China's Xi will meet EU's von der Leyen, Costa on Thursday
China's Premier Li Qiang will be co-chairing the 25th China-EU summit with the EU leaders the same day.
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Express Tribune
9 hours ago
- Express Tribune
World's largest power project stirs anxieties
Listen to article China has broken ground on what it says will be the world's largest hydropower project, a $170 billion feat capable of generating enough electricity each year to power Britain. The scheme dwarfs the mighty Three Gorges Dam, currently the world's largest, and Chinese construction and engineering stocks surged after Premier Li Qiang unveiled it on the weekend. For Beijing, the project promises clean power, jobs and a jolt of stimulus for a slowing economy. For neighbours downstream, it stirs old anxieties about water security: the Yarlung?Zangbo becomes the Brahmaputra in India and Bangladesh, a lifeline for millions. What exactly did China approve? The plan involves five dams along a 50?km stretch where the river plunges 2,000 metres off the Tibetan Plateau. First power is expected to be generated in the early?to?mid 2030s, but beyond that and the price tag, China has published little information about how it intends to build the project. Why are neighbours concerned? That lack of information is compounding fears about water security in India and Bangladesh, which rely on the Brahmaputra for irrigation, hydropower and drinking water. The chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, which borders China, said earlier this year that the dam could dry out 80% of the river passing through the Indian state while potentially inundating downstream areas such as neighbouring Assam state. In addition to water, the dam will also mean less sediment flowing downstream, according to Michael Steckler, a professor at Columbia University. That sediment carries nutrients essential for agriculture on floodplains downstream. India and China fought a border war in this region in the 1960s, and the lack of transparency from Beijing has helped fuel speculation it might use the dam to cut off water in another conflict, according to Sayanangshu Modak, an expert on the India-China water relationship at the University of Arizona. "The construction of the Yarlung Zangbo hydropower project is a matter within the scope of China's sovereign affairs," Beijing's foreign ministry said on Tuesday, adding the dam would provide clean energy and prevent flooding. "China has also conducted necessary communication with downstream countries regarding hydrological information, flood control, and disaster mitigation cooperation related to the Yarlung Zangbo project," the ministry said. India's foreign and water ministries did not respond to requests for comment. India's take But the impact of the dam on downstream flows has been overstated, in part because the bulk of the water that enters the Brahmaputra is from monsoon rainfall south of the Himalayas, and not from China, said Modak. He added that China's plans are for a "run of the river" hydropower project, which means the water will flow normally along the usual course of the Brahmaputra. India itself has proposed two dams on the Siang river, its name for the Yarlung Zangbo. One, an 11.5-gigawatt project in Arunachal Pradesh, will be India's largest if it goes ahead. Those have been proposed, in part, to assert India's claims on the river and bolster its case should China ever seek to divert the water, Modak added. "If India can show that it has been using the waters, then China cannot unilaterally divert," he said. Controversy is common Quarrels over dams and water security are not new. Pakistan has accused India of weaponising shared water supplies in the disputed Kashmir region after New Delhi suspended its participation in the Indus Waters Treaty, which regulates water sharing between the neighbours. In Egypt, a senior politician was once caught on camera proposing to bomb a controversial Nile river dam planned by Ethiopia during a long-running dispute over the project. Earthquake, extreme weather risk The dam will be built in an earthquake zone also prone to landslides, glacial?lake floods and storms. A spree of dam building in the area sparked concerns from experts about safety following a devastating earthquake in Tibet earlier this year. A much smaller hydropower project on a nearby tributary has been limited to four?month construction windows because of engineering challenges in high altitudes and vicious winters.
