Lili Pike

Some personal news: I'm now @bloomberg.com's lead EPA reporter, tracking everything climate -- and so much more. So if you're following a particular rule or proposal, program office or anything else EPA related (biofuels, PFAS, coal ash, etc), I want to know.

bsky.app/profile/did:...

Thanks Leo! :)

Thanks Noah! :)

Thanks James! Great to be here :)

I'll be based in NYC for the next few months. Would love to chat about the NDC and the China/climate stories you think deserve more attention—preferably over tea/dumplings if you're local or by email lpike19@bloomberg.net or DM for Signal & WhatsApp.

China Played It Safe With First Pledge to Cut Greenhouse Emissions Other nations have achieved larger declines after reaching peak climate pollution — and the world’s biggest emitter has exceeded its own goals

A double news update after a summer respite from social media: 1) I’ve joined @bloomberg.com
to report on China & climate! 2) Just in time for China’s new climate targets, announced by Xi today. I’m thrilled to cover this special beat—and to be diving right in:

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

A Bull in the China Policy Shop The “move fast and break things” approach of Trump’s second term has undermined some of his administration’s own China goals.

So much has changed in the last 6 months that it's hard to keep track of the moving parts.

In my latest FP deep dive, I assessed how Trump's 2nd term "move fast and break things" approach has cumulatively impacted China policy so far, from the NSC to human rights: foreignpolicy.com/2025/07/02/t...

‘Tiger-fighter’ takes helm at China-backed development bank Former anti-corruption official Zou Jiayi will lead Beijing’s answer to the World Bank

‘Tiger-fighter’ takes helm at China-backed development bank
Former anti-corruption official Zou Jiayi will lead Beijing’s answer to the World Bank
www.ft.com/content/6536...

China Tightens Fentanyl Controls in Goodwill Gesture to Trump China moved to tighten controls over two chemicals that can be used to make fentanyl, in an apparent olive branch to the US that may help maintain their fragile trade truce.

"China moved to tighten controls over two chemicals that can be used to make fentanyl, in an apparent olive branch to the US that may help maintain their fragile trade truce."

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Exclusive: US-China trade truce leaves military-use rare earth issue unresolved, sources say Beijing has not committed to grant export clearance for some specialized rare-earth magnets that U.S. military suppliers need for fighter jets and missile systems, the sources said.

"But China has not budged on specialized rare earths, including samarium, which are needed for military applications and are outside the fast-track agreed in London, the two people said."

www.reuters.com/world/china/...

U.S. and China De-escalate Supply Chain War—for Now This will give factories a temporary reprieve, but both sides could still leverage economic chokepoints in the future absent a larger deal.

“I think we’re in the first inning of a new game. The rare earths have really changed the goalposts here in a big way,” @pstasiatech.bsky.social told me re the latest US-China trade deal potentially signaling a broader reckoning over export controls in the future

foreignpolicy.com/2025/06/11/u...

😅

China’s Chokehold on This Obscure Mineral Threatens the West’s Militaries

"Biden officials were so concerned about the U.S. military’s lack of a domestic samarium supply that they issued large contracts for the construction of two samarium production facilities. Neither was built because of commercial concerns"

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/b...

Ignoring China Won’t Help African Countries Move up the Critical Minerals Value Chain By Obert Bore, Critical Minerals Editor

"Rather than duplicating China’s model, countries endowed with critical minerals should carve out strategic niches by building regional hubs where processing is viable and cost-effective."

www.sinicapodcast.com/p/ignoring-c...

Trump and Xi Break the Silence With Phone Call The leaders claimed progress on thorny issues, but it remains to be seen if the rhetoric will translate into reality.

“China’s found an economic tool that really bites, so the president has got a variety of reasons to frame this in a positive light,”
@kennedychina.bsky.social told me re: today's Xi-Trump call:

foreignpolicy.com/2025/06/05/t...

Trump just now, during Oval presser with Merz:

"Chinese students are coming no problem. It's our honor to have them, frankly."

