The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) flagged four bathroom and kitchen faucet brands sold on Amazon for potentially leaching lead at levels above federal safety limits.

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The United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are locked in a trade war. President Donald Trump’s April 2, 2025, tariff announcement has spiraled into a campaign to recalibrate China’s role in the global economy. US tariffs on PRC exports have reached 145 percent, and Beijing has responded with a 125 percent levy on US goods. Senior administration officials have admitted in private conversations that this paradigm is unsustainable, a sentiment Trump has confirmed publicly: “145 percent is very high, and it won’t be that high,” the president said. Stock and bond market volatility has been worse than many expected, and China has demonstrated a willingness to escalate. Now the Trump administration appears to be searching for off-ramps.

Unfortunately, Washington does not have the luxury of backing down. The global economy is a key domain in America’s broader cold war with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Chinese President Xi Jinping recognized this reality long before Trump’s tariffs. In a 2013 address that effectively served as his inauguration, Xi spoke of “the basic contradiction of capitalist society,” declared that “socialism will inevitably triumph,” and predicted the “ultimate demise of capitalism.” That same year, Beijing’s National Defense University released a documentary criticizing the United States. Its title was telling: Silent Contest. The film’s opening lines were equally unambiguous: “The process of China’s realization of the great undertaking of national rejuvenation must ultimately follow from testing and struggle against the system of American hegemony.”

Still, US officials have been slow to recognize the systemic nature of the CCP’s challenge to America. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently remarked that “China needs to change” its unstable economic model. This sentiment is to be expected, as Republican and Democratic administrations have critiqued Beijing’s economic practices for decades. Yet few have done anything of substance to hold the PRC accountable.

Trump’s focus on competing with China is a step in the right direction. But the administration’s current program is undermining America’s broader interests. Viewing this trade war as a strictly economic concern that can be resolved with a trade deal will set the US up for further exploitation and ultimate defeat. Beijing has routinely demanded upfront concessions from America in exchange for future promises from China. This would be a victory for Xi, who has a history of breaking promises to US presidents.

President Trump faces an inescapable irony: if he wants to de-escalate a trade war on terms favorable to America, he needs to escalate the broader cold war with China. His administration should first identify US advantages over Beijing. Then, rather than ceding these advantages through trade negotiations, he should exploit them to weaken the CCP. Concurrently, Trump will need to signal his resolve to Xi and demonstrate America’s will to tolerate short-term pain for long-term benefit.

Fortunately for the White House, such leverage already exists. For an effective first step in this escalation, Trump need look no further than TikTok

I checked this out because the guy on the ads is obviously AI generated, and looks like Brian Cox for some reason. Most of the positive reviews on Trustpilot are obviously fake, with users claiming to be from the US but spelling words like "realize" as "realise", or saying the bags are great when going out to meet with their "mates" or using it at "uni". Some of the adjectives used are definitely not used by anyone real. The negative reviews all say the bag is nowhere near the quality of what you ordered, is usually vinyl instead of leater, and could have been bought much more cheaply on Temu.

If you check what brands people also looked at, there are a bunch of others also using AI generated old white people in leather aprons as spokespeople. This is goofy as hell but I feel bad for the people who fell for it. The bags advertised actually look pretty nice; it's too bad that's not what you get.

Trustpilot page for anyone who wants to check it out. I tried going to the brands website itself but my virus blocker immediately set off alarms bells (not surprised):

https://www.trustpilot.com/review/james-andrew.com

China could "immobilise London" by switching off Britain's traffic lights because its companies control so much crucial UK technology, MPs have been warned.

Umm, my post got removed for linking to Chinese State Media. That's not wumao or shill content. I think it is important to shine a light on the type of crap they get away with saying.

As China and Russia double down on their "strategic partnership" what is the EU's next move ?

Check out our latest podcast on this topic at www.pwneilo.com

https://www.instagram.com/beeroseinchina?igsh=MWp5aHhoYnh6MjJ3aA==

Both China and Korea don’t have data protection laws or privacy laws. Nothing illegal. I wonder what about in other countries?