Axios

The U.S. and China often seem to be in a cutthroat technological race, but their rivalry may ultimately produce two geographically separate commercial fiefdoms where they rarely if ever cross swords directly, according to Beijing venture capitalist Kai-Fu Lee.

The big picture: In a scenario that conflicts with what most experts foresee, Lee, a former executive at Microsoft, Apple and Google, paints a largely bloodless future:

• American and Chinese tech titans remain thoroughly entrenched at home, retaining the loyalty of their consumer base.
• In terms of business abroad, they carve out their own geographical spheres of technological influence that mostly do not overlap.

U.S. intelligence agencies suspect Russia is responsible for the mystery attacks on the American embassies in Cuba and China that left government workers with brain injuries and strange illnesses, reports NBC News.

Why it matters: The bizarre attacks, initially believed to be caused by sonic weapons but now suspected to be the result of microwaves, prompted President Trump to roll back embassy staff and issue a travel advisory to Cuba last year. A Kremlin-ordered attack on American diplomats would mark a clear escalation by Russia against the U.S. and its allies, especially after the revelation that two GRU officers were behind the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal on British soil.

Alibaba is turning AliExpress Russia into a joint venture with the Russian Direct Investment Fund, mobile carrier Megafon and internet giant Mail.ru, the companies said on Tuesday. Alibaba will own only 48% of the new entity, which will also include other assets from the partners.

The bottom line: The deal should enable AliExpress and its merchants to tap into Mail.ru's 100 million users and function as a a one-stop shop of e-commerce, social media, and gaming services for Russian users.

Russia is launching the biggest military exercise since the Cold War in eastern Siberia from from Sept. 11-17 on the heels of heightened NATO-Russia tensions, reports BBC News.

The details: The war games will involve about 300,000 service personnel and include the Chinese and Mongolian armies. Russian reserve colonel Frants Klintsevich said the country has developed "a different attitude to combat readiness," per BBC. Meanwhile, China said the joint military operation would bolster "both sides' capabilities to jointly respond to various security threats." Beijing and Moscow have been modernizing their military capabilities as their relations with the U.S. grow more tense, the WSJ notes.

When Jack Ma co-founded e-commerce behemoth Alibaba in 1999, China's internet culture barely existed. Now, his company is worth $500 billion — and, next to China's president, Ma himself may be the most recognized Chinese celebrity on the planet.

What's happening now: Today is Ma's 54th birthday as well as the 19th anniversary of Alibaba's founding, and he marked it by setting in motion his retirement. In a letter to shareholders and employees, Ma said he will step down in a year and be succeeded by company CEO Daniel Zhang.

The Trump administration is weighing whether to slap sanctions on the Chinese government for detaining hundreds of thousands of ethnic Uighurs and other minority Muslims in internment camps, current and former American officials told the New York Times.

Why it matters: As the Trump administration battles China on trade, Beijing’s human rights violations in Xinjiang have largely been sidelined amid resistance from President Trump. A move to sanction officials over the issue would be one of the first times the administration has engaged China on human rights. Officials are also reportedly considering imposing limits on American sales of surveillance technology that Chinese security agencies and companies are using to surveil Uighurs in northwest China.

Turkey’s last-minute effort to head off a looming offensive from the Syrian, Russian and Iranian governments in Idlib Province has fallen short, leaving open only the question of when and how the offensive will occur. Given Syrian President Assad’s pledge to recapture every inch of Syrian territory, neither Western pleas for restraint nor for a potential campaign targeting only extremist fighters is likely to avert the assault.

Why it matters: Idlib is the last remaining de-escalation zone from 2017’s Russian-led Astana peace process, and is home to more 3 million civilians. It is also home to thousands of the most extreme, battle-hardened al-Qaeda and Islamic State fighters, who now have nowhere in Syria left to go. Difficult terrain and the regime’s history of using chemical weapons in the region only compound the challenges. The U.N. warns that a major military clash could force nearly a million Syrians to flee north toward the Turkish border; as many as 30,000 have already been reported displaced from Idlib in recent days.   

The State Department has formally announced that the Palestine Liberation Organization's office in Washington, D.C. will be closed due to Palestinian leadership's refusal to engage with the White House on its Middle East peace plan. 

Why it matters: This move further escalates the wave of sanctions imposed by the Trump administration against the Palestinians over the last few months — after the Palestinians chose to cut ties after President Trump's decision to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. This move is extremely severe because it wipes out any symbols of Palestinian sovereignty in Washington.

The United Nations says at least 30,542 people have been displaced by attacks in Syria's Idlib province, reports Reuters.

The big picture: Home to 3 million civilians, Idlib is the last rebel stronghold in Syria. Regime forces backed by Russia and Iran began bombing the region last week, threatening a massive humanitarian crisis that could force yet another wave of refugees to attempt to flee the country.

The Trump administration will announce Monday that it plans to close the Palestine Liberation Organization's office in Washington, D.C., reports the WSJ.

The big picture: The move is part of an ongoing pressure campaign by the Trump administration — which has included steps like moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and cutting off funding to the UN's Palestinian refugee agency — that has brought diplomatic relations with Palestinian officials to a historic low. National security adviser John Bolton plans to sanction judges on the International Criminal Court if it moves forward with a Palestinian request to investigate the U.S. and Israel.

Jack Ma, co-founder and executive chairman of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, said he will retire on Alibaba's 20th anniversary, which is Sept. 10, 2019. He'll be succeeded by company CEO, Daniel Zhang.

Alibaba was never about Jack Ma, but Jack Ma will forever belong to Alibaba.