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Hello and welcome to World Today, I'm Ding Hen in Beijing. Coming up: China has vowed to counter Donald Trump's unilateral bullying tariffs. Israel announces expansion of military campaign and operation in Gaza to seize large areas of land. Boeing CEO admits to mistakes on safety after being grilled by the US Senate.
and an American influencer's China visit is challenging misperceptions of China. To listen to this episode again or to catch up on our previous episodes, you can download our podcast by searching World Today.
China has voiced strong opposition to Washington's so-called reciprocal tariffs, vowing to take countermeasures. China's Ministry of Commerce has described the U.S. tariffs as a typical bullying practice based on unilateral assessments. China is urging the U.S. to resolve differences with its trading partners through dialogue and consultation.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order to slap new tariffs on America's global trading partners despite widespread opposition. His announcement is adding 34% tariffs to the existing 20% duties on all Chinese goods shipped to the United States. So joining us now on the line are Professor Qu Qiang from Mingzhu University of China, as well as Mr. Ina Tengen, Senior Fellow with the Taihe Institute.
Thank you very much for joining us, Ina Tengen and Professor Qu Qiang. First of all, Ina, going to you, do you agree that the so-called reciprocal tariffs announced by Trump are bullying practices based on unilateral assessments?
Yeah, well, that was the position of the foreign ministry. I agree. It is patently bullying. But there's another way of looking at it. This is the biggest economic gamble by any president if the U.S. went off the gold standard. And what I mean by that is Trump is betting that he can keep the dollar high.
at the same time that he imposed these tariffs and this is this goes against gravity uh if if he doesn't
The world is going to call his bluff because if it stays, if it just stays neutral, all right, there's no increase in terms of the dollar. He needs a 10 percent increase in essence to make sure that there's no harm to the U.S. economy. It still would affect global demand. If it stays as it is, the effect is going to be somewhere between 2 and 10 percent inflation.
If it goes up by 20%, it's going to be somewhere around 22% to 30%. If it went up above that, you're talking about 32% to 40%. If it went 30%, and that means the dollar devalued by 30%, that's what I'm talking about, it would be 42% to 50%.
inflation. This would, in essence, end the U.S. economy as we know it until there was a sharp change. So this is a big bluff by him. We'll see if the countries gather together and coordinate their responses. If they do, this will be very short-lived.
So, Professor Chu, going to you, a 54% minimum tariff on China is higher than the earlier expectation by many analysts, actually. Do you think this will fundamentally reshape the trade ties, the trade relations between the U.S. and China after decades of interdependence? Well, I think, yes, it does. Well, one thing to correct is that number one is not 54%.
this is 54% to start with, but considering actually from the first administration of Trump and also continuously been going on in Biden's administration, which didn't cancel that tariff to start with. So we're looking at actually another 19.6% of the tariff to begin with. And now this is another
54 so basically we're looking at averagely about 72 percent of the tariffs and if you were talking about some special area for example like the car or the car parts or like the aluminum or the steel industry raw materials in this sectors so basically for those sectors the tariff has already been went through the roof it's more than 100 percent
So that is basically, it's not going only to reshape the trade relation or production relation between America and China. But I mean, this is a major reshift or the reboost of the whole world supply chain. Everything will be changed. Well, just take a look at the, well, China, we have already been prepared for that. Even we didn't prepare to be that worse, but we get prepared actually since 1980.
2018, when Trump first mentioned about this decoupling, we get prepared, we know this is going to happen. But I think who is not getting prepared is ASEAN nations, European Union, who considered themselves as a
alliance to America or at least a neutral zone to all this geopolitical conflict or so or something but now they have to face sometimes even a higher tariff more than China for example like Indonesia for example like small economy of Vietnam or even little economy like Laos or some very loyal trade
Trade partner and political partners in West Europe, they're all going to suffer from it. So which means in the whole world right now, there's no safe zone already. Just take a look on their list by Trump. They showed it on the large league table. It showed during the speech. There is an island there.
or near the Antarctic, it's called a herd and a McDonald Island where only the residents here, there is the penguins, they also get charged 10% of the tariff. So it shows that in this whole world, there's no safe zone anymore. That's the reason why I think Elon Musk has drive to so bad, wants to get immigrant to Mars because he already know it's gonna happen.
