Globalization, outsourcing, G20, UN

EU may lift arms sanctions against China by 2011: Report

European Union may lift its arms embargo clamped on China in 1989 in the wake of Tiananmen Square crackdown, by early 2011, providing a big boost to the Chinese military which is currently embarked on producing 5th generation fighters and long-range cruise missiles.

The lifting of the embargo on transfer of all lethal weapon technology "could happen very soon", French daily Le Figaro reported quoting sources close to the EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

The paper said the issue was raised at the last EU Summit on December 17 and in a confidential presentation major EU powers felt that the embargo may have outlived its purpose.

The report described the embargo as a "major obstacle" to the Euro-Chinese ties and advocated a "move forward", indicating that the lifting of sanctions could be round the corner.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/124911/eu-may-lift-arms-sanctions.html

China teamin up with everyone...more transfer of technology (weapon)

Good post..Trust me !! It is going to happen.. Another empire will dominate the international scene for a few decades or so until the international bankers pulled the rug beneath them..

yes very nice catch

Clinton starts weeklong focus on the Arab world

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leaves Washington today for a trip to the Gulf, where she will meet with senior Arab leaders and civic groups. Middle East peace, Iraq, and Iran will be at the top of her agenda.

Clinton travels to New York tonight to pay a visit to Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, who has been in New York since November for surgery on his back. She'll also meet tonight with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri in New York, before embarking on a six-day trip that will take her to the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Qatar.

snip
The State Department is billing the trip as "an opportunity to showcase these other dimensions of U.S. engagement in the Middle East and the Gulf, particularly the emphasis we've placed on building partnerships beyond the government to government level, reaching out to civil society, reaching out to the private sector," said another senior State Department official. "That's really the key goal for everything that she's doing on the trip."
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/01/07/clinton_starts_weeklong_focus_on_the_arab_world


one big happy global family

New biz expansion: Hello Africa, India's calling

Millions of mobile phone subscribers in Africa saw the icon on their phone screens change from Bahrain company Zain to Indian company Airtel last fall. The change means little to the average customer, but for the continent, it's another sign that India is moving in.

The expansion by Bharti Airtel into 16 African countries underscores the rise of India in Africa, at a time when much of the focus on foreign investment here has been on China.

The Indian government is raising its diplomatic profile in Africa, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Cabinet leading several business delegations in recent years. And Indian companies are striving to keep up with China's business profile in Africa, taking advantage of historical ties with the continent.

"I think one of the things that India doesn't want to allow to happen is that it doesn't want to get behind in this kind of engagement," said Sanusha Naidu, research director at the Britain-based Fahamu organization, an advocacy group tracking African issues.

Naidu said India's renewed interest in Africa has not received as much attention as China's because India is not seen as a threat.

"It is seen as a democratic state," Naidu, a South African, said. "It doesn't have a communist regime. All that plays in favor of India."

India and China are vying for Africa because of the bottom line: Africa represents new growth.

http://www.ajc.com/business/new-biz-expansion-hello-799723.html

nice catch thx

Tap new markets for $500bn exports: Fieo


India's annual merchandise shipments can reach $500 billion by 2014-15 if exporters concentrate on cracking emerging markets in Asia, Latin America, Africa and West Asia. Simultaneously, the government has to focus on developing export infrastructure and reduce procedural bottlenecks, new head of Fieo, Ramu Deora said on Monday.

"Out of $500 billion exports, major chunk will be contributed by Asia with a share of $230 billion. Asean alone will import $100 billion from India. Exports to Africa and Latin America will also zoom," Deora said. tnn

He said Central Asian nations like Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and countries such as Russia and Ukraine would also contribute in increasing Indian exports.

snip
"Quantum jump in investment would be required in roads, ports, airports, containers, power and telecommunications, cold storage and refrigerated vans and warehouses, so as to augment the installed capacity," Deora said. He added that fluctuation in exchange rate hurts exporters and importers, so the government should consider full convertibility of Indian rupee to curb high volatility.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Tap-new-markets-for-500bn-exports-Fieo/articleshow/7263684.cms#ixzz1Apl2S8ji

HUGE infrastructure investment...Quantum jump!

jobs for the boys

China urges easing of EU high-tech export controls

China urged Britain on Tuesday to lobby for an easing of European Union controls on high-tech exports to China.

"We hope our British colleagues can help urge the European Union to relax its restrictions on high-tech exports to China," international trade representative Gao Hucheng told a trade forum organised by the China-Britain Business Council.

Gao is among a 50-strong delegation accompanying Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang on a four-day visit to Britain that ends on Wednesday.

The 27-nation EU restricts high-tech exports to China and maintains a 21-year-old ban on selling weapons to China, imposed after a bloody crackdown on student protesters in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989.

China wants access to high-tech components to speed its move into higher-value-added manufacturing. Western business executives often voice concern about what they see as the inadequate protection of intellectual property rights in China.

China's reduction in export quotas for rare earth minerals, of which it is the biggest producer and which are used in the production of many high-tech products, has alarmed its trading partners.

Chinese companies have signed billions of dollars of business deals during the tour of Britain, Spain and Germany by Li, who is widely tipped to become China's next premier.

Britain, eager for closer business ties with China and other emerging market giants, announced 2.6 billion pounds ($4 billion) of business deals with China on Monday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE70A1AQ20110111

all roads lead to china

China Stresses it Must Work With US

China is emphasizing to foreign diplomats that it takes the relationship with the United States seriously and that the two countries will work together. Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai told more than 100 foreign diplomats in Beijing that closer China-U.S. cooperation is good for the two countries and good for the rest of the world.

He said last year, the world paid too much attention to "the bad news in the bilateral relationship." He said this, in turn, led to questions of whether China and the United States can stay on what he described as "the course of cooperation."

Cui says the answer to that question should be an unequivocal and emphatic yes - that China and the United States have no other choice but to cooperate
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/China-Stresses-it-Must-Work-With-US-113596854.html

Lots and lots of articles on Global Food concerns

Global food chain stretched to the limit
Soaring prices spark fears of social unrest in developing world
Strained by rising demand and battered by bad weather, the global food supply chain is stretched to the limit, sending prices soaring and sparking concerns about a repeat of food riots last seen three years ago.

Signs of the strain can be found from Australia to Argentina, Canada to Russia.

On Thursday, Tunisia's president ordered prices on food staples slashed and indicated he won't run for re-election after deadly riots hit the North African country.

The U.N.'s fear is that the latest run-up in food prices could spark a repeat of the deadly food riots that broke out in 2008 in Haiti, Kenya and Somalia. That price spike was relatively short-lived. But Abbassian said the latest surge in food stuffs may be more sustained.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41062817/ns/business-consumer_news/


U.S.-Chinese currency link creates spiral in global food costs
Worldwide commodity inflation looms as a threat
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jan/13/us-chinese-currency-link-creates-food-price-spiral/

Riots spread as global food shortage worsens
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/food/news/article.cfm?c_id=206&objectid=10699716

Food shortages, price increases...coupled with unemployment = bad news

posting a vid today as well

China's think tank issues its first monthly magazine "Globalization"

A leading Chinese think tank issued its first monthly magazine on Saturday, aiming to create a platform for developing nations to have their ideas about globalization and other international affairs reach a global audience.

The issue, named "Globalization", was published by the China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE), a think tank chaired by former vice premier Zeng Peiyan.

Founded in 2009, the association aims to promote international economic research and exchanges and provide consulting services, and has attracted experienced economic researchers and has close connections with economic research resources in various fields.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-01/15/c_13692474.htm

lol