Latest news with #China-EuropeanUnion
West Australian
5 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
Runners: I Synergy, ActiveEX, Vanadium Resources & Broken Hill Mines
Global trade tensions weighed heavily on the ASX this week, dragging the index down as the overbought banking sector cooled and the Commonwealth Bank relinquished its title as the world's priciest bank. United States President Donald Trump's threats to impose 30 per cent tariffs on imports again rattled markets, as an August 1 deadline loomed for negotiations that might allow some countries to avoid the levies. Stalled China-European Union trade talks addressing China's overproduction and trade imbalances added to the complex market equation. The consensus is that if global tariffs settle at 15 per cent, it's a pain we can live with. It was a different story for Aussie miners. Buoyed by China's steel supply reforms and proposed mega dams in Tibet, iron ore prices rose to a five-month high of $105 a tonne. Meanwhile, Dr Copper is well and truly back, with the red metal hitting all-time high prices this week of US$12,500 (A$19,000) per tonne. It was a bad week for green diversification, as BP joined a growing list of majors, including Origin Energy, Woodside and Fortescue, in scrapping green hydrogen projects in the Pilbara. With a project pegged at about $54 billion, BP cited a strategic shift back to its core oil and gas business, as fossil fuel demand forecasts continue to see longer tail time horizons for traditional fuels well beyond 2050. This week's Bulls N' Bears Runners reflect the market's mixed mood, with materials soaring and financials stumbling. A plucky AI minnow stole the show when it delivered a 10-bagger in under a week, leaving the ASX stunned. I SYNERGY LIMITED (ASX: IS3) Up 1200% (0.2c – 2.6c) Bulls N' Bears' Runner of the Week is AI-driven digital solutions company I Synergy Limited, which kicked off the week in a big way, with its share price shooting up 700 per cent by Tuesday - curiously on no news to the market. The surge earned management an accompanying 'please explain' from the ASX's autocrats. Intriguingly, the company was unable to quickly extinguish the 'please explain', instead pulling together an announcement about a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Treasure Global Inc. I Synergy said it was negotiating the sale and purchase of advanced AI-based graphics processing units from Treasure and potential joint initiatives to design, develop and deploy AI cloud infrastructure into Malaysia's booming digital economy. Treasure Global, a big NASDAQ-listed tech firm with expertise in e-commerce and AI solutions, makes a prime strategic partner to amplify I Synergy's ambitions in a region craving tech innovation. I Synergy insists they haven't yet reached an agreement, which the company believes could be worth about $600,000 over 12 months via multiple purchase orders. The news caused even more of a stir on Thursday as the stock flew up to a high of 2.6c per share, equating to a 1200 per cent gain on the week on more than one million in stock traded for the day. With AI infrastructure in high demand, this tiny digital dynamo could transform into a regional powerhouse, leaving its penny-stock roots in the dust. ACTIVE EX LIMITED (ASX: AIV) Up 357% (0.7c – 3.2c) Stealing silver on the Runners' list this week was dormant junior goldie ActiveEX Limited, which saw its share price shoot like a lightning bolt on Monday after the company unveiled a maiden mineral resource estimate at its historic Mt Hogan gold mine in northeast Queensland. The little-known Mt Hogan sits within the company's broader Gilverton gold project, which delivered a solid maiden resource of 8.5 million tonnes grading 1.13 grams per tonne (g/t) gold for a respectable 310,000 ounces. Gilverton has a very hot gold address. The world-class 3.5-million-ounce Kidston gold mine, just 50 kilometres northeast, is in the same geological terrain. Kidston churned out more than 1.5 million ounces of gold up to 1990. ActiveEX says its gold riches span an 8km mineralised trend along Mt Hogan granite, with historic drilling confirming it has shallow, high-grade potential. The company's stock opened slowly on Monday at just 1.2c a share, before cracking an intraday high of 3.2c, up some 357 per cent from last week's close of just 0.7c on $330,000 of stock traded. Before the day's share price increase, ActiveEX had a market cap of $1.5 million or about $4.8 per ounce equivalent, which makes for tough sledding in a $5000-an-ounce gold price environment. With two other historic gold centres, Josephine and Comstock, in its portfolio, this long-dormant junior looks ready to unearth a golden bonanza in Queensland's fast-ascending gold-rich terrain. VANADIUM RESOURCES LTD (ASX: VR8) Up 149% (2.05c – 5.1c) Taking out Bulls N' Bears bronze this week is regular Runners' list contender and minerals developer Vanadium Resources. The company shot out of a cannon on Tuesday, after locking in its binding offtake agreement to supply 100,000 tonnes per month of vanadium-rich magnetite direct shipping ore to metals trader China Precious Asia. Vanadium says it will supply 2.4 million tonnes of vanadium-rich magnetite to the heavyweight global metals trader from its world-class