Asia > Business / Trade

Business / Trade in Asia

  • Launch of the Trump–Moon era

    SOUTH KOREA, 2017/07/14 On 29 June 2017, South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived in Washington for an early summit with his US counterpart Donald Trump. Despite dramatic contrasts in the circumstances, ideologies and style of these two unlikely partners, the convergence of national interests and common objectives concerning North Korea was sufficient to keep the US–South Korea alliance on track. Ironically, successful coordination on the issue of North Korea exposed differing views on trade and burden sharing that will keep diplomats from both nations busy.
  • China remains biggest non-oil trade partner of Dubai in Q1

    CHINA, 2017/07/10 China remains the biggest non-oil trade partner of Dubai of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the initial quarter of 2017, with a share of 13.45 % of the sheikhdom's trade volume, the Dubai government's media office said on Saturday on twitter. Trade between Dubai and China reached 12 billion U.S. dollars in the initial three months this year, followed by that with India and the United States. The non-oil trade of Dubai grew in the initial quarter by 2.7 % year on year to 89.10 billion dollars, the office said.
  • Xi, Macron agree to promote China-France cooperation

    CHINA, 2017/07/10 Chinese President Xi Jinping and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron agreed here Saturday to promote bilateral relations and cooperation. "The Chinese side is willing to make concerted efforts with the French side to continue to view the bilateral relations from a strategic height and a long-term perspective, and work for a better development of our ties," Xi said during a conference with Macron on the sidelines of the annual summit of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies in Hamburg, Germany.
  • Japan–EU negotiations racing against protectionism

    JAPAN, 2017/07/10 The Japan–EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations appear to be coming down to the wire. Both sides are aiming to reach a framework agreement prior to the G20 summit on 7 July. Agriculture, as usual, is one of the sticking points, particularly for items such as cheese. The domestic political setting in Japan shows some of the usual signs of tension. The Japanese government is seeking to advance the country’s wider trade goals by reducing tariffs and other import barriers in overseas markets. On the other hand, Japan’s farm lobby — led by the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives Group (JA Group) and their allied politicians in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) — is seeking to maintain specific barriers to imports of farm products given Japan’s small-scale and inefficient agricultural sector.
  • Vietnam to pull the US back to Asia?

    UNITED STATES, 2017/07/10 Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s White Home visit on 31 May has set an ambitious schedule for Vietnam–US relations. The conference was in the spotlight due to the uncertainty surrounding the Trump government’s policy toward the Asia Pacific and the political chaos in Washington. Thirteen commercial contracts worth US$8 billion were announced, bringing in ‘jobs for the United States and great, great equipment for Vietnam’. But the majority significant document released was a joint statement that has mapped out the schedule for US–Vietnam relations and the Trump government’s policy in the region.
  • Trump threat drives Japan and China closer

    CHINA, 2017/07/10 Sino–Japanese relations have been stuck in a political quagmire for over six years. Tensions have resurfaced time and time again over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands since September 2010, at the same time as a Chinese fishing boat rammed two Japanese coast guard boats and its captain was arrested by the Japanese. Japan harbours suspicions that Chinese aggression is aimed at an eventual retreat of the United States from Asia and the Pacific. And China continues to lambast Japan for its failure to face up to its history in the Sino–Japanese wars, inclunding its contemporary push towards re-militarisation.
  • EU, Japan Pledge To Tie The Trade Knot Within Months

    JAPAN, 2017/07/08 The European Union and Japan agreed the broad lines of a trade transaction on Thursday (6 July), promising to iron out the last details within months. “Today we agreed in principle on an Economic Partnership Agreement, the impact of which goes far beyond our shores,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said during a press conference at the end of the extraordinary EU-Japan Summit. European Council President Donald Tusk stressed that the transaction is not just about trade but about shared values and committing to the highest standards in areas such as labour, safety, environmental and consumer protection.
  • US-China: Competing Amidst Two Transitions

    CHINA, 2017/07/08 Power transition is the standard explanation for current US-China tensions. But an extra – additional fundamental – transition remains unaddressed. Last week the US Navy’s guided-missile destroyer, the USS Stethem, sailed to within 12 nautical miles of Triton Island in the China-controlled Paracel Islands, inviting Beijing’s condemnation of American “provocation”. Such incidents are by no means new. In December 2013, a confrontation between Chinese vessels accompanying the carrier Liaoning and the American cruiser Cowpens brought them perilously close to a collision in the South China Sea.
  • China’s President Xi Jinping is in Russia on an official visit at the invitation of Vladimir Putin.

    CHINA, 2017/07/08 Russia’s President Vladimir Putin presented on Tuesday the Order of St Andrew the Apostle to President of China Xi Jinping. The ceremony was held in the St Andrew Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace. According to the Kremlin, the Order of St Andrew the Apostle is awarded to prominent statesmen and public figures and representatives of science, culture, the arts and various industries for their exceptional services in promoting the prosperity, greatness and glory of Russia. The order can as well be awarded to foreign heads of national for outstanding services to Russia.
  • Israel and India Relations Warm As Netanyahu, Modi Take Awkward Barefoot Beach Stroll

    INDIA, 2017/07/07 As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrapped up his three-day visit to Israel, a visit to a beach with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday made waves on social media next the two were pictured taking a barefoot stroll in the Mediterranean. His trip, the initial of its kind for an Indian premier, included new economic deals, and time spent with Netanyahu to deepen their relationship. They ended the trip with a visit to Olga Beach in the northern coastal city of Haifa, strolling in the shallow water with a photographer and camera crew on hand.