Why China could win the Economic War against the USA

China and the United States, as the two largest economies, are engaged in an intense economic competition. While the U.S. maintains global economic dominance, several factors suggest China could outpace or even win an economic war against its rival.

ECRL - Rail Transportation Project

The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) is a rail transportation project that is being developed in Malaysia. The project is expected to bring numerous benefits to the rural areas of Malaysia, including the following:

• Improved connectivity: One of the primary benefits of the ECRL is improved connectivity between the rural areas and major urban centers in Malaysia. The railway line will connect several major cities and towns along the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, allowing people from rural areas to travel to cities for work, education, healthcare, and other services.
• Job creation: The ECRL is expected to create thousands of jobs during its construction phase, as well as in the long-term operation and maintenance of the railway line. This will provide employment opportunities for people living in rural areas, helping to boost the local economy.
• Increased tourism: The ECRL will pass through several tourist destinations along the east coast of Malaysia, including popular beach resorts and cultural sites. The improved connectivity provided by the railway line is expected to increase the number of tourists visiting these areas, boosting local businesses and creating additional jobs.
• Faster transportation of goods: The ECRL will provide a faster and more efficient means of transporting goods between the east coast and other parts of Malaysia. This will help to reduce transportation costs and improve the competitiveness of businesses in rural areas.
• Improved access to healthcare: The ECRL will also improve access to healthcare services for people living in rural areas. Patients will be able to travel to major hospitals in cities along the railway line for specialized medical treatment.

Overall, the ECRL is expected to bring numerous benefits to rural areas in Malaysia, improving connectivity, creating jobs, boosting tourism, facilitating the transportation of goods, and improving access to healthcare services. These benefits are expected to have a significant impact on the quality of life of people living in rural areas, helping to narrow the development gap between urban and rural areas in Malaysia.

DJI Being Listed As No-Go In USA

Even though Donald Trump has been ousted from the Oval Office, the US policies is still the same. All policies on China is still intact including any Chinese based technology that were used by Chinese Military.

Drone technology is also not spared.

DJI, one of the largest and most popular drone companies in the world has been added to the US Department of Commerce’s Entity List, designating the Chinese company as a national security concern and banning US-based companies from exporting technology to the company.

The ban was put in place through the same mechanism as the US government’s ongoing ban on Huawei products, and is primarily focused on blocking the export of US technology to the drone-maker. As such, the ban will make it difficult for US businesses to provide parts or components for DJI to use in its drones, which is likely to disrupt the company’s supply chain. 

It may also make it difficult for US stores to directly sell DJI products or transact with the company, particularly if China responds to the action with further restrictions.

The filing also allows for a “case-by-case review for items necessary to detect identify and treat infectious disease; presumption of denial for all other items.” It is unclear which of DJI’s drones and drone accessories might qualify for this exemption, if any.

The new additions to the entity list came alongside a more specific action against China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, or SMIC, which was listed in response to purported ties between the company and the Chinese military.

But the United States government has also cited several concerns in the past over security issues with the drones, which are largely made in China and contain Chinese parts. The Department of the Interior has announced plans to ground its drone fleet as it reviews whether there are any major security concerns of Chinese spying or cyberattacks. 

And the Department of Justice banned buying foreign-made drones which includes DJI’s products using agency funds back in October, citing similar security concerns. The Department of Defense has certified several other drones from competitors like Parrot and Skydio for governmental use instead, after several years of review.

Apple, Google, Microsoft, Dell, Tesla sued over deaths of child miners

LONDON -- Five of the world's largest tech companies are being sued over the deaths and injuries of Congolese children mining for cobalt, a key component of the batteries used in smartphones, tablets, laptops and electric cars.

Apple, Dell, Google, Microsoft and Tesla were all named in the federal class-action lawsuit filed on Sunday in Washington, D.C. The landmark case was brought forward by human rights lawyers at the Washington-based group International Rights Advocates on behalf of 14 anonymous plaintiffs, who are described as either guardians of children killed in tunnel or wall collapses while mining cobalt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or children who survived such accidents and were injured.

"We will do everything possible to get justice quickly for the children we represent," the plaintiff's lead counsel Terry Collingsworth, who is also executive director of International Rights Advocates, said in a statement. "In my 35 years as a human rights lawyer, I’ve never seen such extreme abuse of innocent children on a large scale. This astounding cruelty and greed needs to stop."

An undated photo shows Daniel, 11, carrying a bag of cobalt on his back in Kolwezi, D.R.C. He works in a mine ferrying sacks of cobalt to a depot."n"nCobalt is a vital mineral needed for the production of rechargeable batteries.

