Hard Numbers: US-China trade recriminations, Afghan exodus, Eurozone inflation record, Mexican journalists targeted

US-China trade recriminations, Afghan exodus, Eurozone inflation record, Mexican journalists targeted

$200 billion: The US says China failed to meet its “Phase I” trade deal commitment to increase purchases of certain American goods and services by $200 billion in 2020-2021 compared to 2017 levels. Having met 60% of its commitments, according to some estimates, Beijing says it has done its best to implement the Trump-era deal despite pandemic-related economic disruptions.

1 million: Over a million Afghans have fled southwestern Afghanistan since October, setting off down one of two major migration routes to Iran. Economic collapse and fear of prolonged Taliban rule have prompted the mass exodus in recent months.

4: A Mexican lawyer and journalist was gunned down in the western state of Michoacán on Wednesday, marking the fourth killing of a journalist in the country over the past month. The murders reflect the dangers faced by journalists working amid ongoing political corruption and drug-fueled violence.

5.1: The Eurozone recorded an inflation rate of 5.1% in January, slightly exceeding an earlier record set the month before. Indeed, the rising cost of gas, food and other staples is likely to be a decisive factor in upcoming elections in France.

More from GZERO Media

Police arrest Emory economics professor Caroline Fohlin during a rally in which Pro-Palestinian protestors set up an encampment at the Emory Campus in Atlanta, on Thursday, April 25, 2024.
Arvin Temkar/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS/ABACAPRESS.COM

Pro-Palestinian student demonstrations and encampments have popped up at dozens of US universities in recent weeks. Columbia University – where protests began – and other elite schools in the Northeast have grabbed plenty of headlines, but where they are facing the harshest pushback – and could ultimately help Republicans win back the White House – is in the South.

A cannabis rights activist waves a flag outside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 24, 2022.
Alejandro Alvarez/Reuters

The Biden admin. says it’s high time to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, and it wants to knock it from Schedule I to Schedule III — meaning it would no longer be grouped with heroin and LSD.

Supporters and armed members of the Fatah movement protest against the Palestinian Hamas government during a rally in Jabalya camp September 22, 2006.
REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

Beijing, already a global economic power, wants to cut a larger figure in diplomacy, cultivating an image as a more honest broker than the US, with closer ties to the so-called “Global South.”

TikTok logo on a phone surrounded by the American, Israeli, and Chinese flags.
Jess Frampton

Last Wednesday, as part of the sweeping foreign-aid package that included much-neededfunding for Ukraine’s defense, President Joe Biden signed into law a bill requiring that TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, sell the popular video-sharing app to an American buyer within a year or face a ban in the United States.

Russia And China benefit from US infighting, says David Sanger | GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

On GZERO World, Pulitzer prize-winning New York Times correspondent David Sanger argues that China's rise and Russia's aggressive stance signal a new era of major power competition, with both countries fueling instability in the US to distract from their strategic ambitions.

NYPD officers arrive at Columbia University on April 30, 2024, to clear demonstrators from an occupied hall on campus.

John Lamparski/NurPhoto via Reuters

Last night, hundreds of NYPD officers entered Columbia University in riot gear, one night after students occupied a building on campus and 13 days after students pitched an encampment that threw kerosene on a student movement against the war in Gaza.

Israel seems intent on Rafah invasion despite global backlash | Ian Bremmer | World In :60

How will the international community respond to an Israeli invasion of Rafah? How would a Trump presidency be different from his first term? Are growing US campus protests a sign of a chaotic election in November? Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week on World In :60.