Chinese fast-fashion platform Shein to set up huge Vietnam warehouse in US tariff hedge, sources say

Fast-fashion online retailer Shein is leasing a huge warehouse in Vietnam, two people familiar with the deal told Reuters, its first in the country, in a move that could reduce its exposure to unpredictable U.S.-China trade tensions.

Shein, which was founded in China and sells products including $5 bike shorts and $18 sundresses, has agreed to lease nearly 15 hectares of industrial land for a warehouse near Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s commercial and trading hub, the two sources said, declining to be identified because the information was not public …

Vietnam’s other exports to the U.S. face a 10% tariff until July when the levy would rise to 46% if Hanoi does not otherwise reach an agreement with the White House.

European Commission preliminarily finds TikTok’s ad repository in breach of the Digital Services Act – [15 May]

The Commission has informed TikTok of its preliminary view that the company does not fulfil the Digital Services Act (DSA)'s obligation to publish an advertisement repository.

Such an advertising repository is critical for researchers and civil society to detect scam advertisements, hybrid threat campaigns, as well as coordinated information operations and fake advertisements, including in the context of elections.

“Russia has drummed into its population that sanctions cannot achieve anything.”

Yeah, and now people believe it?

This is rubbish. There are several European producers of solar inverters.

Spain reconsiders possibility of hackers causing blackouts

The possibility of the blackouts being caused by a cyberattack was immediately considered, though the grid operators in Spain and Portugal both said at the time there was no evidence of hacking, a point that was echoed by authorities and politicians.

Now, reports suggest Spanish authorities are investigating whether smaller power generators were a weak link that was exploited by cyber criminals to target the electricity grid, according to the Financial Times …

[The original FT article is behind a paywall.]

These ‘rating’ sites may give you a hint, but we shouldn’t solely rely on them.

What is a reliable source in your view?

What is a good source for China-related content?

The propaganda on China is elsewhere. It seems unbiased information is not for you.

This is not anti-CCP rhetoric, the CCP’s influence on private businesses is a simple fact that isn’t even denied by the CCP.

For example, the party’s infiltration of the private sector gained momentum already after then-president Jiang Zemin called in the early 2000s for the CCP to represent “the advanced productive force” and welcome China’s emerging private entrepreneurs.

Since Xi Jinping came to power in 2014, the CCP’s influence on private businesses have intensified (with the disappearance of entrepreneur Jack Ma after he criticized the CCP supposedly being the most prominent case).

You’ll find ample evidence for the the systematic ways in which the Chinese party-state has been interfering in the private sector. So called “CCP branches” within private firms -meant as a potential lever of control, alongside regulatory tools - are a key of that effort. In recent years, the number of these “party units” has increased dramatically, and the CCP branches have strengthened their role in private companies’ management.