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RNZ News
7 days ago
- Climate
- RNZ News
Beijing expands storm alert as fatal floods keep city on edge
By Ryan Woo and Joe Cash for Reuters At least 44 people died in Beijing after heavy rains last week. Photo: AFP / PEDRO PARDO Beijing residents have been warned to brace for a new round of heavy rainfall, telling them to avoid going out, a week after catastrophic floods killed dozens in the deadliest deluge to hit the Chinese capital since 2012. Up to 200mm of rain could hit parts of Beijing over a six-hour period from midday, weather forecasters warned. The city of 22 million people receives on average 600mm of rainfall each year. The warning comes as authorities rush to reinforce ageing flood defences, fine-tune weather forecasts and update evacuation plans amid reports of bodies being pulled from raging flood waters across the country, including at least three at a flooded wellness camp in Hebei province. At least 44 people died in Beijing after heavy rains from 23 to 29 July . Most of the dead were people unexpectedly trapped by rapidly rising waters at a nursing home in Miyun district on the city's northeastern outskirts. The fatalities led authorities to admit to shortcomings in their contingency plans for extreme weather. By noon on Monday, Beijing had placed all of its 16 districts on the highest level of preparedness, in the first citywide state of readiness since 28 July, shutting parts of the Great Wall and other outdoor leisure venues and halting operations of below-ground businesses. The risk of flash floods and landslides is "extremely high", authorities said. In the summer of 2012, 79 people died in Beijing in the city's deadliest flooding in living memory. Fangshan district was the worst-hit, with one resident reporting a rise in floodwaters of 1.3 metres in just 10 minutes. Beijing's topography has been described by some as a rain "trap", with its mountains to the west and north capturing moist air and amplifying any ensuing rainfall as a result. As of Saturday, torrential rains that swept through "Beijing Valley", a riverside wellness retreat in the Hebei city of Chengde adjacent to Beijing, had claimed three lives, with four still missing, China's state news agency Xinhua reported. About 40 people had gathered on 27 July for an event at the site, where organisers directed them into tents pitched on low-lying land next to a river bend, Caixin Media reported. By 2am the next morning, floodwaters had risen to knee height, forcing attendees to scramble towards the camp's only exit. The site bore similarities to Camp Mystic in Texas, where at least 28 children were swept to their deaths last month by floodwaters after the Guadalupe River burst its banks amid torrential rain. In China's southern Guangdong province over the weekend, the bodies of five people were recovered after a large-scale search operation involving more than 1300 rescuers. The five people, who went missing on Friday night, were "swept away by water" following heavy rainfall in recent days, Xinhua reported on Sunday. - Reuters
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China's export growth expected to edge up in June amid delicate truce with US: Reuters poll
By Ethan Wang and Joe Cash BEIJING (Reuters) -China's export growth likely edged higher in June, buoyed by exporters rushing to front-load shipments on fears that a fragile trade truce with the United States could unravel and see President Donald Trump reinstate extra tariffs on Chinese goods. Outbound shipments were expected to have risen an annual 5.0% in value terms, according to the median forecast of 23 economists in a Reuters poll, up from a 4.8% increase in May. Imports likely grew 1.3% last month, reversing a 3.4% slump in May, as domestic demand continued to show signs of recovery off the back of policy support introduced late last year. Trump's erratic trade policy - marked by multiple rounds of tit-for-tat tariff hikes with Beijing - has heaped pressure on China's export-oriented economy, posing a serious test to its long-standing growth model. A tentative tariff truce reached during May talks in Geneva was nearly derailed after Washington accused Beijing of stalling on its pledge to ease restrictions on rare earth exports, crucial to industries ranging from electronics to defence. Tensions eased in June after two days of discussions in London, where both sides agreed to revive the tariff truce. However, with few details disclosed, uncertainty continues to weigh on traders and investors on both sides of the Pacific. China faces an August 12 deadline to reach a durable deal with the White House, as Trump intensifies his global tariff assault by announcing new duties on other trading partners. Analysts anticipate Trump could pressure other countries to curb their trade with the world's second-largest economy in exchange for tariff relief. Trump said earlier this month the U.S. would impose 40% tariffs on trans-shipments from third countries through Vietnam, a move that could hit Chinese