So what I mean is that redundancy of the supply chain is going to be inevitable. For example, I used to build some factories in one country which have lower tariff or freer trade policies so that we can produce air to supply for the rest of the world. Now that thing is gone. And also...
the cost of low cost and efficiency for the global lives of supply chain is gone as well because everywhere you have to pay very high tariff you can rebuild your own supply chain locally and you have to hire new human resources get them trained and also you know everything like the legal registration and everything you need to refit in so which means high
high risk and a high cost was gonna come by in the next three or five years. So we're looking at a trade disaster to come to us, to come at us in the next three or five years.
Aina, going back to you, we know some companies, either Chinese company or multinational ones, they have shifted or relocated parts of their production capacities to other Asian nations in order to circumvent the existing U.S. tariffs on China.
But now we are talking about a situation where, for example, like Professor Chu mentioned earlier, say Vietnam and Cambodia, they are respectively faced with 46% and 49% tariffs imposed by Trump. So what do you make of the additional uncertainties that Trump's latest tariffs are creating for those companies?
Okay, you have to understand a little bit about Donald Trump. I mean, he can't carry any of this thing through. I agree with my colleague about, you know, all the numbers and things like that, but this isn't going to last five years.
uh... this is not forever this is the action but one man who believes that he can frighten people into coming to washington and begging him uh... you know it do something for them any any you see that i think there are a number of countries that that all we're talking about uh... retaliation tariffs for they go and try to work it out with donald trump but didn't work very well or uh... that justin uh... in canada so i i don't think it's going to do anything any kind of weakness by donald trump is just
and pile it on more. He'll take advantage. You know, he's imposed 32% on Taiwan. I'm sure that they're sitting there wondering what the heck happened to their great ally and everything like this was supporting them and telling them they should spend 10% of their GDP on defense. So just keep in mind, this is a bluff. Don
Donald Trump is just seeing what he can get out of this. He loves to shock people and then see if there's some movement and then try to make a quick deal. He doesn't have any sense of the long-term nature of this. This is the simplistic formula that they took, which is, what is our deficit with you? Okay, we'll buy that half and then we're going to charge you that. It's something that an 11 or 12-year-old would come up with.
He's being supported by Robert Lighthizer, who is the brainchild behind it. He's supposed to be an intelligent fellow, but I can't understand how any of this works. And in terms of Chinese companies, they have to understand that making quick moves right now is not the thing to do. They just have to wait and watch. At most, Donald Trump has two years if he continues on this basis. The amount of inflation, as I was trying to
go to earlier is going to be so sharp and so severe the American public will turn on him and the interim elections will be very, very bad for him.
Professor Chee, we understand China's responses to the previous rounds of Trump tariffs that he has announced since he took office for the second term has been seen as mostly moderate. For example, they included 10% or 15% retaliatory duties on certain kinds of American energy or agricultural products or an American chicken, etc.,
Now, with regard to the current situation, what cards do you think China or the Chinese government is holding in terms of responding to the latest round of U.S. tariffs? Well, currently, I think China and the U.S. trade relations are quite different from what's 10 years ago. Ten years ago, I think China is still the largest trading partner with the United States and vice versa.
But I think ever since the last administration of Trump, last presidency, I think China is starting to shifting their weight towards the global South nations. For example, right now, our largest trip partner is ASEAN nations and also other global South nations. For example, ASEAN nations have more than 600 million population. Latin America also have another 600 million population. So they combine together is basically what the effective market that America
can provide and together if we counted in a Western Europe and Eastern and the middle Europe and you know this grand European you know region actually will provide another around you know 100 million a population of the customers that's already formed a very very large market already and letting alone we're also have India you know South Asian region and also you know besides the South County and
a sub-tacton and also we have the very large territory of the commerce it's called Africa. So I think right now the whole thing has been changed. Number one, we're not that afraid of the so-called decoupling with American trade.
