TikTok's survival in the US is uncertain as it faces pressure from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to divest its Chinese ownership, with ByteDance dismissing calls for a sale. Meanwhile, tensions are rising between China and Taiwan, with the latter being a critical waterway for global supply chains due to half of the world's container fleet passing through it this year. This has created a combustible situation in the semiconductor supply chain, which relies heavily on Taiwan. In other news, Nepal's mountain communities are facing an uncertain future as over-picking and climate change threaten the lucrative yartsa gunbu fungus, while China's maritime militia forces have been spotted near Taiwan. Additionally, smuggled commodities from India and Bangladesh are being used to support Myanmar's Arakan region, which is facing a humanitarian crisis due to violence against the Rohingya minority.
https://thediplomat.com/2025/01/taiwans-tiktok-liberal-paradox/Chinese companies ByteDance and Tencent have outspent Google, Meta, Tesla/xAI and Amazon in units purchased, despite facing challenges from ongoing trade restrictions. This is expected to worsen under the Trump administration.
https://www.techradar.com/pro/chinese-cloud-giants-bought-more-of-nvidias-flagship-ai-chips-than-anybody-else-except-microsoft