In September, China’s share of US Treasuries holdings had the highest decline since January as ongoing trade tensions with Washington forced the world’s biggest economy to take measures to stabilize its national currency. Still the biggest foreign holder of the US foreign debt, China slashed it’s share by nearly $14 billion, with the country's holdings falling to $1.15 trillion from nearly $ [...]

The US has said it will join Australia in the development of a naval base on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island to “protect the freedom of the seas,” in a move apparently aimed at curbing China’s presence in the Pacific. Australia, a staunch US ally in the Pacific, had already set its sights on Papua New Guinea’s Lombrum Naval Base on Manus Island earlier in November, seeking to build a de [...]

For the first time, leaders of 21 Asia-Pacific economies have failed to issue a joint communique, as tensions between the US and China over trade and investment poisoned their annual summit. Pointing to the “two big giants in the room,” the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation’s (APEC) chair, Papua New Guinea (PNG) Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, informed Sunday’s closing news conference [...]

The 33rd summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Singapore concluded on Thursday, focusing on the increasingly unstable South China Sea and on free trade across the region. US leaders used the event to try and draw countries away from China. [...]

Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang said Beijing is ready to further develop economic ties with Russia, increasing bilateral trade and facilitating mutual access to each other’s markets. “China is ready to boost energy, innovation, finance and trade cooperation with Russia,” Li Keqiang said during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the ASEAN Summit in Singapore. [...]

Much has been made of the possible geopolitical motivations behind the decision to price the $5 billion Russian-Indian S-400 deal in roubles, and Moscow and Beijing are eyeing another rouble/yuan-based trade compact. However, Sputnik has discovered that there's also a purely economic reason for the three countries to move away from the dollar. [...]

Russia has been implementing a comprehensive plan to diminish the country's reliance on the dollar as a proactive measure amid the Trump administration's sanctions spree. Moscow is not alone in seeking to de-dollarize its economy. Market players from Europe to Asia are increasingly switching to national currencies. [...]

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has smashed records for its Singles Day, the world’s biggest 24-hour shopping event, despite an ongoing trade war with the US and waning domestic interest in the event. [...]

The US pressed China to halt militarization of the South China Sea during a joint news conference on talks aimed at smoothing already tense relations ahead of this month's G20 summit in Argentina. “We have continued concerns about China's activities and militarization in the South China Sea,” US Secretary for State Mike Pompeo told media following talks on Friday with US Defence Secretary Jame [...]

Much has been made of the possible geopolitical motivations behind the decision to price the $5 billion Russian-Indian S-400 deal in roubles, and Moscow and Beijing are eyeing another rouble/yuan-based trade compact. However, Sputnik has discovered that there's also a purely economic reason for the three countries to move away from the dollar. [...]

Europe should reach out to Russia and abandon “counterproductive” economic sanctions – or risk seeing it drifting further towards China, former president of France Nicolas Sarkozy has warned, in a candid interview. [...]

Several top officials have issued thinly veiled – and outright blunt – ‘warnings’ about war over the past week. While the beating of war drums worldwide remains just hot air for now, many messengers seem a bit too eager about it. War between US and China just 10-15 years away [...]

Kristian Rouz – China and Japan have reaffirmed their commitment to deepening bilateral economic and financial ties at an economic forum in Beijing, reaching several potentially far-reaching deals and trade and investment. Economists say the results of this forum could produce longer-term positive consequences for the entire region. [...]

The United States will pursue the development of a nuclear weapon stockpile until Russia and China come to their senses. This is what US President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday. President Trump complained that Moscow has not done enough to adhere to the INF treaty. Sputnik discussed Washington's intentions behind the tentative INF withdrawal with Paul Craig Roberts, a prominent American ec [...]

China’s LNG demand grew by a record 8 mt in 2017 and is set to expand by another record 12 mt this year, making up 50 percent of all global LNG demand growth, energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie said in a new report last week. The country’s spike in LNG usage comes as Beijing pushes forward with its plan to offset coal usage of both industrial and residential end users in an effort to curb rampa [...]

Russia is preparing to defend itself against aggression while Washington’s unilateral withdrawal from the INF Treaty signals that the US is readying for a war, according to Andrei Belousov, a top Russian Foreign Ministry official. Sputnik talked this over with Tony Kevin, a former Australian diplomat and author of the book "Return to Moscow." [...]

Beijing and Tokyo sealed a multi-billion dollar currency swap arrangement on Friday, aimed at enhancing financial stability and spurring business activity in both countries. According to the Bank of Japan (BOJ), the arrangement which will last until October 25, 2021, will allow the exchange of local currencies between the two central banks for up to 200 billion yuan or 3.4 trillion yen ($30 billio [...]

US President Donald Trump threatned Russia and China that Washington intends to build up its nuclear arsenal until “people come to their senses.” The president said his words were directed towards Moscow and Beijing, as he prepared to unilaterally leave the Intermediate Nuclear Forces in Europe (INF) treaty. [...]

Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development said on Thursday that Moscow and Beijing are working on an inter-governmental agreement to boost the use of the ruble and yuan in mutual trade settlements. “The document is currently being prepared, the process is not easy,” said Deputy Minister of Russia’s Economic Development Sergey Gorkov, as quoted by TASS. [...]

Although the Chinese government has not yet gone so far in the ever-escalating trade war as to sanction United States oil, imports are drying up anyway as Chinese buyers shy away from US crude. According to US Census Bureau data released last week, for the first time since 2016, China has halted purchases of US crude, importing zero barrels in August. [...]

As China develops cutting-edge deep-sea surveillance, the nation’s navy is concurrently designing a satellite-mounted laser to locate and destroy enemy submarines. The satellite, which will be able to spot targets 500 meters below the surface, would also be used to gather data on the world's oceans, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported Monday. [...]

China has sold $3 billion of sovereign dollar bonds. This is only the third such move by Beijing in the last 14 years, and the first involving bonds with a 30-year maturity. China sold $1.5 billion of five-year bonds at 3.25 percent, $1 billion of 10-year bonds at 3.5 percent, and $500 million of 30-year bonds at four percent, the Finance Ministry said on Friday, as quoted by Reuters. [...]