Author: Steven Sahiounie

Earlier this year, in a letter of congratulations following the inauguration of the Chinese History Research Institute, President Xi Jinping said that history, properly understood, performs two important functions: helping people reflect and making them wiser. In fact, President Xi has publicly emphasized the importance of history to the country’s development on a number of occasions, urging people to pay closer attention to history and to draw practical conclusions from it. In doing so, President Xi is following in the footsteps of the great tradition of Chinese historiography, a tradition which has recently taken shape in the form of a televisual…

Asian powerhouse China signed off their 2022 World Gymnastics Championships campaign with a bang as Zou Jingyuan delivered a show-stopping performance to clinch a well-deserved gold medal in men’s parallel bars on the final day of the showpiece event in Liverpool, England on Sunday night.The 24-year-old Zou, who also bagged the Olympic gold in the same event last year, dominated from start to finish and posted the highest score of the meet in any final with a stunning 16.166 points. Germany’s two-time Olympian Lukas Dauser finished a distant second with 15.500, while Philippines’ sensation Carlos Yulo took bronze with 15.366.The…

The C919 jetliner made by Chinese planemaker Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) debuted on Tuesday at the country’s biggest airshow, securing orders for 300 planes for the company. The large passenger plane, the first homegrown one for China, got its airworthiness permit from Chinese regulators in September. The first C919 is expected to be delivered to China Eastern Airlines in December. The orders for the 300 C919 planes came from seven leasing companies backed by banks in China, multiple local media outlets reported. COMAC also displayed a medical jet model derived from its ARJ21 jetliner with intensive care unit (ICU) capabilities, securing…

Inside the red walls of Changsha’s Fiery Palace in central China’s Hunan Province is one of the unique dishes I’ve ever tasted or seen made – stinky tofu.The dish dates back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) when a local woman began frying discarded tofu in tea oil and stumbled upon a dish that would become a pillar of Hunan’s thriving street food culture. Zhou Houmu, the fourth-generation inheritor of the craft of making Fiery Palace stinky tofu, keeps the tradition near and dear. I met him in the kitchen of the dining area, frying the signature dish.But before dipping the…

Bayern Munich will play against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Liverpool will meet Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 competitions while Manchester United are competing with Barcelona for a spot in the UEFA Europa League Round of 16, according to the draw results on Monday. The following is the Champions League Round of 16 matchups: Red Bull Leipzig vs. Manchester City; Club Brugge vs. Benfica; Liverpool vs. Real Madrid; AC Milan vs, Tottenham Hotspur; Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Napoli; Borussia Dortmund vs. Chelsea; Inter Milan vs. Porto; PSG vs. Bayern Munich The No. 1 teams from the group…

Germany wants dialogue with Washington rather than tit-for-tat measures to ease trade tensions triggered by the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which could harm European businesses and industries, Germany’s finance minister said on Monday. According to Christian Lindner, a task force set up between the U.S. and the European Union should address the issue urgently. “The correct path now is to seek dialogue with the U.S. administration in order to exchange concerns and find common ways in which our economic interests can be combined,” Lindner said ahead of talks with his Eurogroup counterparts in Brussels. “I have not been assured that…

The Bank of England raised interest rates by three quarters of a percentage point on Thursday, the biggest hike in 33 years, as it tries to contain soaring inflation even as the UK economy slides towards a recession that could last two years. The central bank made its eighth interest rate hike in less than a year, taking its benchmark rate to 3%, the highest it has been since November 2008. The huge hike matches moves made by the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday and the European Central Bank last week. “Inflation is too high, and it’s the bank’s job…

One of Apple’s largest suppliers is trying to strike a delicate balance in China. Foxconn (HNHPF) has to comply with some of the harshest Covid rules in the world while ensuring that Apple’s (AAPL) shipments are not severely disrupted just before the key holiday season begins. The Taiwanese company, which has been racing to control a Covid outbreak at its vast campus in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou, has started recruiting for the facility once again and is offering bonuses for staff who had recently left, according to a statement posted on one of the company’s WeChat accounts. Foxconn’s statement…

Iran expects to sign a $40 billion agreement with Russian energy major Gazprom in December, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mahdi Safari said this week. “We have closed a $6.5 billion deal with Gazprom. We hope that the remaining agreements totaling $40 billion will be signed next month,” Safari told ISNA news agency, adding that negotiations are underway. The National Iranian Oil Company and Gazprom agreed in July to cooperate in the development of two gas deposits and six oilfields in Iran. The document also includes swaps in natural gas and oil products, the implementation of LNG projects, and the construction…

Austrian officials have urged citizens to reduce their energy consumption after the stress testing the country’s grid system showed that a cold winter could push the country’s power supply to the limit. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Austrian Climate and Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler warned of a tough months ahead, with the network’s operator calling the “situation extremely challenging but manageable” in a “realistic scenario.” The minister noted that critical scenarios would become less likely if people and companies used electricity sparingly. “This is why I ask everyone in our country – help, save energy if you can. Together we…