China Economic ReviewTaking a page from the Donald Rumsfeld book on armed forces restructuring, Chinese President Hu Jintao has reportedly signaled his intention to further cut PLA force strength and use the savings to buy advanced high-tech military hardware. The PLA, now standing at 2.5mn, is already in the process of trimming personnel by 200,000. Reports said […]
PricewaterhouseCoopers said Chinese tax authorities would be putting a closer watch on Hong Kong and foreign firms operating on the mainland with a new information-sharing agreement with Hong Kong's Inland Revenue department about to go into force. China has long suspected Hong Kong companies of engineering losses at their mainland affiliates while reporting profits in […]
While state media remained under a blackout, foreign news reports spoke of 150 dying in ethnic clashes that began last week and widened over the weekend in central Henan province, parts of which remain under martial law. Violence reportedly first flared when a taxi driven by a Hui Muslim hit and killed a young Han […]
State owned oil-giant Sinopec signed a US$70 billion oil and gas deal with Iran, China's biggest ever energy deal with OPEC's number two producer. According to a memorandum of understanding, Sinopec will buy 250 million tons of liquefied natural gas over 30 years from Iran and invest in developing the giant Yadavaran oilfield. Meanwhile Iran […]
China urged the US not to impose limits on the import of Chinese-made cotton trousers, saying such moves would violate WTO principles and hurt trade relations. The comments from the Ministry of Commerce came after the Bush administration agreed to accept a petition from the US garment industry and consider imposing a quota. The application […]