China

Hong Kong’s competitive edge blunted by US-China storm
29Jul By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Market, World

Hong Kong’s competitive edge blunted by US-China storm

HONG KONG: Beijing's tough new security law and President Donald Trump's order to rescind special trading privileges have blunted Hong Kong's competitive edge and risk turning the finance hub into just another Chinese city, analysts warn. Once lauded as an oasis of predictability in Asia, Hong Kong has been plunged into crisis over the past year, threatening its status as a reliable world-class business centre. As 2019 came to a close, the city was already deep in recession because of spiralling US-China trade tensions and months of huge, often violent protests. And the jolts to business sentiment have not let up. Late last month Beijing blanketed the city in a game-changing anti-subversion law aimed at ending protests against its increasingly authoritarian rule. Then on Tuesd...
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China continues to be largest coal producer while making speeches about clean environment
20Jul By Walter ParezNo Comments
China

China continues to be largest coal producer while making speeches about clean environment

Over the years China has received much applause for its clean environmental speeches at climate change and environmental events. However, the data released by China Coal Transport and Distribution Association's (CCTDA) shows that the coal used by coastal power plants at five major Chinese utilities hit 488,800 tonnes during the last week of March, more than double from a record low seen on February 10.The Chinese government, despite making speeches about the road to have a clean environment, reportedly plans to add coal storage facilities in 2020 to ensure stockpiles at or above 15 days' normal supply for coal-driven power plants.In 2019, the country's coal consumption was up by 1 per cent over the previous year, marking the third consecutive annual rise in coal use.China is also permittin...
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Stocks wobble as investors assess risks of second wave
8Jul By News DeskNo Comments
China, World

Stocks wobble as investors assess risks of second wave

Asian stocks were set for gains on Friday although trade was likely to be choppy after a mixed Wall Street session with investor focus swinging between concerns about a second pandemic wave and more upbeat hopes about an economic recovery. TOKYO/WASHINGTON: Asian shares and U.S. stock futures teetered in choppy trade on Friday as lingering concerns about an fresh spike in coronavirus cases offset growing hopes for a quick economic recovery. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.1per cent. U.S. S&P 500 e-minis moved in and out of the red, and were last up 0.21per cent. Shares in China rose 1.15per cent, led by gains in financials and the health care sector, but South Korean stocks fell 0.25per cent due to concern about diplomatic tension with North Korea. ...
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Singapore reports 202 new COVID-19 cases; 6 infections in community
7Jul By News DeskNo Comments
China, Singapore, World

Singapore reports 202 new COVID-19 cases; 6 infections in community

SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 202 new COVID-19 cases on Monday (Jun 29), including six cases in the community, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). The community cases involve four Singaporeans and two work permit holders. Among the Singaporeans, one had already been quarantined as he had been in contact with a previous case linked to the Leo dormitory cluster. Another two cases were detected as part of MOH's screening of people working at dormitories or frontline COVID-19 operations. "Epidemiological investigations are ongoing for the remaining (Singaporean) case," said MOH. The tally of COVID-19 cases in Singapore stands at 43,661. Most of the new cases daily are work permit holders residing in foreign worker dormitories, with 196 infections reported on Monday. Three ne...
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Greece is ‘ready to welcome tourists’, says prime minister
7Jul By News DeskNo Comments
China, World

Greece is ‘ready to welcome tourists’, says prime minister

FIRA: From the emblematic island of Santorini, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Saturday (Jun 13) that Greece is "ready to welcome tourists" in complete safety after the coronavirus lockdown, whose impact on tourism will be "significant". "Greek tourism is back," said Mitsotakis, two days before the reopening of the tourist season. The return of tourists to Greece from around 30 countries by air, sea and land, begins on Monday. "Everything is ready in terms of making sure that we ensure the proper social distancing guidelines, said Mitsotakis, adding that safety and health is "our number 1 priority". "We want visitors to feel safe. I am not interested in making Greece the number one destination in Europe. I am interested in making Greece the safest destination in Eu...
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India says officer, 2 soldiers killed in ‘violent faceoff’ on Chinese border
7Jul By News DeskNo Comments
China, USA, World

