Ian Hutchinson
@ianhutchinson.bsky.social
Comms guy at Rhodium Group. Old bikes, photography, and Irish sports.
Really neat feature from Rest of World, based in part on data featured in our new cleantech dashboard from the China Cross-Border Monitor!
"China is methodically rewiring the global EV supply chain around its industrial and geopolitical interests.”
Read our new report on how China turned the world into its EV supply chain
Read our new report on how China turned the world into its EV supply chain
China’s $143 billion push to dominate the global EV industry
After years of investing in Europe, Chinese EV and battery firms are turning to Asia, Africa, and Latin America
restofworld.org
October 29, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Really neat feature from Rest of World, based in part on data featured in our new cleantech dashboard from the China Cross-Border Monitor!
Very neat piece of research from my colleagues that looks at how Chinese investments in the EV supply chain compare domestically vs. abroad. Last year, for the first time, China's companies invested more in EV stuff abroad than at home. cbm.rhg.com/research-not...
The Global Investments Powering China’s EV Push
In 2024, Chinese ZEV firms invested more abroad than at home, a historic shift after years of directing around 80% of investment to the domestic market.
cbm.rhg.com
August 18, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Very neat piece of research from my colleagues that looks at how Chinese investments in the EV supply chain compare domestically vs. abroad. Last year, for the first time, China's companies invested more in EV stuff abroad than at home. cbm.rhg.com/research-not...
Things are shit, but here are some mushrooms I found in the woods.
May 31, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Things are shit, but here are some mushrooms I found in the woods.
Reposted by Ian Hutchinson
Buried in the the reports from the “two sessions” earlier this month was an astonishing data point: China’s anticipated full-year fiscal revenue growth in 2025 was only 0.1% compared to 2024.
In other words, even if China's GDP grows at 5%, Beijing is expecting fiscal revenue to remain the same:
In other words, even if China's GDP grows at 5%, Beijing is expecting fiscal revenue to remain the same:
China’s Harsh Fiscal Winter
China’s fiscal constraints will become a central issue for Beijing as fiscal revenue growth has flatlined for several years, and will likely decline outright in the future in the absence of structural...
rhg.com
March 24, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Buried in the the reports from the “two sessions” earlier this month was an astonishing data point: China’s anticipated full-year fiscal revenue growth in 2025 was only 0.1% compared to 2024.
In other words, even if China's GDP grows at 5%, Beijing is expecting fiscal revenue to remain the same:
In other words, even if China's GDP grows at 5%, Beijing is expecting fiscal revenue to remain the same:
Interesting work from CJR. Chatbots might feel like useful replacements for search engines, but even with the addition of sourcing notes in their results, they still get things wrong or plain fabricate results on a very regular basis.
Quelle surprise that Grok is one of the worst offenders, too.
Quelle surprise that Grok is one of the worst offenders, too.
AI Search Has A Citation Problem
We Compared Eight AI Search Engines. They’re All Bad at Citing News.
www.cjr.org
March 13, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Interesting work from CJR. Chatbots might feel like useful replacements for search engines, but even with the addition of sourcing notes in their results, they still get things wrong or plain fabricate results on a very regular basis.
Quelle surprise that Grok is one of the worst offenders, too.
Quelle surprise that Grok is one of the worst offenders, too.
Greetings from my neighborhood feathered friends in the recent DC snow.
January 10, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Greetings from my neighborhood feathered friends in the recent DC snow.
Some good news! Clean energy and transportation investment in the US continued really strong growth in the third quarter this year, hitting a new record high of $71 billion!
November 21, 2024 at 6:30 PM
Some good news! Clean energy and transportation investment in the US continued really strong growth in the third quarter this year, hitting a new record high of $71 billion!
Pew recently put out a really interesting deep dive into news influencers, and how people get their news more generally.
In short, about a fifth Americans (and even more of younger Americans) get their news from these social media "news influencers."
www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2...
In short, about a fifth Americans (and even more of younger Americans) get their news from these social media "news influencers."
www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2...
