Category: China

China, Europe Agree To $57 Billion Currency Swap Deal

The People’s Bank of China and the European Central Bank on Thursday have a signed currency swap agreement to boost trade between the two regions, marking China’s largest such deal outside Asia to date and representing a huge step towards the yuan’s internationalisation.

The three-year swap line will have a maximum value of 350 billion yuan ($57 billion) and will allow more trade and investment between the regions to be conducted in euros and yuan, without first having to convert into another currency such as the U.S. dollar.

Chinese Official Fired After Son Holds 3-Day Long, $260,000 Wedding

A Communist Party village official in a Beijing suburb has been sacked by the party’s discipline inspection commission after reports of his son’s three-day wedding emerged in local media outlets, prompting public criticism over the lavish affair, reported Xinhua News on Tuesday.

China Presses US To End Government Shutdown & Avoid Debt Default

China, the world’s largest holder of U.S. foreign debt, has called on U.S. politicians to end their debt ceiling standoff ahead of the October 17^th deadline, warning that a possible U.S. default would have huge global ramifications and severely affect “the safety of Chinese investments” in the country.

China Government Has 2 Million People Monitoring Internet Activities

More than two million people in China are currently employed by the government to monitor the online activities of their fellow citizens, according to a local media report, highlighting the lengths the government would go to in order to control the Internet.

The Beijing News, as cited by the BBC last week, claimed that the personnel were hired as “Internet opinion analysts”, whose jobs were to collect and report on the views and attitudes of people on social networks.

China To Launch Space Station Within A Decade

China intends to launch its very own orbiting space station by 2023, announced officials at the 64th International Astronautical Congress in Beijing on Thursday, with an initial mission to study the effects of long-term weight loss in space, the effects of radiation on astronauts, in-orbit medical monitoring and the application of traditional Chinese medicine in space.

China Bans Potentially Weapons-Related Exports To North Korea

China’s Commerce Ministry on Tuesday issued a 236-page list of goods banned for exports to North Korea, fearing that the items could be used as components to make weapons of mass destruction.

In a statement to the press, Hong Lei, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that China’s decision came as part of a joint U.N. Security Council resolution on North Korea, underscoring China’s “strict attitude” in enforcing sanctions.

China Pours On State Support For Milk Powder Industry

The Chinese government is set to provide nearly 30 billion yuan ($4.90 billion) in state funding to domestic milk powder makers, in order to support sector consolidation and increase the ability of companies to compete with international competition, according to local media reports over the weekend.