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☆ China holds live-fire drills in East China Sea north of Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, June 13 (Reuters) - China began military exercises in the East China sea to the north of Taiwan on Tuesday, including live-fire exercises from warships, as the U.S and its allies conduct their drills in the Western Pacific. China routinely conducts exercises along its coast, though the ones near Chinese-claimed Taiwan often attract the most attention. The drills are near the Dachen islands, which Taiwan controlled until 1955 until being evacuated after other nearby islands were seized by Chinese forces in a bloody battle. China will hold separate exercises in another northern part of the East China Sea until late Wednesday afternoon, the maritime safety agency said. China's East China Sea exercises coincide with a quadrilateral naval exercise in the Philippine Sea that started on Friday involving the United States, Japan, Canada and France.

Persons: Mao Zedong's, Ronald Reagan, Ryan Woo, Albee Zhang, Ben Blanchard, Robert Birsel Organizations: U.S, Safety Administration, East China, China, U.S . 7th Fleet, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, East China, Taiwan, Western Pacific, Zhejiang, China's Fujian, Republic of China, Taipei, East, Philippine, United States, Japan, Canada, France

Kinmen, Taiwan CNN —As the sun sets over Taiwan’s Kinmen islands, the neon lights of mainland China dazzle in the distance just 2.5 miles away. That lingering potential for invasion might make it seem like an unlikely place to construct a bridge to mainland China. Anti-invasion spikes along the coast of Taiwan's Kinmen islands. During a recent trip to Kinmen, Taiwan Vice President and DPP presidential candidate William Lai said he recognized the sacrifices of the islanders during decades of conflict. “The Taiwanese government looks at the Chinese military threat as something that cannot be accepted and we condemn it,” he added.

Persons: John Mees, Ko Wen, ”, Xi Jinping, Ho Chih, Sam Yeh, Kinmen, Yang Chien, ” Yang, “, Yang, Yang Pei, Huang Li, cheng, Tsai Ing, William Lai, Wu Chia, chiang, Nancy Pelosi, Kevin McCarthy, Joseph Wu, ” Wu, Maestro Wu Tseng, Maestro Wu Organizations: Taiwan CNN —, Communist, People’s Liberation Army, CNN, Democratic Progressive Party, Taiwan’s Presidential, Mainland Affairs Council, Chinese Communist Party, CCP, Mainland Affairs, Russo, Getty, Communist China's, Tourism Association, Communist Party, Xi, United States, Taiwan’s, Taiwan Locations: Kinmen, Taiwan, China, Beijing, Taipei, Taiwan’s, Xiamen –, Xiamen, Chinese, Ukrainian, Russia, Taiwan's, AFP, Jinsha, “, Fujian, California, Beijing’s

☆ Cargill to sell China poultry unit to private equity firm DCP Capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, May 31 (Reuters) - U.S. agribusiness giant Cargill has agreed to sell its poultry business in China to private equity firm DCP Capital, it said in a statement on Wednesday. The sale of the unit known as Cargill Protein China is subject to regulatory approvals but is expected to close this year, it added. The U.S. company started its China poultry operations in 2011, breeding, raising and processing the chickens. China's DCP Capital has invested in several other food and agriculture businesses including one of China's top poultry producers Fujian Sunner Development(002299.SZ), its website says. It also said the private equity firm was focused on Greater China and led by former members of the KKR and Morgan Stanley private equity businesses.

Persons: Cargill, Morgan Stanley, Dominique Patton, Christian Schmollinger, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Cargill, DCP, Cargill Protein China, Wellhope, Fujian Sunner, KKR, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, United States, Chuzhou, Anhui, U.S, Fujian

☆ Taiwan reports Chinese aircraft carrier sailed through strait
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A ship sails in the Taiwan Strait, as seen from Pingtan island, the closest point to Taiwan, in China's southeast Fujian province on April 8, 2023. The Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday accompanied by two other ships, Taiwan's defense ministry said, in the latest uptick in military tensions over the island Beijing claims as its own territory. Taiwan's military closely monitored the group using its own ships and aircraft and "responded appropriately", the ministry said in a short statement. The Shandong participated in Chinese military drills around Taiwan last month, operating in the western Pacific. In March of last year, the Shandong sailed through the Taiwan Strait, just hours before the Chinese and U.S. presidents were due to talk.

