Looking at ASEAN only in context of US-China relations a mistake

Several ASEAN countries will be growing faster than China for the first time in over three decades, according to the Asian Development Bank.

Reported By:| Edited By: DNA Web Team |Source: DNA webdesk |Updated: Nov 28, 2022, 06:03 AM IST

File Photo

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states have, in recent years, repeatedly expressed their concern regarding the insular economic policies of the US, as well as the downward slope in China-US ties ever since the ‘trade war’ between both countries began in 2018.  

The US withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in 2017, and the deterioration in ties between Beijing and Washington after the imposition of tariffs by former US President Donald Trump were viewed with great concern by the ASEAN region. Several ASEAN countries have underscored the point that they have close economic ties with China and good relations with the US, and thus, would not want to take sides in case of a conflict between the two. 

Indonesia, which also recently hosted the G20 Summit 2022 in Bali, reiterated the same point. “ASEAN must become a peaceful region, and an anchor for global stability, consistently uphold international law and not be a proxy to any powers,” Indonesian President Joko Widodo said while addressing the ASEAN Summit.

While Indonesia has been critical of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it has refused to provide arms to Ukraine. Joko Widodo had visited both Russia and Ukraine in June 2022 and offered to mediate, saying that Indonesia was prepared to bridge ‘Russia-Ukraine communications’. 

Over the past few years ASEAN was viewed from the prism of China-US relations by many commentators. But in recent days, it has been witness to three important events; ASEAN Summit (Phnom Penh), G20 Summit (Bali, Indonesia) and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit (Bangkok).  

While the G20 Summit was witness to a meeting on the side lines between the US President, Joe Biden and Chinese President, Xi Jinping, the APEC Summit witnessed an exchange between Chinese President, Xi Jinping and US Vice President, Kamala Harris. There is no doubt that differences between both countries persist on crucial issues – such as Taiwan -- both sides agreed that they needed to resume engagement and work on crucial issues – such as climate change. 

“I noted a key message that President Biden emphasised in his November 14 meeting with President Xi: we must maintain open lines of communication to responsibly manage the competition between our countries,” Kamala Harris had stated in a tweet.

Apart from the above, the US reiterated the importance of ASEAN especially in the context of its Indo-Pacific strategy. Both Biden and Kamala Harris also referred to the importance of ASEAN in the Indo-Pacific strategy. Biden said that ASEAN is at the heart of his ‘..administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy’. The US emphasis on ASEAN’s geopolitical importance was relevant because apart from US’ withdrawal from TPP, there has been a perception that the US has not been paying much attention to the ASEAN region --- even though the Biden administration has tried to dispel this notion (apart from visiting Thailand for the APEC Summit, US Vice President Kamala Harris also visited Philippines). 

In spite of internal problems and differences and excessive bureaucracy within ASEAN grouping which according to many analysts has hampered decision making, recent events have reiterated its geopolitical importance. Interestingly, for the first time in over three decades, several ASEAN countries will be growing faster than China, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).   

In conclusion, while ASEAN has been afflicted by numerous problems, recent events are important not just in terms of symbolism, but highlight the geopolitical and economic significance of the region. It would thus be a mistake to look at ASEAN only in the context of US-China relations. 

The author, Tridivesh Singh Maini, is a New Delhi-based policy analyst associated with the OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat

Scientists identify how harmless gut bacteria "turn bad"

UNIVERSITY OF BATH

Research News

 

IMAGE: PROFESSOR SAM SHEPPARD FROM THE MILNER CENTRE FOR EVOLUTION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BATH LED THE STUDY. view more 

CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF BATH

An international team of scientists has determined how harmless E. coli gut bacteria in chickens can easily pick up the genes required to evolve to cause a life-threatening infection. Their study, published in Nature Communications, warns that such infections not only affect the poultry industry but could also potentially cross over to infect humans.

E. coli is a common bacterium that lives in the intestines of most animals, including humans. It is usually harmless when it stays in the gut, however it can become very dangerous if it invades the bloodstream, causing a systemic infection that can even lead to death.

Avian pathogenic E.coli (APEC) is most common infection in chickens reared for meat or eggs. It can lead to death in up to 20 per cent of cases and causes multi-million pound losses in the poultry industry. The problem is made worse by increasing antibiotic resistance and infections also pose a risk of causing disease in humans.

The team of scientists, led by the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath, sequenced and analysed the whole genomes of E. coli bacteria found in healthy and infected chickens bred at commercial poultry farms to better understand why and how these normally innocuous bugs can turn deadly.

They found there was no single gene responsible for switching a harmless bacterium into a pathogenic one, but rather that it could be caused by several combinations of a diverse group of genes.

Their results indicate that all bacteria in chicken intestines have the potential to pick up the genes they need to turn into a dangerous infection, through a process called horizontal gene transfer.

Horizontal gene transfer enables bacteria to acquire new genetic material from other bacteria nearby. This can happen by scavenging DNA molecules from dead bacteria; by exchanging strands of DNA by having 'bacterial sex' or by getting infected by viruses which transfer DNA from one bacterium to another.

Professor Sam Sheppard, from the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath, led the study. He said: "Previously we thought that E. coli became pathogenic by acquiring specific genes from other bugs, often packaged in mobile elements called plasmids.

"But our study compared the genomes of disease-causing and harmless E. coli in chickens and found that they can 'turn bad' simply by picking up genes from their environment.

