Flagship

China opens tit-for-tat EU pork probe

China opened an anti-dumping investigation into pork imports from the European Union on Monday, in its first retaliatory move against Brussels’ fresh tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. The EU had been bracing for Beijing’s tit-for-tat response, and German automakers have been especially fearful they would be targeted. The probe could most directly impact the Netherlands, Denmark, and Spain, which is the largest supplier of pork to China. Potential restrictions on the EU would benefit suppliers from South America, the US, and Russia — which only recently began exporting pork to China, Reuters reported. The impact on Chinese consumers would be limited, though, a Hong Kong-based analyst said, because imports make up a small percentage of the country’s pork consumption.

China adds to nuclear arsenal

China’s stash of nuclear warheads is growing. Beijing upped its stockpile from 410 last year to 500 this year, and could have as many nuclear warheads as the US and Russia by 2030, a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found. China is expanding its arsenal based on “the expectation of an intensifying antagonism” with the US, and the “assumption that matching its rival as closely as possible will be necessary to protect Chinese interests in the face of overwhelming American power,” a Carnegie Endowment expert argued in Foreign Affairs. Globally, the nine nuclear-armed countries became more reliant on nuclear deterrence in the last year, the report showed, with the US spending the most on nuclear weapons.

Putin visits Kim as ‘bromance’ blossoms

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit North Korea on Tuesday, his first trip there since he became president in 2000. It comes as concerns grow that Pyongyang is supplying weapons to aid Moscow’s war against Ukraine. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited Russia in September, and this week’s summit will likely upgrade the countries’ ties “across many, if not all, realms,” a North Korea expert told Bloomberg. Pyongyang is playing an increasingly important role in Russia’s vision for a world order that challenges the West, while Moscow “proved a godsend in a time of need” for North Korea, The Economist wrote. Ukraine, meanwhile, called the relationship a “lonely bromance,” and urged Western partners to respond by increasing arms supplies to Kyiv.

Sullivan in India amid murder plot criticism

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan began a two-day visit to India, the first by a senior US official since Prime Minister Narendra Modi started his third term. The meeting is focused on cooperation around emerging technologies including semiconductors and AI, but comes as some US lawmakers are pushing President Joe Biden’s administration to ramp up pressure on India to punish those behind a failed assassination plot targeting a Sikh activist on US soil, Semafor reported. The incident has been a delicate diplomatic issue for the White House, which has sought to deepen ties with India, viewing it as a critical counterweight against China. An Indian national charged in the murder-for-hire plot was extradited to the US from the Czech Republic last week and pleaded not guilty Monday.

EU elections have ripple effect on Asia

The European Union’s rightward tilt will have ripple effects for Asia’s democracies, which should act now to counter the political shifts, a Nikkei commentator argued. The far right’s strong performance in the European Parliament elections, and its skepticism for Ukraine support, could eventually embolden Russia, China, or North Korea, Hiroyuki Akita wrote, and US allies in Asia like Japan and South Korea should respond by affirming ties with Europe’s powers and the Baltic nations: “It seems a long way from East Asia to … the Baltics,” Akita wrote. “But in terms of geopolitics, they are both ‘neighbors’ of the Sino-Russia bloc.” EU leaders are currently jockeying for top jobs; Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is reportedly pushing to secure a high-level commission role for an Italian.

The electric air taxi revolution is coming

The era of flying cars may be here sooner than you think. More than two dozen big “eVTOL” — electric vertical take-off and landing — aircraft firms have been founded in the last decade, and US and European regulators are close to certifying some of them. All are aimed at short trips of 18 to 25 miles, carrying commuters or cargo, or potentially acting as air ambulances, organ delivery vehicles, and police transport, Scientific American reported. The vehicles come in various designs, such as multicopters and fixed-wing aircraft capable of higher speeds and longer range. One firm, Joby, estimates that it needs to operate at a cost of around $3 per passenger mile to make a profit: Its first prototype was delivered last year.

