China

Swedish clothing icon H&M joins global clamour to end human rights abuses in Xinjiang
7Nov By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China

Swedish clothing icon H&M joins global clamour to end human rights abuses in Xinjiang

Swirling reports about human rights abuses in Xinjiang are now beginning to hurt China's export-led economy, with Swedish clothing icon H&M deciding not to buy raw materials from the region's farms and factories suspected of using "forced labour". The fashion house said on Tuesday that it would no longer source cotton from Xinjiang-China's largest growing area of the cash crop. It also clarified that it did not work with any garment factory in the region. H&M said it had conducted "an inquiry at all the garment manufacturing factories we work with in China aiming to ensure that they are not employing workers ... through what is reported on as labour transfer programmes or employment schemes where forced labour is an increased risk." By de-linking from restive Xinjiang, where...
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Indian consumers and manufacturers getting sensitive to domination of Chinese goods in Indian market
7Nov By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market

Indian consumers and manufacturers getting sensitive to domination of Chinese goods in Indian market

China’s emergence as a recent economic superpower is in no small part due to its massive production industry. The coastal factory towns produce an assortment of goods — with equally varying degrees of quality — on an enormous scale and with low cost, only for them to be shipped off to the rest of the world. Cheap labour —allegedly through labour rights violations as well as slave labour — and brazen theft of intellectual property have played a fairly large hand in cementing the Communist state as a principal hub for free market production. Experts had prophesied a subsequent political transformation from communism into a democracy with the liberation of China’s economy. Unfortunately, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has pioneered a sinister amalgamation of the ugliest aspects of Marx...
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US targets Hong Kong leader but not banks in sanctions report
6Nov By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, World

US targets Hong Kong leader but not banks in sanctions report

WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday (Oct 14) renewed pressure against Hong Kong's leader, accusing her of undermining autonomy from China, but stopped short of imposing sanctions on banks under a tough new law. The State Department issued its first report mandated to Congress under the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, a law passed by Congress aimed at making the tightening restrictions on the financial hub costly for Beijing. The report "underscores our ongoing objection to Beijing's actions that are intentionally designed to erode the freedoms of the people of Hong Kong and impose the CCP's oppressive policies", the State Department said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party. In line with the report, the Treasury Department added 10 people to its blacklist of "Specially Designate...
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Exclusive: Chinese regulatory probe delays approval for Ant’s IPO, sources say
5Nov By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Market, World

Exclusive: Chinese regulatory probe delays approval for Ant’s IPO, sources say

China's securities regulator is probing a potential conflict of interest in fintech giant Ant Group's planned US$35 billion stock listing, delaying approval for what could be the world's largest IPO, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said. HONG KONG/BEIJING: China's securities regulator is probing a potential conflict of interest in fintech giant Ant Group's planned US$35 billion stock listing, delaying approval for what could be the world's largest IPO, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) is looking into the role of Alipay, Ant's flagship payment platform, as the only third-party channel through which retail investors could buy into five Chinese mutual funds investing in the IPO, the people told Reuters,...
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China challenging Vietnam dominance in Cambodia, Laos through BRI projects: Analyst
3Nov mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
China, World

China challenging Vietnam dominance in Cambodia, Laos through BRI projects: Analyst

Defense analyst Derek Grossman has said that by leveraging Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects, China has increasingly challenged Vietnam’s dominance in Cambodia and Laos, and that Vietnam will have to find alternative means of engaging its neighbors to combat Chinese influence.In an opinion article, Grossman stated that China’s strengthening ties to Cambodia and Laos in recent years have real effects on Vietnam. “For example, Chinese support has likely contributed to Cambodian and Laotian decisions not to fully support Vietnam’s stance on ASEAN’s Code of Conduct negotiations in the South China Sea.”“China has increasingly challenged Vietnam’s dominance in Cambodia and Laos, primarily by leveraging Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects to raise its influence in the region. Outspent b...
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Amid worsening ties, China expected to sanction Australian copper, sugar
3Nov mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
Asia, China, Market, World

Amid worsening ties, China expected to sanction Australian copper, sugar

As relations between China and Australia continue to get worse on a range of issues, importers across Beijing are expected to brace for a round of sanctions on copper ore and copper concentrate as well as sugar this week.The General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) has issued a notice to exporters claiming that it had found a pest in imported log timber from Queensland and has banned all log exports from the Australian state. It further claimed that it had found contamination in barley shipments from Australian grain exporter Emerald Grain as well.As per repots, bans on copper ore and copper concentrate, as well as sugar, are expected to be introduced this week.In September, China suspended barley imports from Australia’s largest grain exporter, CBH Group, after also detecting pes...
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Oil gains nearly 2% as robust China trade data offsets returning supply
3Nov By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Market, World

Oil gains nearly 2% as robust China trade data offsets returning supply

An aerial drone view of a crude oil storage facility on April 23, 2020 in Cushing, Oklahoma. Oil prices rebounded on Tuesday, supported by robust economic data from China that offset returning supply in other regions but gains were capped by forecasts for a slow recovery in global oil demand as coronavirus cases rise. Brent crude futures were up 72 cents, or 1.7%, to $42.44 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled 77 cents, or 1.95%, higher at $40.20 per barrel. On Monday, both benchmarks fell nearly 3%. China, the world's top crude oil importer, took in 11.8 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil in September, up 5.5% from August and up 17.5% from a year earlier, but still below the record high level of 12.94 mln bpd in June, customs data showed. "Oil prices, which suffer...
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Trump vs Biden: Potential implications for investors
3Nov By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, China, Market, Singapore, World

Trump vs Biden: Potential implications for investors

As the clock ticks down to the US presidential election, Money Mind looks into the potential impact of a Trump or Biden victory, and what this means for investors. SINGAPORE: As the clock ticks down to the US presidential election on Nov 3, the intensity of the contest between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden is rising. For investors, the anticipation of the outcome has led to some wild rides in the markets. A survey conducted by wealth management firm UBS in September found that investors favoured Mr Trump for economic direction and job growth. However, Mr Biden was their pick to manage the COVID-19 downturn, foreign policy, and healthcare. Over the past month, much has happened. From a first presidential debate that some have called disastrous...
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China lobbying to obtain French nuclear technology for ‘debt-trap diplomacy’: Report
2Nov mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
China, World

China lobbying to obtain French nuclear technology for ‘debt-trap diplomacy’: Report

A US-based news organization has claimed that China has intensified lobbying and "backchannel negotiation" in its attempts to obtain billions of dollars of nuclear technology, which it can use as a new tool in its "debt-trap diplomacy"Under the "guise of ameliorating Franco-Sino bilateral relations", the Chinese government has recently intensified lobbying campaign targeting important French politicians in an increasingly "frenetic bid to obtain billions of dollars of nuclear technology", which intelligence sources fear Beijing will use to expand its global influence.Senior intelligence sources said Beijing was currently "lobbying hard" in order to secure a future visit by French President Emmanuel Macron in the recent future.China is seeking to "rekindle a 10-billion euro deal" between Ch...
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China reports 10 COVID-19 cases
2Nov By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, China, World

China reports 10 COVID-19 cases

BEIJING: China reported 10 new COVID-19 cases on Oct 1, down from 11 a day earlier, the country's health authority reported on Friday (Oct 2). The National Health Commission said in a statement all new cases were imported infections involving travellers from overseas. The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not count as confirmed COVID-19 cases, rose to 33 from 10 a day earlier. The total number of COVID-19 infections in China now stands at 85,424, while the total number of deaths remained unchanged at 4,634. Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
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