Historian Adam Tooze is a tall man who looms over the Chinese journalists pelting him with questions: “Mr. Tooze! Trump is planning to visit China in May. What do you expect from U.S.-China relations?”
© Michael Kappeler / POOL (EFE)
The fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran held the great promise of the long-awaited reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the most critical maritime shipping route for global energy flows. That hope, in recent hours, has gone from vague to increasingly distant. Since Wednesday, when the truce began—with all the caveats one might add: bombs have continued to fall in various parts of the Middle East in recent days, especially in Lebanon—the volume of cargo ships has fallen even below the average of the days immediately preceding the agreement, with only a trace flow of tankers and LNG carriers. With the blockade announced this Sunday by the White House, things could get even worse: even fewer ships will pass. Or, perhaps, none at all.
© HOTLI SIMANJUNTAK (EFE)
China entered the space race late, emerging as a new competitor just after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States’ great rival during the decades of the Cold War. But its steady progress, always at a good pace, has meant that Washington is increasingly aware of China’s growing momentum. Following NASA’s Artemis 2 mission, the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon in half a century, which reached its climax when its astronauts gazed upon the far side of the satellite, the next four years will be crucial in the competition.
© XINHUA / Jin Liwang (EFE)
At Beijing’s train station, inaugurated by Mao Zedong himself in 1959, waiting hall number four is overflowing. At the far end of the hall, amid austere marble columns and dozens of travelers, a neon sign indicates that the legendary K-27 overnight express to Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, is about to depart. The resumption of the route two weeks ago, after a six-year suspension, signals a shift toward openness in the reclusive nuclear nation. “It will contribute to boosting exchanges between the two countries, as well as economic and trade cooperation and cultural exchanges,” announced the Chinese state press. Air service between the two capitals was also scheduled to resume on March 30.
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