☆ China's industrial profits tumble 18% in April as demand sputters
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Profits at China's industrial firms slumped in the first four months of 2023, official data showed on Saturday, as companies continued to struggle with margin pressures and soft demand amid a faltering economic recovery. In April alone, industrial firms posted a 18.2% drop in profit year-on-year, according to the NBS, which only occasionally gives monthly figures. Chinese companies are struggling with both weak demand at home and softening demand in the country's major export markets. Earlier this month, Premier Li Qiang vowed more targeted measures to expand domestic demand and stabilize external demand in an effort to promote a sustained economic rebound. Industrial profit numbers cover firms with annual revenues of at least 20 million yuan ($2.89 million) from their main operations.

☆ China-Taiwan tensions could grip 2024 election as top business leaders sound alarms
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

China's policy regarding Taiwan, the world's leader in the semiconductor industry, could end up making it an even bigger focus. The cross-strait strife has already provoked commentary from some top contenders in the Republican presidential primary race who have stressed the need to deter a possible Chinese invasion invasion of the island. But I think ultimately what I think China respects is strength," DeSantis said. 'Like trying to separate conjoined twins'But the political will to defend Taiwan in a Chinese invasion may clash with economic forces. Some CEOs of America's biggest banks have said they would pull their business from China if directed to do so following an invasion of Taiwan.

☆ Chinese baby product firms seek to age up, sell more abroad as population falls
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Farah Master | Thomson Reuters | Farah Master Is A Senior Correspondent At Reuters Where She Focuses On Health | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

HONG KONG, May 11 (Reuters) - For many of China's manufacturers of baby and children's products, painful reverberations from last year's historic decline in the country's population are already upon them. Hong Kong-listed Health and Happiness (H&H) (1112.HK), which gains nearly half of its revenue from baby products such as infant formula, food and diapers, is one such company. China's market for baby food and diapers is the world's largest at $37.9 billion, accounting for around a third of global sales annually, according to research from Euromonitor. Adult diaper revenue, however, shot up 13% - highlighting how China's rapidly ageing population is prompting shifts in consumer spending. Reuters GraphicsShares for the three firms now trade between a third and a fifth of their all-time highs.

Landing of aircraft at night and in bad weather, for instance - crucial to regular offshore carrier operations - remain far from routine, several of the attaches and analysts said. "Carrier operations are a very complicated game, and China's got to figure this out all by itself. A new plane, the KJ-600, designed to perform a similar role to the E-2C/D Hawkeye launched from U.S. carriers, is still in testing, according to the Pentagon's latest annual report on China's military. Several countries operate aircraft carriers but the U.S. remains the most dominant, running 11 carrier battlegroups with global reach. A September editorial published in a magazine run by a PLA weapons manufacturer, titled "Four great advantages the PLA has in attacking Taiwan", did not mention the role of Chinese carriers.

☆ Thailand in talks with CATL, others on potential battery plants, govt official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Devjyot Ghoshal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"We are talking to many companies, not only CATL but many companies in the battery industry," said Narit Therdsteerasukdi, Secretary General of Thailand Board of Investment (BOI). CATL, the world's dominant battery supplier with a 37% market share, currently has no production facilities in Southeast Asia, its website shows. In the past few years, Thailand has drawn investments from EV companies, mainly Chinese, including Great Wall Motors and BYD Co (002594.SZ). Narit said the government's goal was to direct support and subsidies to land larger battery production facilities. CATL currently has 13 battery production hubs, 11 in China, one in Hungary and one in Germany.

☆ China says its newest aircraft carrier will be able to launch 'new-type aircraft'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Jack Lau | South China Morning Post | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Chinese navy currently operates two aircraft carriers. Neither carrier features the Fujian's signature catapult system, which allows planes to launch more frequently and carry more fuel and munitions. Despite plans for the navy to gain the ability to operate globally, the CCTV report only referred to operations in domestic waters when saying that China would build more aircraft carriers. "But due to China's vast oceans, the demand cannot be met with only three aircraft carriers — the Liaoning, Shandong and Fujian. Therefore, new aircraft carriers are bound to be built in the future."

☆ U.S. says it's monitoring China's drills around Taiwan as Beijing kicked off 3 days of military drills
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Two Chinese military helicopters fly past a PLA Navy tugboat, as seen from Pingtan island, the closest point to Taiwan, in China's southeast Fujian province on April 7, 2023. The U.S. says it's closely monitoring China's drills around Taiwan after Beijing began three days of military exercises around the island. The United States is monitoring China's drills around Taiwan closely and is "comfortable and confident" it has sufficient resources and capabilities regionally to ensure peace and stability, the de facto U.S. embassy in Taiwan said on Sunday. China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, began three days of military exercises around the island on Saturday, the day after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen returned from the United States. "We are monitoring Beijing's actions closely," said a spokesperson for the American Institute in Taiwan, which serves as the United States' de facto embassy in the absence of formal diplomatic ties.

