndiGo to nearly monopolize the sector. “Indian passengers are not going to forget this,” an aviation analyst told The Core.

US to probe food supply chain

The US signaled it could crack down on foreign companies accused of price-fixing and raising food costs. The White House’s investigation into the country’s food supply chain is part of President Donald Trump’s drive to bring down costs, after Democrats last month ran successful campaigns focused on affordability. Trump has also ordered a probe into rising meat prices, blaming “majority foreign owned” companies. But the investigations highlight “a key tension of his domestic policy,” Axios wrote. “It has proven difficult to have cheap food without cheap foreign labor, imports and capital.” Trump faces another tension on monetary policy: Some economists warn inflation could worsen if the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates on Wednesday, even as Trump repeatedly pushes for lower borrowing costs.

Netflix-Warner deal faces scrutiny

Netflix’s deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery for $83 billion prompted consternation in Hollywood and pushback from some US lawmakers — but so far, President Donald Trump has stayed mum. “There’s nothing more Old Hollywood than Warner Bros.,” Vanity Fair wrote, and writers, producers, and movie theaters are concerned about the acquisition of its studios and streamers by a player that’s already disrupted the industry and could consolidate it further. The deal is subject to regulatory approval, and Paramount, which made a competing bid for Warner, is eager to see it derailed: Paramount executives unsuccessfully sought a statement from Trump opposing the Netflix deal before it was announced, Semafor Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith writes in a forthcoming piece for Semafor’s Media briefing.

Benin quells coup attempt

Benin said on Sunday that it had foiled an attempted military coup. The development was a reminder of the instability of democracies in West Africa, where militaries have in recent years seized power in Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Guinea and last month in Guinea-Bissau. Insurgents are displacing millions in the region as they expand outward from the Sahel. The government vowed retribution and said 14 soldiers were arrested over the alleged coup attempt. The former French colony had been seen as one of Africa’s more stable democracies: The country’s last successful coup took place in 1972. But President Patrice Talon has faced accusations of suppressing criticism.

AI helps plants survive heat

Scientists are using AI to create heat-resistant enzymes that could help plants cope with climate change. Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold can determine the 3D shape of proteins from their molecular sequence. A crucial enzyme in photosynthesis seems to degrade in heat, hurting yields in hot weather. But a similar enzyme is found in heat-resistant algae that live in volcanic springs. Researchers used AlphaFold to establish why one enzyme survived heat and the other didn’t, and created hybrid versions, one of which could survive up to 65°C (149°F). The team plans to engineer plants to produce the hybrid enzymes. Although chatbots get more attention, AlphaFold may be the most important AI development so far: It has “revolutionized” bioscience, Nature reported last month.

In age of AI, Excel still flourishes

Microsoft Excel remains the company’s killer app despite the rise of AI. A Bloomberg feature noted that the spreadsheet software — originally a knockoff of rival products — turned the PC into a serious business tool upon its release in 1985. Since then, a huge ecosystem has developed: Excel, bundled with Office, became central to most businesses’ workflows, so rivals like Google Sheets were unable to dislodge it. CEO Satya Nadella recognizes the app’s role in Microsoft’s success, even as the company pivots to AI. He told the Dwarkesh Podcast that Microsoft is wiring AI models into Excel in order to turn it into infrastructure for future agents.

Art market looks to the past

In with the old. Stung by losses on contemporary art, collectors are increasingly looking backward for quality and value, as demonstrated by the sale of a 15th-century triptych by an unidentified Flemish artist for nearly $8 million last week. “This is a swings and roundabouts market,” said one art adviser, who acknowledged to The Art Newspaper greater client interest in the Old Masters but said it was too soon to tell whether the shift would endure. The field boasts only a few “brand” names, lesser-known artists’ works don’t always appreciate in value, and there’s rarely fresh material. For example, the Flemish triptych hung in its original location for centuries before the owners decided they couldn’t afford to continue insuring it.