And also secondly, I think right now China has also been more important on the value chain. So we're not like the only beneficiary from this value chain, but also we are one of the providers on this value chain as well. For example, right now in high-end mechanics and very high-end raw materials like the rare earths or so on, and also in some parts of the semiconductors and the smartphone and
and the digital devices, and also like your green energy devices, EV. And I think if America want to develop that kind of an industry, if they want to steal, to seize the commanding high in the future technology, they will have to work with China. So this is a new deal. This is a new trend. It's not going to be the true...
I should say, not going to be true like 10 years ago. So 10 years ago, probably Americans would say, OK, we dominate the demanding high on all the high technologies. So if China want to catch up, they have to follow suit with America. They have to stay in line. But right now, a different story.
well america if they want to you know be the number one ev technology they have to cooperate with china for example tesla well the largest sponsor for trump his largest factory and most efficient factory is in shanghai this is something we can start with and also talk about the you know civilian aviation industry and aerospace industry well largest producer slash largest you know user customers is in china
So I think we have more than ever, you know, all the kinds of confidence to say right now it's more like a corporation relations, right?
rather than like before, we have to follow the leading force in the global market. So I think this is just one thing. And also letting alone that Belt and Road Initiative and also the Shanghai Expo, these kind of symbolic events actually are bringing in more of the products from the outside world into Chinese market. For example, right now we're importing more of the high-end agricultural products from America
or from the grand american market well we can
charge tariffs on that, for example, like the soybean, for example, like pottums and etc. And I think that's going to bleed out one of the most important voters, like the southern voters for Trump, for good. And we don't need to rely on soybean from America that much because right now we have a Ukraine market, we have a Brazil market, we have African market to offset this balance.
So I think we have more of the options than 10 years ago. And also America, well, if they want to destroy the whole thing, they probably should gear up even better. Okay. So, Ina, if we take a look at China's official statements, I mean, those comments made by senior Chinese officials, for example, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, as well as Chinese government's actual policy directions,
I believe one thing is quite clear, that China welcomes investors from all countries, including from America. So how do you think China can make sure that its responses, its retaliation in response to Donald Trump's tariffs does not hurt the confidence of American businesses who wish to continue to do business or even to expand their footprints here in the Chinese market?
Well, a lot of this will have to go to China's tariffs response. We're in a trade war. So the question is what happens next? China has, through this beginning period, not tried to escalate. They have been trying to respond to make sure that it's clear that they're determined, they're not weak, and they're not going to fold into Donald Trump. But
But there are other things that need to be factored into this. Donald Trump has a two-part plan. The first one is to increase the tariffs, somehow get companies to build factories in the United States. The second part is he wants to devalue the U.S. dollar.
I don't think it works if you, you know, U.S. is over 75,000 per person. If you take off 30 percent, you're still way, way above almost every other nation except the very rich oil nation. So it really isn't going to make a big difference. But if he does that, he has two opposing forces.
Driving up tariffs increase costs. It drives up inflation. You're taking money out of people's pocket and putting it in the government's pocket. When you devalue the U.S. dollar, that will drive inflation even further. Now, let's just look at the basic things here. The U.S. is doing this to itself. China really doesn't have to respond very heavily. Remember, the American consumer who's going to be punished
by Trump's tariffs. Categories such as food, energy, transportation, communication, medical care, these are all inelastic issues. I mean, you can't say, I'm going to give up on my medical care because I'm a little bit poor. You might be wary about the bills, but if you're in an emergency, you're going to go. So these are areas where you're going to see high inflation.
It's going to hit the consumers, and that's going to have a political effect, which is going to be felt relatively soon. Within the next two to three months, you're going to see very sharp inflation, and there's going to be a lot of pressure on Republicans to respond or face a real catastrophe in the midterm elections.
Donald Trump's problem is he thinks he can do this all in a couple of years, or maybe he thinks one more term. He's betting on things that just don't make a lot of sense, and I'm afraid that it's going to be over fairly soon, especially now.
If the country, Mexico, Canada, and the EU simply got together and said, look, we're going to coordinate our tariff responses to this, act in unison. If China and ASEAN and these countries said, look, we need to respond in unison, I guarantee you within a week or two, this would be over. Okay.
