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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Demand for transporting goods from Asia to Europe by rail via Russia has increased by an average of 30% since the start of the Red Sea crisis, the Financial Times newspaper reported, citing logistics companies and rail operators. German shipping company DHL said that requests to transport goods on Russian railways have increased by 40% since container ships began traveling along alternative routes following the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, the report said on Sunday. At the same time, Netherlands-based Rail Bridge Cargo said that rail freight traffic via Russia was 31% higher this year compared...

China thermal coal prices hit record high. ... Cold winds from north sweeps central and east China. China's Met Office forecasts sharp drops in temperatures. China's energy crisis deepened on Friday as cold weather swept into much of the country and power plants scrambled to stock up on coal, sending prices of the fuel to record highs. Electricity demand to heat homes and offices is expected to soar this week as strong cold winds move down from northern China. Forecasters predict average temperatures in some central and eastern regions could fall by as much as 16 degrees Celsius in the...

Selling off resources, purging top officials, and defaulting on debt. It seems that the Chinese economy is falling, and there may be no one to bail them out. In a wave of recent reports, we see the contraction of the national economy, especially intense in the north. There have been blackouts and power failures across the area, and while the problems began in factories they have now spread to homes, a trend that is forecast to spread as time passes. The most alarming case is that of the real estate colossus Evergrande, whose debt is so large that default is...

Cambodia continued construction work at its Ream naval base in August and September, advancing projects that the US suspects could support a Chinese military presence in a strategically valuable corner of Southeast Asia. Satellite photos taken by Maxar and Planet Labs and published by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative show that two new buildings were built on the north end of the base... ... work took place near the former site of the Tactical Headquarters of the National Committee for Maritime Security, a US-funded building that was officially opened in 2012 and unexpectedly demolished in September 2020...

NEW YORK—An economic slowdown in China could ripple through the global economy and weigh on commodity prices and growth, star stock picker Cathie Wood of ARK Invest warned in a webinar on Tuesday.Wood, whose flagship $19.7 billion Ark Innovation fund was the top-performing U.S. equity fund in 2020, said that China’s recent steps to crack down on sectors ranging from gaming to education to financial firms are increasing the likelihood of a policy mistake that leads to a sharp slowdown.“I really do think that the policy makers in China are beginning to play with fire,” she said, adding “We will...

Floods in Shanxi province in northern China have forced more than 120,000 people from their homes. Local media reported 5 people died on 05 October 2021 after continuous rainstorms battered Shanxi Province. Meanwhile, more than 15 have been reported dead and there are more to come! Floods and landslides have been reported in 76 districts and cities. China’s state news agency Xinhua reported 17,000 homes severely damaged or destroyed. A total of 1.76 million people have been affected, as of 10 October. Emergency management departments have distributed relief supplies including tents, bedding and clothing. The heavy rain has also caused...

China is making a mockery of climate targets as it announced plans to build more coal-fired power plants and increase oil and gas exploration, just weeks ahead of the COP26 summit where world leaders were expected to agree to ambitious emission cuts. Beijing's National Energy Commission said late Tuesday it is important 'to build advanced coal-fired power plants' and intensify domestic oil and gas exploration after the country was hit by blackouts last week.Li Keqiang, China's second-in-command, made the announcement after the meeting and hinted that a pledge to cap the country's carbon emissions by 2030 - which already lags...

Around 22 percent of coal mines in China’s coal hub of Shanxi Province were recently ordered to stop operating due to major safety issues. One China observer said that problems persist due to a lack of oversight and corruption among authorities, and safety rules are regarded as a mere formality.From January to July, Shanxi produced about 675 million tons of raw coal, the highest among all provinces, accounting for about 30 percent of China’s total output in the same period. Suspending the coal mine operations in the province is a big deal as other industries would be affected.Shanxi is an...

Since Oct. 2, China’s largest coal-producing province, Shanxi, has experienced continuous heavy rain, affecting more than 70 districts and cities in the province. The unceasing downpour has resulted in floods, landslides, road closures, and the suspension of 60 of its coal mines. The flooding in Shanxi province comes less than three months after the flooding in Henan province which left more than 300 dead. The Fenhe river flows through the center of Shanxi Province; it is the second-largest tributary of the Yellow River, with a total length of about 441 miles. According to Sina News, a Chinese state-owned media, the...

With each passing week, it looks like World War III -- between America and China -- is coming sooner than we think. It's not going to be fought with bullets or aircraft carriers, although the Chinese are building up their military in an aggressive and threatening way. This will more likely be an all-out economic war for global supremacy. The yuan versus the dollar. The Nasdaq versus the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, America is asleep at the switch -- at least, the Biden administration is. This is the worst possible time to be raising tax rates on American companies (Our...