"Bacteria do this all the time inside the guts of chicken, but most of the time the scavenged genes are detrimental to the bacteria so it becomes an evolutionary dead end.

"However, there are 26 billion chickens worldwide, representing around 70 per cent of all bird biomass on earth.

"That increases the likelihood of bacteria picking up genes that could help the bacteria survive and turn infectious, or even jump species to infect humans."

The study authors stress the need to monitor strains that are most likely to become pathogenic so can treat them before they become dangerous.

Professor Sheppard said: "We were surprised to find that it's not just a single strain that causes APEC, but any strain can potentially acquire the 'monster combination' of genes needed to turn bad."

Strains with the potential to turn pathogenic could be identified using a similar method to that used to detect variant strains of Covid19. After whole genome sequencing, rapid PCR tests can be used to probe for specific genes that could lead to an APEC infection.

Professor Sheppard said: "We identified around 20 genes that are common in pathogenic bugs and if we can look out for these key genes in a flock of birds, that would help farmers target those carriers before they cause a problem."

###

North American Union (SPP) Protests In Alberta

The Three Amigos are in Montreal this coming week-end to discuss their secret corporate pact to create a single EU style market place on the North American Continent.

Teach Ins are planned across Canada including in Alberta. Home of Petro Powers That Be. Organizers are to be congratulated for focusing on making these protests Teach Ins rather than the usual street protests that follow the G8, WTO, etc.

Since most folks have no clue as to the nature of these binding yet secret corporatist-state agreements, the point is to inform them.

We did a Teach In in Edmonton during the APEC Energy Conference. Since few people knew anything about APEC or this corporatist state model for global governance.

The annual APEC meeting was held in Vancouver which resulted in the first RCMP Attack on protesters, which was to become national and international state security policy in dealing with anti-globalization protests.

August 19

Edmonton, Alberta
Protesting the SPP in Edmonton! Help preserve Canada’s sovereignty, join the protest.
Host: Protest The S.P.P.
Time: 10:00am - 2:00pm GMT
Where: Legislative Assembly of Alberta Street: 10800 - 97 Ave. Edmonton, AB

Calgary, Alberta
Protesting the North American Union
Host: Lindsay Ross and other concerned citizens!.
Time: 12:00 p.m. – 3 p.m. GMT
Where: Calgary City Hall, 800 Macleod Trail SE, Calgary, AB, then marching to the U.S. Consulate at 615 Macleod Trail for more speeches

For cross Canada protests see Verbena-19

See:

Free Labour = Free Of Unions

Derek Burney Voice of America

Deep Integration

Origins of the Captialist State In Canada

Time For A Canadian Steel Workers Union

Will Canadian Labour Accept Free Trade?

Cold Gold

Mittal Plays Monopoly

Find blog posts, photos, events and more off-site about:
contientalism, integration, economic integration, Canada, US, Mexico, NAFTA, FTA, WTO, capitalism, labour, left, left nationalism, Quebec, Canada, labour, envrionemntalists, union, labor, socialism, autopact, NDP, Liberals, workers, work, employees, labour, labor, unions, Alberta, B.C., TILMA, Monte Solberg, Labour laws, Leo Gerard, Steelworkers, Untied Steelworkers Union, Amicus, General Transportation Workers Union, Mittal, Mergers, Canada, UK, US, Free Trade, job cuts, layoffs,social credit, Major Douglas, Prairie, agrarian, farmers, populism, populist, producer, producerism, distributionism, Hilare Belocq, Green Party, Conservatives, Wheat Board, Alberta, William Irvine,Henry Wise Wood,UFA,CCF,Manitoba, Canada, US, Grange, development, CATO, P3, state-capitalism, capitalism, industrialization, banks, IMF, NGO, Fordism, India, Marx, trade, free-trade, Third-World,neo-liberalism,

How cities around the world are tackling dangerous air quality

Story by Uday Rana • Yesterday 

In a very short span of time, Chinese authorities put into place emergency measures to improve air quality in Beijing for the 2014 APEC conference.© Provided by Global News

Last week, large swaths of North America were choking under wildfire smoke.

Cities in both the U.S. and Canada saw a haze descend on them, spurring warnings to stay indoors and to mask up for those who had to be outdoors. And as wildfires are expected to keep wreaking havoc on air quality, the response of cities across the world to emergency levels of air pollution may offer some solutions.

Canada is not the first country to face weeks of poor air quality, and in many parts of the world residents in cities like Beijing, China; New Delhi, India; Bogota, Colombia; and Paris, France have had to innovate and adapt.

Here's how they do it.

In November 2014, Beijing played host to the 21st Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference. The city, notorious for some of the world’s worst air quality, had to clean up its air before the summit began.

In a very short span of time, the Chinese authorities put into place emergency measures to improve air quality ahead of the summit.

Production in factories around the capital city was either stopped or halted, along with slowing down construction work. Vehicular traffic was heavily curtailed, with traffic rules put in place alternating which vehicles could drive on which days.

The rule, when in place, means only vehicles with odd-numbered licence plates are allowed to drive on one day and only even-numbered ones the day after -- a move introduced in 2008 to help ease congestion and reduce pollution during the Olympics and Paralympics, according to Reuters.

When improvements in 2014 did not meet expectations, the government doubled down.