Business Recorder
10 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Oil rises on Japan trade deal and stronger demand indicated by US inventories
BEIJING: Oil prices steadied in early trading on Wednesday after falling for three consecutive sessions as a U.S. trade deal with Japan signaled progress on tariffs and a poll showed U.S. crude stockpiles fell last week, indicating stronger demand. Brent crude futures rose 33 cents, or 0.48%, to $68.92 a barrel by 0023 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 33 cents, or 0.51%, to $65.64 per barrel. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. and Japan had struck a trade deal that includes a 15% tariff on U.S. imports from Japan. He also said Japan had agreed on $550 billion in investments in the U.S. Oil had fallen in the previous session after the EU said it was considering countermeasures against U.S. tariffs, as hope faded for a deal ahead of the August 1 deadline. And U.S. crude oil stockpiles were expected to have fallen last week, along with distillate and gasoline inventories, an extended Reuters poll showed on Tuesday. Nine analysts polled by Reuters ahead of weekly inventory data estimated on average that crude inventories fell by about 1.6 million barrels in the week to July 18. U.S. crude and gasoline stocks fell last week while distillate inventories rose, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. In another bullish sign for the market, the U.S. energy secretary said on Tuesday that the U.S. would consider sanctioning Russian oil to end the war in Ukraine. The EU on Friday agreed its 18th sanctions package against Russia, lowering the price cap for Russian crude. But analysts said a lack of U.S. participation would hinder the effectiveness of the package.
Business Recorder
10 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Nikkei surges in boost to Asia as Trump announces Japan trade deal
SYDNEY: A rally in Japanese shares led Asian markets on Wednesday after President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Japan and fuelled hopes of more to come, tempering the disappointment from U.S. earnings that highlighted the drag from higher tariffs. Trump late on Tuesday said a trade deal with Tokyo will include Japan paying a lower 15% tariff on shipments to the U.S. It followed an agreement with the Philippines that will see the U.S. collect a 19% tariff rate on imports from there. 'Expectations for a breakthrough were low, so Trump's announcement delivers a mild upside surprise — providing near-term relief for Japanese equities,' said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo. 'Strategically, the deal allows Japan to sidestep immediate tariff escalation, while Trump's attention shifts elsewhere.' Japan's Nikkei jumped 2.6% on Wednesday as shares of automakers surged on news the deal lowers the auto tariff to 15%, from a proposed 25%. Mazda Motor rallied 17% while Toyota Motor jumped 11%. Japanese government bonds slid, with the yields for 10-year JGBs up a whopping 8.5 bps at 1.585%, as the reduced uncertainty helped to clear the path for the Bank of Japan to resume interest rate hikes. The reaction in the yen was more muted, eking out a small 0.1% gain to 146.42 per dollar . Traders are on edge as Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was planning to soon decide whether to step down after assessing the outcome of the trade deal, Yomiuri newspaper said. Trump also said representatives from the European Union are coming for trade negotiations on Wednesday. That stirred hopes for a deal with Europe, as markets were worried about broader EU countermeasures amid receding signs of a trade agreement with Washington. EUROSTOXX 50 futures rose 0.8%, while Wall Street futures , were up about 0.1%. In another positive development, U.S. and Chinese officials will meet in Stockholm next week to discuss an extension to the August 12 deadline for negotiating a trade deal, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. Chinese blue-chips edged up 0.3% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.5%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japanadvanced 0.6%. Overnight, Wall Street closed mixed as investors assessed a spate of earnings that pointed to signs that Trump's trade war is hitting corporate profit margins. General Motors tumbled 8.1% after the automaker reported a $1 billion hit from tariffs to its quarterly results. Shares of RTX dropped 1.6% after the aerospace and defense giant took a hit from tariffs despite strong demand for its engines and aftermarket services. Investors are now waiting for results from Tesla and Google's parent Alphabet the Magnificent 7 stocks that have driven much of the market rally fuelled by AI optimism. In the foreign exchange market, moves are a little muted with the dollar holding onto overnight losses along with lower Treasury yields. The dollar index was flat at 97.45, having slipped 0.4% overnight for its third straight day of declines. The euro dipped 0.1% to $1.1739 after rising 0.5% overnight. Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields ticked up 2 basis points to 4.3559%, after slipping 3 bps overnight, as Trump continued to lash out at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting interest rates, although Bessent said there was no need for him to step down immediately. Bessent did say the Fed's vital independence on monetary policy is threatened by its 'mandate creep' into non-policy areas and he called on the U.S. central bank to conduct an exhaustive review of those operations. Oil prices gained a little on Wednesday. U.S. crude rose 0.4% to $65.60 per barrel, while Brent was at $68.88 per barrel, up 0.4%. Spot gold prices were steady at $3,429 an ounce.
