US Secretary of Agriculture Ed Shafer told reporters that the US and China have agreed to resist protectionist backlash during the current economic crisis. Such an agreement could facilitate negotiations in the Doha round, a seven-year effort to reduce trade barriers led by the WTO, though Shafer did not offer any specifics. The Doha round [...]
China’s October trade surplus surged by 30% to US$32.5 billion, hitting a new high for the third straight month. The surplus with the US rose 13.6% to US$17.5 billion. The surplus with Europe rose 12.2% to US$15.6 billion. However, export growth showed signs of weakness, rising by 19.1% to US$128.3 billion, down from September’s figure [...]
China’s central bank cut lending and deposit interest rates for the third time in six weeks to shore up confidence in the country’s economy. Banks’ benchmark one-year lending rate was trimmed 0.27 of a percentage point to 6.66%, while the one-year deposit rate was cut by the same amount, to 3.60%. The central banks of [...]
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index (SCI) rose 3.65% to 2,073.568 points on Monday after dropping 12.78% the previous week, encouraged by news that the US would inject capital directly into American banks, and European governments would buy debt from banks. Chinese bank shares were also helped by the fact that they dropped near levels where [...]
An affiliate of China Investment Corp (CIC), China’s largest sovereign wealth fund, may have up to US$5.4 billion locked up in a US money-market account. In early September, Stable Investment Corp, which has links to CIC, was the largest shareholder in US-based Reserve Primary Fund, which suspended withdrawals last month as it became the first [...]
China canceled a series of military and diplomatic contacts with the US after American officials announced on Friday a US$6.5 billion arms sale to Taiwan. Cancellations include a visit to the US by a senior Chinese general, port calls by naval vessels, cooperation on meetings regarding weapons of mass destruction, and humanitarian assistance and disaster [...]
China welcomed the passage of the US$700 billion US financial rescue package over the weekend, as top officials insisted that the mainland’s economy is strong enough to withstand the impact of a global credit crisis. China’s central bank said in a statement Saturday that it was pleased the bill had passed, and that “China’s financial [...]
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said Wednesday that a joint investment fund between his country and China would have US$12 billion in capital, twice the amount originally announced. Chávez, who made the announcement in Beijing on the second day of his three-day visit to China, hopes that China can eventually overtake the US as his country’s [...]