China
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FILE PHOTO: A combination of file photos shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attending a wreath laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam March 2, 2019 and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin looking during a joint news conference with South African President Jacob Zuma after their meeting at the Bocharov Ruchei residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Krasnodar region, Russia, May 16, 2013. REUTERS/Jorge Silva/Pool/Maxim Shipenkov/Pool/File Photo
April 24, 2019
By Josh Smith
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time this week at a symbolic summit hoping to project himself as a serious world player but likely to come away without a relief from crushing sanctions he seeks.
After his second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump ended without an agreement two months ago, Kim’s meeting with Putin serves as a reminder to Washington that he has other options in the region backing his leadership.
But while Kim is likely to seek more assistance from one of his country’s two main backers, Russia will be limited in what it can provide and the summit will focus more on demonstrating camaraderie than new investment or aid, analysts said.
“When Kim meets Putin, he is going to ask for economic assistance and unilateral sanctions relaxation. Moscow is unlikely to grant his wishes,” said Artyom Lukin, a professor at Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok.
That school’s campus is seen to be the summit venue, according to South Korean media which reported the presence of Kim’s top aides there making preparations for the event.
“Being a veto-holding U.N. Security Council member, Moscow can hardly afford to undermine its authority even for the sake of friendship with Kim,” Lukin said.
SANCTIONS RELIEF
While Russia says it fully enforces the sanctions that it voted to impose, it has joined China in calling for loosening punishment for North Korea in recognition of steps taken in limiting its weapons testing.
“Steps by the DPRK toward gradual disarmament should be followed by the easing of sanctions,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a Security Council meeting late last year, using the initials of the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Washington has accused Russia of “cheating” on sanctions and said it has evidence of “consistent and wide-ranging Russian violations”.
In February, Reuters reported a Russian tanker violated international trade sanctions by transferring fuel to a North Korean vessel at sea at least four times between October 2017 and May 2018.
One Russian lawmaker told Interfax news agency last week that North Korea had asked Moscow to allow its laborers to continue to work in Russia despite sanctions requiring their expulsion by the end of this year.
“One particularly sore area for Kim is the issue of North Korean laborers working in Russia,” said Anthony Rinna, a specialist in Korea-Russia relations at Sino-NK, a website that analyses the region.
“Kim will probably be seeking some wiggle-room from Russia, although Moscow will be hard-pressed to accommodate Kim given its desire to portray a responsible image in the world.”
The United States has said it believed Pyongyang was earning more than $500 million a year from nearly 100,000 workers abroad, including 30,000 in Russia.
According to unpublished reports by Moscow to the United Nations Security Council, Russia sent home nearly two-thirds of its North Korean workers during 2018.
The report, reviewed by Reuters, said in 2018 the number of North Koreans with work permits in Russia fell to about 11,500.
LONG TIES
Russia-North Korea relations withered after the Soviet demise, with the loss of support from Moscow often cited as one factor that lead to a 1990s famine that killed hundreds of thousands of North Koreans.
Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong Il, worked to renew ties after Putin first became president in 1999. He visited Russia three times before his sudden death in 2011.
Russia could agreed on some limited projects like a vehicle bridge connecting the two countries across the Tumangan River, or provide more humanitarian aid, Lukin said.
Earlier this year, Russia sent more than 2,000 tons of wheat to North Korea through the World Food Programme. Russian lawmakers have suggested Moscow could send as much as 50,000 tons of wheat to North Korea.
According to the United Nations, Russia has continued to sell significant amounts of oil to North Korea, though still officially under sanctions caps.
North Korea’s state media said in March officials met in Moscow to sign an agreement “to boost high-level contact and exchange in the political field (and) actively promote cooperation in the fields of economy and humanitarianism.”
While Moscow is unlikely to risk its authority at the United Nations by overtly breaching sanctions, Putin could promise not to support any additional sanctions, Lukin said.
“Kim can expect a friendly reception here and probably some chance of getting political and economic support from Putin.”
(Reporting by Josh Smith, additional reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin in Moscow.; Editing by Jack Kim and Lincoln Feast.)
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FILE PHOTO: A man walks past a sign board of Huawei at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) Asia 2018 in Shanghai, China June 14, 2018. REUTERS/Aly Song
April 23, 2019
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will allow China’s Huawei Technologies limited access to the next generation of mobile network, known as 5G, the Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday, without citing sources.
