Why the Indian Ocean Could be China's Achilles' Heel in a Taiwan War
Every day, nearly 60 fully loaded very large crude-oil carriers sail between the Persian Gulf and Chinese ports, carrying about half of the oil that powers the world's second-largest economy.As the vessels enter the South China Sea, they ply waters increasingly controlled by China's growing military, from the missile batteries and airfields at its bases on disputed islands to its stealthy Type 055 destroyers.But when crossing the Indian Ocean, joined by others headed to China from Africa and Brazil…
Sinopec Signs 27-Year LNG Supply Deal
State-owned Chinese firm Sinopec signed a new 27-year LNG supply and purchase agreement with QatarEnergy, the two companies said on Saturday.Under the agreement, the two companies will cooperate on the second phase of the Gulf Arab state's North Field expansion project, which will supply 3 million metric tons of LNG per year to Sinopec.A partnership agreement was also signed under which QatarEnergy will transfer a 5% interest to Sinopec in a joint venture company that owns the equivalent of 6 million tons per year of LNG production capacity in the North Field South project.The deal, signed at
China 2021 Iron Ore Imports Retreat from Record on Steel Curbs
China's iron ore imports dropped in 2021, down 4.3% from the previous year's record annual high, as steel production curbs imposed to combat pollution dented demand and pulled prices of the key steelmaking material off historical highs.The world's top iron ore consumer brought in 1.12 billion tonnes of the commodity last year, compared with 1.17 billion tonnes imported in 2020, data from the General Administration showed on Friday.For December, China imported 86.07 million tonnes of the raw material…
New China Import Rules Bring Headaches
Makers of Irish whiskey, Belgian chocolate and European coffee brands are scrambling to comply with new Chinese food and beverage regulations, with many fearful their goods will be unable to enter the giant market as a Jan. 1 deadline looms.China's customs authority published new food safety rules in April stipulating all food manufacturing, processing and storage facilities abroad need to be registered by year-end for their goods to access the Chinese market.But detailed procedures explaining how to get the required registration codes were only issued in October…
Russian, Chinese Warships Hold First Joint Patrols in the Pacific
Russian and Chinese warships held their first joint patrols in the western Pacific Ocean over the past week, Russia's defense ministry said on Saturday, a move Japan said it was monitoring.Moscow and Beijing, which staged naval cooperation drills in the Sea of Japan earlier in October, have cultivated closer military and diplomatic ties in recent years at a time when their relations with the West have soured.The naval maneuvers, which Russia said ran from Sunday through Saturday…
Chinese Ports Hit Capacity as Virus Tests Slow Clearing
Testing of imported foods for the new coronavirus is pushing capacity at some major Chinese ports to their limit, major shippers told customers this week, warning of additional fees and possible diversions to other ports.China stepped up inspections of imported food last month after an outbreak of the coronavirus among people working at and visiting a major food market in Beijing."Import container pick-up activities have been severely impacted and as a result reefer plugs are highly utilized especially at the port of Yantian and Ningbo," said German shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd in a customer noti
China-Australia Row to Reshuffle Trade in Bulging Barley Market
A prohibitive Chinese import tariff on Australian barley will benefit other suppliers without changing the bleak global outlook caused by large stocks and depressed beer demand, analysts and traders said.Beijing said on Monday it would apply an 80.5% tariff on Australian barley imports for the next five years, a move expected to all but halt flows from its main supplier.“This should benefit Canada and France that have plenty of stock this year,” Helene Duflot of French consultancy Strategie Grains said.
