After being awarded China’s first Friendship Medal, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have moved towards closer economic cooperation at a time of deep fragmentation over trade protectionism in the West. 

Beyond growing trade, the two neighboring countries are also cementing stronger regional development by upgrading transportation...

Russian oil exports dropped 16% to 51.1 mln tonnes from January to May 2018 compared to the same period in 2017, Sergei Andronov, Vice President of Russia’s Transneft oil pipeline operator, told Vedomosti.

The reduction in exports stems from a number of factors, including compliance of the deal with the OPEC...

The Russian government has approved a cooperation agreement with China on developing the Klyuchevskoye gold ore deposit in the Trans-Baikal region.

The decree was signed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, and the project is expected to be operational in two years. The planned volume of ore extraction is over 12 million...

Rosneft’s contract with China’s private conglomerate CEFC on oil supplies to China is not in jeopardy, two sources close to the deal told Vedomosti. CEFC sought to buy a 14.16% stake in the Russian oil giant to the tune of $9.1 bln. The Chinese conglomerate also undertook commitments to buy...

Efforts by the US to suppress gold prices in order to prop up the dollar are allowing Russia and China to build up huge reserves of physical gold by purchasing large quantities of the precious metal at significantly lower prices.

Net central bank purchases in the first quarter of the current...

One of the world’s longest gas pipelines, the Power of Siberia, which aims to deliver Russian natural gas to China, is nearly 85 percent complete.

According to the Russian energy giant Gazprom, the section from the Chayandinskoye field (Yakutia) to the border with China is already built. The second tunnel of...

"This year the Government plans to launch 500 joint projects of Kazakhstan and China to the amount of KZT 1.5 trillion," Kazakh PM Bakytzhan Sagintayev told the joint sitting of the Parliament's Chambers.

"Kazakhstan's export of agricultural products to China stands today at USD 150 mln. We can supply products worth...

Kazakhstan plans to export more than 100,000 tons of alfalfa hay per year to China, the Kazakh media reported June 12.

The appropriate protocol was signed between the General Administration of Customs of China and the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan.

“The main phytosanitary requirements were stipulated in the protocol: for today,...

Young Kazakhstan state-owned regional airline Qazaq Air and China Express Airlines, China’s first private regional airline, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on strategic cooperation in international regional passenger transportation, as well as the possible participation of the Chinese carrier in the privatisation of Qazaq Air, the Kazakh airline...

Kazakhstan’s Kuryk port will become one of the key facilities of the transport and logistics complex of the New Silk Road, the director of DARYN Partners Nurzhan Marabaev told Trend.

"Among the multimodal overland container transport routes connecting East Asia with Europe, Iran and Turkey, the way through Kazakhstan is the...

Kazakhstan and China have agreed to extend the maturity period of the loan provided by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) for the acquisition of a stake in KMG Kashagan B.V. by the Kazakhstan National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna until 2022, the Fund said in a statement.

The relevant agreement...

Kazakhstan and China agreed to expand financial, trade and investment cooperation, the press service of the Kazakh MFA says.

It was highlighted in the joint statement of heads of state Nursultan Nazarbayev and Xi Jinping as of June 7, 2018.

The two countries will continue with the implementation of the agreement between...

Representatives of the State Tourism Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan held a meeting with tour operators from China, which jointly with the tourist company Diplomatic VIP and Travel Service intend to organize charter and direct flights from Chongqing, Luan, XI'an in late August this year.

A group of tour operators...

Kyrgyzstan is preparing to create a free zone from foot and mouth disease, head of the State Inspectorate for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Security Kalysbek Zhumakanov told reporters at Kabar News Agency.

He said that within the framework of the state visit of President of Kyrgyzstan Soorobay Jeenbekov, an agreement was signed...

German engineering company Siemens, whose history in China dates back to more than 100 years ago, inked over 10 agreements with its Chinese partners earlier this month to fully explore opportunities unleashed by the five-year-old Belt and Road Initiative.

Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser based the decision on the conviction that the...

China has become one of the leading investors in France, as an increasing number of Chinese investors are investing heavily in this European country.

A total of 1,298 investment decisions were made in France last year, with China as a leading Asian investor in the country, said Florent Mangin, deputy director...

This week, BenCham presented the key findings of the Sino Benelux Business Survey at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Beijing. Every year, Bencham investigate the business climate for Benelux businesses in China. “It is great to see that Benelux businesses are performing very well and are expecting to...

The State Council, China's cabinet, on Friday unveiled more foreign investor-friendly measures to further open up and promote high-quality economic development.

The country will widen market access, and revise and release negative lists on market access for foreign investment before July 1, according to a notice posted on the government website.

Financial-sector...

China's foreign direct investment rose in May from a year earlier and also from January to May, with capital channeled into high technology industries.

FDI into the Chinese mainland grew 7.6 percent year on year to 58.81 billion yuan (US$9.2 billion) last month, and the number of newly set up foreign...

