They seem to create a European payment ecosystem for all use cases imo. As the article says,

… to progressively deliver seamless cross-border payments (peer-to-peer, in-store and online) across Europe …

My understanding is that they are also open for future members in the alliance.

Futurism links to the SCMP (which acts under the Chinese Communist Party’s censorship regime) which in turn is referencing a CNAS’ ‘online event’ and a ‘CNAS report published last week’, though there are no links to the online event nor the report.

I couldn’t find the online event, but here is the report for those who want to read it: Superpowers and AGI - How U.S.-China Competition Could Be Shaped by the Emergence of Artificial General Intelligence

The linked article is quoting Stokes, for example, saying,

“Data centers can be bombed with conventional munitions,”

and,

“Bombing would cross a major threshold that heretofore has not been crossed in US-China relations.”

I can’t find these and other quotations from the linked article in the original report (not even the SCMP is quoting these).

In the original report, there is no mention of a “US military strike against China” as the SCMP headline tries to make people believe.

In the original report, words like ‘bombing’ and ‘espionage’ - quoted by Futurism - don’t even exist.

Though the report discusses the U.S./China rivalry regarding AGI, it does so in a much larger and more diverse frame, including the common U.S./China competition with the Global South and other regions, what supposedly happened if and when any other country develops AGI first, and more things related to this topic. It is by no means a report “U.S. versus China” as the linked article (and the SCMP) makes people believe.

AI critic Eliezer Yudkowsky - which is also not mentioned in the SCMP - indeed suggested in 2023 that countries needed to be ready to “destroy a rogue da center by airstrike," but this was not directed specifically to China or any other country. He meant that as a possible (and, for now, theoretical) future measure in case a data center becomes dangerous for humans and humanity at some point in the future.

But you can perfectly combine all these fake quotations and half-truths to create a hopelessly distorted reality. This is pure propaganda aiming to sow division.

@plyth@feddit.org

Can we be sure that you aren’t a pro-China, pro-Russia propaganda bot who says that tankies are ‘well-informed’ and who says the tankies’ cheering on Russia’s violent actions against Ukraine is just because they have ‘different values’ as one can see from your post history?

… Blackrock CEO Points to Pensions and Retirement Savings

So he wants to copy China’s playbook?

… Blackrock CEO Points to Pensions and Retirement Savings

So he wants to copy China’s playbook?

The linked reports name a range of thinkers from whom Peter will draw inspiration, including René Girard, Francis Bacon, Jonathan Swift, Carl Schmitt, and John Henry Newman. This may be true, but Thiel’s allegedly most important and very early inspiration comes from Ayn Rand, a 20th century Russian immigrant to the US, whose philospophy strongly resonates with with many other tech moguls in Silicon Valley.

Interestingly and a bit contrary to Thiel’s speeches, Rand rejected faith and religion at all, as well as state interventionism. She supported a sort of laissez-faire system based individual rights, notably private property rights. Today, Rand is often associated with the libertarian movement in the U.S.

Yes, according the the NGO Freedom House, a quarter of the world’s governments (48 states) are using tactics of transnational repression, but 10 are responsible for nearly 80 percent of all physical, direct incidents between 2014 and 2024.

The Chinese government remains the most prolific perpetrator, committing 272 incidents, or 22 percent, of recorded cases. The governments of Russia, Turkey, and Egypt are also leading offenders. Authorities in Tajikistan and Cambodia have received less attention despite being major perpetrators of transnational repression against targets in Europe and Asia.

Chinese Communist Party: Knows it’s far ahead.

Modi is hugging also Putin, another war criminal, not sure if this has anything to do specifically with Israel’s popularity in the country.

Modi has been hugging also Putin when they met in the last two years. Seems he should rethink his friendships …

It’s not only about the elite’s children in the West. Not long ago, a leaked wedding video lays bare luxurious lives of Iran’s political elite and highlights hypocrisy of Islamic Republic:

A short video of a private wedding went viral in Iran recently, tearing away the country’s veil of piety and exposing hypocrisy and a seeming disregard for the rules by which the theocratic regime requires that most Iranians live their lives.

