Who’s Afraid of Chinese Green Tech?
The American media, apparently
I was scrolling through the New York Times the other day when I ran across an article with this headline and subtitle:
China’s Electric Cars Keep Improving, a Worry for Rivals Elsewhere
More capable autonomous driving is just one way Chinese automakers are threatening to pull ahead — their E.V.s are also becoming bigger and roomier.
The headline sounds ominous, doesn’t it? Negative words like “worry” and “threatening” encourage the reader to believe that these developments are bad. Oh no, those dastardly Chinese are beating us! Whatever shall we do? But, if you read the story, it all sounds pretty good— essentially, Chinese companies are making really nice electric cars, and they don’t cost an arm and a leg.
Here’s another NYT headline, from a couple of months ago:
How China Came to Dominate the World in Solar Energy
Beijing is set to further increase its manufacturing and installation of solar panels as it seeks to master global markets and wean itself from imports.
China is ready to “dominate the world” by “master[ing]” the markets. Yikes! Just like the first story, the actual news in this one is benign: the Chinese government subsidized its solar…
