Latest news with #ChinaInstitute
Yomiuri Shimbun
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
With US Trade War, China Now Top Buyer for Canadian Crude on Trans Mountain Pipeline
Reuters A drone view of the Trans Mountain Burnaby Terminal tank farm as the Canadian government-owned Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project became operational in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada May 1, 2024 CALGARY/HOUSTON, May 16 (Reuters) – China has emerged as the top customer for Canadian oil shipped on the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline, ship tracking data showed, as a U.S. trade war has shifted crude flows in the year since the pipeline started operating. China's new interest in Canadian oil comes as U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war has strained relations between longtime allies Washington and Ottawa. It also reflects the impact of U.S. sanctions on crude from countries like Russia and Venezuela. Canada is the world's fourth-largest oil producer, but its main oil-producing province of Alberta is landlocked with limited access to tidewater ports. That means the bulk of Canadian oil – about 4 million barrels per day or 90% – is exported to the U.S. via pipelines that run north-south. The C$34 billion ($24.40 billion) Trans Mountain is Canada's only east-west oil pipeline, carrying oil to the Pacific Coast where it can be loaded onto tankers for export. The expansion, which began operations on May 1, 2024, tripled the pipeline's capacity to 890,000 barrels per day and opened opportunities for Canadian oil along the U.S. West Coast and in Asian markets. While oil is currently exempt from U.S. tariffs, Canada has sought to diversify its exports due to brief U.S. duties on its crude and Trump's threats to annex the country. Canada shipped about 207,000 barrels per day (bpd) on average to China since the Trans Mountain expansion ramped up to full operations in June last year, ship tracking data on Kpler showed. That was a huge increase from an average of about 7,000 bpd in the decade to 2023. The U.S. took about 173,000 bpd from the pipeline in the same period. China's top spot as the TMX buyer defies some early expectations that the U.S. would be the biggest buyer of crude shipped via the pipeline, which is owned by the Canadian government. Many expected its barrels to land on the West Coast versus Asia, which has access to cheaper Russian oil. However, Trump's protectionist policies have in recent months made Canada more attractive to Chinese buyers, said Philippe Rheault, director of the China Institute at the University of Alberta. China has also been reluctant to be over-reliant on Russian energy supplies, Rheault said. 'A lot of China's refineries are also mindful of U.S. sanctions, and so have been trying to diversify away from oil from Venezuela and other places,' he added. SHIFTING FLOWS In the year since the pipeline's expansion, Canadian exports of crude to countries other than the U.S. rose nearly 60% to an annual record of about 183,000 bpd in 2024, according to Statistics Canada. Other nations taking Canadian crude include South Korea, Japan, India, Brunei, and Taiwan, ship tracking data showed. In recent months, several Canadian politicians have called for new pipelines to coastal export terminals to reduce dependency on the U.S. But regulatory, financial and political hurdles continue to stifle that development. TMX was about 77% full on average in 2024, according to documents it filed with the Canada Energy Regulator, below the 83% the company forecast, in part due to the high tolls the operator has been charging to make up for cost overruns during construction. The pipeline is expected to be 84% full this year, and ramp up to 92% in 2027. Its operator, Trans Mountain Corp, has said it is looking at expansion projects that could add between 200,000 and 300,000 bpd of capacity to the system. Given China's increased desire to find new, stable supplies of crude, the bulk of any additional capacity on TMX is likely to go to Asia rather than the U.S. West Coast, said Skip York, chief energy strategist with Turner, Mason & Company. 'I think you're going to see virtually all of those incremental vessels flow west' for export to China, he said.