Britain’s National Security Council, chaired by Prime Minister Theresa May, agreed to allow Huawei access to “noncore” parts of the 5G mobile infrastructure like antennas, despite concerns among her cabinet ministers, the newspaper said.
Huawei is already present in Britain’s existing noncore mobile network.
Officials in the United States and elsewhere have been increasingly public in voicing concerns that Huawei’s equipment could be used by Beijing for spying or sabotage, particularly as operators move to 5G networks.
(Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by Tom Brown)
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A migrant from Honduras watch other migrants’ cellphones as they gather in an improvised shelter during a break in their journey towards the United States, in Escuintla, Mexico April 19, 2019. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
April 23, 2019
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Republican and Democratic leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee urged the Trump administration to reconsider its plan to cut aid to Central America, warning in a letter released on Tuesday that it could lead to increased Chinese influence.
The State Department said last month it would cut aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras after President Donald Trump sharply criticized them because thousands of their citizens had sought asylum at the U.S. border with Mexico.
“Assistance … is having positive results, and while improvements can be made, we believe that cutting assistance would be counterproductive and lead to increased migration flows to the U.S.,” Representatives Eliot Engel, the committee’s Democratic chairman, and Michael McCaul, its ranking Republican, said in a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Cutting the aid would also raise doubts over the reliability of the United States as a consistent partner and create a void that China and other adversaries will look to fill, they said.
World leaders are meeting in Beijing next week for a summit on China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which envisions connecting China with Asia, Europe and beyond with massive infrastructure spending. But it is viewed warily by Washington, which views the program as a way to spread Chinese influence and saddle countries with unsustainable debt.
Several members of Congress, where several lawmakers, including some of Trump’s fellow Republicans as well as Democrats, have rejected the plan, saying it was cruel to cut off aid to countries grappling with hunger and crime and more likely to increase the number of migrants than decrease it.
State Department officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter from Engel and McCaul.
Mark Green, the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, told a Foreign Affairs Committee hearing earlier this month that the administration had no plan to change its decision until Trump is satisfied that the countries are doing enough to address migration.
Trump has made a hard line on immigration a central theme of his presidency, particularly regarding undocumented newcomers from Latin America via the southern border.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Susan Thomas)
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The United Nations emblem is seen in the U.N. General Assembly hall during the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
April 23, 2019
By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – A U.S. threat to veto U.N. Security Council action on sexual violence in conflict was averted on Tuesday after a long-agreed phrase was removed because President Donald Trump’s administration sees it as code for abortion, diplomats said.
A German-drafted resolution was adopted after a reference to the need for U.N. bodies and donors to give timely “sexual and reproductive health” assistance to survivors of sexual violence was cut to appease the United States.
“It is intolerable and incomprehensible that the Security Council is incapable of acknowledging that women and girls who suffered from sexual violence in conflict – and who obviously didn’t choose to become pregnant – should have the right to terminate their pregnancy,” French U.N. Ambassador Francois Delattre told the 15-member body after the vote.
The language promoting sexual and reproductive health is long-agreed internationally, including in resolutions adopted by the Security Council in 2009 and 2013 and several resolutions adopted annually by the 193-member General Assembly.
The text adopted on Tuesday simply reaffirms the council’s commitment to the 2009 and 2013 resolutions. A reference to the work of the International Criminal Court in fighting the most serious crimes against women and girls was also watered-down to win over Washington, which is not a member of the institution.
Before the vote, acting U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Jonathan Cohen told the Security Council: “None of us can turn our backs on this issue.”
“It requires the engagement of all member states and of the United Nations to support the efforts of those fighting to protect women, provide accountability, and support survivors,” he said.
RUSSIA, CHINA ABSTAIN
Thirteen council members voted in favor of the resolution, while Russia and China abstained over a number of concerns – including a German push for expanded U.N. monitoring of sexual violence in conflict – and even circulated their own rival draft text, which they did not put to a vote.
“Please do not even try to paint us as opponents of the fight against sexual violence in conflict. Our stance on this issue remains firm and unyielding, this scourge has to be eliminated,” Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said.
The council voted after hearing briefings from Nobel Peace Prize winners Nadia Murad, an Iraqi Yazidi woman who was held as a sex slave by Islamic State militants, and Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege, who treats rape victims; Libyan rights activist Inas Miloud and international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney.
“Dark clouds are hanging over the chamber of the Security Council,” South African U.N. Ambassador Jerry Matjila told reporters ahead of the vote, describing it as “a sad day.”
