China is stepping up cooperation with the Arab world. The recent China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF) was aimed at deepening economic and security cooperation between Beijing and Arab countries of the Middle East and North Africa within the framework of the One Belt, One Road project, analysts told Sputnik. [...]

When reports emerged that India and China are in talks about forming an oil buyers’ club, OPEC was probably too busy with its upcoming June 22 meeting to concern itself with that dangerous alliance. Now, it may be time for it to start worrying. “The timing is right. The boom in US oil and gas production gives us greater leverage against OPEC,” the Times of India quoted an Indian official as [...]

China can damage US economy in a full-scale trade war if it is willing to take the pain. The threat of a full-scale trade war between the US and China has dominated the news in recent weeks. The countries have exchanged import tariffs on each other's goods, and are threatening further protective steps. [...]

The White House's tough trade practices and sanctions policies may finally backfire on the US, prompting holders of US debt to dump American Treasuries. The move could have a serious impact on the decades-long leadership of the US dollar. Russia and China are dumping their US Treasury debt holdings amid Washington's sanctions and tariff spree. [...]

Beijing’s retaliatory measures against US tariffs can include penalties on oil coming to China from America. A cut in Chinese purchases of US oil may benefit Iran’s sales and anger Washington. “The Chinese may just replace some of the American oil with Iranian crude,” said John Driscoll, director of consultancy JTD Energy Services, as quoted by Reuters. [...]

The United States is isolating itself from countries around the world, and making countries unite in a time of economic repression from Washington, prominent investor Jim Rogers says. “America is pushing China and Russia together, America’s pushing China and Iran together, pushing China, Iran, Russia all together, and that’s pushing America out of some very major countries in the world,” R [...]

Germany has had enough of American foreign policy. Angela Merkel’s visits to Russia and China are a testament to that. On May 10, 2018, German Chancellor Angela Merkel openly said that Europe can no longer count on the United States to protect it, hinting that the European continent would begin to “take destiny into its own hands.” [...]

The United Kingdom and the European Union face a critical choice about the direction of future trade policies with the rest of the world. Should the EU deepen its already heavy exposure to the US even as the country turns inward, or should it begin to diversify its trade relations toward a less familiar albeit increasingly prosperous China? [...]

Bilateral trade between Russia and China has grown steadily and the positive trend will continue, according to Xu Sitao, chief economist with Deloitte, consulting in China. He warned US economy is facing risk of recession by 2020.  Xu said China has become the largest export market for Russia since 2017, accounting for roughly 12-13 percent of Russian exports. [...]

As more countries pay for oil in yuan, the standing of the Chinese currency in global finance has grown, an analyst tells RT. However, its future path won’t be completely smooth, he warns. “If people started to pay for oil in yuan, central banks would need to hold reserves in yuan, leading to a massive increase in the global demand for yuan, reducing the cost of financing the Chinese economy,� [...]

China’s state-owned energy giant CNPC is ready to replace French energy company Total’s stake in the Iranian South Pars gas project. In 2017, Total and CNPC signed a 20-year contract worth 4.8 billion dollars to develop Phase 11 of Iran’s South Pars field. Sputnik spoke with political analyst Tom McGregor about CNPC’s acquisition plan. [...]

According to Reuters' sources, the meeting will solely focus on the implementation issues and details of the Iran nuclear deal. Diplomats from Germany, France, Britain, led by senior EU diplomat Helga Schmid, and also from Russia and China, will be meeting in Vienna next week to discuss a new agreement with Iran similar to the 2015 deal, but one that would put curbs on Tehran's ballistic [...]

The real goal behind recent US sanctions is to isolate Russia economically from Europe and Asia, according to an analyst interviewed by RT. “The most obvious reason for sanctions is to drive a wedge into the relationship between Russia and the European Union, between Russia and China, etc.” said TeleTradeBel analyst Mikhail Grachev. [...]

Washington’s intention to re-impose the "toughest" sanctions on Iran appears to be playing into the hands of Chinese investors and oil futures traders, analysts have come to believe. Shanghai crude oil futures ISCc1 have recently seen a significant uptick in their trade volumes, which hit a record 250,000 lots last Wednesday, a day after Trump announced the US was withdrawing from the 2015 Iran [...]

Washington’s renewed sanctions on Tehran supports China’s newly established oil futures, analysts say. The sanctions can make the yuan a more preferable currency than the dollar on the oil market. Since their launch in May, the interest in the renminbi-backed oil contracts has steadily surged. Traded daily volumes hit a record 250,000 lots last Wednesday, and the share of yuan contracts in glo [...]

Beijing has officially opened its new train route to Iran, as the US urges its companies to wind down their operations with the Islamic Republic. As US President Donald Trump hardens his confrontational attitude to Tehran, tearing up the 2015 nuclear deal and calling for a new sanctions regime, China is more than ready to grab the opportunity for trade by opening a new international railroad conne [...]

While Washington is challenging the multipolar world with unilateral actions, Europe has vowed to challenge its hegemony. However, it has not enough character and political will to fit the role, former UK MP George Galloway says. The US decision to pull out from the long-weaved nuclear deal with Iran prompted the EU to consider replacing its overseas ally “as an international actor.” [...]

An upcoming Wuhan summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to bring the relationship between China and India – Russia's allies – to a new level. Washington's assertive foreign policy prompted Moscow, Beijing and New Delhi to team up. [...]

President Xi Jinping shrewdly counters coming trade war with surprise offer to purchase America outright. President Donald Trump claimed on Monday that he working on “a huge deal with China that will bring more than $30 trillion into America. No president has ever done anything like this before and it’s all because of my tariff pressure! SMART!” In a series of tweets, Mr. Trump also called t [...]

Beijing continues to lure away the handful of countries which still maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan. On Tuesday, the Dominican Republic became the latest country to break away from Taipei and establish diplomatic relations with mainland China. Sputnik Mundo has discussed the reasons behind this dramatic U-turn and its potential impact for the region with Andrei Sidorov, an assistant professo [...]

Pyongyang’s move to halt nuclear and missile tests is more the result of collective efforts, including that of Russia and China, than US threats to “wipe off the map” North Korea, a top Russian senator says. [...]

Chinese billionaire and Alibaba founder Jack Ma believes that improper distribution of funds and hyper inflated US military spending, not globalization or other countries “stealing” US jobs, is behind the economic decline in America. The Chinese business magnate earlier in January met with US President-elect Donald Trump, who has bemoaned the loss of American industry and jobs due to the outso [...]