Enhanced emissions reduction measures were put into place. Iron and steel, glass and coking industries were stopped. The curbs lasted all of 11 days but appeared to yield something Beijing residents hadn’t seen in quite some time – a blue sky.

The term 'APEC Blue' caught on in China as meaning something beautiful, but fleeting.

A study in the Journal of Traffic and Transport Engineering in 2016 looked at the "odd-even" traffic measures and determined when used in 2008, it did lead to improvements -- but that they also come with a heavy impact on residents.

"Short-term traffic demand management measures can provide support for mega-events. However, based on the analysis in this paper, the degree of traffic reduction is not proportional to the number of vehicles restricted."

Even as Beijing’s air quality showed signs of improvement amid the 2014 measures, in another Asian city officials were acknowledging air quality was just as bad.

According to The Guardian newspaper, Indian authorities admitted in May 2014 that air pollution in New Delhi was comparable to that in Beijing -- a challenge that continues to hang heavy.

Every fall, the smoke from agricultural fires in the north makes its way toward New Delhi. The city’s air quality plummets around this time, mixing with its already-high base levels of pollution.

In response to rising concerns in 2016, Indian authorities rolled out a Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to try to tackle air quality.

The plan consists of four emergency stages, each of which corresponds to a threshold of air pollution, and the idea is simple – the worse the air quality gets, the more stringent the controls get.

The scale measures levels of what is known as particulate matter (pm) 2.5. That refers to particulate matter in the air that's either two and a half microns wide, or less.

Video: Toxic smog blankets India’s capital, forcing closure of schools

The first stage, where the levels of particulate matter (pm) 2.5 levels are between 61 and 120, the air quality is labelled “poor." In this first stage, the government imposes heavy fines on garbage burning. Authorities also sprinkle water on the streets with heavy vehicular traffic, to keep the particulate matter from dispersing up into the air as vehicles roll by.

The second stage is called the “very poor” stage, where pm 2.5 levels are between 121 and 250.

In this stage, the government cracks down on the usage of diesel-powered electricity generators. To keep cars off the streets, municipal parking fees are hiked significantly, and the frequency of buses and Delhi Metro trains increases. Children, the elderly and people with respiratory problems are advised to stay indoors.

In the “severe” category (251-250), hot mix plants, brick kilns and stone crushers are banned from operating. And when the levels of pm 2.5 cross 350 on the Air Quality Index (AQI) and the city enters the “severe plus” or “hazardous” level, all construction activity is stopped.

Heavy vehicles like trucks and tankers are banned from entering the city. Even schools are shut down, though there remain questions about the impacts of such plans.

“While these graded response systems are a necessary intervention, their impacts are questionable. They may not necessarily have the kind of impact that that we need,” said Siddharth Singh, an energy, mobility and climate policy expert and the author of the book The Great Smog of India.

The city of Bogota, Colombia also has a graded response plan, and while not facing air quality as poor as Beijing or New Delhi, the city has laid out numerous proposals over recent years to tackle air quality and pollution.

Rather than short-term proposals, many of Bogota's plans look longer-term.

In 2020, it became the first Latin American city to declare a climate emergency. An important part of Bogota’s climate plan is to replace the use of fossil fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2030.

The city pledged to stop buying any public transportation vehicles that use fossil fuels. Bogota also made commitments regarding changes in land use policy, to make communities more sustainable.

Video: Canada wildfires: Air quality a major risk for those living outside

The perspective is similar in ways to approaches taken by Paris, where Singh lives.

He says Paris has transformed its cityscape radically in a very short span of time, with markedly improved air quality in the French capital.

“Paris has actually seen quite a bit of transformation. If you see the air quality levels from 10 years ago, you will see a significant drop (in pollution levels),” he said.

“There is much-improved air quality on average and Parisians have benefited since several roads are now pedestrianized. Cars and trucks are no longer welcome on the streets, and those streets have been reclaimed by people.”

Paris’s dedicated bicycle lanes have also reduced vehicular traffic in the city, Singh said. In 2015, Paris also banned old cars to combat its infamously poor air quality.

Cities in North America, however, are more sprawled out than Delhi, Beijing or Paris and far more car-reliant, making access to public transit difficult. But they too will need to decide how to tackle air quality in the longer term.

“As North American cities grow, they must think about how they design new neighbourhoods, how they're able to ensure that there's greater public transport access, that there's more integration of renewables in urban settings," Singh said.

This year, Canada could be on track to having a record level of land burnt due to wildfires. In 2023, 2,293 wildfires have torched 3.8 million hectares of land. These fires forced more than 20,000 Canadians out of their homes.

Environmentalists say climate change has made this year’s wildfires worse.

China flags readiness to work with US 'at all levels' ahead of APEC summit

South China Morning Post
Wed, November 8, 2023 

China is ready to strengthen dialogue with the United States "at all levels" to mend their relations and work together on global challenges, Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng said on Wednesday.

Han was speaking just a few days before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' forum in San Francisco, where US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are expected to meet for the first time since Bali a year ago.

Beijing has not yet confirmed Xi's attendance at Apec, but recent months have seen an increase in reciprocal high-level visits between Washington and Beijing - widely seen as laying the groundwork for a bilateral summit.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

Addressing the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore, Han said the recent official interactions had sent out "positive signals" and raised the world's expectations of an "improvement" in China-US relations.

"A stable and sound China-US relationship is the common expectation of people from all sectors in other countries and the international community as a whole," he said.

