Mark Witzke
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mkwitzke.bsky.social
Mark Witzke
@mkwitzke.bsky.social
China analyst fmr at Rhodium Group, UC San Diego GPS grad, film watcher, 前深圳人,nak muay etc
Where are we headed in the US-China trade war?

I spoke with Kandy Wong @scmpnews.bsky.social on one reason to hold out some hope for an agreement.

Despite his frequent criticisms of China, “Trump doesn’t seem to be as ideologically married to complete decoupling...
April 17, 2025 at 4:08 PM
With US-China cross-border investment having plummeted since 2017, trade under threat of massive tariffs, and in person interactions like studying abroad declining, business opportunities and engagement between the US and China are at a low ebb.
April 15, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Reposted by Mark Witzke
THE WORST DEFENSE OF THE TRUMP TARIFFS:

I wrote in the newsletter today about how annoying it is to hear people talk about how we need these tariffs to reindustrialize and counter China in high tech manufacturing.

We were literally just doing that!

Sub here www.bloomberg.com/account/news...
April 8, 2025 at 5:20 PM
I think this is a good read. Trump enjoys foreign delegations coming to pay tribute to him
When you look at the highlighted passages, it becomes clear that what Trump is seeking to impose is a classic tributary system under the guise of tariffs.
I love that sentiment is back to "this will all be fixed quickly by negotiations" when the admin is screaming "NO IT WON'T" into a bullhorn
April 8, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Reposted by Mark Witzke
I think we’re gonna get the split, just later than we thought
This is currently happening.
April 8, 2025 at 2:56 PM
I think we'll get a Japan deal followed by a long line of country delegations coming to pay tribute to/negotiate with Trump one by one.

Deals will include lowering tariffs, big $$$ pledges to buy American products or invest in US and some other token/symbolic concessions.
April 8, 2025 at 4:17 AM
Reposted by Mark Witzke
One of the best jobs in the world is up for grabs: @npr.org is hiring for a China correspondent

job-boards.greenhouse.io/nationalpubl...
China Correspondent
International - Remote
job-boards.greenhouse.io
April 8, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Reposted by Mark Witzke
30 seconds later he accidentally leaked major Yemen war plans in a phone groupchat to a Atlantic reporter.
Pete Hegseth, three days ago:

"Under the previous administration we looked like fools. Not anymore.”

Carve it into his career headstone.
March 24, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Reposted by Mark Witzke
In some countries this position is known as a Political Officer.
So it seems Columbia gave the Trump administration everything they wanted and more, including a new "vice provost" who will review curriculum, hiring, and leadership.

www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...
Exclusive | Columbia Yields to Trump in Battle Over Federal Funding
Columbia’s agreement is a significant moment in the intensifying battle between Trump and elite universities.
www.wsj.com
March 21, 2025 at 9:42 PM
This dude could never get a legit security clearance but somehow they’re gonna let him know military secrets
March 21, 2025 at 1:46 AM
Reposted by Mark Witzke
JUST POSTED:

Musk Set to Get Access to Top-Secret U.S. Plan for Potential War With China

Giving Elon Musk access to some of the nation’s most closely guarded military secrets is a major expansion of his role as an adviser to President Trump and highlights his conflicts of interest

nyti.ms/4inqIP8
Musk Set to Get Access to Top-Secret U.S. Plan for Potential War With China (Gift Article)
Giving Elon Musk access to some of the nation’s most closely guarded military secrets is a major expansion of his role as an adviser to President Trump and highlights his conflicts of interest.
nyti.ms
March 21, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Reposted by Mark Witzke
*Tim Cook takes long draw on cigarette* "To care about money - this is for the common man. The artist - he cares about soul"
Apple is reportedly losing $1 billion a year on streaming.

(Source: www.theinformation.com/articles/app...)
March 20, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Reposted by Mark Witzke
Job alert: Research and Editorial Associate

Come work with me at @johnshopkinssais.bsky.social!

jobs.jhu.edu/job/Washingt...
Research and Editorial Associate
Research and Editorial Associate
jobs.jhu.edu
March 14, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Reposted by Mark Witzke
BREAKING: A federal judge has ordered a stop to mass firings in federal agencies (except Pentagon, OPM and NARA) saying the so-called “reductions in force (RIFs)” broke the law.

“Employees purportedly terminated … are returned to government employ.”