So in the meantime, we have also heard questions being raised that goes like, what does Beijing want from a U.S.-China trade war? Or why is China not as worried about Trump's trade war as in the case of 2018? Ina, what is your thoughts on these questions?
Well, China doesn't want anything from a trade war. It wants the trade war to stop. It wants to uphold the international relations and laws and institutions. I mean, one byproduct of this could be that the U.S. either voluntarily leaves the WTO or it could be voted out. Two-thirds say they want to meet and say we want to change.
the rules so that the WTO can once again be a functioning body and govern the world except for the U.S. because it doesn't want to be part of that. And then if the U.S. objected, three-quarters of the vote of the world would just have to vote to, in essence,
kick the U.S. out. If that happens, you could have a situation where the U.S. is isolated itself. Now, this has nothing to do with China. China is not acting. It is reacting to very, very strange behavior by somebody who doesn't seem to understand economics. So at this point, China is going to sit back, hopefully coordinate with other nations.
But look for an opportunity to reestablish, if not an international order through the WTO, through regional entities like BRICS, Belt and Road Initiative, these things, so that the rest of the world can keep trading, even if Donald Trump has decided he wants to take his ball and go home. Okay.
So, Professor Quqiang, do you think there is room or do you think there is still room at this point for Washington and Beijing to come to the negotiation table and resolve their trade conflicts through dialogue or consultation? Well, yes, I do think so, because we got our shores back in D.C.,
They've been telling us this is actually being, this whole resolution for the tariff actually has been made within a very small circle. Lutnik, and also the Basin, and also the Courier, and some other staff within the small group, they made a whole situation, they made all this decision.
So actually the whole decision-making process is very simple. So they just look at the numbers to see, okay, who has trade deficit against America, sorry, trade surplus against America. And then they decided from the largest official to start with, to put some sanctioned tariff on them. And that's it. So this number actually not rocket science. So for example, like 54,
percent of the tariff on China this time is based on some very careful calculation on our current trade situation? No. Or like 49% on Indonesia, it's based on some calculation? No, it's not. Just based on a hunch or some rough calculation, then that's it. I surely know about this process
So the reason why they're doing that in a very rough way is that they want you to feel this tariff, not to actually calculate and try to very carefully to deal with this tariff. They want you to feel it, feel awe about it, feel scared about it.
And then you probably would fly to Washington to talk to Trump and his administration, and that's his original purpose. And that's the reason why he purposefully left a seven-day window –
for everybody to go there to have a talk with them. And what I know is that if you, within one week, go to Washington, sit down with them, and decide that you would like to launch a process with American relevant authorities, and then you can get another bigger window, say, well, this is my guess, like one month or half a month, so you can nail down all the details.
So yes, to answer your question in a simpler way, Trump has already been set all these windows to welcome you to Washington to talk to him.
to bargain a better deal for them and also to calm you down. There is a possibility. But whether you can score some better condition for your own country or not, that's something we don't know about. I take your point. Arguably, dialogue represents the best way out for trade conflict between any other two economies. In the case of China and the United States, that's for sure as well.
I guess on the part of China, the message has been clear that China is willing to talk. The uncertainty in my view is probably lying with the Donald Trump administration which somehow has an unpredictable nature. But I guess the most important thing to keep in mind is that today's China is really highly capable of confidently coping with many external shocks.
Thank you very much for joining us today. Professor Xu Qiang joining us from Minzu University of China and Ina Tengen Senior Fellow with Taihe Institute. You are listening to World Today. I'm Dinghan in Beijing. We'll be back after a short break.
You are back with World Today, I'm Dinghan in Beijing. Israel has announced a major expansion of the country's military's operation in Gaza. The Israeli Defense Ministry says that the operation will involve seizing large areas of land that will be incorporated into the country's security zones, as well as a large-scale evacuation of Gaza's population from combat zones.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday vowed to increase pressure on the Strip until all hostages held over there are released. Israel resumed its offensive against Gaza about half a month ago, shattering a two-month-old ceasefire with Hamas. So joining us now on the line is Dr. Wang Jing, Middle East expert and associate professor with Northwest University in Xi'an, China. Thank you very much for joining us, Professor.