The lawsuit accuses Apple, Dell, Google, Microsoft and Tesla of "knowingly benefiting from and aiding and abetting the cruel and brutal use of young children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to mine cobalt," which is found in every lithium-ion battery used to recharge the electronic devices that these five American companies manufacture. About two-thirds of the world's supply of cobalt is mined from the mineral-rich Congolese provinces of Haut-Katanga and Lualaba.

The complaint states that the children, some as young as 6, "are not merely being forced to work full-time, extremely dangerous mining jobs at the expense of their educations and futures; they are being regularly maimed and killed by tunnel collapses and other known hazards common to cobalt mining."

In addition to the emotional distress, these deaths and injuries "place immense pressure on families requiring additional children to work in cobalt mining to replace the lost earnings," according to the lawsuit.

The court document details a number of alleged instances where children were severely injured or died from working in cobalt mines alleged to be part of the defendants' supply chains. One of the plaintiffs was 15 when he fell down a 20-foot shaft. The teen "is now completely paralyzed from his chest down and he can barely use his arms," according to the complaint.

An undated photo shows a young miner digging for cobalt inside the CDM (Congo DongFang International Mining) Kasulo mine in Kolwezi, D.R.C.

The lawsuit claims that Apple, Dell, Google, Microsoft and Tesla all have "specific knowledge from public reports" that the cobalt they sourced from the African nation "was mined in significant part by young children performing hazardous work" for roughly $2-$3 per day and, in many cases, even less than that. The complaint also alleges that the tech firms failed to perform the required due diligence to regulate their supply chains.

Apple, Dell, Google, Microsoft and Tesla each have certain policies claiming to prohibit child labor in their supply chains, and the lawsuit alleges that "their failure to actually implement these policies to stop forced child labor in cobalt mining is an intentional act to avoid ending their windfall of getting cheap cobalt mined by forced child labor that they are acutely aware of."

The families are seeking compensation for the alleged forced labor, unjust enrichment, negligent supervision and intentional infliction of emotional distress. A research team is continuing to investigate other tech and car companies and expects to add additional firms to the lawsuit.

The plaintiff's research team includes Dr. Roger-Claude Liwanga, a Congolese national who is a professor at Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia.

“This is the beginning of the end of impunity for those who have been economically benefiting from child labor in the DRC’s mining industry," Liwanga said in a statement. "DRC children also have an inherent and inalienable right to be protected from economic exploitation.”

When asked for comment Wednesday, a Google spokesperson told ABC News in a statement that "child labor and endangerment is unacceptable and our Supplier Code of Conduct strictly prohibits this activity."

"We are committed to sourcing all materials ethically and eliminating child mining in global supply chains," the spokesperson added. "As an active member of the Responsible Minerals Initiative, we work alongside our suppliers, other companies, and industry groups to drive efforts in and beyond the DRC."

The Responsible Minerals Initiative is comprised of over 380 companies with the goal of supporting "responsible sourcing of minerals from conflict-affected and high-risk areas," according to its website. Apple, Dell, Google, Microsoft and Tesla are all member companies.

A Dell spokesperson told that the company is "currently investigating these allegations, and have informed the Responsible Minerals Initiative."

"Dell Technologies is committed to the responsible sourcing of minerals, which includes upholding the human rights of workers at any tier of our supply chain and treating them with dignity and respect," the spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday. "We have never knowingly sourced operations using any form of involuntary labor, fraudulent recruiting practices or child labor. We work with suppliers to manage their sourcing programs responsibly. Any supplier with reports of misconduct is investigated and, if misconduct is found, removed from our supply chain."

The spokesperson also noted: "Dell Technologies annually publishes a list of cobalt refiners identified in our supply chain via the Responsible Minerals Initiative’s Cobalt Reporting Template – last updated in July 2019. To learn more about our responsible sourcing work, view our Responsible Minerals Sourcing Report, FY19 Supply Chain Sustainability Progress Report, and our Responsible Sourcing Policy."

When asked for comment Wednesday, Apple told in a statement that it "is deeply committed to the responsible sourcing of materials that go into our products."

"We’ve led the industry by establishing the strictest standards for our suppliers and are constantly working to raise the bar for ourselves, and the industry," the company continued. "In 2014, we were the first to start mapping our cobalt supply chain to the mine level and since 2016, we have published a full list of our identified cobalt refiners every year, 100% of which are participating in independent third party audits. If a refiner is unable or unwilling to meet our standards, they will be removed from our supply chain. We’ve removed 6 cobalt refiners in 2019.”

Microsoft and Tesla did not respond to requests for comment.