media review: German companies expand their investments in China

media review: German companies expand their investments in China

    Wednesday, April 12, 2023   No comments

The New York Times reported that some German companies are expanding in China and are reluctant to leave the huge market they need to finance operations in Berlin.

The newspaper added, "At a time when Washington seeks to stifle economic relations with Beijing, two powerful engines of the German economy, Volkswagen and the chemical company (BASF), are expanding their huge Chinese investments."

Volkswagen, which has more than 40 factories in China, has announced a new effort to design models according to the wishes of Chinese customers, and will invest billions in local partnerships and production sites.

And BASF, with 30 production facilities in China, is pushing ahead with plans to spend €10 billion on a new chemical production complex that would rival in size its huge headquarters in Ludwigshafen.

As the American newspaper pointed out, "Across Germany, executives know that these investments run counter to efforts by the United States to isolate China economically. They argue that revenue from China is essential for their businesses to thrive and grow in Europe."

"The profits from China have allowed the company to offset losses from Europe's high energy costs and strict environmental rules," said Martin Brodermüller, CEO of BASF.

According to the New York Times, close trade relations are now under scrutiny in Berlin, at the behest of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, knowing that there was a political proposal to reset the country's relationship with China, its largest trading partner.

According to the newspaper, a study conducted by the Kiel Institute showed that “separation from China would be very costly for the whole of Europe, but in particular for Germany.” About 131 billion euros, and it may cost more, if China responds with other steps.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had said earlier that Germany should "learn its lesson" from Russia's war on Ukraine. The lesson is that "we have to reduce our dependence on others, wherever we can". "This is especially true of China," he added.

The President of the Political Council of Sanaa Government meets the delegations of Saudi Arabia and Oman in Sana'a

The President of the Political Council of Sanaa Government meets the delegations of Saudi Arabia and Oman in Sana'a

    Sunday, April 09, 2023   No comments

 The head of the Supreme Political Council in Yemen, Mahdi Al-Mashat, met with the delegations of Oman and Saudi Arabia in the capital, Sanaa, according to Yemeni media.

During the meeting, Al-Mashat stressed his country's firm position on a just and honorable peace, which the Yemeni people seek and achieve their aspirations for freedom and independence.

He also expressed the gratitude of the Yemeni people for the mediation efforts undertaken by the Sultanate of Oman, its positive role in bringing points of view closer, and its efforts to achieve peace.

For his part, the head of the Saudi delegation expressed his thanks to the Sultanate of Oman for their important role and great efforts in the framework of bringing peace to Yemen, and their keenness to support peace and stability in Yemen.

The meeting was also attended by the head of the national delegation, Muhammad Abdel Salam, the deputy head of the national delegation, Lieutenant General Jalal Al-Ruwaishan, the head of the Security and Intelligence Service, Major General Abdul Hakim Al-Khaiwani, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hussein Al-Ezzi, the member of the national delegation, Abdul-Malik Al-Ajri, and the head of the Military and Security Committee, Major General Abdullah. Yahya Al-Razami.

Yesterday, Saturday, the Omani and Saudi delegation arrived in the Yemeni capital, in order to complete the talks to extend the armistice, after expanding its terms and conditions.

For his part, the head of the Sana'a negotiating delegation, Muhammad Abd al-Salam, announced Sana'a's demands represented in "stopping the aggression, lifting the blockade completely, and disbursing salaries from oil and gas revenues." In addition to these demands, "the exit of foreign forces from Yemen, compensation and reconstruction."

As for the member of the Political Bureau of the Ansar Allah movement, Muhammad Al-Bukhaiti, he revealed, in an interview with Al-Mayadeen, that "there is an understanding with Saudi Arabia," without going into details.

Earlier, a member of the political bureau of the "Ansar Allah" movement, Abd al-Wahhab al-Mahbashi, confirmed that "the Iranian-Saudi agreement is positive, and it will have an impact on the Yemeni file."