It's my pleasure. Okay, thank you very much. So according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli side is now looking to divide the Gaza Strip and increasing the pressure step by step, quote unquote. So do you think such a tactic or such a strategy is going to work in terms of pressuring the Hamas to release more hostages?
I think it's just a kind of measure that has already been taken by Israel, given its very particular strategy consideration, because from the Israeli perspective, that the ceasefire process has already lasted long enough and without
uh very very uh satisfied uh satisfied uh ending and also from the perspective of israel that the the ceasefire should not be lasted given that uh israel
that the Hamas is still resisting any concessions, particularly over the issues of releasing hostages. So that is why from Israeli perspective, okay, on the one hand, that the Hamas is now growing its military capabilities and it's still,
trying to delay and resisting the concessions. And on the other hand, the pressure at home, particularly from the right-wing and ultra-right-wing political camps, actually encouraging the Israeli government and the leadership to take much harsher measures.
against the targets inside inside inside gada strip so that is why i think the mitanya who made the very latest decision to uh to try to launch uh for example military strikes against the targets in the gala strip with the connections of hamas and also on the other hand might not go back to the negotiation table so that is why i think it's just a very decision that
made by Israel based upon this particular consideration over what is happening and what kind of the relations that should be constructed between Israel and Hamas in the future. So how would you look at this idea regarding incorporating more lands from Gaza into Israel's security zone? Do you think such a zone will really bring Israel more security?
I don't think it actually will bring Israel much more safe because actually it is something that will provoke much more anger, provoke much more dissatisfaction among the civilians in the Gaza Strip. And also it will hurt
the damage, the trust between Israelis and the Palestinians and will, of course, destruct the very, very important foundation, political foundation for future peace possibilities between Israel and Hamas and other Palestinian factions. So that is why I think it will hurt everybody. Maybe from Israel's short-term perspective,
They believe, okay, if they took much harsher manner, it would lead to the Israelis much more positive strategic environment. And also it will lead to much...
more maybe room for Israel to, for example, to find the hostages taken by Hamas and try to, for example, to squeeze the rooms and squeeze possible activities of Hamas members in the Gaza Strip. So maybe from Israel's, I mean, short-term perspective, that it will benefit Israel's own security. But I mean, from the longer term, it will for sure bring Israel into the more dangerous scenario. Mm-hmm.
So frankly speaking, Dr. Wang Jing, do you think things or everything is now going back to what they were before the two-month-old ceasefire? And do you think an expansion of the military campaign on the Israeli parts over there in the Gaza Strip will backfire internally in Israel?
I think actually we are looking, we are witnessing, I don't think it's going back to the scenario, I mean, two months ago before the ceasefire was reached, but I think we're actually witnessing a more dangerous scenario because two months ago, yes,
There were conflicts, but actually there were still hopes that the conflict would end. And the international and regional states are trying to encourage both Israel and Hamas to go back to the negotiation table to end the conflict through dialogues.
But now the problem is that, okay, the violences are now escalating and very little effort has already been mobilized from international and regional countries. And their attention has been diverted to other countries.
other issues, important issues, for example, the tariff wars or trade wars launched by the United States. And then the peace mediation, the peace efforts are very, very fragile and Israel does not care about it. So that's why I think we are actually witnessing the decline of hope
of peace and also the decline of the possibilities of going back to peace. So that is why the situation is becoming more and more dangerous. Maybe that I think more people will die and particularly the civilians in the Gaza Strip and the very foundation of hope for peace and the hope for mutual trust between Israelis and Palestinians will also be seriously damaged.
By the way, Dr. Wan, what do you make of the regional or external factors going on over there that have somehow prompted or even emboldened the Israeli side to resume its offensive in the Gaza Strip?
I think it's actually a very critical moment because we know that Israel, as you mentioned, they also have some kind of debates at home because some maintain, okay, we should not continue our conflicts. We should go back to the negotiation table and restart the negotiation process.
and find the possibilities of restoring peace. And also on the other hand, maybe some outer right-wing and right-wing political figures and voices, social opinion voices, they believe that Israel should take much harsher activities towards the Hamas members in the Gaza Strip as well as all the...