Reuters
16-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
With US trade war, China now top buyer for Canadian crude on Trans Mountain pipeline
CALGARY/HOUSTON, May 16 (Reuters) - China has emerged as the top customer for Canadian oil shipped on the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline, ship tracking data showed, as a U.S. trade war has shifted crude flows in the year since the pipeline started operating. China's new interest in Canadian oil comes as U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war has strained relations between longtime allies Washington and Ottawa. It also reflects the impact of U.S. sanctions on crude from countries like Russia and Venezuela. Canada is the world's fourth-largest oil producer, but its main oil-producing province of Alberta is landlocked with limited access to tidewater ports. That means the bulk of Canadian oil - about 4 million barrels per day or 90% - is exported to the U.S. via pipelines that run north-south. The C$34 billion ($24.40 billion) Trans Mountain is Canada's only east-west oil pipeline, carrying oil to the Pacific Coast where it can be loaded onto tankers for export. The expansion, which began operations on May 1, 2024, tripled the pipeline's capacity to 890,000 barrels per day and opened opportunities for Canadian oil along the U.S. West Coast and in Asian markets. While oil is currently exempt from U.S. tariffs, Canada has sought to diversify its exports due to brief U.S. duties on its crude and Trump's threats to annex the country. Canada shipped about 207,000 barrels per day (bpd) on average to China since the Trans Mountain expansion ramped up to full operations in June last year, ship tracking data on Kpler showed. That was a huge increase from an average of about 7,000 bpd in the decade to 2023. The U.S. took about 173,000 bpd from the pipeline in the same period. China's top spot as the TMX buyer defies some early expectations that the U.S. would be the biggest buyer of crude shipped via the pipeline, which is owned by the Canadian government. Many expected its barrels to land on the West Coast versus Asia, which has access to cheaper Russian oil. However, Trump's protectionist policies have in recent months made Canada more attractive to Chinese buyers, said Philippe Rheault, director of the China Institute at the University of Alberta. China has also been reluctant to be over-reliant on Russian energy supplies, Rheault said. "A lot of China's refineries are also mindful of U.S. sanctions, and so have been trying to diversify away from oil from Venezuela and other places," he added. In the year since the pipeline's expansion, Canadian exports of crude to countries other than the U.S. rose nearly 60% to an annual record of about 183,000 bpd in 2024, according to Statistics Canada. Other nations taking Canadian crude include South Korea, Japan, India, Brunei, and Taiwan, ship tracking data showed. In recent months, several Canadian politicians have called for new pipelines to coastal export terminals to reduce dependency on the U.S. But regulatory, financial and political hurdles continue to stifle that development. TMX was about 77% full on average in 2024, according to documents it filed with the Canada Energy Regulator, below the 83% the company forecast, in part due to the high tolls the operator has been charging to make up for cost overruns during construction. The pipeline is expected to be 84% full this year, and ramp up to 92% in 2027. Its operator, Trans Mountain Corp, has said it is looking at expansion projects that could add between 200,000 and 300,000 bpd of capacity to the system. Given China's increased desire to find new, stable supplies of crude, the bulk of any additional capacity on TMX is likely to go to Asia rather than the U.S. West Coast, said Skip York, chief energy strategist with Turner, Mason & Company. "I think you're going to see virtually all of those incremental vessels flow west" for export to China, he said. ($1 = 1.3936 Canadian dollars)
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
With US trade war, China now top buyer for Canadian crude on Trans Mountain pipeline
By Amanda Stephenson and Arathy Somasekhar CALGARY/HOUSTON (Reuters) -China has emerged as the top customer for Canadian oil shipped on the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline, ship tracking data showed, as a U.S. trade war has shifted crude flows in the year since the pipeline started operating. China's new interest in Canadian oil comes as U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war has strained relations between longtime allies Washington and Ottawa. It also reflects the impact of U.S. sanctions on crude from countries like Russia and Venezuela. Canada is the world's fourth-largest oil producer, but its main oil-producing province of Alberta is landlocked with limited access to tidewater ports. That means the bulk of Canadian oil - about 4 million barrels per day or 90% - is exported to the U.S. via pipelines that run north-south. The C$34 billion ($24.40 billion) Trans Mountain is Canada's only east-west oil pipeline, carrying oil to the Pacific Coast where it can be loaded onto tankers for export. The expansion, which began operations on May 1, 2024, tripled the pipeline's capacity to 890,000 barrels per day and opened opportunities for Canadian oil along the U.S. West Coast and in Asian markets. While oil is currently exempt from U.S. tariffs, Canada has sought to diversify its exports due to brief U.S. duties on its crude and Trump's threats to annex the country. Canada shipped about 207,000 barrels per day (bpd) on average to China since the Trans Mountain expansion ramped up to full operations in June last year, ship tracking data on Kpler showed. That was a huge increase from an average of about 7,000 bpd in the decade to 2023. The U.S. took about 173,000 bpd from the pipeline in the same period. China's top spot as the TMX buyer defies some early expectations that the U.S. would be the biggest buyer of crude shipped via the pipeline, which is owned by the Canadian government. Many expected its barrels to land on the West Coast versus Asia, which has access to cheaper Russian oil. However, Trump's protectionist policies have in recent months made Canada more attractive to Chinese buyers, said Philippe Rheault, director of the China Institute at the