Steelpoortdrift vanadium project in South Africa, as soon as December this year. The company says its milestone offtake deal will allow it to establish early cash flows at the fully permitted Steelpoortdrift, a behemoth resource with 680Mt of ore at 0.70 per cent vanadium oxide, which is equivalent to 4.74Mt contained vanadium. Vanadium says China Precious Asia will load and collect the direct shipping ore. The agreement is subject to Vanadium appointing a suitable mining contractor and ensuring the DSO product meets agreed specifications. Management believes material positive operating cash flows can fast-track its development. Steelpoortdrift's vanadium-rich ore also brims with iron-rich magnetite, making it a dual-threat commodity for China's fast-returning steel market. The news sent Vanadium's share price soaring to a new high of 5.1c per share, up from a low of 2.05c at the end of last week, on more than 55 million pieces of paper traded on Tuesday alone. The company has since swiftly completed a $1.2 million capital raise as it seeks out profit-sharing deals and acquisitions to bolster its near-term game plan without derailing the direct shipping ore opportunity. Near-term cash would preserve Vanadium's flexibility to pursue full-scale development at the monster deposit as the iron-ore price begins to improve. Steelpoortdrift's high-grade, low-cost direct shipping option has reinvigorated the company as the former resources minnow vaults into the vanadium big league, potentially self-funding its own mine development. BROKEN HI LL MINES LTD (ASX: BHM) Up 145% (21c – 51.5c) Scooping up the final Runners' spot is a reborn Broken Hill Mining Limited, which re-listed on the ASX on Monday morning after raising $20 million to push forward two operating mines in one of Australia's most storied mining centres. The company unites two Broken Hill mines: Rasp and Pinnacles, which have a rich history dating back to 1883, when prospector Charles Rasp pegged the first block on what became the Broken Hill township. Initially mistaken for tin, his discovery revealed a rich silver vein, birthing BHP - now the world's richest mining company. Centuries later BHP has swapped its New South Wales' roots for Pilbara iron ore and Chilean copper. The original Rasp lode, however, continues to produce and Broken Hill Mines is cashing in on its enduring potential. Rasp hosts an impressive 10.1Mt resource grading 9.4 per cent zinc equivalent – comprising 5.7 per cent zinc, 3.2 per cent lead and 49g/t silver. It produced 25,000 tonnes annulally of zinc equivalent and $20 million in cash flow last year at just 40 per cent plant capacity. The company says its $20 million capital raising will help improve that 40 per cent, as an empty mill means lower efficiency and lower production. Pinnacles, on the other hand, is a high-grade, under-developed gem with a 6Mt resource grading 10.9 per cent zinc equivalent and stellar drill hits such as 8.9 metres at 36.3 per cent zinc equivalent from 11m. Broken Hill Mines says a 4000m drilling program at Pinnacles is underway, with assays pending from 3000m already drilled, aimed at expanding the resource ahead of eventual production. Silver's resurgence and the rebirth of one of Australia's great mining towns fuelled the market's excitement, sending the company's share price rocketing 145 per cent to 51.5c a share from last week's close of 21c. Between Rasp's operation and Pinnacles' shallow high-grade potential, the company looks poised to springboard its silver-lined jackpot back to some of its former glory. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact:
South China Morning Post
6 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China, EU must show mutual respect in more complicated world
The 25th China-European Union summit fell in the 50th anniversary year of diplomatic relations. The double milestone set the stage for guiding strained ties between the two trading giants towards less troubled waters. Economic tensions compounded by the Ukraine war could not be mended overnight. But President Xi Jinping set the tone and pointed the way forward ahead of the summit chaired by Premier Li Qiang, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa. In a meeting with the European leaders, Xi described China and the EU as 'two big guys' in the world. That is a compelling reminder the world is facing huge complexity, and the more complicated it is, the more imperative it is for China and Europe to show mutual respect, find common ground and keep open minds in the search for win-win outcomes to economic and security concerns. Xi said that amid accelerating transformation and an international landscape fraught with turbulence, China and Europe must demonstrate vision and responsibility by making the right strategic choices 'that meet people's expectations and stand the test of history'. The strategic situation is fluid, with Europe facing steep tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. Xi said the two sides should reinforce their partnership as a cornerstone in bilateral ties, adding that the challenges Europe is facing 'were not from China'. Beijing hoped Europe would likewise respect its chosen development path and political system, acknowledge its core interests and major concerns.
