It was at the Expo 2010 Shanghai that I encountered Song Hongbing's bookThe Currency War. I was with a few Chinese acquaintances, introduced to me by mutual friends because they had access to the expo.
Busloads of Chinese tourists were everywhere, led by loudspeaker-toting guides. People standing in the long lines that snaked around the hot pavilions created by countries including the UAE, UK, US, France, Canada and Denmark, had to wait for up to five hours to gain entry.
For some reason, the UAE's pavilion was known by the locals as the Wave, even though it is actually modelled on undulating sand dunes. My guide explained that it had to do with the Chinese penchant for auspicious sounding words like "double happiness" and "joy luck".
Tourists from the Anhui and Sichuan provinces particularly admired the reddish-gold roof. My own favourite was the UK pavilion, which looked like a cross between a blob and a porcupine.
The Chinese pavilion, naturally, towered above everything else although it was pretty much impossible to get inside. The only way to bypass the queues was to weasel your way into the VIP lounges, beg and plead using every press pass you could procure.
The Four Seasons where I stayed had room rates priced along with tickets to the expo. Every hotel in Shanghai had bumped up rates and yet ran at full capacity. Last week at least, it felt like the city was the centre of the world.
Just as the Olympics were Beijing's "coming out" moment, the expo, which ends this month, is Shanghai's.
The famous Bund area in central Shanghai was closed for almost two years to get it ready for the expo. That is like closing Piccadilly, Fifth Avenue, the Champs Elysees - or Mahatma Gandhi Road in my own city. There, you don't just shut downtown for a couple of years to dig a tunnel, widen roads and move a lighthouse.
But China can do this. In the today's world, it seems China can do anything. As my new Chinese friends were in finance, I brought up the currency situation. Why did Guido Mantega, Brazil's finance minister, have to go and say it, I asked, thereby exacerbating an already tense situation.
When the Chinese raised their eyebrows, I elaborated. Wasn't it Mr Mantega who said the world was in a "currency war" last month?
Oh, no, said my friends. Mr Mantega didn't coin that phrase. A Chinese writer did. And then one of the gentlemen, who I will call Mr Chen, pulled out Hongbing's book. The writing was in Chinese but the cover had an English subtitle that clearly read The Currency War.
Mr Chen needed to make recommendations to his bosses about the worsening currency situation and was looking for options. Between you and me, he said, China needs to find a way out without losing face.
Naturally, I was interested. What was the way out, I asked Mr Chen, who looked thoughtful. Clearly, China is being made a scapegoat, he said finally. Look around the world. Colombia, Israel, Switzerland, Japan - lots of countries are devaluating their currencies, so much so that even western publications are calling it competitive devaluation. Then why is China being targeted?
It is clear, Mr Chen continued in the measured tones of a bureaucrat, that the US has mismanaged its economy. The infallible Alan Greenspan, as some seem to think of him, turned out to have clay feet and his successors are no better. Rather than fixing its economic woes, the US prefers to point fingers at China, Mr Chen said.
The US government, at least for now, appears to be backing off. Last week, the US Treasury department, after issuing ultimatums and threats, decided to postpone its report on whether China is manipulating the yuan.
Jon Huntsman, the US ambassador to China who is a fluent Mandarin speaker and an expert on the country, said the aggressive stance by the US was driven equally by domestic politics as global trade worries.
In a town hall meeting that was broadcast in Beijing, Mr Huntsman said US pressure on China was partly driven by the upcoming mid-term elections in November.
Here is my own take on the situation: the escalating currency wars are a symptom of China's increasing dominance on the world stage.
The problem is the US is unwilling to accept China's self-confidence and China has not learned to negotiate gracefully. The watching world, for now, is still coming to terms with the Chinese superpower and its way of doing things.
The US has to learn that it cannot play hardball with China and expect this old civilisation but relatively new country to back down. China has to learn that being an economic superpower is different from being a statesman. Being a statesman involves wisdom, temperance and tone.
Ancient China espoused this culture of humility. Modern China would do well to relearn its lessons.
