The US Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates is no doubt ringing alarms bell for Chinese leaders meeting in the capital this week for annual closed-door talks to chart economic policy for next year. Immediately after the announcement early Thursday (Hong Kong time), Chinese onshore government bond futures plunged to the daily limit, reportedly prompting the central bank to step in. The yuan also tumbled to test the key level of seven to the…
Posts published in “Day: December 17, 2016”
China appears to have installed weapons on all seven of the artificial islands it built in the South China Sea, according to satellite images released by a US-based think tank, suggesting Beijing may be stepping up preparation for conflict in the disputed waters. China has repeatedly promised it will not militarise the man-made islands and yesterday said its construction activities were legitimate. “The necessary military facilities are mainly for self-defence. It is legitimate,” the defence…
China’s first aircraft carrier has for the first time undergone a live-fire drill, which included the launch of several missiles as Beijing showed off its military might. Footage of the recent military exercise, which involved the Liaoning carrier and dozens of ships, aircraft and a range of missiles – was broadcast by China Central Television on Thursday night. The drill took place in Bohai Sea in the northeast of the country. The broadcast was also…
The author is a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce A few years ago, I predicted that for the next 10 to 20 years, economic recession will worsen and cause major social instability in emerging countries. Africa, Latin America and Middle East Islamic countries will be the prime source of this upheaval and turmoil. For nearly three years, the Ukrainian crisis, the emergence of…
Trade frictions between China and other developing markets over almost everything from home appliances to chemicals are increasing, a heating up in competition that comes amid a downturn in global trade. Some of the latest disputes were initiated by Argentina, which opened up five anti-dumping probes against Chinese imports, including on steel pipes, food processing machines and dishwashers, on December 7, according to trade alerts issued by China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). Such “intensive” investigations…
Governments in Northeast China are going to great pains to create new jobs as the country is pushing ahead with its plan to cut industrial overcapacity. In Tonghua, in the south of Jilin province, a coal mine with an annual output of 210,000 tons and owned by Shansonggang Mining Industry Group was shut down in August due to continuous losses and declining resources. “The mine had to resettle 1,077 workers,” Sun Tao, the former head…
KARACHI: The federal government has issued special permits to three princes from Saudi Arabia to hunt the internationally protected migratory bird, houbara bustard, in Balochistan and Punjab during the hunting season, it was learnt on Thursday. According to sources, the hunting permit holders include the governor of Tabuk and two sons of the former King of Saudi Arabia, the late Saud bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud. Residents of colder Central Asian regions, houbara bustards migrate every year…
Last week account holders in a major UAE bank began receiving letters alerting them that soon they will be required to furnish information “with a view to determining where they are resident for tax purposes”. In days to come, customers with other banks will start receiving the same letter. The effort is part of a programme to bring UAE banks into compliance with what is called the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), agreed upon by a…