Hindustan Times
22-07-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
China's Xi Gives Up Air Miles for More Time at Home
Chinese leader Xi Jinping isn't quite the frequent flier he used to be. People are wondering why. The most well-traveled leader in China's history has reduced his international journeys in recent years, easing a once-packed diplomatic schedule that had honed his reputation as a globe-trotting statesman. Xi traveled to 10 countries across four overseas trips in 2024, and five nations over three trips in the first half of this year, compared with his average of visiting about 14 countries a year between 2013 and 2019, and a 20-nation peak he set in 2014. Since resuming foreign travel in 2022 after a 32-month pause during the Covid pandemic, he has yet to match the peripatetic pace he set during his first two terms in power. Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan disembarked from a plane in Bali, Indonesia, in 2022. This month, Xi skipped an annual summit of the Brics bloc of emerging nations after participating in the past 12 meetings—the second time in two years that he missed a major international gathering where he had been a fixture. Both times he sent Premier Li Qiang, one of Xi's top lieutenants, to represent Beijing. Meanwhile, a China-European Union summit originally set to take place in Brussels this year was moved to Beijing after Chinese officials signaled to EU counterparts that Xi had no plans to visit Europe this year, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Xi is scheduled to meet EU leaders in Beijing on Thursday when they visit for the summit. Chinese officials haven't explained why Xi chose not to travel for these events, or commented on his reduced foreign visits. China's Foreign Ministry didn't respond to a request for comment. Some analysts say Xi, 72, may be dialing back his travels to devolve some of the many responsibilities he wields as leader, particularly as he grows older and approaches the end of his third five-year term as Communist Party chief in 2027. 'Xi is increasingly willing to delegate the operational bits of foreign policy to his trusted interlocutors,' said Dylan Loh, an assistant professor at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University who studies China's diplomacy. Xi may be doing so to better manage his energy, given his age, and to prioritize domestic issues as Beijing grapples with persistent economic headwinds such as weak consumer demand, according to Loh. 'China is certainly not taking its eyes off foreign policy,' Loh said. 'But it seems to me that Xi is now content with exercising broad strategic direction and while selectively choosing his trips abroad.' Since taking power in 2012, Xi has used his foreign excursions to expand China's economic and political reach around the globe—and stamp his mark as a world leader. These trips have often come with promises of infrastructure investment and deeper trade ties, aimed at positioning Beijing as a benign partner and strategic counterweight to Washington. More recently, China is also trying to capitalize on what many see as a U.S. retreat from global leadership, marked by President Trump's moves to cut foreign aid, sideline multilateral institutions and impose tariffs on adversaries and allies alike. Xi has sought to cast China as a responsible power and a source of stability, using a mix of political, economic and soft-power tools to reshape global narratives in Beijing's favor. To that end, Xi has stayed active on the diplomatic circuit—as a host. China lifted its Covid border controls in late 2022, and foreign leaders have been traveling there at a frequency similar to prepandemic levels. In 2023, Xi hosted at least 74 visits by foreign heads of state and government, as well as de facto leaders, according to a Wall Street Journal review of Chinese Foreign Ministry disclosures. The count, which includes repeat visits by some leaders, rose to 84 last year, compared with the average of about 76 trips that Xi hosted annually between 2013 and 2019. Xi has welcomed leaders from more than a dozen countries so far this year, including Australia's prime minister, who visited Beijing this month. Xi is expected to host more foreign counterparts visiting China later this year to attend diplomatic summits and a military parade. Xi's lieutenants have picked up the slack in foreign travel. Li, during his first full year as premier in 2024, journeyed abroad at a pace similar to that set by his predecessor, Li Keqiang, before the pandemic. Li Qiang traveled to 13 countries last year, matching the number that Li Keqiang visited in his most prolific year in 2014. Another frequent flier is Liu Jianchao, a veteran diplomat and chief of the Communist Party's International Department, which handles relations with