China is not alone — India is also teetering on the edge of a power crisis. As of Oct. 6, 80% of India's 135 coal-powered plants had less than 8 days of supplies left — more than half of those had stocks worth two days or fewer, according to ... China is not the only Asian giant grappling with an energy crunch — India is also teetering on the edge of a power crisis. Most of India's coal-fired power plants have critically low levels of coal inventory at a time when the economy is picking up and fueling electricity demand....

Increasing evidence suggests Joe Biden is running the American government for the benefit of the Chinese Communist Party.A Chinese state-run oil and gas company linked to the son of the President of the United States, Hunter Biden, hit record levels of production amidst President Biden’s decision to halt the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. Sinopec, also known as China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, is a Chinese Communist regime-controlled oil and gas enterprise. Its “fully-owned subsidiary” Sinopec Marketing Company enjoyed nearly $1 billion in investment from Hunter Biden’s private equity firm BHR Partners.Finalized in March 2015, the investments from the...

ore than 120,000 people have been evacuated, coal mines shut and crops destroyed after unseasonably heavy rainfall flooded north China’s Shanxi province over the weekend, state media reported Monday, with more rain forecast. The deluge comes just months after record floods hit the country’s central Henan province in July — killing more than 300 people — and raises fears about ensuring the supply of energy ahead of the winter. Many parts of Shanxi, a landlocked province that generally has dry weather, saw record-breaking rainfall over the past week, according to the provincial government, which ordered coal mines to take flood-proofing...

The largest provincial economy in China's northeast rust belt on Monday warned of worsening power shortages despite government efforts to boost coal supply and manage electricity use in a post-pandemic energy crisis hitting multiple countries. The energy crisis gripping the world's second largest-economy and top exporter is expected to last through to the end of the year, with analysts and traders forecasting a 12% drop in industrial power consumption in the fourth quarter because coal supply is expected to fall short this winter. Liaoning province issued its second-highest alert level for power shortages for the fifth time in two weeks...

Talks between Indian and Chinese army commanders to disengage troops from key friction areas along their border have ended in a stalemate and failed to ease a 17-month stand-off that has sometimes led to deadly clashes, the two sides said on Monday (Oct 11). The continuing stand-off means the two nations will keep troops in the forward areas of Ladakh for a second consecutive winter in dangerously freezing temperatures. India's defence ministry, in a statement, said it gave “constructive suggestions” but the Chinese side was “not agreeable” and “could not provide any forward-looking proposals”.

This August, Chinese state-run paper Economic Information Daily ran a scathing 6,000-word article that condemned the country’s online gaming industry as promoting “spiritual opium,” raking in billions while creating a “new drug” addiction among the people, especially youth. The article was republished in dozens of outlets and followed by similar commentaries in state media and official social media posts. Within days, Chinese gaming giants like Tencent and NetEase saw their stocks plummet by 300 billion yuan; on Aug. 30, Beijing imposed strict regulations on online gaming, limiting minors to three hours of playtime a week. The onslaught by the press...

Torrential rain that lasted for almost five days straight has forced China’s coal hub to close 60 coal mines, piling further pressure on the country already grappling with a power crunch. The downpower that struck 11 cities in northern China’s Shanxi Province has triggered flooding and landslides, destroying railway lines and bridges, and causing fatalities. The provincial weather agency said on Oct. 10 that showers will continue the next 10 days. Heavy rain beginning on Oct. 2 has suspended 60 coal mines, 372 other mines, 14 hazardous-chemical enterprises, and over 1,000 constructing projects, the Shanxi government said in a notice...

Countries around the world are feeling the brunt of the global energy crisis. Some Chinese provinces are rationing electricity, Europeans are paying exorbitant prices for liquefied gas and Lebanon has run out of centrally-generate electricity. Furthermore, India is close to running out of coal and in the United States, the price of a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.25 on Friday, up from April's $1.27. As the global economy works to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, the sudden energy crisis is putting a strain on supply chains and stirring geopolitical tensions. What's more, as global leaders are preparing to meet...

China’s Unstable Political Economy Evergrande’s collapse is a sign of deeper weakness, just when Xi is impatient to challenge the U.S. By John Lee Oct. 6, 2021 5:27 pm ET The world has been watching as the Chinese real-estate giant Evergrande flails, and some have been asking whether Beijing will soon have a moment akin to 2008’s collapse of Lehman Brothers in America. Xi Jinping may manage to prevent the burst of the real estate bubble, but China’s economy isn’t heading for more-sustainable growth. Evergrande’s woes are a reminder that China’s political economy under Mr. Xi has become even more...

China's effort to continue with their military build-up in the eastern Ladakh region and incoporation of new infrastructure development in a bid to sustain the large-scale deployment indicates possibility of an exacerbated geopolitical conflict between the two countries. Chief of Army Staff Gen MM Naravane said on Saturday that India has been monitoring on all the activities by the Chine PLA meticulously. He said if the Chinese military maintains the deployment through the second winter, it may lead to an LoC-like situation (Line of Control) though not an active LoC as is there on the western front with Pakistan The...