China Archives - globalter

Artificial intelligence threatens to increase inequality

5 min read STEVEN SEAMAN

STEVE SEAMAN

A quarter of the world's population, 2.200 billion people, still lack internet access, according to data from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). This digital divide risks widening with the rise of Artificial Intelligence.

In 2025, 85% of urban residents used the internet, but almost half of the rural population (58%) still did not. The digital divide also shows a marked gender bias: it affects 52% of women compared to 42% of men.

Archived Asia Merunas UAB USA/Europe

Let's look at how China is tackling some of the problems we have here.

13 min read PASCUAL SERRANO

PASCUAL SERRANO
The prevailing view among the Spanish population, undoubtedly influenced by the monotonous discourse of the media and political leaders, is that China is an undesirable dictatorship from which we should take no note or example. However, I believe it can be a valuable exercise in humility and learning to observe how they address issues that remain a serious problem here.

I'm going to review some current issues that are generating controversy in our country, for which we need solutions, and then we'll see how they are being dealt with in China.

Asia Merunas UAB USA/Europe Principal2

China 2025: Between accelerated modernization and structural confrontation

4 min read XULIO RIOS 0 comments

XULIO RIOS
In China, the balance sheet for 2025 points to a year marked by the realization of the difficulty of the challenges to be faced as well as by the depth of the change implemented in substantial areas, especially, underpinning the rapid qualitative modernization of its industrial fabric.

The economy, with that growth target of around 5 percent within reach (5,2 percent in the first three quarters), has confirmed that the goal of achieving high-quality development is irreversible.

Archived Asia Merunas UAB U.S.

China: one plan away from the top

11 min read XULIO RIOS 0 comments

XULIO RIOS
During the 14th Five-Year Plan, which is now coming to an end, China has continued to advance, even weathering the trade and technology war with some ease, demonstrating that it can no longer be easily intimidated (rare earths have become its main bargaining chip with Washington). Chinese manufacturing output accounts for more than 35% of the world's total, and it is catching up with the US in every field and is already a world leader in some. China is approaching the top.

Merunas UAB U.S. Principal2

TikTok and algorithm control, the latest step toward ending the right to information

6 min read PASCUAL SERRANO 0 comments

PASCUAL SERRANO
First, journalists held the power of communication, then the media (journalists held the power of the medium in which they reported), then the owners of communication companies (the owner of the printing press). Then came the internet, and social media, which are the means of reaching citizens and the mediators between them and the media, took over (as MacLuhan said, "the medium is the message"). And now it's the algorithm; it's the algorithm that decides what you'll see on social media, which dictates what you'll see in the media.

Archived Asia Merunas UAB U.S.

Xi Jinping announces carbon emissions cuts at the same UN summit where Trump denies global warming

7 min read PASCUAL SERRANO 0 comments

PASCUAL SERRANO
For decades, we've been told that in the West, in democratic and capitalist countries, awareness was growing about the need to reduce carbon emissions in order to save the planet and that measures were being taken. At the same time, we were told that China and its communist system were the main emitter of gases and that its authorities were not taking action to correct them.

Still from the film 'City of Life and Death', which recounts the Nanjing Massacre.

Asia Merunas UAB Europe Principal2

China in World War II: A Necessary Reassessment

7 min read XULIO RIOS 0 comments

XULIO RIOS
In China, the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the global victory over fascism reminds us of the enormous sacrifice endured by this country in its long struggle against the Japanese invader. The Japanese invasion of the 30s and 40s, marked by atrocities such as the Nanjing Massacre (1937), subjected China to unimaginable cruelty.
nable. According to the most recent estimates, military and civilian casualties exceeded 35 million people in a battle that lasted 14 years. More than any other country involved in the conflict. This suffering added considerable difficulties to the reconstruction work promoted by the new power established in 1949.

Archived Asia Merunas UAB

The sinicization of Marxism

4 min read XULIO RIOS 0 comments

XULIO RIOS
Modern China has undergone a series of transformations since the CCP took power more than 75 years ago. Many of these changes are radical, even more so considering that they have been implemented in a short period of time and under the leadership of the same ruling party. This situation makes it difficult to categorize the policies established by the CCP into a classical theoretical economic model.

Beyond the process of modernization and the rise of the private sector, China maintains a dominant public sector in several sectors of its economy. It is evident that the State retains essential elements of a socialist model, but has gradually incorporated some elements of the free market to boost its economy and integrate it into the international arena. It is difficult to imagine China returning to the communist system pioneered during the times of the revolution.

Asia Merunas UAB Latin America Principal2

The Belt and Road Initiative diversifies the paths of cooperation with CELAC

5 min read Juan Enrique Serrano Moreno 0 comments

Juan Enrique Serrano Moreno
During the fourth ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC Forum, held on May 13, 2025, in Beijing, Latin American governments articulated a new vision for engagement with China. The future of the BRI in the region will depend not only on Chinese financing and technical expertise, but also on the capacity of Latin American countries to design inclusive development strategies and build effective institutional frameworks. The challenge now is to move from diplomatic declarations to transformative action, and turn the partnership into shared prosperity.

Asia Merunas UAB USA/Europe Spain Europe Principal2

Side…. which side?

5 min read XULIO RIOS 0 comments

XULIO RIOS
The barrage of criticism surrounding Pedro Sánchez's recent trip to China has been surprising. They say it's not "our side," that "there's more to Asia" than China (although the mission also included Vietnam), that the timing couldn't have been worse... However, the trip was a complete success, both in terms of the current situation and the expectations it met, judging by the official assessment provided by Moncloa.

And which side are we on? That of Mr. "Neckcutter," who assigns unavoidable duties to Minister Cuerpo? Or that of Robert Palladino, chargé d'affaires of the US Embassy in Hungary, who has warned the Hungarian government to refrain from attracting Chinese investment?

Asia Merunas UAB Spain Europe Principal2

China on Pedro Sánchez's radar

5 min read XULIO RIOS

XULIO RIOS
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is traveling to China again to meet with President Xi Jinping. This is his third visit in the last three years, a truly unusual development and a true reflection of the importance that the Spanish government places on its relationship with China, as an expression of a significant rebalancing of Spanish foreign policy based on the strategic interest of strengthening economic and diplomatic relations with Beijing.

Archived Asia Merunas UAB

Two sessions 2025: A China focused on its roadmap

16 min read XULIO RIOS 0 comments

XULIO RIOS
China will continue to focus on managing its economy and strengthening its capabilities in all areas to achieve the desired high-quality development, taking a long-term view of this endeavour, with a view to 2035. At the international level, the commitment to multilateralism will strengthen the rapprochement not only with the Global South, but also opens up expectations of the involvement of other actors interested in a greater balance of power in interstate relations, capable of facing the profound global challenges that the current Trump administration addresses with total disdain.