Insights, analysis and must reads from CNN's Fareed Zakaria and the Global Public Square team, compiled by Global Briefing editor Jason Miks.

August 2, 2018

Has Trump Flipped On
North Korea?

President Trump's praise of Kim Jong Un's decision to return what are believed to be the remains of US service members is reasonable. But it might also reflect something else, suggests Joshua Keating for Slate. Trump may be giving up on completely denuclearizing North Korea.

"The return of service members' remains—assuming these are genuine—is a meaningful accomplishment, particularly for the families involved. And the optimistic reading of recent news is that ongoing dialogue and confidence-building measures like these can reduce risks and lead to more concrete agreements down the road. North Korea was on the path to becoming a nuclear power before Trump came along, and there's not much he could have done to stop it," Keating writes.

"Still, it's hard not to read Trump's enthusiastic praise of Kim for this relatively painless concession, while weapons work continues, as an official statement of acceptance of North Korea as a nuclear state."

Why the World Can't Seem to Kick Its Fossil Fuel Addiction

With record-breaking heatwaves and wildfires from California to Tokyo to Greece, the case for action on climate change appears stronger than ever. But while public concern around the world has picked up, The Economist argues that the world's fossil fuel habit might actually get worse.

"One reason is soaring energy demand, especially in developing Asia. In 2006-16, as Asia's emerging economies forged ahead, their energy consumption rose by 40%. The use of coal, easily the dirtiest fossil fuel, grew at an annual rate of 3.1%. Use of cleaner natural gas grew by 5.2% and of oil by 2.9%. Fossil fuels are easier to hook up to today's grids than renewables that depend on the sun shining and the wind blowing. Even as green fund managers threaten to pull back from oil companies, state-owned behemoths in the Middle East and Russia see Asian demand as a compelling reason to invest."

A lose-lose-lose emissions plan. The Trump administration's plan to freeze a rule aimed at making cars more fuel efficient is bad for the environment and for Americans' health, The New York Times editorializes. It's also bad for business.

"On a global level, at a time when the rest of the world (and even many American industries) is investing in newer, cleaner forms of energy, the administration's policy change would put American companies further back in the race to build more efficient and less polluting vehicles."

A Strongman's Summer of Discontent

The scrapping of term limits earlier this year appeared to leave Chinese President Xi Jinping in an unassailable position. But Minxin Pei argues that a scandal over substandard vaccines is a reminder that with great power comes…getting most of the blame.

"Of course, China has experienced many similar scandals before—from tainted baby formula to the contamination of the blood-thinning drug heparin—with greedy businessmen and corrupt officials held to account," Pei writes for Project Syndicate.

"But Xi has staked considerable political capital on rooting out corruption and strengthening control. The fact that a private company with deep political connections is at the center of the vaccine scandal is painful evidence that Xi's top-down anti-corruption drive has not been as effective as claimed. An unintended consequence of Xi's consolidation of power is that he is accountable for the scandal, at least in the eyes of the Chinese public."

Trump Should (But Won't) Get a Chance to Talk to Iran

President Trump likely meant it when he said earlier this week that he was open to talking with Iran's leadership, writes Jason Rezaian for The Washington Post. It's a shame they won't give him the chance.

"Although most Iranians from all walks of life would prefer renewed relations with the United States and the improved economic conditions that renewed relations would likely bring, for the current Iranian leadership such a meeting, on the heels of the US withdrawal from the nuclear accord and at a time that the country faces an economic crisis, would be deemed a sign of weakness. That proposition is too risky," Rezaian writes.

The Hypocrisy of Iran's Hardliners

Hardliners in Iran appear to be looking for a scapegoat for the country's current economic woes in the form of moderates like President Hassan Rouhani, writes Con Coughlin in The National. They would be better off looking in the mirror.

"[I]t is the hardliners who, rather than taking advantage of the new opportunities the nuclear deal afforded, have instead reverted to type, and used the easing of diplomatic pressure to intensify their attempts to pursue their disruptive agenda throughout the Middle East," Coughlin writes.

"Instead of spending the billions of dollars Iran received after signing the nuclear deal on rebuilding the country's ruined infrastructure, the likes of Mr Soleimani have instead preferred to spend their new-found riches on supporting rogue dictators like Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, or supporting the Houthi rebels in Yemen."

It's Not Just Facebook That Should Skip China

Facebook is making a mistake in fixating on China's potential market, according to an Isaac Stone Fish op-ed featured in yesterday's Global Briefing. Shira Ovide writes for Bloomberg that the same goes for Google.

What's the appeal? "Money, of course, and the potential to reach China's nearly 800 million internet users," Ovide writes, following reports that it is working on a censor-friendly search app.

"But it's not clear Google would make much headway in China with search or other technologies. Since Google's China retreat, the country's consumer tech market has exploded by catering to local tastes and habits. China's internet is like nothing else in the world—not only because of the ripple effects of censorship—and Google may not be what China's internet surfers want. China doesn't need Google, even if Google wants China."

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