The wedding in question was that of Fatemeh Shamkhani, in mid-2024. She is the daughter of Ali Shamkhani, a close adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, at the luxurious Espinas Palace Hotel in Tehran.

She wore a low-cut strapless dress with a western-style bridal veil rather than the full head-covering mandated for Iranian women. Many wedding guests also wore modern western styles and a lot of the women went without head coverings […]

Israel Bans Chinese Vehicles from Military Bases, Citing Espionage Fears.

Just look at the linked website and you will see that literally all articles by this author echo the Chinese government’s propaganda narratives without providing verifiable and independent sources (OP’s post history has the same propaganda spin).

Xi Jinping has been advocating against social welfare on many occasions arguing that it would make people ‘lazy.’ It comes as no surprise that China’s social system is far behind compared to European countries, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and many others. Inequality has also been rising in China in the last 10 years and is much higher than in all Western countries.

There is also ample evidence that China’s future for a fairer social system is bleak under the current regime as social and health policies are heavily skewed toward the urban, formal, and state sectors. As one report says,

In a system devoid of free elections, and where agriculture and rural areas have only a weak bureaucratic voice, farmers and migrant workers have minimal political clout and remain politically inactive at the national level. Consequently, social and health policies are heavily skewed toward the urban, formal, and state sectors, which are the loudest, best connected, and most articulate groups in Chinese society.

This bias is perpetuated by a political regime that places a high premium on maintaining stability … Autocratic leaders deliberately uphold a social welfare regime biased toward government officials and urban employees in the state sector and providing only limited social welfare to other urban dwellers and rural workers in the informal sector […]

Looking forward, as economic growth slows and the burden of providing the necessary social services for the elderly mounts, the expansion of the Chinese welfare state is likely reaching its limits.

And this report highlights just one major weakness of China so-called welfare system. Framing China as a welfare state, even if just better than the US, is a very bad joke.

‘Welcome to CHINA’ greets Philippine officials on trip to disputed South China Sea

• Philippine officials visit Thitu amid Chinese presence
• Roaming message says “Welcome to CHINA”
• Filipino fishermen say China stops them fishing best waters
• China claims most of South China Sea despite 2016 Hague ruling

Asking whether China, Russia, or the US will be the biggest threat to Australia,

• 31% say China is the biggest threat
• 17% say it is the US
• 5% say Russia
• 31% say all three are equal

Using the Trumpean decline into a dictatorship to whitewash China’s genocidal policies - by calling Xi a “stable dictator” or even calling China a reliable partner as it is often done - is odd to say the least.

In that respect the title is highly misleading, but it aligns with OP’s spin of spreading pro-China authoritarian propaganda narratives as their post history shows.

Alarming Statistics: Retractions and China’s NSFC Sanctions Rock Chinese Academia

China leads global retractions, with studies showing 40% of biomedical papers tainted by misconduct per surveys. In 2025, NSFC [National Natural Science Foundation of China] disclosed multiple batches: 26 cases in April (plagiarism, data forgery) and 25 in July, affecting top institutions. 96 By early 2026, another 46 sanctions linked to 20 universities emerged.

• 2023 Hindawi: 8,200+ Chinese-linked retractions out of 9,600 total.
• NSFC 2025: 51 sanctions, including 11 proposal plagiarisms.
• Medical universities: 14.81% lack public RM [research misconduct] investigation records.

These figures underscore pressure from ‘publish or perish’ metrics at elite ‘Double First-Class’ universities, where 15% report incidents.

Good question. I wrote in another thread already that African countries are delivering mostly commodities while importing high-end products, and Africa has been facing a growing trade deficit with China over recent years. Africa’s dependence on China is growing as this kind of trade policy is a big obstacle to develop African industries and manufacturing capabilities.