University of Alberta. China has also been reluctant to be over-reliant on Russian energy supplies, Rheault said. "A lot of China's refineries are also mindful of U.S. sanctions, and so have been trying to diversify away from oil from Venezuela and other places," he added. SHIFTING FLOWS In the year since the pipeline's expansion, Canadian exports of crude to countries other than the U.S. rose nearly 60% to an annual record of about 183,000 bpd in 2024, according to Statistics Canada. Other nations taking Canadian crude include South Korea, Japan, India, Brunei, and Taiwan, ship tracking data showed. In recent months, several Canadian politicians have called for new pipelines to coastal export terminals to reduce dependency on the U.S. But regulatory, financial and political hurdles continue to stifle that development. TMX was about 77% full on average in 2024, according to documents it filed with the Canada Energy Regulator, below the 83% the company forecast, in part due to the high tolls the operator has been charging to make up for cost overruns during construction. The pipeline is expected to be 84% full this year, and ramp up to 92% in 2027. Its operator, Trans Mountain Corp, has said it is looking at expansion projects that could add between 200,000 and 300,000 bpd of capacity to the system. Given China's increased desire to find new, stable supplies of crude, the bulk of any additional capacity on TMX is likely to go to Asia rather than the U.S. West Coast, said Skip York, chief energy strategist with Turner, Mason & Company. "I think you're going to see virtually all of those incremental vessels flow west" for export to China, he said. ($1 = 1.3936 Canadian dollars)
ABC News
12-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
China and US agree to 90-day pause on tariffs
US President Trump described it as a 'total reset of the trade relationship' but in the last hour we learned a little more of the substance of the weekend's negotiations between the United States and China in Switzerland. The duelling powers have agreed to a 90-day pause in their implementation of tariffs on each other's imports. In a press conference in Geneva, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said both countries will reduce their tariffs by 115 per cent. Guest: Professor Steve Tsang, Director of the China Institute at SOAS - the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, and an Associate Fellow at Chatham House.
The Star
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Feature: Music offers pathway for U.S.-China understanding
by Ada Zhang NEW YORK, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Music continues to serve as a powerful channel for understanding between China and the United States, said scholars and musicians who gathered at the annual international conference of the U.S.-China Music Institute. The three-day event, titled "Exploration and Resonance: Chinese Music in the West," opened on Thursday at the China Institute in New York. It was co-hosted by the institute and the Bard College Conservatory of Music. The event is part of the broader work of the U.S.-China Music Institute, which is based at Bard and has been promoting exchange between the two cultures through education and performance. "If you look at two countries, two regions, or two cultures through a political lens, you see conflict," Jindong Cai, director of the U.S.-China Music Institute, told Xinhua. "But if you look at them through a cultural point of view, you find connection. Music, in particular, is impossible to decouple." Cai recalled that in 1972, following then U.S. President Richard Nixon's historic visit to China, one of the first steps toward renewed engagement was an invitation for an American orchestra to perform. The Philadelphia Orchestra became the first U.S. orchestra to visit China in 1973, marking a symbolic moment in thawing relations between the two countries. "If you look at the past 50 years, so many American orchestras, musicians, and singers have visited China. And they've seen that China produces incredible musicians and compositions." American and Chinese musicians understand each other much better than any political situation, and they definitely want to continue collaborating, Cai said. Sheila Melvin, a writer and scholar who spoke at the conference, said cultural exchanges between the two countries, dating back to as early as the 19th century, attracted western musicians to understand Chinese music and the community. "I just hope we can have more of" that kind of people-to-people communication, she told Xinhua. Such exchange remains essential today, experts said. "If you have more Chinese coming to the U.S., obviously, there will be more interest in China," said Frank Kouwenhoven, a Dutch scholar and founder of CHIME, a platform for Chinese music. "If you have more Chinese students studying at an American university, then more Americans will also have some exposure to people from that corner of the Earth." The conference also highlighted contemporary efforts to build cultural bridges. The U.S.-China Music Institute runs a program in partnership with the Central Conservatory of Music that includes four main components: a degree program for Chinese instruments at Bard Conservatory, an annual China Now Music Festival in New York, an academic conference in the spring, and a summer program for high school students from both countries. Xiaogang Ye, dean of the School of Music at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said Chinese music today may offer something urgently needed, which is a sense of balance and emotional clarity. "Right now, we're seeing deep divisions across the globe. In this increasingly polarized world, perhaps Chinese music can take on a new role, not just as an artistic tradition, but as a form of emotional mediation, a means of restoring clarity and calm," said Ye, who is also a composer and president of the Chinese Musicians' Association. Thursday's panel discussion also featured Li Zhong, vice chairman of the University Council at the Central Conservatory of Music in China, and concluded with the performances by a guqin duet and a traditional Chinese ensemble. The evening program featured a concert by the Bard East-West Ensemble. The conference will continue in the coming days with additional sessions and performances at Bard College.