A few days ago, Iran welcomed the relative openness resulting from the ceasefire on April 2, 2022, and the limited peace that Yemen witnessed after a long war launched by the United States, whose direct and indirect consequences affected civilians, women, and innocent people.

A sudden meeting between Saudi and Iranian officials in Muscat to discuss important files, on top of which are relations and developments in the region

Today, Sunday, the Saudi ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman, Abdullah bin Saud Al-Anzi, met with his Iranian counterpart, Ali Al-Najafi, in Muscat.

And the Iranian Student Agency, ISNA, reported that “at this meeting, they discussed bilateral relations, developments in the region, and the latest developments in the return of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia.”

Last Thursday, the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia signed a joint statement, at the end of their talks in the Chinese capital, Beijing, which stipulated the start of arrangements to reopen embassies and consulates and expand bilateral relations and cooperation.

According to the statement, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdullahian agreed with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, to resume the exchange of visits by officials and private sector delegations.

Venezuela aiming to insolate its economy from western sanctions builds new ties with Iran and Russia

Venezuela aiming to insolate its economy from western sanctions builds new ties with Iran and Russia

    Sunday, April 09, 2023   No comments

A year after the inking of the cooperation agreement between the CEO of Iran’s SAIPA Automotive Group Mohammad Ali Teimouri and Venezuelan Minister of Transportation Ramón Velásquez at the venue of SAIPA Company in Tehran in order to produce Iranian cars in this country as joint venture (JV), Russia signs a transport deal with Venezuela.

Russia and Venezuela intend to create a shipping company to strengthen ties between Latin America and Russia. As part of the initiative, Moscow and Caracas plan to establish two transportation hubs to increase cooperation and establish a logistics chain. An intergovernmental commission has already decided to create such a company, which will be financed from public and private sources. The company could be registered in Sevastopol, St. Petersburg or Novorossiysk, and joint construction of ships is also planned.

New trade routes will greatly facilitate Russian exports to Latin America, since the region is actively interested in grain, sunflower oil and agricultural machinery from Russia. In turn, Russia will be able to import seafood and fruit at bargain prices. Venezuela will play the role of an operational center.

Why and how is Beijing becoming the Mecca of Geopolitics?

Why and how is Beijing becoming the Mecca of Geopolitics?

    Sunday, April 09, 2023   No comments

Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira says Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lulu will meet with his Chinese counterpart in a few days, to exchange views on the war in Ukraine in particular.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula will head to China on Tuesday, after his visit was postponed due to pneumonia, to restore his country to the international arena.

This official visit of the Brazilian president to his country's largest trading partner was scheduled to take place between March 25 and 31, but doctors recommended that it be postponed due to "mild pneumonia" from which he has now recovered.

On Friday, Lula will meet his counterpart Xi Jinping to "exchange views on the war in Ukraine" in particular, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira told AFP and other international news agencies.

This official visit to China is the fourth for the Brazilian president, who began his third term in January, after being president from 2003 to 2010.

The Brazilian president promised to return his country "to the heart of the new global geopolitics", after the isolation it experienced during the rule of his far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.

In Beijing, Lula hopes to play again the role of mediator who contributed to reaching the nuclear agreement between Iran and the United States during his second term (2007-2010).

Brazil, like China, refused to impose sanctions on Moscow, and at the end of January it had drawn up a still vague proposal regarding the mediation of several countries in the war in Ukraine.

The Brazilian president said at the time that he was "confident" of the chances of success of this proposal, expressing his hope to "establish" the group of countries after his return from China.

On March 25, Celso Amorim, the Brazilian president's senior adviser on international affairs, met in the Kremlin with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is visiting Brazil on April 17.

"To say that the doors are open (to peace talks) would be an exaggeration, but to say that they are closed is also not true," Amorim told CNN Brasil, on Monday, when asked about the outcome of the meeting with Putin.

However, the Kremlin ruled out "any prospect of a political settlement" mediated by China, despite the consensus expressed by Putin and his counterpart Xi during the latter's visit to Moscow at the end of March.

