One reason the US and China can’t figure out how to negotiate on trade may be that the Americans are making two sets of demands that are antithetical to each other, without even realizing it.　 On one side are threatened sanctions targeting the Made in China 2025 program of technology development and those against ZTE. The headline tariffs, sometimes $50 billion, sometimes $150 billion, are aimed at the 2025 plan but more broadly attack a range of Chinese industrial practices, as described in an

China has launched an investigation into South Korea’s Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, as well as Micron Technology of the US.The three companies are the biggest suppliers of DRAM chips -- integrated circuits that go into and power everything from smartphones to the most advanced super computers and driverless cars.China was reportedly probing price-fixing allegations, as DRAM prices have risen sharply, the first such investigation by China.Memory chips are one of a few export items propelling

The novelist Margaret Atwood recently caused a stir when, during an interview with Variety, she said that the 9/11 hijackers “got the idea” to fly planes into buildings from watching “Star Wars.”　Atwood, the author of “The Handmaid’s Tale” and other dystopian classics, did not have the facts right. The 19 hijackers were not inspired by “Star Wars.” Al-Qaida wasn’t re-enacting the destruction of the Death Star.　But the premise of Atwood’s comment was not at all far-fetched. Literature and film ha

As the historic US-North Korea summit draws closer, two major concerns are rising with regards to US President Donald Trump. One is about the softening of his stance on quick, complete denuclearization of the North, and the other is about the alignment of his “America First” policy with the nuclear crisis. For now, it seems the two sides have yet to narrow their differences over how the North should denuclearize. Senior Trump aides mention a “bumpy road” (Secretary of Defense James Mattis) and “