China’s Social Credit System

China already had much control over the  Strait of Hormuz through its all-encompassing 25-year deal with Iran. Through a deal between Iran and Oman, China increases its influence over key transit routes for oil in the Gulf of Oman. The re-ordering of the alliances of the major Middle Eastern oil…

Despite underwhelming economic data from China that have depressed oil market sentiment in recent weeks, no one has made any material downward revisions to their forecasts for China’s oil demand growth. In light of the underwhelming Chinese recovery, the authorities could opt for additional fiscal stimulus and policy easing to…

Saudi Aramco’s development of the Iraqi Akkas project could provide much-needed gas for Iraq’s power generation sector. Saudi Aramco may not see the same difficulties in Iraq’s oil sector as Western companies have. The gas supplied from the Akkas project and corollary developments would finally allow for the full-scale development…

Published June 4, 2023 11:48pm WASHINGTON — A Chinese warship came within 137 meters of a US destroyer in the Taiwan Strait in "an unsafe manner," US military officials said, as China blamed the United States for "deliberately provoking risk" in the region. US and Canadian navies on Saturday were…

Hong Kong Cup dragon boat race held in Yokohama, Japan (with photos) ********************************************************************      The Hong Kong Cup dragon boat race was held at the promenade of Yamashita Park in Yokohama, Japan, today (June 4). The championship went to Hong Kong China Dragon Boat Association, which beat 14 other teams in…

IEA: new installations of renewable energy capacity are expected to surge to 440 gigawatts this year. All major markets are set to see strong expansion due to the EU response to the energy crisis. This year and next, China will account for nearly 55% of global additions of renewable power…

China is rapidly advancing its decarbonization efforts, exceeding expectations and outpacing other countries in clean energy spending. The country's solar power and electric vehicle sectors are experiencing significant growth, with China set to increase its solar capacity threefold and electric vehicle sales surpassing a third of all vehicle sales. China's…

In an overture designed to reverse years of stalled diplomacy, the Biden Administration sought Friday to rekindle nuclear arms-control negotiations with Russia and China without preconditions. White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the U.S. wants to establish a framework for nuclear arms reduction before the last remaining arms-control…

PDD unveiled a new 10 Billion program to help build supply chain ecosystem. Credit: PDD PDD Holdings, owner of Pinduoduo and Temu, recently reported a 58% yearly increase in revenue for the first quarter of 2023. The company attributed the better-than-expectation performance to online retail recovery in China. 10 Billion…

Chinese search giant Baidu will set up an RMB 1 billion fund to support ChatGPT-like startups, CEO Robin Li announced at the JPMorgan Global China Summit on Wednesday. The fund will aim to promote the prosperity of the large language model ecology in China, Li said. Baidu will also launch…