manufacturers that ship goods or parts to the country. Vietnam became China's second largest export market in 2024. The U.S. president has also threatened a 10% charge on imports from BRICS countries "pretty soon", which China is a founding member, potentially raising more economic risks for Beijing. China's trade relations with the European Union are also on shaky ground. Just weeks ahead of a key summit this month, the EU accused China of flooding global markets with overcapacity, limiting access to its market, and enabling Russia's war economy. China earlier this month offered a rare concession by sparing major cognac producers from hefty duties levied on EU brandy, but the broader dispute, especially over Chinese electric vehicles, remains unresolved. As the end of the 90-day China-U.S. tariff truce approaches, exporters will continue to rush out shipments to capitalise on the temporary reprieve, analysts say. Still, economists at Nomura warn that export growth is likely to slow sharply in the second half of the year, weighed down by persistently high tariffs, Trump's crackdown on shipment rerouting, and souring ties with the EU. "Exports will likely become a growth drag this year after being a growth driver last year," Nomura said in a note. China's June trade surplus is forecast at $109 billion, up from $103.22 billion in May.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China's export growth expected to edge up in June amid delicate truce with US: Reuters poll
By Ethan Wang and Joe Cash BEIJING (Reuters) -China's export growth likely edged higher in June, buoyed by exporters rushing to front-load shipments on fears that a fragile trade truce with the United States could unravel and see President Donald Trump reinstate extra tariffs on Chinese goods. Outbound shipments were expected to have risen an annual 5.0% in value terms, according to the median forecast of 23 economists in a Reuters poll, up from a 4.8% increase in May. Imports likely grew 1.3% last month, reversing a 3.4% slump in May, as domestic demand continued to show signs of recovery off the back of policy support introduced late last year. Trump's erratic trade policy - marked by multiple rounds of tit-for-tat tariff hikes with Beijing - has heaped pressure on China's export-oriented economy, posing a serious test to its long-standing growth model. A tentative tariff truce reached during May talks in Geneva was nearly derailed after Washington accused Beijing of stalling on its pledge to ease restrictions on rare earth exports, crucial to industries ranging from electronics to defence. Tensions eased in June after two days of discussions in London, where both sides agreed to revive the tariff truce. However, with few details disclosed, uncertainty continues to weigh on traders and investors on both sides of the Pacific. China faces an August 12 deadline to reach a durable deal with the White House, as Trump intensifies his global tariff assault by announcing new duties on other trading partners. Analysts anticipate Trump could pressure other countries to curb their trade with the world's second-largest economy in exchange for tariff relief. Trump said earlier this month the U.S. would impose 40% tariffs on trans-shipments from third countries through Vietnam, a move that could hit Chinese manufacturers that ship goods or parts to the country. Vietnam became China's second largest export market in 2024. The U.S. president has also threatened a 10% charge on imports from BRICS countries "pretty soon", which China is a founding member, potentially raising more economic risks for Beijing. China's trade relations with the European Union are also on shaky ground. Just weeks ahead of a key summit this month, the EU accused China of flooding global markets with overcapacity, limiting access to its market, and enabling Russia's war economy. China earlier this month offered a rare concession by sparing major cognac producers from hefty duties levied on EU brandy, but the broader dispute, especially over Chinese electric vehicles, remains unresolved. As the end of the 90-day China-U.S. tariff truce approaches, exporters will continue to rush out shipments to capitalise on the temporary reprieve, analysts say. Still, economists at Nomura warn that export growth is likely to slow sharply in the second half of the year, weighed down by persistently high tariffs, Trump's crackdown on shipment rerouting, and souring ties with the EU. "Exports will likely become a growth drag this year after being a growth driver last year," Nomura said in a note. China's June trade surplus is forecast at $109 billion, up from $103.22 billion in May. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Chinese travel thousands of miles to flee Iran overland
