We have two covers this week. In much of the world we lead with the recent influx of Chinese cars into Western markets. China’s biggest carmaker, byd, sold 500,000 electric vehicles (evs) in the fourth quarter, leaving Tesla in the dust. Chinese evs are snazzy, whizzy and—most important—cheap. As the world decarbonises, demand will rise further. China has brazenly disregarded global trading rules, showering handouts on its carmakers. But China’s cheaper EVs mean that buyers have more money to spend on other things, at a time when real wages have been squeezed by inflation. They could ease the transition to net-zero emissions. If China wants to spend taxpayers’ money subsidising global consumers and speeding up the energy transition, the best response is to welcome it.

Leaders: An influx of Chinese cars is terrifying the West
Briefing: Western firms are quaking as China’s electric-car industry speeds up
Finance and economics: Xi Jinping risks setting off another trade war

In Asia, Africa and the Middle East we consider the geopolitics of the world’s oceans. The inevitable and underappreciated consequence of superpower rivalry and the decay of global rules and norms is that oceans are a contested zone for the first time since the cold war. Sustaining a maritime order is the lowest common denominator of international co-operation. Western countries must double-down on maintaining their technological edge, in submarines and autonomous vessels, for example. Government and private-sector co-operation in monitoring vulnerable maritime infrastructure such as pipelines is critical. And alliances need to be broadened in order to make more resources available for policing the seas.

Leaders: Mayday! War stalks the world’s oceans
International: Welcome to the new era of global sea power