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
March 14, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Reposted by Mark Witzke
I was once seated at a dinner beside Fulbright's widow, and told her that I'd met my American wife thanks to my Fulbright fellowship. She said he had told her that that kind of thing was the reason he'd set up the program - unanticipated relationships that would knit the world together better.
March 8, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Reposted by Mark Witzke
The Fulbright program is required by law. It’s literally named after the senator that passed the bill.
Just got an email from the Fulbright Association. As of right now, funding has been cut off to 12,500 US citizens currently abroad and and more than 7,400 foreigner scholars and students in the United States
March 8, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Reposted by Mark Witzke
Again as a Fulbright alum I want to stress how utterly terrified I would have been living in China as a 22 year old alone without money or a way home. Canceling the program is awful and short-sighted enough, but this kind of chaos is so deeply cruel while accomplishing absolutely nothing
Just got an email from the Fulbright Association. As of right now, funding has been cut off to 12,500 US citizens currently abroad and and more than 7,400 foreigner scholars and students in the United States
March 7, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Reposted by Mark Witzke
Also, EVEN IF Fulbright gets reinstated, its just another way we shove out and take opportunities from young people without a familial safety net. How can I advise any future student without a familial safety net to ever apply for a program like this in the future, if this is what can happen?
Just got an email from the Fulbright Association. As of right now, funding has been cut off to 12,500 US citizens currently abroad and and more than 7,400 foreigner scholars and students in the United States
March 7, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Reposted by Mark Witzke
Trump talked for 90 minutes but didn't mention Medicaid once.

That's on purpose because he'd rather you focus on literally anything besides the fact that he wants to cut Medicaid & food assistance to help partially pay for tax cuts for the rich.

I wrote about it here: www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
Opinion | The GOP’s budget plan makes it hard to conceal its lies about Medicaid and SNAP
House Republicans aim to use a procedure known as budget reconciliation, which allows the Senate to pass legislation with only 51 votes rather than the usual 60 required.
www.msnbc.com
March 5, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Reposted by Mark Witzke
even if this was going on it’s not fucking exculpatory, you don’t get to come in with the explicit goal of ‘demoralizing’ a workforce and inflicting ‘trauma’ on them, and then be shocked that they’re only complying with the letter of your orders, that’s *still your fault*
Is DOGE being sabotage by "malicious compliance" - or their own terrible choices?
Robby knows less about government than Elon Musk, and refuses to invest any effort into finding out - don't make him do a journalism! - so he is going to go with his gut here.

(h/t @andylevy.net‬)
March 4, 2025 at 3:18 AM
Reposted by Mark Witzke
Easy to miss this sort of news because of what happened in the Oval Office today, but the US is also unilaterally disarming vs Russia in cyberspace. I’m sure that Putin will reciprocate…
February 28, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Reposted by Mark Witzke
Rubio terminated 5800 USAID contracts – more than 90% of its foreign aid programs – in defiance of the courts.

Here’s a list of just some of the lifesaving awards that were terminated. Nearly all were Congressionally mandated. They’ve saved millions of lives. 🧵
February 27, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Reposted by Mark Witzke
This is truly devastating news, not only for scholars and scientists, but also for the United States as a great power with global influence. Senseless, heartless, cowardly, and stupid.
Since the 1950s, Summer Language Workshops at Indiana University have provided training in Russian, East European, and Central Asian languages. Generations have come to Bloomington to study Romanian, Polish, Kazakh, etc.

Rubio just cancelled all of them
languageworkshop.indiana.edu/summer-langu...
Title VIII: Funding: Summer Language Workshop: Language Workshop: Indiana University Bloomington
Title VIII Fellowships
languageworkshop.indiana.edu
February 27, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Reposted by Mark Witzke
More than 8,000 web pages across more than a dozen U.S. government websites have been taken down since Friday afternoon, a NYT analysis found.

The purges have removed info about vaccines, veterans' care, hate crimes, and scientific research, among many other topics. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/02/u...
Thousands of U.S. Government Web Pages Have Been Taken Down Since Friday
Federal agencies moved to satisfy Trump’s orders to remove topics like diversity initiatives and “gender ideology.”
www.nytimes.com
February 4, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Reposted by Mark Witzke
New: Musk and his minions have illegally installed a commercial server to control federal HR databases that contain sensitive personal information, including SSNs, home addresses, and medical histories, according to an OPM staffer www.muskwatch.com/p/musk-assoc...
Musk associates given unfettered access to private data of government employees
The Musk-connected political hires include two recent high school graduates
www.muskwatch.com
February 3, 2025 at 4:48 PM