China edges ahead of Germany on exports
China’s exports narrowly edged ahead of those from Germany in the first six months of the year, new figures showed on Monday, in a fresh sign that the latter’s status as the world’s leading exporter is at risk. China exported goods worth $521.7bn (€364.9bn, £318.1bn) in the first six months of this...
China and Rio Need Return to Normality
Over the past three months, the relationship between Rio Tinto and China has lurched from one crisis to the next. From the disintegration of a proposed investment in Rio by state-owned miner Chinalco, through painful negotiations over iron ore prices, to the eventual arrest of four Rio employees on charges of bribery, the...
With a little understanding
Australia's fraught relationship with China takes another turn. AFTER Kevin Rudd, Australia’s Mandarin-speaking prime minister, came to power in late 2007 the country’s relations with China seemed set to take an upward turn. But the much-anticipated love-in has failed to happen. On Tuesday August 18th...
China backtracks on PC software filters
Beijing has stepped back from attempts to force the installation of a filtering software on all personal computers produced or sold in China, finally defusing a controversy that caused uproar in the industry and threatened to spark friction over trade with the country. The government will continue to install Green...
A souring relationship
EACH year the world’s big steelmakers and the big suppliers of iron ore get together to fix a benchmark price for the commodity. For decades the annual negotiations generated barely a murmur of interest from outsiders. In recent years some attention was paid to talks between the big three of the seaborne iron-ore...
Expo Shanghai 2010
The 2010 World Exposition in Shanghai will last 184 days and provide China an opportunity to show off its remarkable economic growth. Officially known as “Expo Shanghai 2010,” it will also give foreign nations and companies a chance to further develop business partnerships with China and Chinese companies.This...
China Loses Trade Dispute with the United States
The World Trade Organization has ruled in favor of the United States over a dispute that accused China of breaking international trade rules by restricting the distribution of American CDs, DVDs, books and computer software to Chinese state-owned companies, reports The Associated Press. Two officials familiar with the...
A Look at China's Half Year Report
China’s National Bureau of Statistics has just released its latest economic figures this month and it paints a picture of how the country has fared thus far with half the year already over. China Briefing has compiled the official economic figures announced by various government agencies in a chart that can be...
The Spend is Nigh
A REBALANCED global economy requires America to consume less and save more. That means the world’s three big surplus economies—China, Germany and Japan—will have to save less and spend more. None is under more scrutiny than China, whose vast current-account surplus has been fingered by some as the ultimate...
Uncertainty in the year ahead
China's economy should grow by 8% this year and next, but significant risks remain The Economist Intelligence Unit has revised its economic forecasts for China in 2009-10, and now believes that the country will achieve 8% GDP growth in both years. With real GDP growth having reached 7.9% year on year in the second quarter...
China to deploy foreign reserves
Beijing will use its foreign exchange reserves, the largest in the world, to support and accelerate overseas expansion and acquisitions by Chinese companies, Wen Jiabao, the country’s premier, said in comments published on Tuesday. “We should hasten the implementation of our ‘going out’ strategy and...
KEA / NZCTA Announce Their Engagement
July 27, 2009 KEA / NZCTA ANNOUNCE THEIR ENGAGEMENT Kiwis doing business in China will benefit from a new partnership that sees the New Zealand China Trade Association (NZCTA) leveraging the growing network of Kiwi expats in China. NZCTA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Kea New Zealand, to work together...