"We're ready to strengthen communication and dialogue with the United States at all levels to promote mutually beneficial cooperation, properly manage differences and jointly address global challenges."

China's Vice-President Han Zheng addresses the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore on Wednesday. 

Han added that Beijing always views and handles its relations with Washington in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.

Han's comments also coincided with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng's visit to the US, which has also been seen as part of the effort to set the stage for Biden-Xi summit at the Apec meeting, which begins on Saturday.

He, China's top economic and financial policy official, will meet US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during his five-day trip, amid disagreements over tech curbs and subsidies between the world's two largest economies.

In his speech, Han said unilateralism and protectionism "lead nowhere" and that the issue of security "cannot be overstretched".

"Decoupling, severing industrial and supply chains and the so-called 'de-risking' will all only divide the global economy into many isolated islands," he said, adding that China has always been a supporter of economic globalisation.

Han said the country is committed to advancing institutional opening-up and providing more market and investment opportunities for companies from all over the world. "China's economy has been rebounding and improving on the whole," he added.

According to Han, geopolitical tensions are compounded with the evolving economic landscape and emerging crises of food, energy and debt.

At the same time, the deepening of the new round of technological and industrial transformation has brought new opportunities for sustainable economic growth, he said.

Han affirmed China's commitment to innovations in big data, AI and new energy technologies to upgrade its industrial structure for smarter and greener development.

Han's speech was also made at a time of escalating conflict in the Middle East and Russia's protracted war in Ukraine - another layer in the complicated backdrop to a Xi-Biden summit in California.

"We need to be more determined to resolve conflicts through dialogue and consultation and create a stable international environment that is conducive to development," Han said.

"China is ready to work with the rest of the world to uphold world peace and security."

Saudi Arabia's investment minister Khalid Al-Falih spoke after Han at the forum and said he sees positive signs in the US-China relationship as engagement between the two economic powerhouses increases.

"Pragmatism is surfacing," Al-Falih said, noting that his nation has strong relationships with both countries. "We call for collaboration and coexistence between the world's two economic superpowers and geopolitical powers."

Al-Falih said he believed the two powers will reduce their rhetoric about a natural strategic competition and ultimately achieve peaceful coexistence.


Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

CIIE:China, Afghanistan cultivate deeper ties with agriculture deals

South China Morning Post
Tue, November 7, 2023 

China is expanding its agricultural trade with Afghanistan, deepening relations with the war-torn country as it attempts a return to normal economic activity, tangles with sanctions from the West and rebuilds after a devastating earthquake in October.

The world's second-largest economy may start importing Afghan pomegranates next month with an initial shipment of 1,000 tonnes via an "agricultural cooperation" deal, a trader at the China International Import Expo told the Post on Monday.

Those shipments would start after more than two years of approval and certification work, said exhibitor Shams Ullah Shams, general manager of the Afghanistan export firm Biraro. His company took 200 tonnes to the show as samples this month.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

Afghanistan export firm Biraro displays pomegranates at the China International Import Expo on November 6, 2023. Photo: Mandy Zuo alt=Afghanistan export firm Biraro displays pomegranates at the China International Import Expo on November 6, 2023. 

<Photo: Mandy Zuo>

"We can't sell them, just give them to our Chinese friends to try, and after five days they'll be gone," Shams said with a hopeful laugh.

Afghanistan's once nearly US$20 billion economy crashed to US$14.58 billion in 2021 as the country of 40.1 million people experienced a food shortage. One in every two Afghans is poor, according to the World Bank.

The Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regained power the same year, after a long military struggle ended with the withdrawal of US troops.

It now faces post-war sanctions from the West, purportedly imposed over the legitimacy of its leadership and women's access to education.

China is happy to build relations, starting with trade, to fill a void left by the West and seize opportunities for longer-term gain, analysts said.

"There was a huge vacuum after America withdrew, so I think the Chinese see this as an opportunity," said James Chin, a professor of Asian studies at the University of Tasmania.

Two-way trade has been "growing fast" and China may become Afghanistan's second-largest trading partner this year after Pakistan, business advisory Dezan Shira & Associates said in a February research note.

China appointed Zhao Xing as the new ambassador to Kabul in September, and Afghan officials attended the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing in mid-October.

Afghanistan sent US$40.02 million in goods to China in all of 2022, with US$23.08 million of that tallied in the final two months, per the data. China exported US$550.13 million of goods to its Central Asian neighbour last year.

In the first nine months of this year, Afghanistan exported US$33.93 million worth of goods to China, which shipped US$959.69 million of its own wares the other way, according to Chinese customs data.

Afghanistan's chief exports to China at the end of 2022 were nuts, animal hair, semi-precious stones, dried fruits and vegetable products, Dezan Shira said.

There may also be other motivations at play.

A boost in trade might eventually facilitate Chinese infrastructure projects such as pipelines for oil and natural gas, said Naubahar Sharif, head of the public policy division at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan Zhao Xing, left, shakes hands with Mohammad Abas Akhund, acting minister for Afghanistan's National Disaster Management Authority, during a handover ceremony for earthquake relief materials. Photo: Xinhua alt=Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan Zhao Xing, left, shakes hands with Mohammad Abas Akhund, acting minister for Afghanistan's National Disaster Management Authority, during a handover ceremony for earthquake relief materials. 

