■AUTOMAKERS
Chinese VP to visit Sweden
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (習近平) is due in Sweden this weekend, amid signs that Chinese carmaker Geely could soon formally seal a deal to buy troubled Volvo from US auto giant Ford. Xi, tipped in political circles to replace President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) by 2013, is due to arrive in Stockholm today for a four-day visit, Xinhua news agency reported. The visit comes after the chairman of China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (吉利控股集團), Li Shufu (李書福), told the Wall Street Journal last week that he expected to complete the deal to acquire Volvo by the end of the month as planned.
■SOUTH KOREA
Economy expands slightly
The economy expanded 0.2 percent last quarter, matching the initial estimate as lower than projected manufacturing output offset stronger consumer spending. “The slow growth in the fourth quarter is temporary,” Bank of Korea official Kim Myung Kee said yesterday after the release. “Growth in the first quarter will be better.” The economy had expanded 3.2 percent in the three months to Sept. 30 from the previous quarter. GDP increased 0.2 percent last year, the report showed, slowing from 2.3 percent in 2008. Gross national income per capita declined to US$17,175 last year from US$19,296 in 2008, the central bank said.
■SINGAPORE
Production on the rise
Industrial production increased for a third straight month as rising exports of electronics and pharmaceuticals spurred output, bolstering economic growth. Manufacturing, which accounts for about a quarter of Singapore’s economy, gained 19.1 percent last month from a year earlier following a revised 39.2 percent jump the previous month, the Economic Development Board said yesterday. Industrial production rose a seasonally adjusted 5.9 percent last month from January, when it rose a revised 11 percent from a month earlier. Electronics production climbed 56.5 percent from a year earlier, following a revised 82 percent gain in January.
■RUSSIA
Central bank cuts key rate
The central bank yesterday announced it was cutting its key interest rate by a quarter of a point to a historic low of 8.25 percent to boost economic recovery. The reduction in the main refinancing rate would go into effect on Monday, the central bank said in a statement. The cut is “aimed at reducing the cost of credit, increasing access to credit for enterprises and creating conditions for a full-fledged restoration of domestic demand,” it said. Economic conditions allowed the rate to be cut without a risk of increased inflation, the bank added. The announcement marked the 12th rate cut in a row since April last year.
■AUTOMAKERS
Tripartite alliance discussed
Japan’s Nissan is in talks to join Renault of France and Germany’s Daimler in a three-way deal to hold up to 5 percent of each others’ shares, reports said yesterday. The three automakers hope to agree the tripartite alliance by early April, the Nikkei business daily and Kyodo news agency said. On Thursday the Financial Times said Renault, which holds a 44.3 percent stake in Nissan, and Daimler were close to finalizing a two-way alliance in which each would hold a 3 percent stake in the other. The three automakers are seeking a broad partnership to cooperate in developing environmental technologies, which require huge capital investment, and sharing parts and platforms to cut costs, the reports said.
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the