20231019

Why China-Russia Ties Worry America

The last time Vladimir Putin visited China, he went home with the promise of friendly partnership from Xi Jinping. Less than a month later, the Russian president launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But in the 20 months since then, he’s found himself in ever-greater need of economic and diplomatic support from his friend to the east.

The two leaders and their nations have become closer because of the war, forming an alliance of sorts that could have broad implications for the world in general—and the US in particular. In the Bloomberg Originals mini-documentary Why China-Russia Ties Worry the US, we explore how Russia’s reliance on China has expanded at a fast pace, how it has transformed Russian markets and what it means for a fraught geopolitical landscape. As Xi and Putin grow more friendly, the video illustrates how their mutual distrust of the US may be their strongest bond.

Xi has even more to gain from this relationship in the long term. The Chinese president has long sought to elevate the yuan in a bid to challenge the global dominance of the US dollar. The war in Ukraine, as it turns out, has done more for his cause than any policymaking in Beijing.

EK: Old friendships die hard. Is Korea the next destination for war?

South Korea Arrests Kakao CIO for Alleged Stock Manipulation

Kakao Corp.’s chief investment officer for alleged stock price manipulation in a high-profile takeover battle over K-pop agency SM Entertainment Co.

Internet giant Kakao won a controlling stake in SM after an intense bidding war with Hybe Co., the label behind hit boy band BTS. Financial regulators accused the executive, along with two others working at Kakao and Kakao Entertainment Corp., of buying 240 billion won ($178 million) in shares of SM in an attempt to disrupt a Hybe’s tender. The court has not issued warrants for the other two people, and it was unclear whether there could be more arrests.

Both Kakao and Hybe had seen ownership of SM as a way to reach a broader audience and to drive Korean entertainment acts into the mainstream, and their bidding war sent SM’s stock price to a record. Hybe backed down from its takeover bid in March.

EK: Kakao played big, lost bit.