Day: November 17, 2023

Can African soybeans help ease China’s reliance on US to feed insatiable demand?

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The new trade with China – the world’s biggest consumer and importer of soybeans – would help to generate foreign earnings for South Africa’s farmers, especially in the rural economy, he said. China has the world’s largest number of pigs – more than 450 million, as of April – producing about 50 million tonnes of pork each year. Soybeans are processed into a variety of food products, but they are also used to make swine feed. China urged to diversify soybean sources to curb reliance on US The China National…

Climate change: China signals reboot of suspended voluntary carbon market is near with release of draft guidelines, regulations

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China has published draft regulations and guidelines for its voluntary carbon market, the China Certified Emission Reduction (CCER) scheme, in the latest move suggesting the reboot of the suspended market is getting close. The National Centre for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation (NCSC), the key think tank under the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), in charge of climate policies research, released proposed rules on registration procedures, and guidelines for the design and implementation of voluntary carbon offset projects under the CCER scheme on Thursday. The guidelines provided examples…

Taiwan’s Apec envoy chats with US President Joe Biden at summit, but not Chinese leader Xi Jinping

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Taiwan’s Apec envoy Morris Chang said on Friday that he had informal interactions with US President Joe Biden and discussions with Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the economic group’s summit in San Francisco, but none with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Taiwan, claimed by Beijing as breakaway territory, takes part in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum as “Chinese Taipei” and does not send its president to summits. The self-ruled island has faced increased military pressure from Beijing, including two rounds of major war games during the past year and a…

China Hosts Military Exercises With 5 ASEAN Members

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Phnom Penh, Cambodia —  China is hosting a joint military exercise with five members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in a move that experts say appears to be an image-building show of force in a region where Beijing’s influence is growing. The military exercise comes amid simmering tensions between China and neighboring countries over sovereignty of the South China Sea. The exercise, which began Monday, is taking place in China’s southern Guangdong province on the northern shores of the hotly contested sea. It includes Cambodian, Lao, Malaysian,…

Uyghur News Recap: Nov. 10-17, 2023

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Washington —  Chinese Diplomat Engages with US Lawmakers, Media Executives A top Chinese official who denied China’s alleged genocide against the Uyghurs met November 2 with top executives at Condé Nast, a major U.S. media company. Huang Ping, China’s Consul General in New York, discussed the growth of the Chinese market, according to Condé Nast’s website. Matchmaking App Raises Concerns of Han-Uyghur Assimilation A Chinese company in Xinjiang has launched a matchmaking app encouraging inter-ethnic marriages between Uyghur women and Chinese men, sparking concerns among experts about Beijing’s broader efforts…

Apec ends with commitment on trade, climate change; differences on Middle East

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The US, China, Japan and more than a dozen other Asia-Pacific economies agreed to continue efforts to expand and liberalise trade, fight corruption and address climate change issues as the group’s annual leaders’ conference wrapped up in San Francisco on Friday. “We reiterate our commitment to working together to deliver a free, open, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent, inclusive, and predictable trade and investment environment,” said a declaration released by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) after a week of meetings that featured on its sidelines a long-awaited summit between the Chinese and…

UNC Members Reaffirm Defense of South Korea, China Remains Opposed

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Washington —  Seventeen nations have reiterated their commitment to help defend South Korea against any attack from its northern neighbor, eliciting an angry response from China. The countries are members of the U.N. Command (UNC), a multinational military force that maintains the armistice between North and South Korea. If a conflict breaks out on the peninsula, its members are to coordinate the deployment of weapons and troops in support of the South. Defense ministers and representatives from the 17 countries gathered this week in Seoul at the invitation of the…

Australian naval divers injured after being subjected to Chinese warship’s sonar pulses

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Australian naval divers have been injured after an “unsafe and unprofessional” run-in with a Chinese warship. The acting prime minister, Richard Marles, on Saturday said the Australian government had expressed “serious concerns” to Chinese officials after the HMAS Toowoomba encountered a People’s Liberation Army-Navy destroyer on Tuesday. The Toowoomba was in international waters in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, having worked to enforce United Nations sanctions, and was on its way to a scheduled port visit when fishing nets became entangled around its propellers. The ship stopped so naval divers could…

Pakistani PM Denies Arms Sales to Ukraine

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Islamabad —  Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister has said his country did not sell weapons for use by Ukraine in its war with Russia, calling reports of such sales a “confusion.” In an exclusive interview with VOA, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said Pakistan did not sell arms to the U.S. for Ukraine. “We will investigate if it [Pakistan arms] has ended up somewhere else. But, as far as Pakistan is concerned our arms were not at all destined for either Ukraine or any other place for that matter,” Kakar said. A recent investigative…

Xi Speech on Foreign Investment in China Leaves Many Questions

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Chinese President Xi Jinping wants corporate leaders to know that Beijing is taking serious steps to create a more business-friendly climate in China, but it is unclear that his remarks will slow the widespread exodus of foreign investment from Asia’s largest economy. In written remarks delivered Thursday during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in San Francisco, California, Xi said that the Chinese Communist Party, which he leads, is committed to “high quality” development in China and that it is pursuing that goal “with our doors open.” “No matter…