September 2015

China President Xi Jinping had the ears of 30 chief executives -- including leaders from Apple, Microsoft, Disney and GM -- and used the moment to promise further easing of restrictions on US corporations and to tout the massive potential of the Chinese market. President Xi acknowledged criticism of China’s current business environment, including problems related to intellectual property theft and limits on foreign investment in China. He said his government wanted to fix these problems, too. “We will continue to build a law-based business environment, an open environment,” President Xi said during brief remarks at the US-China Business Roundtable.

The Roundtable was an otherwise closed-door event billed as an opportunity for the 30 chief executives, evenly split between US and China companies, to privately discuss business. President Xi offered his support for a proposed investment treaty between the two nations, which supporters say would offer clearer rules for foreign investment. He said the treaty would lead to more transparent markets.

[Commentary] In early May, Hillary Clinton was clearly getting the vast majority of coverage. But that has declined over time, largely because coverage of Vice President Joe Biden has increased amid speculation about whether he will get into the race. Sen Bernie Sanders (I-VT) got an increasing amount of coverage through late May and June and has plateaued since then. Does the fact that, until very recently, Clinton has gotten more coverage than Sen Sanders reflect media “bias”? I’m not so sure.

News coverage will always focus on front-running candidates more than underdogs. Of course, I wouldn’t suggest that coverage of Sanders is always fair. (Nor is coverage of Clinton, necessarily.) But these data do offer some comfort to Sanders supporters.

[John Sides is an Associate Professor of Political Science at George Washington University]

Chinese officials have summoned top American tech executives to Seattle (WA) for a forum on Sept 23 in a show of force that could make the Obama Administration’s standing in Silicon Valley appear weak by comparison. Beijing moved up the date of the annual event to coincide with President Xi Jinping’s US visit and reportedly pressured major Silicon Valley players to send their chief executives to what is normally an annual summit for midlevel management, threatening regulatory scrutiny if they didn’t comply. “It’s not really voluntary,” said Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Jason Healey, a former director of cyber infrastructure protection at the White House. “They are absolutely expected to be there, and be there in force.”

Business groups and Silicon Valley say they have no choice but to show up. Despite China’s rampant commercial espionage and onerous regulations for foreign firms, the Asian superpower’s market is too powerful to pass up. “It’s not about policy,” said Bay Area-based venture capitalist Ray Rothrock. “It’s about business.”

Long known as a safe haven for foreign freelancers, Turkey has especially become a hub for foreign journalists who wanted to cover the post-Arab Spring Middle East from a relatively stable and secure environment. But when foreign reporters have aired views critical of the Turkish government, as during the Gezi protests in 2013 or the mining disaster in 2014, they have sometimes been subject to smear campaigns and direct intimidation.

Turkish authorities’ recent clampdown on the foreign press in southeast Turkey warrants global attention at a time when reliable news about the resurgent Kurdish conflict, the ongoing battle with the Islamic State, and the multi-sided crises in Syria and Iraq is vital. The current attacks on the Turkish and Kurdish media, along with the arrests of foreign reporters, send a chilling message to the rest of the resident foreign journalists in Turkey. The growing accusations against foreign journalists of being spies or even terrorists not only compromise their reporting, but also may incite violence against them.