For years, Chinese fishermen trawling for fish, shrimp and crab have played cat and mouse with Taiwanese authorities as they closely track boats that near the median line of the Taiwan Strait. MEDIAN LINEOn Saturday, Taipei said more than 40 Chinese planes crossed the Taiwan Strait's "median line", which Beijing does not recognise. Deteriorating relations have made Chinese fishermen more afraid of approaching the line. Several times last year, Taiwan's coast guard detained Chinese fishing crew members, citing illegal trawling, according to official statements. ($1 = 6.8681 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Josh Arslan and Thomas Peter; Writing by Ella Cao and Ryan Woo.

☆ China’s Military Greets Return of Taiwan’s President With Live-Fire Drills
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Joyu Wang | Frances Yoon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

TAIPEI—China’s military launched exercises around Taiwan in an apparent escalation of its response to an international tour by the self-governing island’s president that included highly scrutinized stops in the U.S. Hours after President Tsai Ing-wen returned to Taiwan on Friday night, Chinese maritime safety authorities said the country’s navy planned to conduct seven live-fire exercises over the course of 12 days off the coast of Fujian province, which faces Taiwan, starting Saturday morning.

[1/4] A Chinese warship fires at a target during a military drill near Fuzhou, Fujian Province, near the Taiwan-controlled Matsu Islands that are close to the Chinese coast, China, April 8, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas PeterFUZHOU, China, April 8 (Reuters) - A Chinese warship in seas facing the Taiwan Strait began live-fire drills on Saturday as Beijing began military exercises it calls a warning against what it considers pro-Taiwan independence forces. China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. Smoke and muzzle flares were visible from the stern of the warship as shells were fired on targets on land and water. When asked about Taiwan, Zhao said he hopes the two sides could "reunite" as quickly as possible.

TAIPEI, April 6 (Reuters) - Taiwan officials and defence analysts are bracing for intensifying pressure on the "median line" that has for decades helped keep the peace in the Taiwan Strait as China begins inspecting civilian shipping across the waterway. "As long as they are ships hoisting our country's flag they are all a part of our territory," he said. Taiwan's military will not allow China to "unilaterally" board Taiwanese ships, he said. A senior Taiwan official familiar with security planning said Taiwan would not allow China to board ships in the Taiwan Strait and that Taiwan's coast guard and military would jointly respond if China made a move to do so. Chinese state television broadcast live pictures of the Haixun 6 on patrol, including shaky footage of a Taiwanese coast guard ship shadowing it in the distance.

☆ Chinese officials step up foreign travel in race to find investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Clare Jim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Their urgency highlights the pressure local governments face in boosting growth while burdened with cumulative debt of $9 trillion, said the sources who met Chinese officials in Hong Kong. The other executive and Yim said they had often attended as many as eight to 10 events a day with Chinese officials. Fengze, a district in the nearby city of Quanzhou, signed up procurement deals of up to 30 billion yuan from Hong Kong, the city's social media accounts showed. Shenzhen’s Boao district alone aims to attract 100 billion yuan in foreign investment this year, with 26 business managers and 10 officials responsible for key streets committing themselves to the task in a letter, Chinese media said. ($1=6.8810 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Marius Zaharia and Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China to inspect ships in Taiwan Strait, Taiwan says won't cooperate
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, April 6 (Reuters) - China's Fujian maritime safety administration launched a three-day special joint patrol and inspection operation in the central and northern parts of the Taiwan Strait that includes moves to board ships, it said on its WeChat account. Taiwan's Transport Ministry's Maritime and Ports Bureau said in a statement late Wednesday said it has lodged a strong protest with China about the move. Areas covered by the operation include the Pingtan Taiwan direct container route, the "small three links" passenger route, the Taiwan Strait vessel customary route, the densely navigable areas of commercial and fishing vessels, and areas with frequent illegal sand mining activities. The "small three links" passenger route refers to boat routes between Taiwan's Kinmen and Matsu islands which sit opposite China and Chinese cities. The fleet, a joint special operation with East China Sea Rescue Bureau and the East China Sea Navigation Support Center, will continue to carry out cruise inspections in the central and northern parts of the Taiwan Strait over the next two days.