It is also noteworthy that China uses this leverage for political purposes. For example, all African countries support China’s aggression against Taiwan and what Beijing “reunification” (which is false, as Taiwan was never part of mainland China). The only exemption here is Eswatini, a small country in the South of the African continent that maintains an embassy in Taipei, and Taiwan maintains an embassy in Eswatini’s capital Mbabane.

This is not a ‘trend’ but a controlled influence campaign by the Chinese party-state.

“As a Chinese person who has been online throughout years and years of heavy Sinophobia, it felt refreshing to have the mainstream opinion finally shift regarding China,” Claire, a Chinese-Canadian TikTok user, tells BBC Chinese.

There has been no “heavy sinophobia” but reports that were and still are critical about the Chinese government. Nor does the mainstream opinion now shift as people are still if not even more aware of Beijing’s atrocities. This is just an influencer saying something like that for money, and I would like to know who pays her.

The article itself says later:

[Chinese state media and the government] have sought to portray the US as a decaying superpower because of inequality, a weak social safety net and a broken healthcare system. According to a commentary in state-owned Xinhua, the “kill line” meme “underscores how far the lived reality can drift from the ideals once broadcast to the world”.

And:

It’s little wonder that Chinese authorities are pleased with Chinamaxxing […] Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said […] he was “happy” to see foreigners experiencing the “everyday life of ordinary Chinese people”.

Sure, they are pleased. They control the entire campaign on social media.

As the article says at the end:

It’s hard to know what Chinese people make of so many things because all public conversation and activity is heavily policed. Criticising the government is risky and protests are quickly quashed.

Tere is a lot the memes making it to the West don’t show. China’s youth are facing an unemployment rate that sits at more than 15% and burning out from a gruelling work culture, yet sharing too much of their pessimism online could alert internet censors. They are worried about finding a home as the country’s property crisis continues, and dating is no easier than anywhere else.

Yes, and there is a lot more what is not displayed on Chinese social media given the state’s censorship.

The headline and the article are highly misleading imo. This is pure Chinese Communist Party propaganda.

This is not a ‘trend’ but a controlled influence campaign by the Chinese party-state.

“As a Chinese person who has been online throughout years and years of heavy Sinophobia, it felt refreshing to have the mainstream opinion finally shift regarding China,” Claire, a Chinese-Canadian TikTok user, tells BBC Chinese.

There has been no “heavy sinophobia” but reports that were and still are critical about the Chinese government. Nor does the mainstream opinion now shift as people are still if not even more aware of Beijing’s atrocities. This is just an influencer saying something like that for money, and I would like to know who pays her.

The article itself says later:

[Chinese state media and the government] have sought to portray the US as a decaying superpower because of inequality, a weak social safety net and a broken healthcare system. According to a commentary in state-owned Xinhua, the “kill line” meme “underscores how far the lived reality can drift from the ideals once broadcast to the world”.

And:

It’s little wonder that Chinese authorities are pleased with Chinamaxxing […] Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said […] he was “happy” to see foreigners experiencing the “everyday life of ordinary Chinese people”.

Sure, they are pleased. They control the entire campaign on social media.

As the article says at the end:

It’s hard to know what Chinese people make of so many things because all public conversation and activity is heavily policed. Criticising the government is risky and protests are quickly quashed.

Tere is a lot the memes making it to the West don’t show. China’s youth are facing an unemployment rate that sits at more than 15% and burning out from a gruelling work culture, yet sharing too much of their pessimism online could alert internet censors. They are worried about finding a home as the country’s property crisis continues, and dating is no easier than anywhere else.

Yes, and there is a lot more what is not displayed on Chinese social media given the state’s censorship.

The headline and the article are highly misleading imo. This is pure Chinese Communist Party propaganda.

Yeah, South Africa’s exports to China in 2025 stood at USD 13.6 billion, up 9.6% year-on-year.

South Africa’s imports from China in 2025 grew to USD 24.9 billion, up 14.6%.

South Africa’s trade deficit with China has been growing in recent years.

South Africa is also supporting Beijing’s one-China policy and says Taiwan is part of China. Economic and political coercion works it seems.