| The U.S. and China have turned everything from 5G communications to Covid vaccinations to exploring Mars into a competition. Why not climate change as well? There's plenty at stake. China alone will need to spend $15 trillion over the next three decades to achieve its goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2060, a former adviser to the country's central bank estimated this week. Other nations will need to invest substantial amounts as well to retool their economies. Becoming the supplier of choice for that transformation is something both Washington and Beijing have their eyes on. Indeed, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned this week that America was already falling behind and would miss its chance to shape the world's climate future, as well as "countless jobs," if it doesn't catch up. China has also been open about its ambitions in green technologies. The country is already a leader in producing solar panels, wind turbines and batteries, and has unveiled plans to substantially increase funding for R&D to almost $600 billion a year by 2025. Washington has responded with efforts to ramp up U.S. spending. This week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Senator Todd Young formally introduced an act that would authorize $100 billion over five years to strengthen development of technologies.  If competition results in the U.S. and China together spending more than $1 trillion a year in the pursuit of new technologies that reduce emissions, cure diseases, increase productivity or otherwise benefit humanity, that's good for everyone. But competition can also create obstacles. American lawmakers, for example, are also pushing for national security reviews of foreign gifts and contracts of more than $1 million given to U.S. universities for research and development of "critical technologies." The American Council on Education said this proposal could "severely hinder" international research collaborations. And if Washington did impose such curbs, it would not be hard to imagine Beijing retaliating with similar measures. Such a tit-for-tat exchange would make scientific cooperation even more difficult. That climate change is a serious global threat appears to be something Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping see eye-to-eye on, as evidenced by the Earth Day summit they and other world leaders participated in this week. Whether the growing rivalry between the U.S. and China helps or hurts efforts to tackle that challenge is far less certain. Radioactive WaterWhile South Korea and Taiwan have both criticized Japan's plan to release radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, neither has been as loud about it as China. Beijing this week escalated its rhetoric by calling for an assessment of Japan's plans by the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the International Atomic Energy Agency. This came after Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian challenged Japanese officials to prove the water's safety by drinking some.  Fukushima Dai-Ichi's storage tanks for contaminated water on Oct. 8. Satellite image ©2019 Maxar Technologies. Maxar Technologies The row over Fukushima is the latest sign of growing tensions among Asia's biggest economies. Ties have also been strained by allegations of cyber-attacks tied to China's military and Japan's displays of support for Taiwan. A joint U.S.-Japan statement noting shared concerns over Chinese activities has likewise riled Beijing. With the Biden administration seeking to rally American allies to confront China, and a growing domestic push in Japan for a tougher stance, ties between Tokyo and Beijing could be fraught for some time. Tesla's HoneymoonTesla has had a dream run in China. It was the first foreign carmaker allowed to wholly own its local manufacturing facility. The city of Shanghai, where its plant is located, helped the company rapidly ramp up production, and with cars rolling off its assembly line, Tesla quickly became the best-selling brand in the world's biggest market for electric vehicles. This week, however, things appeared to have come back down to earth a bit. The trouble started Monday when a protestor at the Shanghai Auto Show jumped onto a car Tesla had on display and began yelling about an issue with the brakes on a vehicle she'd owned. Video of the incident soon went viral. Tesla's initial response, which was to push back against the woman's claims, didn't help matters. A day later, the official Xinhua News Agency weighed in with an article that called on Tesla to address consumers' concerns. The Communist Party body that oversees law enforcement followed with a social-media post that said the company should respect Chinese consumers and comply with local laws and regulations. Tesla soon struck a more conciliatory tone. In a statement issued late on Tuesday, the company said it would try its best to find a solution for the woman's issues.  A shopper walks past a Tesla showroom in Shanghai on March 8, 2021. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg $10 Billion War ChestMeituan, the Chinese technology company best known for its food-delivery business, raised $10 billion this week through the sale of shares and convertible bonds. It was the largest fundraising on record by a firm already listed in Hong Kong. Now that that's done, the question becomes what will Meituan do with the money. The company has publicly said it plans to invest the funds in developing cutting-edge technologies, including autonomous delivery vehicles and drones. What many analysts have deduced that to mean, however, is that the rivalry between Meituan and Alibaba is about to get even more heated. While Alibaba is the dominant force in Chinese e-commerce, Meituan has made substantial inroads into the sector. This week's fundraising, which more than doubled Meituan's cash, will mean it's well sourced to vie for an even larger slice of the market.  Food-delivery couriers for Meituan stand with insulated bags during a morning briefing in Beijing on April 21, 2021. Photographer: Yan Cong/Bloomberg What We're ReadingAnd finally, a few other things that caught our attention: | 
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