Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 254

A Chinese company has signed an oil extraction deal with Afghanistan’s Taliban

The ruling Taliban has signed a deal with a Chinese company to extract oil from northern Afghanistan’s Amu Darya basin as the radical Islamist group attempts to bolster the South Asian nation’s increasingly impoverished and isolated economy. The agreement with China’s Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co is the first major international energy extraction deal the Taliban has signed since

Anxious lunar new year period in China as millions travel while Covid spreads

Dora Wang longs to see her family over lunar new year, but despite the recent scrapping of Covid travel restrictions acrossChina she has decided against travelling the 286 miles (461km) from Beijing to her home city, Dalian, in the north-east.“I am really worried because the train stations will be packed,” said the 31-year-old illustrator, who is five months pregnant. Not having been vaccinated,

China Covid: wave of celebrity deaths sparks doubt over actual toll

A spate of deaths among celebrities and public figures across China has sparked concerns that the actual death toll from Covid-19 may be far higher than authorities are reporting. Many on Chinese social media have been mourning the death of actor Gong Jintang, who died aged 83 on New Year’s Day. He was known for his portrayal of Father Kang in the sitcom Kang’s Family, which first aired in 2000.

China is now the centre of Covid. The world should be watching – and testing

After almost three years of trying to wholly eliminate the virus that causes Covid-19 from within its borders, the Chinese government has abruptly changed course. Now, the country is attempting to “live with Covid-19”. Testing is no longer required, and numbers of officially reported Covid-19 cases are at odds with scientific estimates of the situation.While official estimates suggest there are

EU wants travellers from China to take pre-departure Covid tests

The European Union wants all travellers from China to take pre-departure Covid tests, in response to surging levels of the virus after Beijing hastily abandoned strict controls. EU officials meeting on Wednesday in the “integrated political crisis response” format said there should be a requirement for a negative Covid test from all travellers from China, despite warnings from Beijing of

China ‘under-representing’ true impact of Covid outbreak, says WHO

The World Health Organization has accused China of “under-representing” the severity of its Covid outbreak and criticized its “narrow” definition of what constitutes a Covid death, as top global health officials urge Beijing to share more data about the explosive spread. “We continue to ask China for more rapid, regular, reliable data on hospitalizations and deaths, as well as more comprehensive,

China’s new supercarrier will soon undergo first sea trials, officer says

The Chinese navy’s massive new aircraft carrier, the CNS Fujian, is expected to head to sea for the first time this year, the ship’s executive officer said in an interview with state media. In a report on the interview published Tuesday by state-run China Daily, Senior Capt. Qian Shumin did not give an exact date for when the aircraft carrier will undergo its first sea excursions, saying only

Videos show both sides of US-China aerial encounter – and highlight the risks involved

The interception of a United States Air Force reconnaissance jet by a Chinese fighter over the South China Sea last month should be seen as a potential warning of how easily, and quickly things can go terribly wrong – raising the risk of a deadly military confrontation between the two powers, analysts say. The incident in question occurred on December 21 over the northern part of the South China

China threatens ‘countermeasures’ over other countries’ Covid travel restrictions

Beijing has criticised recently imposed testing requirements on passengers from China and threatened countermeasures against countries involved. China is experiencing a nationwide outbreak of the coronavirus after abruptly easing restrictions that were in place for much of the pandemic. Countries including the US, UK, India, Japan and several European nations have announced tougher measures on

China 2023 Outlook: After Winter Comes Spring

After a very challenging 2022, we expect China GDP growth to accelerate from 3.0% this year to 4.5% next year on the back of China’s potential exit from its zero-Covid policy, which we assume will start shortly after the “Two Sessions” in March. China’s reopening would imply a strong consumption rebound, firming core inflation, and gradually normalizing cyclical policies in 2023, says Goldman