Just days ago authorities received tips that much of the produce that Brazil had been exporting to them was rotten and expired. In response a massive investigation was launched and several meat packing plants have been closed, in addition to that, many of the inspectors have been suspended and are being investigated on charges of corruption. This was a crippling blow to Brazil as China and Hong Kong are the two single biggest importers of their produce. After hearing of this, the EU and several other countries also placed restrictions on the imports, in total this accounts for 1/3 of Brazils exports and has placed them in a state of emergency as this is the staple of their economy.

About 230 miles off of the Philippine island of Luzon there lies the Scarborough Shoal, a major fish depository for the Philippine fish industry. The problem is that China is bullying the smaller country out of their land by blockading the area around the shoal and starting restoration efforts, forbidding the fishermen from fishing there. This is evident of the deeper problem that China believes they own the entire South China Sea. Recently the Philippines has sought to renew ties with the US, likely to garner support from us in their battle with China. On his part President Duterte has called for a resolution against China from several of the smaller countries around the Sea, he has also however said that he really cant do much to stop them. This statement has caused much concern among his constituents.

In a remarkable turn around from the past 40 years, China now wants citizens to have a second child to increase their birth rate numbers. It appears that they have grossly overshot their one child policy and are facing the fact that a very large number of their citizens are exiting working age and retiring soon. Soon, experts predict, China will have the oldest average population and is facing a diminishing work force. They also face the problem of trying to convince their citizens who group up under the one child policy to change their mindset and have a second child, or with economic difficulties, any children at all.

There is much concern in China over the growing tensions between the US an North Korea. Ever since President Trump has taken over, the N. Korea has rammed up their missile program and the current US administration has promised to take a hard line stance. Meanwhile, China is caught in the middle because they want North Korea to scale back but they fear a collapse of the regime and an influx of refugees and the US military at their doorstep. In order to appease the US and attempt to rein in Pyongyang the Chinese have banned all coal imports for the year, their primary export and a staple of their economy. Recently a group of senior former US officials had planned to meet with Pyongyang leadership, however the US canceled visas and put a stop to that. As of now the future of relations between the three nations is murky at best.

China is the largest polluter in the world and this is definitely not a category they want to be first in. Their lead man on combating climate change, Ma Jun is taking the fight to the polluters. He has been working on an app for quite some time that allows the tracking of lead polluters and disseminates the information to the people. There is worry though now that President Trump is in office that many of the of the deals that the US made with China under the Obama administration will be rolled  back. If this happens then China will become the leader in clean energy, a position of leadership that they may not want.