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Economist Podcasts

Stumbling block: the battle over WeChat

Economist Podcasts

The Economist

News, News & Politics

4.3 • 5K Ratings

🗓️ 22 September 2020

⏱️ 22 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Trump administration’s bid to block the Chinese app has been stymied—for now. The tussle reflects a change in how America does business, and how the internet itself may evolve. Migration in the Mediterranean is picking up again; the pandemic is making it even more perilous and political. And Japan’s canned-coffee obsession steams ahead in foreign markets.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Economist Radio.

0:08.0

I'm your host, Jason Palmer.

0:10.0

Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

0:16.0

A tiny island in the middle of the Mediterranean reveals a lot about how European migration is evolving.

0:24.6

On Lampedusa, landings are rising, and new anxieties about the pandemic are mixing with old ones about foreigners.

0:33.6

And how do you take your coffee?

0:40.9

For many Japanese people, the answer is often in a can.

0:46.5

But the pop-top pre-packaged pick-me-up is growing fast in other markets.

0:51.0

We take a look at how Japanese producers are doing what they can.

0:56.6

First up, though.

1:06.9

A new battle is shaping up in the legal rangles around Chinese social media apps operating in America.

1:12.8

The Trump administration's attempt to block WeChat and TikTok from American app stores was overturned by a federal judge on Sunday. Yesterday, America's Commerce Department said it would

1:19.3

appeal. The wildly popular video sharing app, TikTok, has been the subject of jockeying from

1:25.8

American firms for ownership, after President Donald Trump

1:29.3

said he would ban it unless a sale was agreed.

1:32.3

It can't be controlled for security reasons by China.

1:36.2

Too big, too invasive, and it can't be.

1:40.7

And here's the deal.

1:42.8

I don't mind whether it's Microsoft or somebody else, a big company, a secure company,

1:48.1

very American company by it.

1:50.8

That seemed to be solved on Saturday when he approved a deal involving Oracle and Walmart.

1:57.2

But that still left WeChat, a platform with a huge following in China and among the Chinese diaspora.

...

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