The U.S. threat to veto the Security Council resolution was the latest in a string of moves made by Washington at the United Nations that some U.N. diplomats say has been driven by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, a conservative Christian who staunchly opposes abortion rights.
Pence’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Cohen did not speak after the council vote.
Washington cut its funding in 2017 for the U.N. Population Fund because it “supports, or participates in the management of, a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.” The United Nations said that was an inaccurate perception.
In 2018 Washington unsuccessfully tried to remove language on sexual and reproductive health from several General Assembly resolutions, then failed in a similar campaign last month during the annual U.N. Commission on the Status of Women meeting.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Susan Thomas)
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FILE PHOTO: The logo of U.S. conglomerate General Electric is pictured at the company’s site of its energy branch in Belfort, France, February 5, 2019. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler
April 23, 2019
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A former engineer and a Chinese businessman have been charged with economic espionage and conspiring to steal trade secrets from General Electric Co to benefit China, according to an indictment unsealed by the U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday.
Xiaoqing Zheng, a former engineer at GE, was previously charged by the Justice Department in August in connection with the alleged theft.
However, the indictment unsealed on Tuesday against the former engineer and Chinese businessman Zhaoxi Zhang marks the first time that the U.S. government has formally alleged that the scheme was carried out in order to benefit China, and that the Chinese government provided “financial and other support.”
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch, Makini Brice and David Shepardson; Editing by Paul Simao)
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FILE PHOTO: Chinese staffers adjust U.S. and Chinese flags before the opening session of trade negotiations between U.S. and Chinese trade representatives at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. Mark Schiefelbein/Pool via REUTERS
April 23, 2019
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A top White House economic adviser said on Tuesday he was “cautiously optimistic” the United States would strike a trade deal with China and that a lot of progress was being made in negotiations.
Speaking at a luncheon at the National Press Club, National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said the two nations still had issues to address and were discussing a “visitation exchange” as part of their ongoing talks.
(Reporting by Alexandra Alper and David Alexander; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
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FILE PHOTO: A charging cable is seen hooked to a car at a State Grid Corporation of China charging point for electric vehicles in Beijing, China March 3, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer
April 23, 2019
BEIJING (Reuters) – China will push ahead with the development of China’s hydrogen energy and fuel cell vehicle industry, a government official said on Tuesday, as part of wider efforts to promote green energy in the world’s largest auto market.
“Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and pure electric vehicles with lithium batteries are important technical routes for new energy vehicles,” said Huang Libin, a spokesman for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
Pure electric vehicles are more suitable for urban and short-distance passenger travel, while hydrogen fuel cells are more suitable for long-distance and large commercial vehicles, Huang said.
“We believe that hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and pure electric vehicles will coexist and complement each other for a long time to meet the needs of transportation and people’s travel,” Huang said.
Senior industry executives and academics in China have urged the government to support hydrogen fuel cell technology due to its suitability for commercial vehicles.
Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp plans to supply fuel cell components to China’s commercial vehicle makers after launching a joint research institute with Tsinghua University last week.
(Reporting by Yilei Sun in Beijing and Brenda Goh In Shanghai, editing by Louise Heavens)
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FILE PHOTO: Logo of Tencent is displayed at a news conference in Hong Kong, China March 22, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
April 23, 2019
By Cassandra Garrison
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd has invested in Argentine mobile banking service Uala, which also counts George Soros and Point72 Ventures LLC among its investors, the start-up’s founder said.
Uala founder Pierpaolo Barbieri said the company planned to collaborate with the Chinese social media-to-gaming giant to further develop its app. He declined to disclose the amount of Tencent’s investment.
Tencent, one of Asia’s most valuable listed companies, announced last year it would boost investments in a number of “key areas” including digital payment, where its service jostles with rival Alipay, backed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
Tencent’s own messenger-to-payment app WeChat now has more than 1 billion users in China and has launched in-app services that compete with Apple and Google apps.
“We are proud of their interest in Uala and look forward to collaborating on new products and services. This investment will allow us to grow even faster with our product roadmap,” Barbieri said in an email to Reuters.
Argentine startups face regulatory hurdles in South America’s second largest economy, but the country has spawned some of the region’s most successful tech startups, including U.S.-listed online marketplace MercadoLibre Inc and Internet travel agent Despegar.com Corp.
The country, which has a large unbanked population, is also seeing a boom in digital finance from start-ups like Uala to a new wave of online banks competing with more traditional lenders.
