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Reposted by Lili Pike

Zahra Hirji @zhirji.bsky.social · 7d

Some personal news: I'm now @bloomberg.com's lead EPA reporter, tracking everything climate -- and so much more. So if you're following a particular rule or proposal, program office or anything else EPA related (biofuels, PFAS, coal ash, etc), I want to know.

bsky.app/profile/did:...

Zahra Hirji @zhirji.bsky.social · 7d

Trump's EPA is looking to extend deadlines to comply with rules to switch to cleaner refrigerants. The proposal applies to everything from residential air conditioning to retail food refrigeration and semiconductor manufacturing.

Story @bloomberg.com (gift link): www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

EPA Wants to Roll Back HFC Super Pollutant Rules

The agency is proposing delaying the phaseout of chemicals used in ACs and refrigerators that can release highly potent greenhouse gases.

www.bloomberg.com

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Lili Pike @lilipike.bsky.social · 13d

Thanks Leo! :)

Lili Pike @lilipike.bsky.social · 13d

Thanks Noah! :)

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Lili Pike @lilipike.bsky.social · 13d

Thanks James! Great to be here :)

Lili Pike @lilipike.bsky.social · 14d

I'll be based in NYC for the next few months. Would love to chat about the NDC and the China/climate stories you think deserve more attention—preferably over tea/dumplings if you're local or by email [email protected] or DM for Signal & WhatsApp.

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Lili Pike @lilipike.bsky.social · 14d

A double news update after a summer respite from social media: 1) I’ve joined @bloomberg.com
to report on China & climate! 2) Just in time for China’s new climate targets, announced by Xi today. I’m thrilled to cover this special beat—and to be diving right in:

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

China Played It Safe With First Pledge to Cut Greenhouse Emissions

Other nations have achieved larger declines after reaching peak climate pollution — and the world’s biggest emitter has exceeded its own goals

www.bloomberg.com

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Lili Pike @lilipike.bsky.social · Jul 2

So much has changed in the last 6 months that it's hard to keep track of the moving parts.

In my latest FP deep dive, I assessed how Trump's 2nd term "move fast and break things" approach has cumulatively impacted China policy so far, from the NSC to human rights: foreignpolicy.com/2025/07/02/t...

A Bull in the China Policy Shop

The “move fast and break things” approach of Trump’s second term has undermined some of his administration’s own China goals.

foreignpolicy.com

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Lili Pike @lilipike.bsky.social · Jun 24

‘Tiger-fighter’ takes helm at China-backed development bank
Former anti-corruption official Zou Jiayi will lead Beijing’s answer to the World Bank
www.ft.com/content/6536...

‘Tiger-fighter’ takes helm at China-backed development bank

Former anti-corruption official Zou Jiayi will lead Beijing’s answer to the World Bank

www.ft.com

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Lili Pike @lilipike.bsky.social · Jun 23

"China moved to tighten controls over two chemicals that can be used to make fentanyl, in an apparent olive branch to the US that may help maintain their fragile trade truce."

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

China Tightens Fentanyl Controls in Goodwill Gesture to Trump

China moved to tighten controls over two chemicals that can be used to make fentanyl, in an apparent olive branch to the US that may help maintain their fragile trade truce.

www.bloomberg.com

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Lili Pike @lilipike.bsky.social · Jun 16

"But China has not budged on specialized rare earths, including samarium, which are needed for military applications and are outside the fast-track agreed in London, the two people said."

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

Exclusive: US-China trade truce leaves military-use rare earth issue unresolved, sources say

Beijing has not committed to grant export clearance for some specialized rare-earth magnets that U.S. military suppliers need for fighter jets and missile systems, the sources said.

www.reuters.com

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Lili Pike @lilipike.bsky.social · Jun 11

“I think we’re in the first inning of a new game. The rare earths have really changed the goalposts here in a big way,” @pstasiatech.bsky.social told me re the latest US-China trade deal potentially signaling a broader reckoning over export controls in the future

foreignpolicy.com/2025/06/11/u...

U.S. and China De-escalate Supply Chain War—for Now

This will give factories a temporary reprieve, but both sides could still leverage economic chokepoints in the future absent a larger deal.

foreignpolicy.com

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Lili Pike @lilipike.bsky.social · Jun 10

😅

Lili Pike @lilipike.bsky.social · Jun 10

"Biden officials were so concerned about the U.S. military’s lack of a domestic samarium supply that they issued large contracts for the construction of two samarium production facilities. Neither was built because of commercial concerns"

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/b...

China’s Chokehold on This Obscure Mineral Threatens the West’s Militaries

www.nytimes.com

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Lili Pike @lilipike.bsky.social · Jun 9

"Rather than duplicating China’s model, countries endowed with critical minerals should carve out strategic niches by building regional hubs where processing is viable and cost-effective."

www.sinicapodcast.com/p/ignoring-c...