We cannot say all, but most of, absolutely majority of the civilians in the Gaza Strip from perspective of some very outer right-wing members that has very close connections with Hamas and should be eliminated, so court eliminated. So this is very dangerous.
I mean, attitude. This is very dangerous voices. And these voices, as we repeatedly stress, will damage the trust from Israeli perspective to the Palestinians. And also will, of course, in turn, turn the public opinion, the Palestinians' attitudes towards Israel to the very direction of negative. So that's why I think
We need peace opportunities created and mediated by the international and regional countries. And that is why we should not ignore what is happening there. I guess countries like Qatar, Jordan or Egypt, they are still intensifying their diplomatic efforts. That's for sure. But thank you very much for joining us. Dr. Wang Jing, associate professor with Northwest University in Xi'an, China.
Coming up, Boeing CEO admits to missed steps on safety after being grilled by American Senate. You are listening to World Today. We'll be back. Shanghai has made history, becoming the first Chinese city to ban smoking in outdoor public spaces. Could this be the start of a nationwide shift? China aims to cut adult smoking from 24% to 20% by 2030. But with cigarette sales still climbing, is that goal realistic?
Can this policy genuinely make an impact or will deep-rooted smoking culture stand in the way? Find out wherever you listen to podcasts and on CGTN Radio.
You're back with World Today, I'm Ding Hen in Beijing. In the United States, Boeing CEO Kelly Oetterberg has acknowledged that a lax safety culture existed within the plane manufacturer, but he is insisting that the company has made sweeping changes to its people, processes, and even overall structure to improve safety.
The Boeing CEO on Wednesday appeared before the Senate Commerce Committee for a hearing that focused on how the company is addressing the safety issues behind a door plug blowout incident in January last year. The committee said the incident produced fresh doubt regarding Boeing's ability to safely build planes.
Investigators have found that four critical bolts were not restored at a Boeing factory to secure the door plug, thereby leading the plug to blow out of the fuselage of a 737 MAX 9 plane in mid-air.
So joining us now on the line is Dr. Zhang Fan from Beijing Normal University. Thank you very much for joining us. Hello. So first of all, Dr. Zhang, what do you make of the significance of Boeing CEO openly admitting that mistakes were made regarding the safety issues?
I wouldn't read too much into it. I wouldn't read the essay as a change of heart or becoming more honest. The fact is this CEO is a new CEO. He got into this job in August last year, which means it's in his own best interest to expose all the problems and basically blame it on the predecessor.
if something is hidden under the rug and got discovered two years later, then it becomes his problem. So it's only natural, you know, it's something to be expected that he comes out with all the problems. And the fact that, you know, it comes out also...
also shows the problems become so well documented, they really can't hide it anymore. By the way, do you believe that safety can really improve by making or by attempting to make sweeping changes to Boeing's people, processes, and as well as the overall structure of the company?
Maybe. Those people, the new CEO I just mentioned, he's...
He's of an engineering background. He's not one of the business people, which is kind of important because in the past one of the Boeing's problem is the business people, they like to fight the unions to show their metal, to show their skills. But union labor costs isn't really, I don't think it's the major overhead for Boeing. But they had to, they built new factories with non-unionized workers
new workers, new hires, not properly trained and rushing them onto the front onto the production line to churn out clients as quickly as possible. And that was one of the biggest problems. So maybe the new CEO can change that culture. And also in terms of processes,
Apparently Boeing had a problem with middle layer management people who works on getting the manufacturing processes smooth. They had really just product engineers talking directly to business people who doesn't understand what they're talking about. And lastly, in terms of the overall structure of the company, I think
you know they would continue to see problems unless they uh they really split the civil and the military side um you know boeing is formed from the old boeing and mcdonald douglas the mcdonald douglas really had a problem with the civilian safety with their mcdonald md-10 aircraft and
And this looks eerily similar. And they are now the military side of the company and they're dominating. And if the split doesn't happen, then maybe
It just looks too similar. It's just, yeah. I take your point. Now, since the door block blowout incident in January last year, we understand the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has actually capped Boeing's production of 737 MAX model at 38 aircrafts per month.
