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Nikkei Asian Review ,   "Apple held hostage by its Chinese puzzle ": How iPhone maker's success manufactured the rise of Huawei TAIPEI/ HONG KONG -- Soon after Tim Cook was hired by Apple's founder Steve Jobs in 1998 to whip the company's U.S.-focused supply chain into shape, he made a bold decision. Within two years he began shutting Apple's U.S. factories and outsourcing production to China. His decision drove down costs and gave Apple the resources it needed to develop its next blockbuster products, the iPod and iPhone. It also created a competitive manufacturing base, capable of mobilizing hundreds of thousands of workers with just a phone call. But eight years after Cook became CEO, this strategy is being called into question. Not only has it left Apple dangerously exposed in the escalating trade war between Washington and Beijing, but the highly complex supply chain that Apple built in China over 20 years has given rise to one of its fiercest compe...

Nikkei Asian Review ,   " Asia shares blame for its export slump " A moment of reckoning for Asia's exporters is a time for somber reflection and for bold action. Since Jan. 1, the region's advanced economies reported export drops thanks to U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war. First came news that December overseas shipments by South Korea fell 1.2% from a year earlier. Then it was Taiwan down 3%, Singapore down 8.5%, and now the biggest collateral-damage victim -- Japan down 3.8%. To no surprise, China also had a rough December. Exports slid 4.4%, the steepest decline in more than two years. Asia's biggest economy is, of course, the main target of Trump's protectionist jihad. But as China's neighbors sustain blows, they must accept some of the blame for their difficulties -- and make urgent adjustments.   [link] Vatican Insider,  " Pope Francis’ 'Montini-inspired realism'" The "criterion" of Christian...

Inquirer  about  Philippines-China diplomacy Like a good Filipino host, President Aquino avoided mentioning any topic that might upset his guests, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Meeting last week. [...] Mr. Aquino made up for lost time, however, when he took part in a series of summits in Kuala Lumpur the following weekend. Xi wasn’t in attendance, but Chinese Premier Li Keqiang was, and he got an earful. [...] In high-level diplomacy, it seems, the Ecclesiastes principle also holds: There is a time for everything. In Mr. Aquino’s view, the time was ripe for the Philippines to use the language of unmistakable criticism. Hence, he no longer merely “expressed serious concerns,” but criticized China in forthright terms, and seized every opportunity throughout the weekend to do so. [full page] Sun.Star Cebu   on  Sun.Star Cebu In more than three decades of community journalism, Sun.Star Cebu has we...