By the same token, the West cannot browbeat a country as diverse and different as China and simply expect the Chinese government to fall into line. It should approach China with respect rather than distrust; it should learn to appreciate the fundamental differences between eastern and western values.
As Mr Huntsman said, the US and China must be able to reach "a cruising altitude of mutual respect and equality".
Shoba Narayan is a Bangalore-based journalist and the author of Monsoon Diary
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Light of the Moon
Director: Jessica M Thompson
Starring: Stephanie Beatriz, Michael Stahl-David
Three stars
More on Quran memorisation:
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
THE%20SPECS
%3Cp%3EEngine%3A%204.4-litre%20twin-turbo%20V8%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20653hp%20at%205%2C400rpm%0D%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20800Nm%20at%201%2C600-5%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3ETransmission%3A%208-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E0-100kph%20in%204.3sec%0D%3Cbr%3ETop%20speed%20250kph%0D%3Cbr%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20NA%0D%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20Q2%202023%0D%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh750%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
SPECS
%3Cp%3EEngine%3A%20Supercharged%203.5-litre%20V6%0D%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20400hp%0D%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20430Nm%0D%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20Now%0D%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh450%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
What is a black hole?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Hydrogen: Market potential
Hydrogen has an estimated $11 trillion market potential, according to Bank of America Securities and is expected to generate $2.5tn in direct revenues and $11tn of indirect infrastructure by 2050 as its production increases six-fold.
"We believe we are reaching the point of harnessing the element that comprises 90 per cent of the universe, effectively and economically,” the bank said in a recent report.
Falling costs of renewable energy and electrolysers used in green hydrogen production is one of the main catalysts for the increasingly bullish sentiment over the element.
The cost of electrolysers used in green hydrogen production has halved over the last five years and will fall to 60 to 90 per cent by the end of the decade, acceding to Haim Israel, equity strategist at Merrill Lynch. A global focus on decarbonisation and sustainability is also a big driver in its development.
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Four reasons global stock markets are falling right now
There are many factors worrying investors right now and triggering a rush out of stock markets. Here are four of the biggest:
1. Rising US interest rates
The US Federal Reserve has increased interest rates three times this year in a bid to prevent its buoyant economy from overheating. They now stand at between 2 and 2.25 per cent and markets are pencilling in three more rises next year.
Kim Catechis, manager of the Legg Mason Martin Currie Global Emerging Markets Fund, says US inflation is rising and the Fed will continue to raise rates in 2019. “With inflationary pressures growing, an increasing number of corporates are guiding profitability expectations downwards for 2018 and 2019, citing the negative impact of rising costs.”
At the same time as rates are rising, central bankers in the US and Europe have been ending quantitative easing, bringing the era of cheap money to an end.
2. Stronger dollar
High US rates have driven up the value of the dollar and bond yields, and this is putting pressure on emerging market countries that took advantage of low interest rates to run up trillions in dollar-denominated debt. They have also suffered capital outflows as international investors have switched to the US, driving markets lower. Omar Negyal, portfolio manager of the JP Morgan Global Emerging Markets Income Trust, says this looks like a buying opportunity. “Despite short-term volatility we remain positive about long-term prospects and profitability for emerging markets.”
3. Global trade war
Ritu Vohora, investment director at fund manager M&G, says markets fear that US President Donald Trump’s spat with China will escalate into a full-blown global trade war, with both sides suffering. “The US economy is robust enough to absorb higher input costs now, but this may not be the case as tariffs escalate. However, with a host of factors hitting investor sentiment, this is becoming a stock picker’s market.”
4. Eurozone uncertainty
Europe faces two challenges right now in the shape of Brexit and the new populist government in eurozone member Italy.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, which has offices in Dubai, says the stand-off between between Rome and Brussels threatens to become much more serious. "As with Brexit, neither side appears willing to step back from the edge, threatening more trouble down the line.”
The European economy may also be slowing, Mr Beauchamp warns. “A four-year low in eurozone manufacturing confidence highlights the fact that producers see a bumpy road ahead, with US-EU trade talks remaining a major question-mark for exporters.”