☆ China March services activity accelerates on new orders - Caixin PMI
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, April 6 (Reuters) - China's services activity in March revved up at the quickest pace in 2-1/2 years on robust new orders and job creation and a consumption-led post-COVID recovery, a private-sector survey showed on Thursday. The upbeat figure echoed an official PMI released last week, which shot to the highest level in more than a decade. Thanks to improvements in customer demand, the rate of new orders was the sharpest since November 2020, the Caixin survey showed. Notably, new export orders in the services sector grew at the fastest pace on record. Caixin/S&P's composite PMI, which includes both manufacturing and services activity, rose to 54.5 in March from 54.2 a month prior, marking the quickest expansion since June.

☆ China's March factory activity growth falters on weaker demand, survey shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Employees work on an electronics production line on Feb. 2, 2023, at a factory in Longyan, Fujian province in China. China's factory activity growth stalled in March, weighed by slowing production and weaker global demand and adding to uncertainty about a post-Covid recovery, a private sector survey showed on Monday. The reading far missed expectations of 51.7 in a Reuters poll, and echoed slower growth in an official PMI released on Friday. However, a property downturn, weaker global demand and financial uncertainty raised doubts about the strength of momentum. Looking forward, economic growth will still rely on a boost in domestic demand, especially an improvement in household consumption," said Wang Zhe, Senior Economist at Caixin Insight Group.

LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - China’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports fell sharply in 2022 because of the disruption caused by lockdowns to control the coronavirus epidemic and the massive exit wave of infections when they were lifted. But the import rebound could be smaller than some analysts anticipate because domestic gas production is rising strongly and the country has mostly completed its transition to natural gas for urban residents. Both LNG and pipeline imports remained subdued in the first two months of this year with any rebound delayed until later in 2023. China’s LNG purchasers have proved price-sensitive and will likely wait for prices to decline before increasing imports and refilling storage. PIPELINES NOT LNGThe shift from LPG and especially gasworks gas has turbocharged consumption of natural gas over the last decade.

☆ China's navy is looking to junior high schools as it scrambles to find pilots for its growing aircraft carrier fleet
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Minnie Chan | South China Morning Post | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Chinese Navy's youth aviation schools have recruited about 4,500 boys aged 15 to 16 this month. China's navy needs pilots for its fleet of aircraft carriers, which grew to three ships in June. The navy draws on talent from the 14 schools for its aircraft carrier cadet pilot programme. AFP via Getty ImagesIt is unclear if this is the first year that students so young will attend the aviation schools. The average age of the newest crop of cadet pilots is 20, much younger than in previous years.

☆ Off-the-radar destinations every China visitor should consider
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Maggie Hiufu Wong | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

JingdezhenLarge chimneys, used for firing porcelain, dot the skyline of Jingdezhen city. gui yong nian/Adobe StockDubbed the porcelain capital of the world, Jingdezhen has been firing quality pieces of “white gold” for more than 1,700 years. For a crash course in the city’s porcelain history, visit the newly built and photogenic Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum of China. LinhaiLinhai's historic city wall stretches more than 6,000 meters in length. Food aside, travelers should leave time to admire this historic city that dates back more than 2,000 years.

☆ Column: China's Q1 coal imports jump to new highs as factories throttle up
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Total thermal coal imports through March soared 81% from the same period a year ago to 65.7 million tonnes, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler. SOUTHERN SURGEPorts feeding China's south coast saw the largest year-over-year increase in thermal coal imports. China's coal imports hit new highs in Q1 2023While China as a whole uses domestic coal production for over 90% of its coal needs, most of Southern China's coal-fired power plants rely overwhelmingly on imports. The region imported over 106 million tonnes in 2021, indicating a quarterly pace in excess of 25 million tonnes can be maintained if power needs dictate. In combination, all of China's main economic hubs are on track to steer the country's thermal coal imports to new heights in 2023, reversing the slump seen in China's coal use in 2022.

☆ The 4 stocks to buy if U.S.-China geopolitical fears continue to rise: UBS
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

UBS has named a number of Chinese stocks it says have remained "resilient" during periods of heightened geopolitical tensions between the United States and China. Chinese stocks were volatile after tensions rose between the U.S. and China over alleged spy balloons shot down over North America in February. To combat such swings in investors' portfolios, UBS identified stocks it said have historically been resilient during periods of heightened geopolitical tension. The Swiss bank said the stocks that tend to outperform during periods of geopolitical tension are typically domestic-focused, have lower foreign investor ownership, and are stable and defensive. In contrast, UBS said the 20 stocks that historically perform the worst during times of geopolitical tension tend to be listed in the U.S. and are typically in the internet and biotech sectors.

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