According to Boeing's CEO, the company is not even producing planes at that rate yet, and the company is about 2 years behind in terms of delivering the ordered planes to its customers. As we understand,
737 MAX represents the best-selling plane in this company's history, so with that in mind, how would you evaluate the potential losses that the current situation is going to inflict towards Boeing?
Right. So building aircraft is a capital intensive process. So if you have cash flow mismatches, that can be problematic. And if you don't deliver, if your customer isn't taking your aircraft, even if you put in steep discounts, which appears to be the case, if you look at their financial reports, you know, then you don't have the income cash flow. But you also you still have a whole lot of outgoing cash flows with, you know,
paying compensation to customers for delivery delays, you have to keep suppliers alive, build up your inventory and all sorts of things that drains money. If there's a gap in your funding, then that becomes more and more of a problem as that servicing cost is also going up.
Now, some people are calling or even calling for Boeing and as well as some of the company's top executives, especially those who were involved in the design and the certification processes of the 737 MAX aircraft.
to be held accountable criminally for the design problem, for the production problem, and for attempting to deceive the safety regulators in the United States. In your observation, do you think that is likely to happen sometime in the future?
No, I don't think it's going to happen. Boeing is really good at lobbying, which means the government is basically doing all they can to protect it with technology.
with sort of superficial fines. For example, in 2021, there was a settlement deal. So Boeing pays a fine, but it avoids any criminal charges, so nobody goes to jail. That held until the door blowout issue, which causes public outrage to flare up and the Department of Justice
have to sort of claim that Boeing violated the agreement. So they're open to lawsuit again. But then there's another plea deal that happened. So Boeing paid a little bit more fine. And once again, they looked to avoid going to court.
Although that plea deal has been thrown out by a judge, but a new one is currently under works. So eventually, I think it will be just like a bunch of fines and nobody actually goes to jail. So in other words...
I guess based on what you have elaborated, there comes to a fundamental question or an ultimate question. Over the long term, do you think Boeing will revive or revitalize its reputation regarding safety as if nothing had happened? Yeah.
I'm not too optimistic, although they're obviously working on it. But I don't think the incentive is strong enough for them to suffer the pains that come through major restructuring. Because if you look at Boeing's deals, they're really strong at lobbying. They just won a new military contract for the sixth generation aircraft.
fighter despite all the safety problems including the military side and the military side you know the safety in a way doesn't matter as much because you can you know hide things and hide between secrecy and the civilian side you know they face real customers so they have to fight but the trade war may
Present headwinds for them anyways, so I think gradually the military side would win over and it becomes more like Lockheed Martin number two and then the civilian side would just be like a US car manufacturer
It's not the best in safety. They try to avoid the major, major blowups. And they just keep going slow, slow decline. I think. Okay. Thank you very much for joining us and for your analysis. Dr. Zhang Fan joining us from Beijing Normal University. Coming up, an American influencer is trying to visit is challenging misperceptions about this country. You are listening to World Today. Stay tuned.
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You're listening to World Today, I'm Ding Han in Beijing. An American YouTube sensation Darren Aisho's speed is making waves with a recent trip to China. The 20-year-old streamer arrived in China last week and has been immersing himself in local cultures drawing millions of viewers along the way. His livestream conducted in Shanghai alone attracted 5.6 million viewers in only 6 hours.
And during his first-ever visit to China, Aisho Speed actually fully embraced this particular experience, including sporting a traditional flowery jacket, watching lion dances, sampling hotspots, etc., and even test-driving Xiaomi's electric vehicles.
His enthusiasm has resonated with audiences worldwide, leaving many international viewers astonished by the vibrancy of modern China.
So with that in mind, is this pointing to a growing trend regarding, say, digital influencers moving to bridge cultural gaps and offering alternative narratives about China? Joining us now in the studio for a discussion is my colleague Ge'Anna. Thank you very much for joining us. Thanks for having me. So first of all, I guess you need to brief us.
Who is Darren Eichelstein? As you said, Eichelstein is a YouTube sensation or top-tier internet influencer from United States who has worldwide followers over 100 million across various platforms.
The real name of the 20-year-old influencer is Darren Wacking Jr. He has built his massive global fan base with his content revolving around gaming, music, and real-life experiences. Speed first gained traction through his NBA and FIFA gaming streams, but he truly exploded in popularity with his over-the-top reactions, comedic antics, and unfiltered interactions with fans.