China's Port Jam Eases, But Reefer Rates Soar
Severe congestion at Chinese ports is easing, say officials and industry participants, although a logjam of refrigerated containers has disrupted supplies of fresh and frozen food and pushed up freight rates outside China.Thousands of refrigerated containers carrying meat, seafood and fruit from around the world to China have been stuck for weeks at the country's ports after Beijing extended its Lunar New Year holiday and cities around the nation restricted free movement to curb…
China Iron Ore Imports Fall, Brazil Shipments Slide
China's iron ore imports in April fell to the lowest level in 18 months as poor weather in Brazil, the country's second-biggest supplier, disrupted shipments and some production by miner Vale SA was halted after a mine accident.Arrivals of iron ore, a key steelmaking raw material, were 80.77 million tonnes last month, the lowest since October 2017, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Wednesday. That compares to 86.42 million tonnes in March and 82.92 million tonnes in April 2018.For the first four months of 2019…
U.S.-China Trade Battle Heats Up
Dueling tariffs raise fears of long A U.S.-China trade fight resulting in duties on $34 billion worth of each other's imports was seen dragging on for a potentially prolonged period, as Washington and Beijing flexed their muscles with no sign of negotiations to ease tensions.Friday marked the start of the U.S. duties that were promptly met with retribution by China, as Beijing accused the United States of triggering the "largest-scale trade war."The escalating fight between the…
US Exports to China to Rise amid Trade Talks, but Volumes are Capped
China has pledged to buy more U.S. goods to reduce America's huge trade deficit and help avoid exacerbating a trade war between the world's two biggest economies, with energy and commodities high on Washington's list of products for sale.The U.S. trade war with China is "on hold" after the governments agreed to drop tariff threats and work on a wider agreement, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday. Washington is especially keen to sell more of the United States'…
US Sorghum Reaches Spain as Traders Divert More Ships from China
A rare cargo of U.S. sorghum has arrived in Spain and will be followed by several more, shipping data showed, a sign that Spain's livestock industry is set to become one of the new homes for U.S. sorghum hit by Chinese anti-dumping tariffs.Exporters have been scrambling to divert hundreds of thousands of tonnes of U.S. sorghum bound for China after Beijing announced hefty anti-dumping deposits on the grain in mid-April, part of a simmering trade dispute between the world's two largest economies.Sorghum is mainly used in livestock feed and the fiery Chinese liquor baijiu.U.S. officials had already flagged sales of U.S. sorghum to Spain…
Course Change for China-bound U.S. Sorghum Bulker
A vessel carrying 58,503 tonnes of sorghum from the United States switched its destination from China to South Korea early on Thursday, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon ship tracking data. The Peak Pegasus loaded U.S. sorghum from trader ADM's Corpus Christi grain elevator in Texas and departed on April 3 for Nansha in southern China, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. It is now due to arrive in Gunsan in South Korea on May 10, according to the data. The cargo is one of almost two dozen bought by China but now stranded after Beijing said it would impose a hefty deposit on U.S. shipments of the grain in an anti-dumping probe.
Oil from Sunken Iranian Tanker Diffusing in East China Sea
Oil from an Iranian tanker that sank in the East China Sea has diffused into four separate slicks, covering a combined area of just over 100 square kms (39 square miles), Chinese authorites said late on Wednesday. Earlier satellite imaging showed two large slicks, with the larger one also thicker and more concentrated, but the latest data had found four slicks ranging in size from 48 square kms (19 square miles) to 5.5 square kms (2.1 square miles), the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) said. The large tanker Sanchi (IMO:9356608) sank in the worst oil ship disaster in decades on Sunday, raising worries about damage to the marine ecosystem. The bodies of two sailors were recovered from the ship while a third body was pulled from the sea near the vessel.
Chinese Soy Project in Brazil: Just an Empty Field
No signs identify a barren field in northeastern Brazil that was meant to be the center of one of China's most ambitious agricultural forays into South America. In 2011, Chongqing Grain Group Corp announced plans to build a soy crushing plant, railways and a giant inland storage and transportation hub to export goods back to China. The total price tag: $2 billion. Yet today, the company has only managed to bulldoze a 100-hectare area on which the crushing plant might one day stand. Even that project is on hold, though, and shrubs are starting to grow back on the cleared terrain. The stalled plans are an example of the difficulties facing once-promising Chinese investments here.