China's non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) continued to see strong growth in the first five months of 2018, official data showed Thursday.

Domestic investors made 47.89 billion U.S. dollars of non-financial ODI in 2,987 overseas enterprises in 149 countries and regions in January-May, the Ministry of Commerce said.

The investment was up...

Chinese banks extended 1.15 trillion yuan (about 179.7 billion U.S. dollars) in new yuan-denominated loans in May, edging down from 1.18 trillion yuan in April, central bank data showed Tuesday.

The figure was 40.5 billion yuan more than the same period last year, the People's Bank of China said in an...

With a flurry of recent property market controls, Chinese authorities have demonstrated their will to keep a lid on housing prices, not just in metropolises but also in smaller cities.

Over 40 cities unveiled property market regulations a total of 50 times in May, a monthly record for frequency, according to...

China's farm produce prices fell slightly the week ending June 10 due to falling vegetable prices, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The price index for farm produce edged down 0.2 percent in the past week, compared with a 0.5 percent rise the previous week. The index for production materials went...

Together with its massive push to have more and more residential and industrial customers switch from coal to gas, China is aiming to overhaul the ownership of its huge gas pipeline network.

That would allow third-party access to the gas pipelines and would help Beijing in its efforts to cut pollution...

China Railway Group, which spearheads the country’s ‘railway diplomacy’ push to extend its influence around the world, has won fresh funding of 11.6 billion yuan (US$1.8 billion) by swapping debt into equity under a government-backed initiative to help state firms cut debt.

According to a stock exchange filing, the company said...

China's deficit of trade in services is expected to expand in the next few years due to the country's industrial and consumption upgrades, an official said Thursday.

The service trade deficit may begin to shrink "only after it reaches a certain level," Gao Feng, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce said...

China's software exports reached $37.56 billion in 2017, up 9.7 percent year-on-year, said a report on the digital economy and software exports issued by the Ministry of Commerce Tuesday.

With a rapid development of global digital economy, digital trade has become an important trade in the digital economy era, the report...

Discussion in the crude oil market is degenerating into a single “will they or won’t they” focus on whether the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will ease their output restrictions next week.

While the meeting in Vienna on June 22 will undoubtedly heavily influence the direction of short-term crude...

Trade between the countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) accounts for more than a quarter of world trade, so better connections and the lower trade costs that come with them could have a significant global impact, according to an analysis of the Amsterdam-based global bank ING.

"A halving...

The Chinese economy will maintain steady growth this year as structural reforms have made notable progress, an expert has said.

ICBC International economist Cheng Shi predicts China's GDP will grow 6.9 percent year-on-year in 2018, with continued strength from last year.

"We remain cautiously optimistic about China's economic future, and areas related...

China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will expand cooperation in various fields and forge a closer community with a shared future, said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday.

He made the remarks while holding talks with Secretary-General of ASEAN Lim Jock Hoi in Beijing.

China...

Many think that infrastructure in North Korea is in a dilapidated state, but data from the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) tells a different story and one that indicates that North Korea's economic potential may have been underestimated.

Getting North Korea into China's Belt and Road (B&R) initiative will help rebuild its...

On June 13, 2018, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks in Beijing with Second Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Dato Seri Paduka Haji Erywan bin Pehin Datu Pekerma Jaya Haji Mohd Yusof of Brunei, who was in China for an official visit.

Wang Yi expressed that China...

China wants to continue to expand imports from South Asian countries amid its efforts to deepen reform and boost opening-up, Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua said on Thursday.

China has paid attention to the concerns of South Asian countries over trade balance, and it would like to inject impetus into trade with South...

A plan by India to form a crude oil buyers' alliance with China could be a mutually beneficial deal for two of the world's largest crude importers, potentially leading to a greater say in global oil price setting, but it won't work unless the two countries can overcome major political...

Indians seem to have outperformed Chinese in terms of their presence in the corporate management world, with more Indians holding CEO positions in large multinational companies in the US such as Google and Microsoft. What's the reason behind this disparity? The Global Times spoke with two businesspeople - one Indian,...

After an exchange of high-level trips between Nepal and India, Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli is to land in Beijing on Tuesday for a five-day state visit. It will be his second state visit since his accession to the Prime Minister’s Office after his party’s landslide victory in...

The foreign minister of Libya's UN-backed government, Mohamed Sayala, and Chinese Charge d'Affaires to Libya Wang Qimin discussed the potential return of Chinese companies to the conflict-torn African country, Chinese media reported.

The Libyan authorities have established a committee to look into suspended projects started by Chinese firms, and other steps to resume active cooperation...

China's top political advisor Wang Yang Thursday visited a Chinese-invested industrial park in central Uganda, encouraging more Chinese companies to develop business in Africa and improve localization level.

Wang, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), paid the visit to the Liaoshen Industrial Park in...

Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, met with Ghana's Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey in Beijing on Tuesday.

Yang, who is also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, said both countries have...

On June 12, 2018, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met in Beijing with Foreign Minister Ousainou Darboe of Gambia.

Wang Yi said that since the resumption of diplomatic relations between China and Gambia more than two years ago, bilateral relations have maintained a momentum of rapid development. Last December,...

The Nestor Kirchner-Jorge Cepernic hydropower complex jointly built by China and Argentina will increase Argentina’s total installed power capacity by 6.5 percent, a Chinese envoy said Wednesday.

Upon completion, the 1,740-megawatt project will have an annual generation capacity of 4.95 billion kwh and create 20,000 jobs, said Ma Zhaoxu, China’s permanent...

It has been a fruitful 12 months since China and Panama established diplomatic ties a year ago, said Panama's Vice Foreign Minister Luis Miguel Hincapie.

In an interview with Xinhua, Hincapie described the relationship as "successful and eventful," saying that a lot has happened in the relatively short span of time.

Given...

In the crook of Mexico’s elbow lies the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the country’s skinniest strip of land where the Atlantic and Pacific are just 200 kilometers apart. Winds from the west power electricity-generating turbines, the lush soil supports lemon, mango and other crops, and it is the heart of a...

Washington has announced import levies targeting some $50 billion of goods from China after President Donald Trump gave the green light on Friday. China has warned it will retaliate.

The President signed off on the step after discussing the tariff list with senior White House officials, national-security officials and senior representatives...

Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, met with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday in Beijing.

Yang, also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, said a healthy and stable development...

US-based C.H. Robinson, a leading third-party logistics provider, seeks to expand its China business to ride on the demand created by the Belt and Road Initiative.

The company has just launched a trans-Eurasian rail service connecting nine terminals in China with eight cities in Europe under the BRI. Its trucks also transport goods...

Oil prices were mixed on Tuesday, with U.S. crude gaining and Brent crude largely unchanged, as investors prepared for a key meeting of the OPEC producer group next week.

Brent crude futures dipped 3 cents to trade at $76.43 a barrel by 11:35 a.m. (1530 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate...

Gold prices remained locked just below $1,300 an ounce on Tuesday as investors waited for clues on the pace of U.S. interest rate rises from a Federal Reserve meeting this week.

A Fed statement and press conference expected from 1800 GMT on Wednesday could push gold out of the tight range...

Copper eased for a third day on Tuesday as investors took profits, a big position in inventories eased and a labour settlement in Chile raised prospects for a deal at top mine Escondida.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange closed down 0.5 percent in final open outcry activity at $7,222...

U.S. wheat and corn futures climbed as much as 1 percent on Tuesday while soybeans turned slightly higher after touching the lowest levels since August as traders squared up positions ahead of a U.S. Department of Agriculture supply and demand report.

Analysts polled by Reuters expected the USDA at 11 a.m....

The dollar steadied against a basket of currencies on Tuesday as data showed U.S. consumer prices rose in May, matching analysts’ forecasts and reinforcing the view the Federal Reserve would raise short-term interest rates gradually.

U.S. consumer prices rose marginally in May amid a slowdown in the pace of increases in...

Crude oil prices ticked lower during European trading Friday morning, as the market weighed divisions among members of OPEC relative to loosening quotas under their production deal at a meeting in Vienna next week.

At 1058 GMT, the August ICE Brent crude futures contract was down 82 cents/b from Thursday's settle,...

Lower oil prices stimulated OECD consumption between 2015 and 2017 and played a big role in eliminating the global oil market surplus during the rebalancing phase of the cycle.

With oil prices up 70 percent over the last 12 months, however, higher prices are set to moderate OECD consumption and thereby...

Gold prices slumped to three-week lows on Friday as disappointed speculators liquidated long positions despite fresh trade skirmishes between the United States and China.

Some investors had taken long positions ahead of key central bank decisions this week, but gold only briefly surged to a one-month peak on Thursday of $1,309.30...

Copper hit a one-week low on Friday while the dollar retained its strength, leaving the market set for its biggest weekly drop since April on concerns about slowing growth in top metals buyer China and the impact of U.S. trade tariffs.

President Donald Trump on Friday announced that the United States...

Chicago soybeans extended losses on Friday to their lowest in almost a year as favourable crop weather in the U.S. Midwest raised hopes for a bumper harvest, while concerns about renewed trade tensions with China put a cloud over export prospects.

Corn eased to new multi-month lows while wheat fell for...

The U.S. dollar slipped against the Japanese yen on Friday, as President Donald Trump announced hefty tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports and Beijing threatened to respond in kind, raising tensions between the world's two largest economies.

The dollar slipped 0.07 percent to 110.54 yen, retreating from a three-week high...

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, weakened 35 basis points to 6.4156 against the U.S. dollar Wednesday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central...