foreign political parties and socialist states. A candidate for foreign minister, Liu has traveled more often than his predecessor did since getting the job in 2022, including trips to the U.S. and other Western democracies that past International Department chiefs generally hadn't visited. As China's leader, Xi has embarked on more than 50 international trips and visited more than 70 countries, far surpassing what his predecessors did. He has also hosted visiting world leaders more frequently than previous Chinese heads of state or recent U.S. presidents, according to data collated by Neil Thomas, a fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute. The Covid pandemic kept Xi in China between 2020 and 2022. During that time, he mostly relied on phone calls and videoconferencing to engage with foreign counterparts. When he restarted international travel in late 2022, Xi first visited nearby countries in Asia before venturing further in subsequent trips. Xi's evolving travel patterns drew attention in the fall of 2023, when he skipped a summit of the Group of 20 advanced and developing economies that India was hosting. He sent Premier Li instead. Chinese officials didn't say why Xi missed an event where he had been a regular participant. China had typically been represented by its president at G-20 summits since the bloc began arranging leader-level meetings in 2008. In early July, when Xi skipped the Brics summit, Li filled in at the meeting in Brazil, where Xi had gone just seven months earlier to attend a G-20 summit and conduct a state visit. Diplomats and analysts say that Xi's decision to skip a Brics summit is notable given his efforts to boost the relevance of multilateral groupings where China holds greater sway, compared with institutions such as G-20, which Beijing has portrayed as too beholden to the U.S. The Brics group—named after its early members of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—has presented itself as a multilateral counterweight to a U.S.-dominated world order. 'Physical stamina is a precious political resource, and Xi knows it. As Xi grows older, he is carefully managing his travel to preserve his strength,' said Thomas, the fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute. 'Skipping the Brics summit in Brazil likely had less to do with geopolitics and more with jet lag. A 48-hour round-trip for a two-day meeting just was not worth the physical toll.' Write to Chun Han Wong at
Mint
22-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
China's Xi gives up air miles for more time at home
The most well-traveled leader in China's history has reduced his international journeys in recent years, easing a once-packed diplomatic schedule that had honed his reputation as a globe-trotting statesman. Xi traveled to 10 countries across four overseas trips in 2024, and five nations over three trips in the first half of this year, compared with his average of visiting about 14 countries a year between 2013 and 2019, and a 20-nation peak he set in 2014. Since resuming foreign travel in 2022 after a 32-month pause during the Covid pandemic, he has yet to match the peripatetic pace he set during his first two terms in power. Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan disembarked from a plane in Bali, Indonesia, in 2022. This month, Xi skipped an annual summit of the Brics bloc of emerging nations after participating in the past 12 meetings—the second time in two years that he missed a major international gathering where he had been a fixture. Both times he sent Premier Li Qiang, one of Xi's top lieutenants, to represent Beijing. Meanwhile, a China-European Union summit originally set to take place in Brussels this year was moved to Beijing after Chinese officials signaled to EU counterparts that Xi had no plans to visit Europe this year, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Xi is scheduled to meet EU leaders in Beijing on Thursday when they visit for the summit. Chinese officials haven't explained why Xi chose not to travel for these events, or commented on his reduced foreign visits. China's Foreign Ministry didn't respond to a request for comment. Some analysts say Xi, 72, may be dialing back his travels to devolve some of the many responsibilities he wields as leader, particularly as he grows older and approaches the end of his third five-year term as Communist Party chief in 2027. 'Xi is increasingly willing to delegate the operational bits of foreign policy to his trusted interlocutors," said Dylan Loh, an assistant professor at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University who studies China's diplomacy. Xi may be doing so to better manage his energy, given his age, and to prioritize domestic issues as Beijing grapples with persistent economic headwinds such as weak consumer demand, according to Loh. 