I was not as bemused as some who stumbled across Treehugger‘s April 1st story on China’s plans to build a green city, by veteran contributor and colleague of mine, Alex Pasternack. Knowing well that wit is Pasternack’s forte, today is April Fool’s Day, and the Center for Urban Misuse does not exist, I drank in […]
Australian approval for Valin-Fortescue deal Australian authorities approved $438 million Chinese investment in Fortescue Metals Group, Australia’s third-largest iron ore miner. China’s state-owned Hunan Valin Iron and Steel Group received approval to take up to 17.55 percent of Fortescue. The Australian decision was relatively unexpected as a similar Chinese mining investment bid was blocked on […]
The G20 Global Summit, which will take place in the UK in April, stands to be an important factor in determining China’s stance on climate change commitments as Copenhagen draws near. First, this meeting will provide the US and China a chance to meet behind the scenes, for the first time since Hillary Clinton visited […]
Shifting bargaining power in China trade The steady price increase in China-made goods has come to an end and bargaining power has shifted back to overseas buyers, according to executives at Li & Fung, the world’s largest trade sourcing company. After almost four years of steadily increasing prices for goods made in China a deflationary […]
Central Bank advisor: China’s economy has bottomed Fan Gang, who sits on the Chinese central bank’s monetary policy advisory committee, believes the Chinese economy has bottomed. While further interest rate cuts might remain an option, Mr. Fan sees ubiquitous signs for an end in China’s economic slow down. In his opinion, strong growth in car […]
Maybe not fully committed to the dollar? New doubts about China’s confidence in the U.S. dollar emerged yesterday as Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of China, released a statement calling for a new international currency reserve to replace the greenback. Mr. Zhou pointed out the shortcomings of the current dollar-dominated financial system and […]
Chinese commitment to U.S. treasuries Hu Xiaolian, vice governor of the People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, expressed China’s commitment to the U.S. dollar. According to Ms. Hu, China will continue to buy U.S. treasuries as part of its foreign exchange reserves strategy. The Chinese assurance comes amidst increased fear of a weak […]
China ready to ease tension with the U.S. China is ready to ease the military standoff with the United States in the South China Sea, according to Chinese military officials. The defense sources assured that there were no plans for an increase in Chinese military presence in the disputed region. China and the U.S. both […]
Yuan rises to highest level this year Together with other major Asian currencies the Chinese yuan strengthened against the US dollar. The yuan hit its strongest level this year, easing concerns that China would depreciate its currency to help a struggling export sector. China’s central bank continues to be trapped between calls for a stronger […]
New trouble looming over Chinese-Australian mining deal Australian politicians called for an inquiry into the country’s foreign investment laws as state-owned Aluminium Corporation of China is pursuing a $19.5 billion purchase of Rio Tinto’s mining assets in Australia. The Chinalco-Rio Tinto deal has caused significant suspicion among Australian officials that there are higher political motives […]
China’s international investment losses exceed $80 billion China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), the country’s exclusive manager of almost $2 trillion foreign exchange reserves, has lost more than $80 billion in its diversification into global equities. Details of SAFE’s holdings are only disclosed to the top Chinese leadership, a fact that makes exact estimates […]
Prepared for new stimulus measures China is prepared to issue new stimulus measures if necessary, Premier Wen Jiabao said on a press conference. Apart from the RMB 4 trillion stimulus package and additional tax cuts of as much as RMB 600 billion, China has prepared plans to cope with more economic difficulties. Mr. Wen repeated […]
FDI approval process eased In an effort to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), China gave local governments more authority to approve incoming overseas capital. The simplification of the approval process comes after four months of falling FDI to China as U.S., European and Japanese companies cut investments in factories and workers in China. Local governments […]
Massive drop in exports Chinese exports in February fell much steeper than analysts had expected. The drop of 25.7 percent compared with a year ago continues the trend of falling export rates of the last four months, but is significantly steeper than the previous declines. Imports also fell sharply by 24.1 percent in February. China’s […]
Declining consumer prices cause fear of deflation A 1.6 percent drop in consumer prices in February from a year earlier sparked fears of increasing deflationary problems in China. The price drop in February ends more than six years of price increases, with February 2008 seeing a record consumer price index (CPI) rise of 8.7 percent […]