EUROPE’S ENGINE European car makers have no idea what’s coming. The affordable Chinese electric cars about to flood the European market will upend a business model that sustained Europe for a century. Euro auto is on course with European mammoths and rhinos, for extinction. It’s not just the tech revolution, the switch from internal combustion […]
NYINGTRI ESCALATES RISK MANAGEMENT CONTROL OF RURAL TIBETANS Why would the rural police, responsible for enforcing agriculture regulations in lower Tibet Nyingtri district, be advertising for riot control gear suppliers to pitch to them? The officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) aren’t tackling a dangerous gang of cattle rustlers, or drug […]
CHINA’S EXTRACTIVISM IDEOLOGY Blog 1 of 3 on the rapidly accelerating boom in China’s demand for critical minerals In a decarbonising world transitioning to “green” energy, Tibet is now emerging as China’s frontline source of two key critical minerals: copper and lithium. Both have been exploited by Chinese miners for decades, but in […]
TIBET AND GLOBAL SOUTH RESOURCE NATIONALISM Blog 2 of 3 on the rapidly accelerating boom in China’s demand for critical minerals There are countries rich in minerals that have decentralised power, are struggling with the legacies of recent conflicts and civil wars, and the national government is unable to simply apply state violence to attack […]
COPPER-COLOURED MOUNTAINS Blog 3 of 3 on the rapidly accelerating boom in China’s demand for critical minerals The race is on, both within China and worldwide, for dominance in copper mining. China already dominates copper refining, and now seeks to own and extract worldwide the raw ores that enable its dominance. In copper, China is […]
What to expect in 2023: A series of blogs about the short term future of Tibet Can there be more to say about lithium? Well, yes: a lot is happening, with big impacts on troubled parts of Tibet. Please do read on. Or for the story from the start: https://rukor.org/lithium-lithium-lithium/ Blog #3: TIBET GOES GLOBAL […]
What to expect in 2023: A series of blogs about the short term future of Tibet LITHIUM’S MOMENT #4 Lithium as an industry with global reach, global conflict minerals governance Why is 2023 for Tibetans not only Water Rabbit year, but also lithium year? Timing is everything. Now that China has emplaced Tibet in the […]
What to expect in 2023: A series of blogs about the short term future of Tibet Blog 1: lithium mania Never has Tibet been so hot, so desirable. A whole Tibetan landscape was up for auction online in May 2022, and for five days and nights the bids poured in, drawn by what lies under […]
What to expect in 2023: A series of LITHIUM, LITHIUM, LITHIUM blogs about the short term future of Tibet Blog 2: WILL CHINA DOMINATE THE FOURTH GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, POWERED BY TIBETAN RESOURCES? China’s developmentalist party-state is committed to doing whatever it takes to dominate lithium battery production, including state-financed research, subsidies, tax breaks, low […]
What to expect in 2023: A series of LITHIUM, LITHIUM, LITHIUM blogs about the short term future of Tibet #3: TIBET’S MOMENT ARRIVES For Tibetans, 2023 Water Rabbit year is auspicious. Europe is rethinking what to make of the rise and rise of China, open to questioning complacent assumptions that held for decades, and now […]