UK arts in uproar over ‘clean’ sponsor debate

After activists led the UK’s most prominent literary festivals to suspend their main sponsor, organizers are asking: Who is “clean” enough to fund the arts? Scottish investment firm Baillie Gifford, an early Tesla investor, backed out of sponsoring both the Hay and Edinburgh book festivals this year after protesters accused it of profiting from fossil fuels and the war in Gaza. The Financial Times argued, however, that Baillie Gifford would “have easily passed most ethics tests” for sponsors: Its fossil fuel investments included supermarkets that sell gasoline, and its Gaza involvement was evidenced by investments in Amazon and Nvidia, which have military clients. “If the threshold [for disqualification from sponsorship] is ‘you’ve got shares in Amazon’, it’s going to be hard,” one arts figure told the FT.

This is your last chance – join us June 18th at 9:00 a.m. ET, in Washington, D.C., for an exclusive event featuring Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology, Anne Neuberger, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden (D), and Google Cloud’s Director of Risk and Compliance, Jeannette Manfra. Our Semafor editors will lead insightful discussions on critical security issues, innovative cyber resilience solutions, and navigating the regulatory landscapes ahead.

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Coldplay turns bottles into vinyls

The vinyl copies of Coldplay’s upcoming album will be made from recycled plastic bottles. The British band said the method will reduce carbon emissions by 85% compared to traditional vinyl production methods, and prevent the manufacturing of 25 metric tons of plastic. Despite the dominance of streaming, vinyl records have become increasingly popular in recent years, surpassing CD sales in the US last year. Many artists use the physical records to boost their placement on the charts, sparking a conversation around the sustainability of vinyls: Singer Billie Eilish, who used recycled vinyl for her latest album, criticized other artists for making “40 different vinyl packages that have a different unique thing just to get you to keep buying more. It’s so wasteful.”

ChatGPT reduced freelancer demand

Demand for freelance coding and writing work is down 21% since the launch of ChatGPT. A report by three business schools, analyzing nearly 2 million job postings across 61 countries between July 2021 and 2023, found that image-generation roles, such as graphic design, also saw a 17% drop in job listings, TechRadar reported. One of the report’s authors said that organizations “may be shifting from freelancers to generative AI,” although it remains to be seen whether those companies “are happy with the quality of work … in comparison to freelancers.” To soften the blow somewhat, he added that as tech sweeps some professions aside, new ones emerge, so if freelancers “adapt their skillsets to the changing landscape [they] will continue to secure work in the future.”

Real photo wins AI photo contest

A photographer who won a contest for AI-generated photos after submitting a real photograph has been disqualified. Miles Astray (a pseudonym) said he submitted the artistic shot of a flamingo titled ​​F L A M I N G O N E, to “prove that human-made content has not lost its relevance, that Mother Nature and her human interpreters can still beat the machine, and that creativity and emotion are more than just a string of digits.” The headless-appearing flamingo fooled judges into believing it was created by AI — such images often bear “hallmark signs of wonky anatomy,” CNN wrote. The photo won third place in the 1839 Awards’ AI category, as well as first place in the People’s Vote Award before a review found it was, in fact, real.

June 18:

• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken holds a joint news conference with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Washington.
• Communities around the world celebrate Autistic Pride Day.
• Walter the oracle orangutan predicts the result of Germany’s second Euro 2024 match against Hungary.

Three original World War II-era “Keep Calm and Carry On” posters are expected to be auctioned off for thousands of pounds next month. The UK government had created the motivational posters to boost public morale in the event of a German invasion. The posters on sale were owned by a police officer and “encapsulated a pivotal moment in British history,” the auctioneer said. Despite the phrase’s ubiquity today, the “Keep Calm” posters were only rarely publicly displayed. That may be because two other widely distributed motivational posters — “Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution will Bring us Victory” and “Freedom is in Peril” — were seen as patronizing and weren’t well received by the public, the BBC reported.

• The interest rate cut summer that wasn’t.
• Senators tell Biden admin to increase pressure on India.
• The Washington Post looks to remake its identity.