'China is certainly not taking its eyes off foreign policy," Loh said. 'But it seems to me that Xi is now content with exercising broad strategic direction and while selectively choosing his trips abroad." Since taking power in 2012, Xi has used his foreign excursions to expand China's economic and political reach around the globe—and stamp his mark as a world leader. These trips have often come with promises of infrastructure investment and deeper trade ties, aimed at positioning Beijing as a benign partner and strategic counterweight to Washington. More recently, China is also trying to capitalize on what many see as a U.S. retreat from global leadership, marked by President Trump's moves to cut foreign aid, sideline multilateral institutions and impose tariffs on adversaries and allies alike. Xi has sought to cast China as a responsible power and a source of stability, using a mix of political, economic and soft-power tools to reshape global narratives in Beijing's favor. To that end, Xi has stayed active on the diplomatic circuit—as a host. China lifted its Covid border controls in late 2022, and foreign leaders have been traveling there at a frequency similar to prepandemic levels. In 2023, Xi hosted at least 74 visits by foreign heads of state and government, as well as de facto leaders, according to a Wall Street Journal review of Chinese Foreign Ministry disclosures. The count, which includes repeat visits by some leaders, rose to 84 last year, compared with the average of about 76 trips that Xi hosted annually between 2013 and 2019. Xi has welcomed leaders from more than a dozen countries so far this year, including Australia's prime minister, who visited Beijing this month. Xi is expected to host more foreign counterparts visiting China later this year to attend diplomatic summits and a military parade. Xi's lieutenants have picked up the slack in foreign travel. Li, during his first full year as premier in 2024, journeyed abroad at a pace similar to that set by his predecessor, Li Keqiang, before the pandemic. Li Qiang traveled to 13 countries last year, matching the number that Li Keqiang visited in his most prolific year in 2014. Another frequent flier is Liu Jianchao, a veteran diplomat and chief of the Communist Party's International Department, which handles relations with foreign political parties and socialist states. A candidate for foreign minister, Liu has traveled more often than his predecessor did since getting the job in 2022, including trips to the U.S. and other Western democracies that past International Department chiefs generally hadn't visited. As China's leader, Xi has embarked on more than 50 international trips and visited more than 70 countries, far surpassing what his predecessors did. He has also hosted visiting world leaders more frequently than previous Chinese heads of state or recent U.S. presidents, according to data collated by Neil Thomas, a fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute. The Covid pandemic kept Xi in China between 2020 and 2022. During that time, he mostly relied on phone calls and videoconferencing to engage with foreign counterparts. When he restarted international travel in late 2022, Xi first visited nearby countries in Asia before venturing further in subsequent trips. Xi's evolving travel patterns drew attention in the fall of 2023, when he skipped a summit of the Group of 20 advanced and developing economies that India was hosting. He sent Premier Li instead. Chinese officials didn't say why Xi missed an event where he had been a regular participant. China had typically been represented by its president at G-20 summits since the bloc began arranging leader-level meetings in 2008. In early July, when Xi skipped the Brics summit, Li filled in at the meeting in Brazil, where Xi had gone just seven months earlier to attend a G-20 summit and conduct a state visit. Diplomats and analysts say that Xi's decision to skip a Brics summit is notable given his efforts to boost the relevance of multilateral groupings where China holds greater sway, compared with institutions such as G-20, which Beijing has portrayed as too beholden to the U.S. The Brics group—named after its early members of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—has presented itself as a multilateral counterweight to a U.S.-dominated world order. 'Physical stamina is a precious political resource, and Xi knows it. As Xi grows older, he is carefully managing his travel to preserve his strength," said Thomas, the fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute. 'Skipping the Brics summit in Brazil likely had less to do with geopolitics and more with jet lag. A 48-hour round-trip for a two-day meeting just was not worth the physical toll." Write to Chun Han Wong at