<Photo: Xinhua>

The country could fit well into China's Belt and Road Initiative, a 10-year effort to build infrastructure abroad to smooth trade, Sharif added.

Whatever factors may be under consideration, Peking University international studies Professor Zha Daojiong said, relations will persist as China sees Afghanistan as a "neighbour that won't go away".

The countries share a 92-kilometre (57-mile) land border. With that in mind, he said, China "simply does not have the luxury of pretending that whoever is in charge there is irrelevant".

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bullish Standard Chartered to continue investing in China amid strengthening economic recovery

South China Morning Post
Wed, November 8, 2023 

Standard Chartered, one of Hong Kong's three currency-issuing banks, said China's economy is on a solid footing, bolstering its confidence to invest more in the country.

Jerry Zhang, CEO of the emerging-markets focused lender's China business, said third-quarter economic data added to evidence that business and commercial activities in the world's second-largest economy were strengthening.

"We maintain our long-term bullish forecast on China," Zhang said at a media briefing on the sidelines of the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai on Wednesday. "Standard Chartered remains committed to investing in China."

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday revised upwards its forecast for mainland China's gross domestic product (GDP), saying it would expand 5.4 per cent year on year in 2023, up from its earlier estimate of 5 per cent.

The revision follows Beijing's decision to issue 1 trillion yuan (US$137.3 billion) of sovereign bonds while allowing local governments to front-load part of their 2024 bond quotas.

For the quarter ending September, China's GDP grew 4.9 per cent year on year and 1.3 per cent quarter on quarter, which Zhang described as encouraging signs of the economy's resilience.

"You can see that even when China's economy was stuck in a difficult situation, Standard Chartered showed an upbeat mood about its mid- and long-term outlook," Zhang said, adding that the bank's investments in its mainland operations were proceeding smoothly.

In February 2022, Standard Chartered said it would spend an additional US$300 million by 2024 to reinforce its mainland businesses, including expanding its retail banking outlets and digitalising its operations.

Standard Chartered late last month reported worse-than-expected earnings for the third quarter because of high impairment charges related to exposure to mainland China's property sector.

The company, which generates much of its revenue in Asia, reported US$633 million in pre-tax profit, a decline of 54 per cent from US$1.39 billion last year, missing analysts' estimates of US$1.49 billion polled by Bloomberg.

Standard Chartered took credit impairment charges of US$294 million during the quarter, an increase of 37 per cent from a year earlier. This included a further US$186 million related to its mainland commercial property portfolio as a debt crisis in the real estate sector shows no signs of abating and economic growth remains sluggish.

The bank has provided US$1.1 billion in loans to the mainland's property sector over the last two years.

The China International Import Expo, the world's largest import trade fair, runs until Friday in Shanghai. Photo: EPA-EFE 

"Domestic and foreign banks will have to cut their reliance on the troubled property sector in the coming years while increasing loan exposure to new-energy and consumer businesses," said Ding Haifeng, a consultant at Shanghai financial advisory firm Integrity.

"Overall, China's economy, based on its scale and diversity, will still attract foreign investment, although the growth momentum will slow down."

The CIIE, the world's largest import trade fair, started on Sunday and will run until Friday.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said at the CIIE's opening ceremony that consumer vigour and further opening up of mainland China could give a much-needed boost to the slowing global economy.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

CPC Opens Up To Canadian Media

The Communist Party of China not the Conservative Party of Canada. In order to get any information about our Prime Ministers discussions at the APEC meetings the Canadian Press corps had to rely on the Chinese Foreign Ministery and other countries to find out what was going on. They were denied access to Stephen Harper by Sandra Buckler. This from the guy who lectures other countries about freedom of the press. Do as I say not as I do seems a fitting epithat for our PM.

Harper was also asked about his accessibility at the APEC conference. And the news of his discussion with the Chinese president came by e-mail to reporters travelling with him 14 hours after the fact. It was the Chinese foreign ministry official who gave the Canadian media the first substantive description of the meeting.It was the Korean government that told Canadian reporters about the visit of a Canadian diplomat to North Korea. Harper's staff also blocked Canadian journalists from attending all but the first of Harper's public activities, even while foreign media were present or invited.

CTV's Roger Smith, travelling with the prime minister told CTV Newsnet Harper has kept an extraordinarily low media profile during the summit. In fact, on several occasions, reporters learned key details from media briefings held by other countries.

In fact, Harper's office didn't confirm that the meeting with Hu had taken place until 14 hours after it took place -- long after the Chinese had announced it had happened.

"We all found it very ironic we were getting more information, and faster, from the communist government of China than we were from the Conservative government of Canada," Smith said.

See:

PMO Spies On Cabinet Ministers

Harper Is No Statesman

Harpercrsy

Gong Show Redux

Harper




Find blog posts, photos, events and more off-site about:
Harper, China, Viet-nam, APEC, Conservatives, Conservative, Government, human-rights, free-press, PM, PMO,

Harpercrsy

Canadian reporters covering PM Harpers trip to Viet Nam for the APEC conference have been banned from asking him questions. No scrums are allowed with the PM. Instead PMO issues press statements. While the PM lectures Viet Nam on democracy, human rights and the need for a free press. Heh, heh. What a kidder this guy is.


