1/ Tunnel boring machines are the photolithography machines of construction ;p Most cost $10–100 million. Only a handful of firms can make more than a few tens a year. On Oct 19, China put them under export control. A thread on why this matters for India 🧵

NYT: "Surging exports and the industrial production needed to sustain them kept China’s economy growing over the past three months, even as consumer spending stagnated and investment plunged. The result is an economy increasingly dependent on selling goods abroad, even as domestic demand deteriorates." NYT's Keith Bradsher gets this right. Many other analysts have been presenting this year's economic data as describing a two-track economy, with a sluggish domestic economy being balanced by a brilliant export economy. But that is a very poor description of what is actually happening. Yes, net exports are surging, but this isn't a sign of a viable export sector. If the export sector were very profitable, it might make sense to describe it this way, but exports aren't especially profitable except in relation to domestic sales, where except in a few sectors businesses are struggling to make any profit at all, and once direct and indirect subsidies are backed out, much of China's exports are net value destroyers for the economy, with the losses capitalized on balance sheets in the form of surging debt. When an economy produces far more than it can absorb through domestic consumption or investment, it must either export the balance or close down domestic production. Given how high real unemployment is, especially among the young, Beijing has no choice but to force the former, even if this comes at an economic cost. The surge in China's net exports, in other words, is not a sigh of a strong and profitable export sector. If it takes rising debt, continued subsidies, and growing exports in order to prevent a contraction in domestic production, the surge in net exports is simply another way of describing weak domestic demand. Surging exports are usually a good sign for an economy. Surging net exports usually are not. nytimes.com/2026/10/18/busin…

China is on a trajectory to lead the world in science, a development that will reshape technological advancement, innovation and the balance of global power go.nature.com/4yqb1Oj

China has resolved its ‘Malacca Dilemma,’ argues @abrownepek. Read his full view: semafor.com/article/10/06/20…

Author and former foreign secretary of India @VGokhale59 discusses the thinking behind China’s use of military pressure, negotiation and information tactics, as explored in his latest book "China's Wars". Interview by @MaqboolMajid: asiasentinel.com/p/transcrip… #AsiaSentinelAt20

India-China thaw: Engagement returns, but strategic trust stays elusive m.economictimes.com/opinion/…