Ignoring China Won’t Help African Countries Move up the Critical Minerals Value Chain

By Obert Bore, Critical Minerals Editor

www.sinicapodcast.com

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Lili Pike @lilipike.bsky.social · Jun 5

“China’s found an economic tool that really bites, so the president has got a variety of reasons to frame this in a positive light,”
@kennedychina.bsky.social told me re: today's Xi-Trump call:

foreignpolicy.com/2025/06/05/t...

Trump and Xi Break the Silence With Phone Call

The leaders claimed progress on thorny issues, but it remains to be seen if the rhetoric will translate into reality.

foreignpolicy.com

Lili Pike @lilipike.bsky.social · Jun 5

Trump just now, during Oval presser with Merz:

"Chinese students are coming no problem. It's our honor to have them, frankly."

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Lili Pike @lilipike.bsky.social · Jun 5

美方欢迎中国留学生来美学习。
^This stands out from the Chinese readout.
"The US welcomes Chinese students to come study in the US."
www.xinhuanet.com/politics/lea...

习近平同美国总统特朗普通电话-新华网

习近平同美国总统特朗普通电话-6月5日晚，国家主席习近平应约同美国总统特朗普通电话。

www.xinhuanet.com

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Reposted by Lili Pike

BeijingPalmer @beijingpalmer.bsky.social · Jun 4

so many people wrote in appreciation about this, clearly it needed fixing.

Lili Pike @lilipike.bsky.social · Jun 4

@beijingpalmer.bsky.social out this week with a very important piece of service journalism, on Washington's oddly common "Gee" Jinping problem:

link.foreignpolicy.com/view/66744b4...

Welcome to Foreign Policy’s China Brief—summer vacation edition.

link.foreignpolicy.com

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Lili Pike @lilipike.bsky.social · Jun 4

@beijingpalmer.bsky.social out this week with a very important piece of service journalism, on Washington's oddly common "Gee" Jinping problem:

link.foreignpolicy.com/view/66744b4...

Welcome to Foreign Policy’s China Brief—summer vacation edition.

link.foreignpolicy.com

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Lili Pike @lilipike.bsky.social · May 28

"In a research report, Natixis said that if U.S. tariffs stayed at their current levels of at least 30 percent, exports to the United States would fall by half, resulting in a loss of up to six million manufacturing jobs"

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/b...

China’s Soft Spot in Trade War With Trump: Risk of Huge Job Loss

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Lili Pike

Phil McKenna @mckennapr.bsky.social · May 22

HFC-23, a restricted pollutant 14,700 times worse for the climate than CO2, is being emitted at levels far higher than countries admit, sparking a global “whodunit” over the source of emissions insideclimatenews.org/news/2105202... My latest, w/ @foreignpolicy.com's @lilipike.bsky.social

A Restricted Climate Super Pollutant Is Pumped Out at Far Higher Levels Than Countries Admit. What Happens Next? - Inside Climate News

HFC-23 emissions from chemical plants in eastern China and elsewhere likely violate an international climate agreement despite readily available pollution controls. Advocates are pressing for action.

insideclimatenews.org

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Reposted by Lili Pike

Foreign Policy @foreignpolicy.com · May 21

Climate advocates rejoiced when Beijing signed onto the Kigali Amendment in 2021, with the promise of cutting the super pollutant in China. However, the atmosphere now tells a different story, @lilipike.bsky.social and @mckennapr.bsky.social‬ write.

China Claims It Slashed Emissions of a Major Super Pollutant. The Data Says Otherwise.

As of 2023, China continued to emit HFC-23 at high levels in violation of an international agreement.

foreignpolicy.com

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Lili Pike @lilipike.bsky.social · May 21

. @mckennapr.bsky.social and I first covered HFC-23 emissions together in 2021, when we investigated China's long pattern of failure to reduce the powerful emissions:

insideclimatenews.org/news/2209202...

China Just Entered a Major International Climate Agreement. Now Comes the Hard Part - Inside Climate News

China began enforcing the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol last week—and the climate implications are huge. The agreement requires China and other signatory nations to slash the production an...

insideclimatenews.org

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Lili Pike @lilipike.bsky.social · May 21

HFC-23 may be little known compared to carbon dioxide, but its a big problem—global HFC-23 emissions in 2023 were equal to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of *48 million automobiles or 55 coal-fired power plants.*

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Lili Pike @lilipike.bsky.social · May 21

But the US, which has put pressure on China to enforce Kigali, may be out of the picture.

Trump's budget proposal sought to cut funding in half for the NASA division that helps fund the monitoring network tracking these powerful emissions in China and around the world.

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