Harper kicks off APEC activities by meeting Vietnamese prime minister

Canadian officials later told reporters that during the private portion of the meeting, Harper tied in human rights concerns with Vietnam's expanding trade file. He told Nguyen that economic openness went hand in hand with social and political freedoms. Harper also raised several individual cases of political dissidents imprisoned by the Vietnamese government, including one man who landed behind bars after providing testimony to the U.S. Congress on human rights in his country. Vietnam has been criticized by observers for religious persecution, particularly of Buddhists and Christians, and also for cracking down on journalists and publishers critical of the communist regime.

Of course Canada needs to lecture the rest of the world on Human Rights our record is so pure. Let's see our secret police arrest and keep folks in secret detention and deport folks to be tortured abroad. They raid journalists offices and throw them in jail. The PMO refuses to meet with press critical of the government. The government wants to remove human rights legislation passed by the previous government. And we have a one party state in Alberta.Yep a clear case of kettle calling the pot black.

See:

Harper

Arar


Find blog posts, photos, events and more off-site about:
Harper, China, Viet-nam, APEC, Conservatives, Conservative, Government, human-rights, free-press, PM, PMO,

 

Asia won’t solve climate change without reform of financial markets

15 August 2021

Author: Adam Triggs, Accenture and ANU

More than US$16 trillion worldwide is currently sitting in government bonds yielding negative real returns. Meanwhile, the world needs at least US$35 trillion of sustainable investment to avoid the 1.5 degree increase in global temperatures that the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns is now imminent.

To make matters worse, the substantial environmental and economic benefits from sustainable practices like lowering carbon emissions, improving land management and other environmental good practices often go unrewarded by the financial system, even though the returns to society are high.

These paradoxes are caused by markets that are missing for the environment and natural capital.

For too long, the world has relied on directionless governments and the unreliable promises of corporate social responsibility and shareholder activism to manage the environment and natural capital and deliver the investment needed to avoid climate change. It hasn’t worked.

Luckily, there is a better way.

These missing markets are the product of deficient global financial rules, insufficient data and weak institutions. Some national governments are now beginning to struggle with these things, but what they need is international cooperation.

The weight of research shows that businesses and households that have good environmental credentials are also better borrowers. They are less likely to default on their loans and they are less likely to be late on their repayments.

In a well-functioning market where these broader social and economic benefits are properly priced, these borrowers would get lower interest rates and, when these loans were securitized and sold-on in the form of bonds, the bonds would be more favourably priced because the underlying asset is stronger and safer.

This is not what we are seeing. While there are some banks and financial institutions which are increasingly taking environmental credentials into account, we are not seeing it on the scale that the evidence would recommend, particularly in developing countries.

The regulations that inhibit sustainable investment globally are the Basel III global capital rules and national financial regulations that seek to implement them. Among other things, these rules require banks to hold high-quality assets on their balance sheets to buffer them from shocks. But the rules around the quality of these assets don’t account for the fact that environmentally friendly loans are safer than environmentally unfriendly loans. The result is that the world’s banks aren’t holding or issuing enough green debt, resulting in less sustainable investment.

It gets worse. The failure of these rules to properly price environmental risks undermines the stability of the financial system, as it means there are risks endemic in bank balance sheets and the broader financial system that we aren’t accounting for. A borrower that is forced to undertake a costly environmental clean-up, for example, could quickly find themselves in financial trouble — a shock which is then transmitted through to the lender and any financial assets that are underpinned by that original loan.

Another factor constraining sustainable investment is a lack of data. There are a range of organisations that provide ratings on the environmental credentials of firms. These data are vital for markets to price environmental risks properly. But these organisations often provide different environmental ratings for the same businesses which makes such pricing difficult.

The ability to collect high-quality data on things like land management and the environmental impact of firms has never been easier given the availability of digital and remote sensing technologies. But in countries where such technologies are unavailable and where firms are not yet providing comprehensive environmental ratings it becomes very difficult for markets to price these risks.

How do we begin to get national financial authorities to work towards a global financial regime that properly prices natural capital (reduced carbon emission, environmental sustainability)? In China, Europe and elsewhere authorities have begun actively framing national approaches to the problem, but the global nature of capital markets and environmental challenges requires a global solution.

China’s central bank governor, Yi Gang, has announced that the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is co-operating with the European Union to achieve convergence of green investment taxonomies across the two markets, aiming to implement a jointly recognised classification system for business environmental credentials by the end of this year.

APEC is a platform from which to work these issues through. As a cooperation framework more than a negotiation forum it can support finding practical areas of cooperation, especially between the United States and China, and build broader consensus for mutual benefit. APEC also brings a practical, private sector-led way of getting action on climate change which supports agriculture, boosts investment and bolsters financial stability; something which can help bring more recalcitrant governments into the tent.

Sustainable investment is a practical area in which China and the United States can work together on a common priority. It is an issue PBOC has been working on for some years, it has political appeal across both sides of the isle in the United States and is something which resonates with APEC governments who prefer technology and private sector-led approaches to climate change.

One challenge is in making sure that loans are provided for the right amount of time. The economic payoffs that come from sustainable investments like improved land management can take decades to materialise. There’s a role for government to make sure that there are institutions in place to spur markets in natural capital and design those markets in the most effective way possible.

With government budgets in tatters and the threat of climate change looming ominously, boosting the role of private finance has gone from being preferable to being essential.

Adam Triggs is a Director within Accenture Strategy, a Visiting Fellow at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy, and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Silence is Acquiescence

So the Americans want Uranium producing countries to accept nuclear waste as the country of origin.