India says officer, 2 soldiers killed in ‘violent faceoff’ on Chinese border

NEW DELHI: An Indian officer and two soldiers were killed in a "violent faceoff" with Chinese troops on the contested border, the Indian army said on Tuesday (Jun 16) following weeks of rising tensions and the deployment of thousands of extra troops from both sides. Brawls and face-offs flare on a fairly regular basis between the two nuclear-armed giants over their 3,500km frontier, which has never been properly demarcated, but no one has been killed in decades. The Indian army said that there were "casualties on both sides", but Beijing made no mention of any deaths or injuries as it swiftly laid the blame squarely on India for the incident. "A violent face-off took place yesterday (Monday) night with casualties on both sides. The loss of lives on the Indian side includes an office...
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Vietnam, Philippines denounce China military drills in disputed waters
7Jul By News DeskNo Comments
China, World

Vietnam, Philippines denounce China military drills in disputed waters

HANOI: Vietnam and the Philippines on Thursday (Jul 2) criticised China's holding of military drills in a disputed part of the South China Sea, warning it could create tension in the region and impact Beijing's relationship with its neighbours. Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said China's exercises in the waters near the Paracel Islands were "highly provocative", while Vietnam's Foreign Ministry called them a violation of sovereignty that could be "detrimental" to Beijing's relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). China scheduled five days of drills from Wednesday near the Paracels according to a Jun 27 announcement by the Hainan Maritime Safety Administration. Vietnam has overlapping claims with China over the Paracels. Vietnam and the Phi...
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Tibet’s only soccer club folds over altitude dispute
7Jul By News DeskNo Comments
China, USA, World

Tibet’s only soccer club folds over altitude dispute

Tibet's first and only professional soccer team has become the latest in a string of Chinese clubs to fold, following a row over hosting matches in one of the highest cities in the world. Lhasa Chengtou played only two games in the Tibetan capital — which sits at an oxygen-sucking altitude of 3,650 meters — and on both occasions the referee had to suspend play every 15 minutes to let the players breathe bottled oxygen, Xinhua news agency said. The demise of the club, just three years after it was founded, is a blow to the ruling Communist Party's hopes of having a team in the professional leagues to make Tibetans feel more integrated into China. Lhasa Chengtou finished last season 26th of 32 teams in China's third division and had been playing its home matches thousands of kilometers aw...
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Chinese hotel builder abruptly liquidates business in UK
28Jun By Walter ParezNo Comments
China

Chinese hotel builder abruptly liquidates business in UK

A Chinese conglomerate which has built hotels for Hilton and Travelodge has abruptly liquidated its UK subsidiaries reportedly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.CIMC is a global business with regional offices in the UK, US and Australia and the main head office in Southern China. The main UK business, CIMC Modular Building Systems and its development arm first set up to promote the modular system have both been placed in voluntary liquidation by managing director Jason Taylor.“The impact of the pandemic has been so wide and so deep that it has become impossible to survive without taking some fairly drastic steps,” a source said.CIMC MBS lost pound 2.5 million in 2018. During that year it delivered nearly 900 modules creating 1,317 hotel or student rooms.CIMC has supplied ready-built rooms from ...
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China loses landmark WTO dispute against EU over market-economy status
24Jun By Walter ParezNo Comments
China, Market

China loses landmark WTO dispute against EU over market-economy status

In a landmark development, China has lost a dispute to the European Union at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for a market economy status, as the former allowed the dispute to lapse.China spent four years fighting for market-economy status, a designation that would give it stronger footing with commercial partners while also curtailing their ability to retaliate over trade disputes.The Chinese government allowed a landmark World Trade Organization dispute — aimed at forcing the European Union to recognize it as a market economy in trade investigations — to lapse on June 15.The case was initially brought in 2016 and China lost an interim ruling on the matter last year.A note by the WTO Secretariat said: "At the request of China, the panel suspended its work on 14 June 2019 (WT/DS516/13). ...
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