America’s News Influencers
This study explores the makeup of the social media news influencer universe, including who they are, what content they create and who their audiences are.
www.pewresearch.org
November 20, 2024 at 2:51 PM
Pew recently put out a really interesting deep dive into news influencers, and how people get their news more generally.
In short, about a fifth Americans (and even more of younger Americans) get their news from these social media "news influencers."
www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2...
In short, about a fifth Americans (and even more of younger Americans) get their news from these social media "news influencers."
www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2...
If you live in DC and haven't visited JF Books in Dupont, you owe it to yourself to do so! It's a wonderful little bookstore, with a small selection of English language Chinese works and a large selection in Chinese. :)
1/My colleague Fu Ting writes on a recent new, but unnoticed clampdown on independent bookstores in China - and how some are finding new homes overseas. At least a dozen have shuttered the past few months alone, with the owner of one arrested:
apnews.com/article/chin...
apnews.com/article/chin...
As China cracks down on bookstores at home, Chinese-language booksellers are flourishing overseas
Independent bookstores have become a new battleground in China. They're getting swept up in the ruling Communist Party’s crackdown on dissent and free expression.
apnews.com
November 18, 2024 at 5:35 PM
If you live in DC and haven't visited JF Books in Dupont, you owe it to yourself to do so! It's a wonderful little bookstore, with a small selection of English language Chinese works and a large selection in Chinese. :)
With the impending arrival of more tariffs, China's FDI presence in Mexico seems like an important item to watch.
By using transactions-based accounting instead of BOP, we've tracked significantly more Chinese investment in Mexico than official numbers suggest.
By using transactions-based accounting instead of BOP, we've tracked significantly more Chinese investment in Mexico than official numbers suggest.
November 14, 2024 at 4:42 PM
With the impending arrival of more tariffs, China's FDI presence in Mexico seems like an important item to watch.
By using transactions-based accounting instead of BOP, we've tracked significantly more Chinese investment in Mexico than official numbers suggest.
By using transactions-based accounting instead of BOP, we've tracked significantly more Chinese investment in Mexico than official numbers suggest.
Some interesting data viz in this piece to back up the evidently clear statement that being racist and unwelcoming to migrants is not only a shitty way to treat your fellow humans, but it's bad for your economy too.
www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
Migrants Are Settling in Thriving Blue Counties — Not the Red Counties That Need Them
Migrants landing in swing states, and across the country, are gravitating to counties that voted for President Joe Biden in 2020. Much like in previous generations, migrants are headed to places with ...
www.bloomberg.com
September 18, 2024 at 3:41 PM
Some interesting data viz in this piece to back up the evidently clear statement that being racist and unwelcoming to migrants is not only a shitty way to treat your fellow humans, but it's bad for your economy too.
www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
We have some new work out today that looks at just how successful Beijing has been at channeling funding to innovative industries as part of its industrial policy goals.
TLDR: The money doesn't necessarily go where China's policymakers might like.
rhg.com/research/the...
TLDR: The money doesn't necessarily go where China's policymakers might like.
rhg.com/research/the...
The Mountain is High, the Lead Investor is Far Away
At the Third Plenum in July this year, the Chinese Communist Party pledged to increase support for strategic and emerging industries, reaffirming its commitment to innovation-led economic growth. But…
rhg.com
September 11, 2024 at 1:39 PM
We have some new work out today that looks at just how successful Beijing has been at channeling funding to innovative industries as part of its industrial policy goals.
TLDR: The money doesn't necessarily go where China's policymakers might like.
rhg.com/research/the...
TLDR: The money doesn't necessarily go where China's policymakers might like.
rhg.com/research/the...
It's been so long since I'd really seen a dark sky, so I spent an ungodly amount of time just sitting here in West Virginia, staring slackjawed at the sky.
August 11, 2024 at 11:12 PM
It's been so long since I'd really seen a dark sky, so I spent an ungodly amount of time just sitting here in West Virginia, staring slackjawed at the sky.