Canada has also been asked to join a U.S.-led nuclear partnership that could eventually see big uranium exporters - like Canada and Australia - be asked to dispose of spent nuclear waste.

Sources have told The Age discussions are under way that could see Australia and Canada made part of the powerful Washington-led Global Nuclear Energy Partnership on a "parallel" track, without having to assume full membership of the organisation.

The Bush Administration has made it plain to the Howard Government informally that it would like Australia to be part of the GNEP — which is an alliance designed to restrict the number of countries enriching uranium to current players, such as the US, Britain, France and Russia.

GNEP members operate on a "leasing" concept whereby nuclear fuel is produced and exported and members ship back nuclear waste.

The initiative came to light in Canada in May 2006 when Prime Minister John Howard of Australia -- like Canada, rich in uranium -- visited Ottawa and voiced interest in the U.S. proposal, but also concerns about its effect on the mining and natural-gas industries.

And what does Harper say? Nada. Nothing. Zip.

Harper silent on nuclear energy initiative

And while Harper is silent on this crucial issue being discussed at the APEC meeting, Australia isn't.

Australia 'will never' accept nuclear waste

Of course it just so happens that his government is planning to open up a nuclear waste site in Northern Ontario. So will it be accepting American and other countries nuclear waste as well? Inquiring minds want to know.

Canada is poised to join an elite club of “advanced nuclear nations” that — led by U.S. President George W. Bush — plans to promote nuclear energy as a key solution to global warming and to control the international movement of enriched uranium and radioactive waste, CanWest News Service has learned.

Silence is acquiescence.

Remarks by President Bush and Prime Minister Howard of Australia

We also agreed on joint statements regarding climate change and energy, a joint nuclear energy action plan which involves cooperation on civil nuclear energy, including R&D, skills and technical training, and regulatory issues. Australia intends to participate in the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, and there will be great benefits in terms of access to nuclear technology and nonproliferation. And the United States will support Australian membership in the Generation IV International Forum, which involves R&D to develop safer and better nuclear reactors.

Find blog posts, photos, events and more off-site about:
Canada, Greenplan, APEC, Stephen Harper, nuclear waste, Australia, George Bush, uranium, nuclear, nuclear power, atomic energy, Greenhouse gases, CO2, Conservatives, Government,

'The US can't transform China': Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily calls on Washington to fix trust deficit


South China Morning Post
Sun, November 12, 2023 at 2:30 AM MST·4 min read

"China will not become another United States, and the US can't transform China according to its likes and dislikes," the Communist Party mouthpiece said on Sunday, as it called on Washington to take concrete measures to fix the "action deficit" and increase mutual trust.

Differences between the two countries should not prevent them from "agreeing to disagree and cooperating", the People's Daily commentary published days ahead of a much-anticipated US-China summit said.

President Xi Jinping is expected to travel to the US this week for a meeting with counterpart Joe Biden on the margins of the Apec summit, following a flurry of diplomatic activity to set up their first in-person talks in a year.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

The article also called on the US to "abide by the basic norms of international relations and the three US-China joint communiques", describing them as key to managing bilateral conflicts.

"The US should abandon its aggressive Cold War and aggressive mindset, fix the 'action deficit' with practical actions and concrete policies, and increase strategic mutual trust," the piece read.

Beijing has confirmed that the Xi-Biden talks will take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit to be held in San Francisco on November 14-17.

Bilateral dialogue on economic and diplomatic affairs have been stepped up in the run-up to the meeting as both sides try to prevent relations from derailing after a spike in tensions.

The post-pandemic global economic recovery, climate change battle and need to address geopolitical conflicts demanded cooperation between the world's top two economies, said the People's Daily commentary by Zhong Sheng - a homonym in Chinese for the "voice of China".

"Positioning China as 'the most important competitor' and 'the most significant geopolitical challenge' is irresponsible and cannot address problems," it added.

The Post reported earlier that Xi and Biden were expected to announce a ban on the use of artificial intelligence in autonomous weaponry and in the control and deployment of nuclear warheads.

Further increases in daily two-way flights and a crackdown on fentanyl production were also likely, although differences remained over the war in Ukraine and the South China Sea, the earlier report said.

The US sent its largest ever delegation to a key import exhibition in Shanghai last week, with American exhibitors signing deals worth US$505 million in food and agriculture.

However, the hi-tech sector and Taiwan remain key thorny issues that have largely determined the trajectory of bilateral ties.

Taiwan in particular has been a flashpoint, with Beijing holding to its non-negotiable position on what it considers breakaway territory to be reunified by force if necessary. While the US does not regard Taiwan as independent, it has kept up arms sales and government-to-government contact with the self-ruled island, sparking fury from Beijing.

Last week, Chinese ambassador to the US Xie Feng urged Washington to stop "playing with fire" on Taiwan and take "concrete actions" to manage differences with Beijing.

US warships also regularly make "freedom of navigation" voyages through the Taiwan Strait and in the South China Sea.

Further, despite the US declaring that it would not seek decoupling from China, it has continued to squeeze Chinese access to advanced hi-tech products and restrict American investment in Chinese technology sectors, citing national security concerns.

