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Akamai to shut down its CDN operations in China

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Re: Akamai to shut down its CDN operations in China

#91

Post by AdrianB1 »

wenc wrote: post #67
nordsieck wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We've had CIFUS for decades. The only change is now we say no to Japan teaching us to make better steel. I'm curious what you mean by that. Most of what I know about steel is in relation to knives (and peripherally, swords, axes, and other tools). At least in that (admittedly small) niche, Japanese steel is good, but certainly not superior to US steel (although with the financial trouble that Crucible is having, pe…

I used to live in a rust-belt steel town. My knowledge is cursory except for my lived reality of my town being economically depressed by poor management of steel production facilities. US Steel mostly focuses on commodity steel. Nippon Steel has a wider portfolio focusing on higher-end specialty steel. Commodity steel producers like US Steel (they acquired the main steel company in my town) generally play on lower en…

It was quite obvious to everyone for a long time that commodity steel production will be outcompeted by countries with lower wages, lower energy costs or both. US is not competitive on wages for commodity products, so investing in mass production of regular steel was a bad idea.

Specialty steel has a barrier of entry - not every third world country can make it. Even today China imports most of the bearings for high-speed trains and planes. This grants high margins to the few companies that know how to produce this steel, this is where US can compete.

So what happened there was normal business decisions, not "creative destruction playing out". Economy beats politics for once.

Re: Akamai to shut down its CDN operations in China

#92

Post by pyb »

eh_why_not wrote: post #26

> All current China CDN customers must complete the transition to our Partners’ solution by June 30, 2026... Can anyone here who works in the field shed some light on why it takes a whole 1.5 years for such a change to take effect? What's involved in a CDN transition that can't be done in, say, 6 months?

Anything less would be throwing your customers under the bus.

Of course there are well known companies out there closing services with a only couple months notice ; but that's not an example to follow.

Re: Akamai to shut down its CDN operations in China

#93

Post by wenc »

brightball wrote: post #75
wenc wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to live in a rust-belt steel town. My knowledge is cursory except for my lived reality of my town being economically depressed by poor management of steel production facilities. US Steel mostly focuses on commodity steel. Nippon Steel has a wider portfolio focusing on higher-end specialty steel. Commodity steel producers like US Steel (they acquired the main steel company in my town) generally play on lower en…

Where does Nucor fall in this? I don’t know anything about the steel industry but know the name.

I don't have lived experience with Nucor, but some years ago I read "Plain Talk" by Ken Iverson, who was Nucor's CEO. I don't have context but I remember it being a breezy, folksy management book, and one that had high believability because it came from the horse's mouth -- not some management consultant. It doesn't mean there's no hagiography, but at least you get more practicality out of CEO-written books than management consultant fluff.

Nucor today is the largest steel company in the US (and more profitable than US Steel). I believe they too produce commodity steel, but they were able to stay competitive because of good management, investment in updated technologies like electric arc furnaces, and focus on the quality and service market segments that foreign steelmakers have a hard time competing in.

Re: Akamai to shut down its CDN operations in China

#95

Post by pfraze »

eh_why_not wrote: post #26

> All current China CDN customers must complete the transition to our Partners’ solution by June 30, 2026... Can anyone here who works in the field shed some light on why it takes a whole 1.5 years for such a change to take effect? What's involved in a CDN transition that can't be done in, say, 6 months?

Also consider that every company has their existing roadmap. Getting the work scheduled can be difficult.

Re: Akamai to shut down its CDN operations in China

#96

Post by t-3 »

alephnerd wrote: post #52
azinman2 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still foreign.

True, but Australia and China have extremely close economic relations due to proximity and an FTA.

That's a pretty one-way relationship though. Australia and China are literally thousands of miles away from each other, but China is still important to Australia because all the continental landmasses are far from Australia.

