4 ms·

The move is not unusuable, considering that China is more and more an aggressive competitor to Europe (and France) and has different values than Europe. Doesn't

The move is not unusuable, considering that China is more and more an aggressive competitor to Europe (and France) and has different values than Europe. Doesn't it make sense to lower the risk for all your strategic industries to depend on external and not dependable actors ? What is really fascinating is HOW the move was done: it was not nationalized in the common sense (the state buying all the shares, using some "strategic actor" argument to force the nationalization) but France took operational control and locked the company. Quite a smart move actually...

walterbell 4y ago
> France took operational control and locked the company Imagine applying this level of analysis to other companies, states and nonstate actors..
- daevout 4y ago
  Indeed if we did apply that level of analysis to other companies, we might not have emded up depending on a one man dictatoship flush with concentration camps, ongoing genocide and war preparations for essentials like PPE and antibiotics.. imagine that.
  - walterbell 4y ago
    2011, https://www.cfr.org/blog/henry-kissingers-china https://www.cfr.org/blog/henry-kissingers-china > Mr. Kissinger should have mentioned that he left statesmanship with China for business with China. Nowhere does he discuss Kissinger Associates, the highly successful consulting firm he founded almost three decades ago, which does a thriving business providing entrée to Chinese officials and business leaders for foreign companies. Indeed, Mr. Kissinger has spent more time negotiating business than negotiating policy.
    - rnk 4y ago
      China has done a good job of hiring us leaders when they "retire to become rich consultants". You see the same thing in Germany of course with their old pm and Russia. This is how the despots curry favor and get the elites to go against what's good for the country. I don't know about recent Kissinger impacts, but you see it in germany getting too dependent on russian gas.
throw84628384 4y ago
> Quite a smart move actually... Isn't this just following China's playbook? Important companies in China often have Party members firmly in control. I wonder what will be copied next, maybe other nations will start their own "Great Firewall..."
- orthecreedence 4y ago
  And soon nations might even build enormous surveillance apparatuses by forcing "private" companies to participate in mass data sharing programs. Can you imagine??
  - pksebben 4y ago
    why bother? all that data is for sale, and relatively cheap. is this an actual thing that is in the works?
    - setuids 4y ago
      I believe that is a reference to programs such as PRISM which indeed do force companies to hand over large amounts of data to the government (agencies)
- olivierduval 4y ago
  Actually, there's an explicit theory in the (european) political landscape now: if democraties don't "level up" to match what is efficient in "totalitarian" (understand: China, Russia) countries, then democraties will lose the game... so we adopt part of the same playbook as our "competitors" A "great firewall of Europe" is already more or less in development (watch at the european cybersec budget). It surely will be more "open" than in China but... Europe would like to be able to "watch" the internet traffic of any citizen (for their own safety and agains terrorism and pedophilia obviously and as usual) Please note that "competitors" may be allies too: when the US give money to its own companies, or pass some extra-territorial laws... Europe try to do the same. To keep the playing field levelled ;-)
  - 4y ago

walterbell 4y ago

> France took operational control and locked the company Imagine applying this level of analysis to other companies, states and nonstate actors..

daevout 4y ago
Indeed if we did apply that level of analysis to other companies, we might not have emded up depending on a one man dictatoship flush with concentration camps, ongoing genocide and war preparations for essentials like PPE and antibiotics.. imagine that.
- walterbell 4y ago
  2011, https://www.cfr.org/blog/henry-kissingers-china https://www.cfr.org/blog/henry-kissingers-china > Mr. Kissinger should have mentioned that he left statesmanship with China for business with China. Nowhere does he discuss Kissinger Associates, the highly successful consulting firm he founded almost three decades ago, which does a thriving business providing entrée to Chinese officials and business leaders for foreign companies. Indeed, Mr. Kissinger has spent more time negotiating business than negotiating policy.
  - rnk 4y ago
    China has done a good job of hiring us leaders when they "retire to become rich consultants". You see the same thing in Germany of course with their old pm and Russia. This is how the despots curry favor and get the elites to go against what's good for the country. I don't know about recent Kissinger impacts, but you see it in germany getting too dependent on russian gas.

throw84628384 4y ago

> Quite a smart move actually... Isn't this just following China's playbook? Important companies in China often have Party members firmly in control. I wonder what will be copied next, maybe other nations will start their own "Great Firewall..."

orthecreedence 4y ago
And soon nations might even build enormous surveillance apparatuses by forcing "private" companies to participate in mass data sharing programs. Can you imagine??
- pksebben 4y ago
  why bother? all that data is for sale, and relatively cheap. is this an actual thing that is in the works?
  - setuids 4y ago
    I believe that is a reference to programs such as PRISM which indeed do force companies to hand over large amounts of data to the government (agencies)
olivierduval 4y ago
Actually, there's an explicit theory in the (european) political landscape now: if democraties don't "level up" to match what is efficient in "totalitarian" (understand: China, Russia) countries, then democraties will lose the game... so we adopt part of the same playbook as our "competitors" A "great firewall of Europe" is already more or less in development (watch at the european cybersec budget). It surely will be more "open" than in China but... Europe would like to be able to "watch" the internet traffic of any citizen (for their own safety and agains terrorism and pedophilia obviously and as usual) Please note that "competitors" may be allies too: when the US give money to its own companies, or pass some extra-territorial laws... Europe try to do the same. To keep the playing field levelled ;-)
- 4y ago