While in San Francisco for the Apec meetings, Biden is also expected to host a summit of the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). The 14-member economic cooperation mechanism, which includes South Korea, Japan and India, is widely seen as an effort to exclude China from key supply chains.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol will attend the IPEF summit in San Francisco, Yonhap News Agency reported on Sunday.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Kyoto Ratification By Australia

Leaving Harper as the odd man out.

Australia's new prime minister, Kevin Rudd, made climate change his top priority on Sunday, seeking advice on ratifying the Kyoto pact and telling Indonesia he will go to December's UN climate summit in Bali.

Rudd, 50, presented himself to voters as a new-generation leader by promising to pull troops out of Iraq and ratify the Kyoto Protocol capping greenhouse gas emissions, further isolating Washington on both issues.

But while he intends to immediately overturn Howard's opposition to the Kyoto pact, Rudd has said he would negotiate a gradual withdrawal of Australian frontline forces from Iraq.

Rudd, a Mandarin-speaking former diplomat, said he discussed Kyoto ratification with his British counterpart Gordon Brown, as well as Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

"President Yudhoyono formally invited me to attend the Bali conference, which will of course deal with climate change and where we go to now on Kyoto. I responded positively," he said.

SEE;

APEC Is Not Kyoto

John Harper Stephen Howard

Find blog posts, photos, events and more off-site about:
Canada, Kyotot, APEC, Stephen Harper, Australia, George Bush, Greenhouse gases, CO2, Conservatives, Sydney Declaration,

 

Philippines considers deploying USNC microreactors

16 November 2023

The Philippines' largest electric distribution utility, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco), has signed a cooperation agreement with Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC) of the USA to study the potential deployment of one or more Micro-Modular Reactor (MMR) Energy Systems in the Philippines.

The signing of the agreement between USNC and Meralco (Image: USNC)

The agreement was signed by Meralco Chairman and CEO Manuel Pangilinan and USNC Founder and CEO Francesco Venneri on the sidelines of the 30th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Summit in San Francisco. The signing was witnessed by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos.

Under the agreement - which builds on the partnership between the two companies announced in August - USNC will conduct a pre-feasibility study that will run for four months to familiarise Meralco with MMR systems and how these can be effectively utilised in the Philippines. Depending on the results of the pre-feasibility study, Meralco has the option to conduct a more detailed feasibility study with a focus on the adoption and deployment of MMR energy systems.

USNC said the study will help Meralco in critical decisions and potential future activities on project-specific studies and project development plans at identified sites. The study will assess financial, technical, safety, and siting, among other considerations.

The MMR is a 45 MW thermal, 15 MW electrical high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, using TRISO (tristructural isotropic) fuel in prismatic graphite blocks. The graphite blocks contain stacks of ceramic FCM fuel pellets. The helium-cooled reactor can be flexibly fuelled with uranium enrichments from 9% to 19.75% and will have an initial licensed nuclear plant lifetime of 40-years.

"USNC is changing the nuclear safety and national energy security conversations in the Philippines with the MMR," Pangilinan said, adding: "This cooperative agreement moves us forward with a partner who understands these important issues alongside the essential nature of the cost and reliability of the electricity supply."

"This also signifies the commitment of the Philippines, through Meralco, to explore and utilise diverse energy sources for the benefit of Filipinos. We believe that nuclear technology will help balance the need to meet the growing demand of our country with the equally crucial need to transition towards a sustainable energy future," he said.

Venneri said: "Meralco is demonstrating real leadership in advancing the energy security and sustainability roadmap for the Philippines. Our MMR nuclear batteries can play a major role in delivering those benefits. The plans that will quickly follow this study place Meralco well on the way toward creating a reliable, low-carbon, equitable and secure future for Filipinos."

President Marcos welcomed the agreement, saying the "partnership is a significant step towards exploring clean and sustainable energy options for the Philippines". He added that the agreement "is aligned with our commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase resilience to climate change".

In response to the 1973 oil crisis, the Philippines decided to build the two-unit Bataan plant. Construction of Bataan 1 - a 621 MWe Westinghouse PWR - began in 1976 and it was completed in 1984 at a cost of USD460 million. However, due to financial issues and safety concerns related to earthquakes, the plant was never loaded with fuel or operated. The plant has been maintained.

In March 2022, then President Rodrigo Duterte signed an executive order that outlined the government's position for the inclusion of nuclear energy in the Philippines' energy mix, taking into account economic, political, social and environmental objectives. President Marcos included new nuclear among his campaign pledges before winning the election in May last year.

123 Agreement concluded

Also on the sidelines of the APEC Leaders' Summit, US Vice President Kamala Harris met with President Marcos, where they discussed ongoing efforts to deepen security ties and expand commercial and economic cooperation between the two countries.

During the meeting, Harris and Marcos "welcomed the conclusion of a historic '123' civil nuclear cooperation agreement", according to a statement from the White House. It said the agreement "will deepen our partnership to build a global clean energy economy and strengthen our shared commitment to improving energy security and advancing the global non-proliferation regime".

Negotiations on the 123 Agreement were launched in November 2022 during a visit by Harris to the Philippines.

Formal cooperation agreements are required between countries that want to trade nuclear power goods and services, and those involving the USA are called 123 Agreements after the paragraph of the country's 1954 Atomic Energy Act which requires them.

"This agreement will provide the legal basis for US exports of nuclear equipment and material to the Philippines, which will support American workers and businesses," the White House said. 

Researched and written by World Nuclear News