What greater joy of travel is there than to befriend the local shop cat
August 10, 2024 at 10:55 PM
What greater joy of travel is there than to befriend the local shop cat
Great stuff at Bourbon and Bluegrass at Lincoln's Cottage today. :)
May 19, 2024 at 10:21 PM
Great stuff at Bourbon and Bluegrass at Lincoln's Cottage today. :)
"That would mean non-Han people in Xinjiang are imprisoned at more than 50 times the rate of Han people, and that non-Han people imprisoned in Xinjiang account for about one-third of China’s entire prison population."
www.ft.com/content/ca03...
www.ft.com/content/ca03...
A disappearance in Xinjiang
What became of famed Uyghur academic Rahile Dawut?
www.ft.com
May 6, 2024 at 8:23 PM
"That would mean non-Han people in Xinjiang are imprisoned at more than 50 times the rate of Han people, and that non-Han people imprisoned in Xinjiang account for about one-third of China’s entire prison population."
www.ft.com/content/ca03...
www.ft.com/content/ca03...
Time for an evening of jamming with the boy
January 25, 2024 at 11:54 PM
Time for an evening of jamming with the boy
My friends I cannot get over the fact that this packet of noodles is described as “oriental linguine”
January 16, 2024 at 10:49 PM
My friends I cannot get over the fact that this packet of noodles is described as “oriental linguine”
I just finished Ian Johnson’s Sparks, about Samizdat publications and underground historians in China. And while the book was interesting, I gotta say I was shocked by the amount of typos. Was wondering if I got a galley copy on accident!
January 10, 2024 at 1:15 PM
I just finished Ian Johnson’s Sparks, about Samizdat publications and underground historians in China. And while the book was interesting, I gotta say I was shocked by the amount of typos. Was wondering if I got a galley copy on accident!
Another angle to modern web enshittification and the overall increasing homogeneity of the internet.
Really well done and interesting read!
Really well done and interesting read!
New from me: I wrote about how search algorithms have created a web full of content and words for Google, not humans. We made a fake lizard website to show you what has happened over 25 yrs.
The visuals are beautiful. I’m so proud to work with such talented people! www.theverge.com/c/23998379/g...
The visuals are beautiful. I’m so proud to work with such talented people! www.theverge.com/c/23998379/g...
January 9, 2024 at 12:30 PM
Another angle to modern web enshittification and the overall increasing homogeneity of the internet.
Really well done and interesting read!
Really well done and interesting read!
It finally went below freezing last night after a balmy 50-something Christmas.
Time for frost and grey days now.
Time for frost and grey days now.
December 27, 2023 at 2:16 PM
It finally went below freezing last night after a balmy 50-something Christmas.
Time for frost and grey days now.
Time for frost and grey days now.
“When the West talks about the decline in Indian democracy, our response is that we have free and fair elections,” she said. “And yes, we do. But democracy is also about institutions and the media is a huge part of those.”
YouTube is the last bastion of unbiased journalism in India
As Narendra Modi's government clamps down on the free press, top journalists are going solo to report unbiased news.
restofworld.org
December 22, 2023 at 2:16 AM
“When the West talks about the decline in Indian democracy, our response is that we have free and fair elections,” she said. “And yes, we do. But democracy is also about institutions and the media is a huge part of those.”
”Though roughly 80 percent of Rite Aid’s stores are in ‘plurality-White’ areas, the FTC found that most of the stores that used the facial recognition program were located in ‘plurality non-White areas.’”
Rite Aid used facial recognition on shoppers, fueling harassment, FTC says
In one case, the FTC said, employees called the police on a Black customer after the technology mistook her for the actual target, a White woman with blond hair.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 20, 2023 at 3:28 AM
”Though roughly 80 percent of Rite Aid’s stores are in ‘plurality-White’ areas, the FTC found that most of the stores that used the facial recognition program were located in ‘plurality non-White areas.’”
The proper way to spend a Sunday afternoon—with a cat in a blanket tent under your legs.
December 17, 2023 at 7:26 PM
The proper way to spend a Sunday afternoon—with a cat in a blanket tent under your legs.