By Joe Cash and Liz Lee BEIJING (Reuters) -The first Chinese evacuees from Iran have started sharing on social media their desperate efforts to reach the Islamic Republic's borders and the safety of Turkmenistan, Armenia and Azerbaijan, as the Israel-Iran air war entered a sixth day. Several thousand Chinese nationals are thought to reside in oil-rich Iran, according to state media reports, highlighting Beijing's efforts to deepen strategic and commercial ties with Iran over the past two decades. "My heart was pounding but amid the haze of war, everything became clear: I packed my bags and tried to evacuate to the embassy," wrote a Chinese travel blogger under the alias Shuishui Crusoe, a nod to Daniel Defoe's fictional castaway, Robinson Crusoe. The travel blogger had decided to leave after sitting through Israel's overnight bombings last Friday when the conflict began, even as the embassy advised her to stay put. Emboldened by news of fellow citizens who made it across to Armenia, 750 km (500 miles) from the Iranian capital Tehran, she chose the same route, arriving by bus in the Armenian capital Yerevan on Monday, a day before China's embassy officially urged its citizens to leave Iran. China started evacuating its citizens from Tehran to Turkmenistan by bus on Tuesday, a distance of 1,150 km, state-run China News Service reported Wednesday. Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry, said Beijing had not received any reports of Chinese casualties. "Seven hundred and ninety-one Chinese nationals have already been relocated from Iran to safe areas, and over 1,000 more are in the process of being evacuated," he told a regular news conference. While the embassy emphasised evacuation, some other Chinese netizens still in Iran shared video compilations showing an orderly scenario of well-stocked grocery shops and fruit stalls, with only a couple of clips of large purchases of bottled water. Most Chinese in Iran are engineers who moved there to work for Chinese firms that have invested just under $5 billion in the country since 2007 - primarily in its oil sector - according to data from the American Enterprise Institute think tank. If the regime in Tehran is severely weakened or replaced, Beijing loses a key diplomatic foothold in a region long dominated by the U.S. but vital to President Xi Jinping's flagship Belt and Road initiative and its aim to link the world's second-largest economy with Europe and the Gulf. China, the world's leading energy consumer, has also benefited from importing heavily discounted Iranian crude, despite Washington's sanctions aimed at curbing the trade.
The Star
27-05-2025
- The Star
At least five dead and another six missing after chemical plant blast in China's Shandong
There were no immediate details of casualties. - PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM WEIBO via The Straits Times/Asia News Network BEIJING (Reuters): An explosion at a chemical plant in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong killed at least five people, with 19 injured and six missing, the state-run Xinhua agency said late on Tuesday. The blast occurred a few minutes before noon on Tuesday, shaking part of a chemical plant operated by Shandong Youdao Chemical in the city of Weifang. Videos circulating on Chinese social media and verified by Reuters showed plumes of orange and black smoke billowing into the sky. Windows of nearby buildings were ripped from their hinges by the explosion, one of the videos showed. More than 200 emergency workers responded to the blast, according to a statement issued by China's emergency response authority on Tuesday afternoon. Drone video posted by The Beijing News, a government-run publication, showed smoke emerging from the chemical plant and from a second, unidentified facility nearby. Baidu Maps, a navigation app, shows other manufacturing companies next to Youdao's plant, including a textile company, a machinery company and a firm that makes industrial coating materials. The Weifang Ecological Environment Bureau dispatched staff to test the site of the blast but said there were no results yet available. The bureau advised nearby residents to wear face masks in the meantime, Beijing News reported. Shandong Youdao Chemical is owned by Himile Group, which also owns listed Himile Mechanical, shares of which closed down nearly 3.6% on Tuesday. Youdao was established in August 2019 in the Gaomi Renhe chemical park in Weifang, according to the company's website. The plant covers more than 47 hectares (116 acres) and has more than 300 employees. The company develops, produces and sells chemical components for use in pesticides and pharmaceuticals. Blasts at chemical plants in China in recent years have included one in the northwest region of Ningxia in 2024 and another in the southeastern province of Jiangxi in 2023. Two massive explosions at warehouses containing hazardous and flammable chemicals in the port city of Tianjin in 2015 killed over 170 people and injured 700. That incident prompted the government to tighten laws covering chemical storage. An explosion in 2015 at another chemical plant in Shandong killed 13 people. (Reporting by Joe Cash, Ethan Wang, Yukun Zhang, Xiuhao Chen and Shi Bu in Beijing and Farah Master in Hong Kong; editing by Clarence Fernandez, Christian Schmollinger, Alison Williams and Mark Heinrich) - Reuters