(Reporting by Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
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FILE PHOTO: Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah attends an ASEAN-U.S. Ministerial Meeting in Singapore August 3, 2018. REUTERS/Edgar Su
April 23, 2019
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia is hopeful of getting more “fair” investment from China, its foreign minister said on Tuesday, after both countries agreed to resume two multi-billion dollar projects just before a Belt and Road conference in Beijing this week.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who came to power after a stunning election victory last May, had vowed to renegotiate or cancel what he calls unfair Chinese projects authorized by his predecessor.
Earlier this month, both countries agreed to resume construction of the East Coast Rail Line (ECRL) at a discount. Last week, Mahathir announced the resumption of a multi-billion dollar property development linked to China.
“We want to improve our ties with China. That is a fact. But it doesn’t mean we will do whatever it takes,” Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah told Reuters in an interview.
“Agreements and arrangements have to be fair for both sides,” he said.
The minister said ties between the countries had improved since the resumption of the two projects – both part of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a key policy of President Xi Jinping that envisions rebuilding the old Silk Road to connect China with Asia, Europe and beyond with massive infrastructure spending.
Mahathir will travel to Beijing on Wednesday to attend a forum on the Belt and Road initiative.
Mahathir and the Malaysian delegation are also expected to hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines with Xi, premier Li Keqiang and Li Zhanshu, the chairman of the standing committee of the national people’s congress, according to the Malaysian foreign ministry.
Saifuddin, who will be part of Malaysia’s delegation, said Malaysia is open to Chinese investments from “any sector”, but particularly in high-tech manufacturing.
He said Malaysia is also optimistic that China will increase its imports of Malaysian palm oil, on top of an increase of 500,000 tonnes premier Li had pledged during Mahathir’s last visit in August. Palm oil is a key Malaysian export.
“We are hopeful that with the BRI conference and the positive closure of the two projects, we would be receiving more investments from China,” Saifuddin said.
(Reporting by Joseph Sipalan; Editing by Frances Kerry)
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FILE PHOTO: An oil tanker is being loaded at Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal in Saudi Arabia May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah/File Photo
April 23, 2019
By Rania El Gamal
DUBAI (Reuters) – Gulf OPEC producers can step in to meet any oil supply shortage following a U.S. decision to end waivers on buyers of Iranian crude, but will first wait to see whether there is actual demand, OPEC and industry sources said.
The United States has decided not to renew exemptions from sanctions against Iran granted last year to buyers of Iranian oil, taking a tougher line than expected.
Eight countries, including China and India, were granted waivers for six months, and several had expected those exemptions to be renewed.
A senior U.S. administration official said Trump was confident Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates would fulfill their pledges to compensate for the shortfall in the oil market.
Gulf oil producers are committed to market stability and have the capacity to raise production, but any decision to boost output has to be a measured one depending on demand, the sources said.
“The question is how fast and by how much will OPEC raise output. This still needs to be done after consultations with other countries,” one source said.
“It needs to be discussed and studied. There is an (OPEC) agreement that must be respected, we will not (raise output) immediately for sure.”
Another OPEC source said any decision to raise output must depend on demand.
“There must be actual impact on the market and a real demand from customers,” this source said, adding that any physical additional barrels by Gulf oil producers to compensate for a supply drop from Iran are unlikely to be seen until June.
Saudi Arabia’s oil exports in May are not expected to be much higher than April, two sources said.
The sources said Saudi Arabia’s May oil output will be higher than April, but still within its production target under the OPEC+ supply-cutting deal of 10.3 million bpd. The rise in Saudi May oil output is not related to Iran sanctions, the sources said.
The kingdom’s exports in April will be below 7 million barrels per day, while production is around 9.8 million bpd, Saudi officials said.
Washington reimposed sanctions in November on Iran’s oil exports after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of a 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and six world powers.
Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Monday that his country, the world’s top oil exporter, was monitoring oil market developments after the U.S. statement. He also said Riyadh would coordinate with other oil producers to ensure a balanced market and adequate supply.
A source familiar with Saudi thinking told Reuters on Monday that the country was willing to compensate for any potential loss of crude supply from Iran, but would assess the impact on the market before raising output.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers, an alliance known as OPEC+, are reducing output by 1.2 million bpd from Jan. 1 for six months. They meet on June 25-26 to decide whether to extend the pact.
On May 19, a panel of energy ministers from major oil producers, known as the JMMC, is due to discuss the oil market and make recommendations ahead of the June policy meeting, the sources said.
(Reporting by Rania El Gamal. Editing by Dale Hudson and Jane Merriman)
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