In China, his followers call him Jia Kang Ge, literally meaning hyperthyroid bro, due to his exaggerated facial expressions and explosive energy. And his signature-like high-intensity reactions have made this nickname both fitting and widely recognized in China. And recently, his travel around the world includes
including his widely followed trip to China, have further expanded his influence. So how is his live streaming really challenging the sort of Western stereotype about China? And how do you think those, because he belongs to the grassroots level of interaction between America and China. So how do you think grassroots activities like that
reshaping Western perceptions of the Chinese society, for example. Right. His recent expedition through Beijing, Shanghai and other Chinese cities has transformed into something far more significant than just another creator trip. He has become a cultural ambassador, challenging Western perceptions of China as
closed and underdeveloped because his life dream provided an immersive six-hour unfiltered experience showcasing the, for example, the cyberpunk neuron of Shanghai's Bund, the historical grandeur of Beijing's Forbidden City, and the martial arts heritage of
He said,
For example, the technical quality of the live stream was also eye-opening for many Western viewers. When speed took a high-speed train through Eterno, the 2K quality stream remained uninterrupted. Many overseas viewers were stunned, commenting that China's internet is faster than loading text messages in the New York City subway.
This technological reality directly contradicts the long-standing Western media narrative that portrays China as having strict internet censorship and outdated technology. And beyond visuals, spontaneous street-level interactions also brought an emotional connection. In Beijing, strangers invited him to join a basketball
basketball game and in Chengdu he interacted with Sichuan opera face-changing performers. These unscripted moments of daily life left Western audiences surprised saying that they had no idea Chinese people were this fun and welcoming. Others say seeing elderly you know
elderly dancers who pulled speed into their routine made them realize China's social energy is far beyond what Western media portrays. Even the Chinese embassy in the United States praised his live stream on X, calling it a new channel for foreign audiences to experience China's vibrancy.
This kind of dual endorsement from both grassroots and official sources really challenged the stereotype of China as a place of rigid control and underdeveloped from the Western mainstream media.
So here, are we talking about unexpected moments in the live streaming activity becoming key in terms of breaking through the Western biases? And I guess on communication studies, there is an idea called uncontrolled reality, right? How do you think uncontrolled reality is contrasting with those scripted narratives?
Let me give you some examples. One of the most viral moments was Speed's reaction to dou zhi, a really traditional Beijing fermented bean soup. His exaggerated expressions, you know, eyes wide open, twitching and forcing a smile, become an instant meme on the internet. This clip alone garnered over 30 million views on international platforms. Instead of reinforcing the Western trope of Chinese people eat weird food, quote,
The genuine reaction showcased China's diverse food culture in a relatable way to the other audiences. Another memorable moment was his visit to the Shaolin Temple. Initially, he accidentally entered a wrong martial arts school, waiting two hours before finally meeting the real Master Liang. Western viewers likened his journey to a real-life kung fu movie, calling it a movie-like test of patience.
When Master Liang told him friendship isn't about money, it's about the bond through kung fu, as Speed wanted to donate some bless to the temple, the live stream exploded with comments appreciating such philosophical depth of Chinese martial arts.
Another hit is the reaction of his security detail. At the start of his trip, his bodyguard remained on high alert, but after a few days, he relaxed, even filming scenic moments on his own phone. This shift from tension to ease really sparked the discussion online, because this subtle change shows how safe China really is, completely opposite to what they've been told from Western media.
because this contrast with Western media coverage is striking. And Western allies often employ scraped storytelling about China, such as selectively filming poor rural areas while ignoring modern infrastructure, or manufacturing fake news about uncivilized Chinese tourists or Chinese citizens.
or porting China as a civilian state while ignoring the mass civilian programs by the FBI. So, Speed's livestream really thrived on the unscripted reality, these raw unscripted moments directly
counter the Western media polished agenda-driven narratives. Thank you very much for joining us. That was my colleague Ge'an Na. Unfortunately, that's all the time for this edition of World Today. I'm Dinghan in Beijing. Thank you so much for listening. Bye for now.