美方欢迎中国留学生来美学习。
^This stands out from the Chinese readout.
"The US welcomes Chinese students to come study in the US."
www.xinhuanet.com/politics/lea...

so many people wrote in appreciation about this, clearly it needed fixing.

Welcome to Foreign Policy’s China Brief—summer vacation edition.

@beijingpalmer.bsky.social out this week with a very important piece of service journalism, on Washington's oddly common "Gee" Jinping problem:

link.foreignpolicy.com/view/66744b4...

China’s Soft Spot in Trade War With Trump: Risk of Huge Job Loss

"In a research report, Natixis said that if U.S. tariffs stayed at their current levels of at least 30 percent, exports to the United States would fall by half, resulting in a loss of up to six million manufacturing jobs"

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/b...

A Restricted Climate Super Pollutant Is Pumped Out at Far Higher Levels Than Countries Admit. What Happens Next? - Inside Climate News HFC-23 emissions from chemical plants in eastern China and elsewhere likely violate an international climate agreement despite readily available pollution controls. Advocates are pressing for action.

HFC-23, a restricted pollutant 14,700 times worse for the climate than CO2, is being emitted at levels far higher than countries admit, sparking a global “whodunit” over the source of emissions insideclimatenews.org/news/2105202... My latest, w/ @foreignpolicy.com's @lilipike.bsky.social

China Claims It Slashed Emissions of a Major Super Pollutant. The Data Says Otherwise. As of 2023, China continued to emit HFC-23 at high levels in violation of an international agreement.

Climate advocates rejoiced when Beijing signed onto the Kigali Amendment in 2021, with the promise of cutting the super pollutant in China. However, the atmosphere now tells a different story, @lilipike.bsky.social and @mckennapr.bsky.social‬ write.

China Just Entered a Major International Climate Agreement. Now Comes the Hard Part - Inside Climate News China began enforcing the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol last week—and the climate implications are huge. The agreement requires China and other signatory nations to slash the production an...

. @mckennapr.bsky.social and I first covered HFC-23 emissions together in 2021, when we investigated China's long pattern of failure to reduce the powerful emissions:

insideclimatenews.org/news/2209202...

HFC-23 may be little known compared to carbon dioxide, but its a big problem—global HFC-23 emissions in 2023 were equal to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of *48 million automobiles or 55 coal-fired power plants.*

But the US, which has put pressure on China to enforce Kigali, may be out of the picture.

Trump's budget proposal sought to cut funding in half for the NASA division that helps fund the monitoring network tracking these powerful emissions in China and around the world.

“Someone has to pressure the Montreal Protocol to do what they need to do before it gets worse,” said Stephen Anderson of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development.

Meanwhile, fuzzy language in Kigali means that int'l accountability is lacking.

The UN Ozone Secretariat told @mckennapr.bsky.social
that the amount of HFC-23 countries report as destroyed is “taken at the face value” & there are currently no cases of noncompliance under investigation.

The Chinese gov has required chemical companies to destroy the powerful super-pollutant since 2021, but enforcement regulations have yet to be released more than a year after being drafted. Chinese experts suggested that companies have slowed the process

www.mee.gov.cn/xxgk2018/xxg...

Emissions of HFC-23 do not reflect commitments made under the Kigali Amendment - Communications Earth & Environment Substantial hydrofluorocarbon-23 emissions persist despite international reduction commitments: Emissions estimates based on inverse modelling of atmospheric measurements and transport excee...

A recent study found that global HFC-23 emissions were five times higher than countries had reported to the U.N. in recent years. And the study attributes 40 percent of global emissions to eastern China.

www.nature.com/articles/s43...

China Claims It Slashed Emissions of a Major Super Pollutant. The Data Says Otherwise. As of 2023, China continued to emit HFC-23 at high levels in violation of an international agreement.

In 2021, China joined the Kigali Agreement, and pledged to stop emitting HFC-23, a climate super pollutant 14,700x stronger than CO2.

The latest atmospheric readings show China is way off track,
@mckennapr.bsky.social & I report in our deep dive:

foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/21/c...