Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · 8h

"President Trump said Friday he would hit China with a 100% additional tariff and impose new export controls on critical software products after Beijing placed new restrictions on the export of rare-earth minerals."
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Trump to Hit China With Additional 100% Tariff, Citing Restrictions on Rare-Earth Elements

The president also said he would impose new export controls on critical software products in response to Beijing’s moves.

www.wsj.com

Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · 9h

"Qualcomm relies heavily on China for its business and, among American companies, is one of the most exposed to China. Nearly half its revenue came from China in fiscal 2024, the latest full year for which data is available."

www.wsj.com/tech/china-g...

China Goes All In on U.S. Trade Battle, With Qualcomm in the Crosshairs

Beijing’s move against the San Diego chip giant is the latest in a two-day barrage of actions targeting the U.S.

www.wsj.com

Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · 10h

"The U.S. and other countries are pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into data centers, making AI a key economic engine. China gaining control of the technology would potentially let it catch up in the AI race and upend the world order."

www.wsj.com/world/china/...

China’s Rare-Earth Escalation Threatens Trade Talks—and the Global Economy

President Trump says the administration is weighing a U.S. response to Beijing’s newest restrictions.

www.wsj.com

Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · 1d

"By consuming more than half the world’s new robots, by supporting domestic firms like Siasun, Estun, Efort, JAKA, Dobot, and Elite, and by acquiring global names like KUKA, China reshaped the robotics landscape."
technicalyspeaking.substack.com/p/how-china-...

How China Out-Deployed Everyone in Robotics

Robotics was never about robots alone. It was about securing manufacturing sovereignty.

technicalyspeaking.substack.com

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Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · 1d

"The restrictions announced on Thursday by China’s commerce ministry will for the first time create a Chinese version of the US foreign direct product rule, a measure Washington has used to block semiconductor-related exports to China from third countries."

on.ft.com/3IEENLz

China unveils sweeping rare-earth export controls to protect ‘national security’

The rules come ahead of an expected meeting this month between US President Trump and Xi of China

on.ft.com

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Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · 2d

"Nearly 80% of CATL’s overseas investment has been in Europe. The company has pumped $12.3 billion into three production hubs, according to the September analysis....CATL’s advance into Europe is a pre-emptive move in case exporting to the EU becomes harder."
www.caixinglobal.com/2025-10-07/c...

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Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · 2d

"Unlike the West’s gig economy, which is almost entirely focused on services, roughly 40m of the make-or-break workers are paid by the day or week to work in factories. In China’s largest manufacturing complexes they can at times make up 80% of the workforce."

www.economist.com/finance-and-...

China’s future rests on 200m precarious workers

They may work in factories or for delivery apps, but are united by common struggles

www.economist.com

Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · 4d

Kapitalist bir çerçevede dahi olsa kalkınmacılık ile uzaktan yakından alakaları yok. Bunun uzun vadede yaratacağı ekonomik tahribat çok büyük olacak.

Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · 5d

"AI pioneer Marvin Minsky told Life magazine that true AGI was three to eight years away—in 1970. Less widely known is that the magazine canvassed skeptics who cautioned that AGI was more likely to take 15 years. It’s always been the technology of the future."
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-i...

AI Investors Are Chasing a Big Prize. Here’s What Can Go Wrong.

There are good reasons to think that simply throwing more computing power at the current models won’t do it.

www.wsj.com

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Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · 6d

"The audacious plan...envisages American investors developing the seaside fishing town of Pasni as a terminal for access to Pakistan’s critical minerals. Pasni is just 100 miles from Iran and 70 miles from the Pakistani city of Gwadar, which has a China-backed port."
on.ft.com/3KwTz7E

Pakistan courts US with pitch for new Arabian Sea port

Audacious plan would give Washington a mineral gateway near China’s flank

on.ft.com

Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · 10d

While not the main focus, the study also uncovers a rising number of Chinese nationals obtaining Turkish citizenship without informing the PRC, which bans dual citizenship. It is an intriguing trend to watch in terms of Sino-Turkish relations.

Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · 10d

This is a fascinating study on Turkey's "citizenship by investment" program implemented since 2017. What stood out to me most was the state’s deliberate withholding of reliable data on the program.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
+

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Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · 11d

This paper operationalizes the concept of uneven and combined development to analyze the workings and contradictions of the BRI in Indonesia and the Philippines by focusing on the interplay of local class forces, bureaucracies, and great powers.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · 11d

"Between 2008 and 2023, the first-marriage rate among 22- to 45-year-olds declined 9%, to 60 marriages per 1,000 never-married Americans."
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/re...

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Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · 13d

Türk Sosyal Bilimler Derneği 18. Ulusal Sosyal Bilimler Kongresi kapanış oturumunun diğer konuşmacıları olan Seyhan Erdoğdu, Funda Hülagü ve Hayri Kozanoğlu'na, oturum başkanı Ezgi Doğru'ya, soru ve yorumlarıyla katkıda bulunan katılımcılara ve bu güzel kongreye emek veren herkese teşekkür ederim.

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Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · 16d

Dış politikanın ötesine geçerek, Türkiye'nin devlet kapasitesinin gidişatına dair çok net bir tablo sunan bu iki yazıyı tavsiye ederim.
1. t24.com.tr/yazarlar/bar...
2. t24.com.tr/yazarlar/bar...

MI6’dan Türkiye’ye kabile devlet muamelesi

İngiliz dış istihbarat servisi MI6’nın başkanı Richard Moore’un İstanbul’daki basın toplantısının içeriğinden Türk tarafının habersiz olması ihtimali bir skandal, haberi olup yeşil ışık yakması ayrı s...

t24.com.tr

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Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · 19d

"China’s entry into the top ten is all the more remarkable given its status as a middle-income economy."
www.economist.com/graphic-deta...

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Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · 19d

"BYD shares increased by roughly 3890% during the years Berkshire owned them. Buffett has not explained in detail why Berkshire started selling."

www.cnbc.com/amp/2025/09/...

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Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · 21d

"In terms of intellectual property, however, Chinese firms continued to lag long-established Japanese and Korean players...though the gap is shrinking."

jamestown.org/program/embo...

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Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · 24d

Another manifestation of the global rise of state capitalism, including in the West👇🏾
"The US government is in talks to set up a multibillion-dollar fund for overseas mining projects with investment firm Orion Resource Partners, as Washington seeks to counter Chinese dominance."
on.ft.com/3VkvZNu

US in talks to fund multibillion-dollar mining initiative for critical minerals

Investments would finance projects to extract materials crucial for defence and high-tech manufacturing

on.ft.com

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Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · 24d

"The Swiss National Bank has US equity holdings amounting to $167bn, spread across more than 2,300 positions [...] More than $42bn is invested in just five companies — Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft and Nvidia — making it a major Silicon Valley investor."
on.ft.com/3K3yukW

Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · 25d

"Technology was a different matter. As Mao put it, 'in any case, [we should] copy everything, whether it is relatively good, or we basically don’t know. Having learned, we will see'."

Source: Sergey Radchenko, "To Run the World: The Kremlin's Cold War Bid for Global Power," 2024.

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Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · 27d

"The Jakarta Model shows how resource-rich countries can attract investment and climb the value chain—but at immense cost to people and the planet. Without key changes, it risks becoming a blueprint for a new era of green extractivism across the Global South."

www.newamerica.org/planetary-po...

Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · Sep 10

"The producer price downturn in China has persisted for almost three years, hurting profits of manufacturers who also have to weather weak consumer confidence and uncertainties stemming from U.S. trade policies."

www.reuters.com/world/china/...

Burak Gürel @burakgurel1980.bsky.social · Sep 9

"Consumers are likely to curb discretionary spending, especially on pricier meats, and opt for cheaper alternatives like poultry and pork...Meanwhile, the central government’s crackdown on lavish official banquets would also likely dampen demand."

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...