Before his meeting with Xi on Friday in Beijing, Lula will head to Shanghai on Thursday to attend the inauguration of former leftist President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff (2011-2016) as head of the New Development Bank, also known as the "BRICS Bank".

In 2006, during his first term, the "BRICS" group of emerging economies was created, which includes Brazil, India, China, Russia and South Africa.

Lula's visit to China will mainly deal with international political issues, as the economic aspect was dealt with a week ago, during the date previously set for the visit, when more than 500 Brazilian company heads, from most of the industrial agricultural sector, traveled to the Asian country.

More than 20 cooperation agreements have been signed, one of which allows their trade deals to be conducted directly, exchanging the yuan for the riyal and vice versa instead of relying on the dollar. Bilateral trade volume reached 150 billion dollars last year, with 89.7 billion dollars of Brazilian exports to China.

On his way back to the country, Lula will head to the UAE on Saturday for a one-day official visit.

China's Taiwan Strategy is about Isolating the island and claiming the space around it for China

China's Taiwan Strategy is about Isolating the island and claiming the space around it for China

    Saturday, April 08, 2023   No comments

Aware of the cost of war experienced by Russia, China seems to have a different strategy for taking back Taiwan: it is about isolating the island and claiming the space around it for China.

China seems to be methodically increasing its preparedness to isolate Taiwan and subdue it without military invasion

China practiced maneuvers to encircle Taiwan during military exercises near the island. 

The military also conducted exercises to seize dominance at sea and in the air.

This was announced by the command of the People's Liberation Army of China.

Meanwhile, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry said it had detected 71 Chinese aircraft approaching the island as PLA military exercises were taking place around the island. They will last until April 10th.

 

Without including a condemnation of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, a statement by Macron and Xi urge the “return of peace” in Kiev

Without including a condemnation of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, a statement by Macron and Xi urge the “return of peace” in Kiev

    Friday, April 07, 2023   No comments

Without including a condemnation of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, a statement by Macron and Xi urge the “return of peace” in Kiev

Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron pledged in a joint declaration on Friday to "support all efforts aimed at restoring peace to Ukraine."

The joint declaration was issued at the end of the French President's visit to China.

The declaration stressed that the two countries “oppose armed attacks on nuclear power plants and other peaceful nuclear facilities” and support the efforts of the International Atomic Energy Agency “to ensure the safety of the Zaporizhia nuclear plant.”

The text did not mention Russia, nor did it include a condemnation of its invasion of Ukraine.

The joint declaration stressed the “importance” that “all parties to the conflict” respect international humanitarian law “strictly”.

On Thursday, the French president urged his Chinese counterpart to "bring Russia back to its senses" with regard to Ukraine, and implored him not to supply Moscow with weapons, in a meeting at which the two presidents called for peace talks.

According to Paris, the Chinese president expressed, during his meeting with Macron, his readiness to contact Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the appropriate time.

None of the Chinese reports or the French-Chinese joint declaration mentioned this initiative.

In February, Beijing published a 12-point document urging Moscow and Kiev to enter into peace negotiations.

China did not recognize Moscow's unilateral annexation of four Ukrainian regions to the Russian Federation in September, nor did it recognize Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Russia is now planning for long lasting war

Russia is now planning for long lasting war

    Thursday, April 06, 2023   No comments

 

The images coming out of Russia suggest that Russian leaders are now convinced that the conflict in Ukraine is going to drag for years and to sustain that, they are allocating resources to the production of modern weapons systems, most of which are designed for the kind of war that is fought in a place like Ukraine.

This must be bad news for NATO nations that have complained recently about their weapons’ supplies running low; some even complained that the Ukrainian military is being careless with the weapons and systems they are receiving. Images of western equipment destroyed or abandoned in the battle field has raised concerns.

Shamkhani’s February activities are now being revealed: directing a foreign policy linked to long term economic security

Shamkhani’s February activities are now being revealed: directing a foreign policy linked to long term economic security

    Thursday, April 06, 2023   No comments

Media reports are now revealing that Iran’s top security official Ali Shamkhani and Russian President Vladimir Putin had extensive talks on de-dollarization of trade between the two sanction-hit countries during Shamkhani’s visit to Moscow earlier this year.

Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency covered the report after it was released late on Wednesday and said that the hours-long, off-the-record meeting between Shamkhani and Putin early February was mostly focused on initiatives to offset the impacts of Western sanctions on Iran and Russia, including efforts to ditch the US dollar from bilateral trade.

 It said the two had agreed that Iran and Russia could increase the share of other major currencies, including the Chinese yuan, the Emirati dirham and the Indian rupee, in their foreign exchange reserves.

 The report said that the agreement was a base for Shamkhani’s following consultations in China, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq to boost Iran’s access to international trade.

 Shamakhani had traveled to Moscow to attend a regional summit on Afghanistan. The former navy commander, who leads Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, then reached a deal in early March in Beijing with his Saudi counterpart Musaad bin Mohammed Al-Aiban to revive diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

 Shamkhani also traveled to Abu Dhabi and Baghdad last month in visits that many said were aimed at boosting Iran’s economic ties with its two Arab neighbors.

 

media review: CIA Director expressed dissatisfaction with Saudi Arabia's rapprochement with Iran

media review: CIA Director expressed dissatisfaction with Saudi Arabia's rapprochement with Iran

    Thursday, April 06, 2023   No comments

According to media reports, the CIA chief complained US was blindsided by Saudi outreach to Syria and Iran. Similar reports appeared in the Wall Street Journal. According to the newspaper, William Burns told Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that the United States is shocked by Riyadh's rapprochement with Iran and Syria, which are still under the influence of Western sanctions.

The director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns, during an unannounced visit to Saudi Arabia, expressed dissatisfaction with the decision of the kingdom's authorities to establish relations with Iran and Syria. This was reported on Thursday with reference to sources by The Wall Street Journal.

Earlier, Al Arabiya TV channel reported, citing a source, that the CIA director visited Saudi Arabia this week to meet with representatives of the kingdom's authorities. According to the interlocutor of the TV channel, Burns confirmed Washington's desire to strengthen cooperation with Riyadh on security issues and the fight against terrorism. The representative of the administration did not specify with whom exactly the head of the CIA met and how long he was in the kingdom.

On March 10, Tehran and Riyadh agreed to restore diplomatic relations and reopen embassies within two months. Representatives of the two countries held talks in Beijing for several days, following which a trilateral statement was prepared.

Media Review: The world of the dollar reserve system is coming to an end

Media Review: The world of the dollar reserve system is coming to an end

    Wednesday, April 05, 2023   No comments

The American magazine "The National Interest" reported that "the American president said that the ruble will turn to rubble, and the French finance minister said that the Russian economy will collapse, but despite these statements, the sanctions did not result in any major tsunami of regime change."

And it reported that “the movement to (Eurasian) resource-backed currencies was accelerated by the United States’ recognition of the trend and its attempt to reverse it, ostensibly through the war in Ukraine,” noting that “the revolution in the economy is not Bitcoin, but rather resource-based currencies.”

She explained, “With the Russians capping the price of their gold, Russian investors were stuck with an undervalued ruble, forcing it to appreciate against the dollar. In the past six months, the ruble has strengthened steadily. Then Putin added the double whammy that buyers of Oil can be bought with rubles or gold.

According to her, "If they buy oil with gold, they actually get a discount on oil, which leads to increased pressure on the supply of gold, which raises the price."

Therefore, "the West's commitment to burning the ruble backfired, and the strengthening of oil prices had a reinforcing effect on the ruble. As a result, in the land of paper, Russia and China are now able to control gold and oil prices," she says.

"The world of the dollar reserve system is coming to an end, as domestic funds were artificially inflated by the West in order to buy the assets of the East cheaply, and now it is payback time for the East," The National Interest confirmed.

The magazine concluded: "The dollar is still the reserve currency. This seismic change will not happen overnight, but the seeds were sown," stressing that "the current banking crisis is a symptom of the weakness of the monetary system, and what is happening in the West is the gradual death of paper currencies."