Re: Akamai to shut down its CDN operations in China

#97

Post by Barrin92 »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #83
Barrin92 wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>China never has and never will offer a level playing field for non-Chinese companies. Foreign companies in China have to play by Chinese rules, which are more restrictive than the US but so do Chinese companies. When it comes to doing business abroad China imposes very few rules or conditions. Meanwhile the US has been waging a straight up trade war on China with the not just implicit but stated goal of strangling C…

Chinese companies don’t have to play by the rules in the same way that foreign companies do. China isn’t a rule of law country, and has explicitly stated that it doesn’t want to be a rule of law country. Instead laws are enforced selectively for whatever outcome the official branch wants at the moment (rule by law). They are perfectly willing to fine American companies when Chinese companies cheat (and not apply anyw…

>and not apply anywhere near the same enforcement to the Chinese company

About two years ago China imposed regulations on its own tech sector so strict that it killed the entire "ed-tech" sector overnight and wiped out a decent chunk of the country's tech market value. What other country has done this to its own companies?

The US has slapped a 100% tariff on cars, bans on Chinese hardware and software in autonomous vehicles, ripping out 5G equipment, tried to basically destroy Huawei specifically, and the list goes on. Whatever local favoritism may happen in China, you realize that pales to the full blown protectionism that the US engages in. China hasn't even retaliated in kind. You're complaining about being poked with a stick while throwing a sledgehammer around. Am I supposed to believe the "TikTok ban" is anything other than completely absurd security theater? Like do you think the world is so naive they think this is how the "rule of law" works? You realize every time a Western politician utters that term everyone just laughs right?

Re: Akamai to shut down its CDN operations in China

#98

Post by sangnoir »

parasense wrote: post #88
sangnoir wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a red herring, I was responding to this specific sentence about the US "finally" acting, as if it's a new phenomenon: >> The US is finally starting to act in kind, and should continue to do so > No country is a perfect free market, and has some 'sacred cows' that it attempts to protect This is a more nuanced take that should be the starting off point for any productive discussion around what counts as "fair"…

It is a Red Herring. That is because the Jones Act in context to the gross entirety of the USA and PRC economic relations is at best utterly irrelevant. Besides, you might find it interesting to learn that the protectionist parts of the Jones act are in fact common around the world. Many counties prohibit port to port shippments without first visiting an international port. Mind you, many folks here would agree these…

Well, I'm glad that we can at least agree that the US has protectionist policies and has had them for a long time.

If you want a bigger protected industry, perhaps checkout any Farm bill from the past several decades. But that's neither here nor there. China is not weird for having protectionist measures - like you said - it's pretty normal - the scope and size is what may be unusual for a country that's not a hegemon.

> What does this have to do with Akamai, and many other American companies, ending services in mainland China?

Glad you asked: China has protectionist policies that are designed to help its domestic tech companies. Consequently, foreign (read American) tech companies like Akamai may find the operating environment much more challenging that they would without those policies. Other non-protectionist policies don't help - such as working with the great firewall, or complying with censorship requests.

TL;DR version: China protects its tech industry like the US protects its farmers and merchant marine. Acknowledging that will help frame whether the respective countries have the political appetite to temp or undo those policies.

Re: Akamai to shut down its CDN operations in China

#99

Post by dgfitz »

sangnoir wrote: post #98
parasense wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is a Red Herring. That is because the Jones Act in context to the gross entirety of the USA and PRC economic relations is at best utterly irrelevant. Besides, you might find it interesting to learn that the protectionist parts of the Jones act are in fact common around the world. Many counties prohibit port to port shippments without first visiting an international port. Mind you, many folks here would agree these…

Well, I'm glad that we can at least agree that the US has protectionist policies and has had them for a long time. If you want a bigger protected industry, perhaps checkout any Farm bill from the past several decades. But that's neither here nor there. China is not weird for having protectionist measures - like you said - it's pretty normal - the scope and size is what may be unusual for a country that's not a hegemo…

> Acknowledging that will help frame whether the respective countries have the political appetite to temp or undo those policies.

What does framing matter? Things are going to happen, trying to “frame” them is why journalism is miserable.

Re: Akamai to shut down its CDN operations in China

#100

Post by brandonmenc »

sschueller wrote: post #38
crystaln wrote: post #17

China never has and never will offer a level playing field for non-Chinese companies. The US is finally starting to act in kind, and should continue to do so.

I thought we don't want to be like China? You aren't going to spread your form of "democracy" across the world by doing what the "oppressive" regimes are doing.

> I thought we don't want to be like China?

Tired: "spreading" democracy.

Wired: battening down the hatches so you don't lose your democracy.

It's a new world, you just haven't received the memo yet.

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