In recent years, Beijing has made efforts to facilitate the settlement of China-Saudi oil trade in renminbi (RMB) rather than in U.S. dollars, a move that would steel China’s trade from financial sanctions and disrupt the global market for oil....
China’s steady expansion of its Middle East footprint and influence poses significant questions for U.S. policymakers. The Middle East has long been a battleground for strategic competition between both regional and global powers. Is it poised to...
The Silk Road Economic Belt—the overland component of Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)—promises to bind China to Central Asia and beyond through a new infrastructural network. Connecting through China’s far western Xinjiang...
Does it still make sense for China to put on big, expensive mega-summits with African leaders, like FOCAC, which will take place in Beijing in September? Facing a slowing economy and a potentially devastating trade war with the U.S., maybe China...
The latest bit of America’s energy sector to feel the over-the-shoulder lash is the liquefied natural gas-export business. On Friday, LNG joined the list of goods that China will hit with tariffs in retaliation for U.S. ones. This is...
China is the largest buyer of Iranian oil, Iran’s largest trading partner, and arguably its most important positive political relationship. What do Trump’s threats to Iran mean for China’s relationship with the country? And how would a war...
China is America’s second-biggest crude oil customer, and Beijing has threatened to retaliate against President Donald Trump’s trade crackdown by imposing tariffs on US crude oil.
On May 4, the planned investment by the Chinese company CEFC China Energy into Russian state oil giant Rosneft fell apart, eight months after it was first announced.
China has loaned Angola an estimated U.S.$60 billion dollars since the two countries established diplomatic relations back in 1983, making it one of the top destinations for Chinese financing in Africa. Angola is especially attractive for the...
The world’s first yuan-denominated oil contracts launched Monday, as part of China’s drive to turn its currency into a global force in markets.
China needs fuel to grow the world’s second-largest economy by 6.5% this year as established this week at annual legislative sessions.
An oil spill from an Iranian oil tanker that sank in the East China Sea is now the size of Paris.
Greenpeace said the disaster occurred in “an important spawning ground” for fish.
The poor conditions, with rain and waves as high as 3 meters (10 feet), frustrated efforts to tame the fire and search for the 31 remaining tanker crew members, China’s Ministry of Transport said in a statement on Tuesday.
China's Commerce Ministry said on Friday it will limit exports of crude oil, refined oil products, steel and other metals to North Korea, in line with tough new sanctions imposed by the United Nations for Pyongyang's missile tests.
US secretary of state Rex Tillerson offered to open direct talks with North Korea “without preconditions” in a new overture to Pyongyang that jars with the more confrontational stance of the White House.
China’s push into new energy vehicles (NEVs) – including battery-powered and hybrid cars – could curb demand for black gold. Sinopec and PetroChina will be hardest hit. The policy will also add to downward pressure on global crude prices.
Russia’s largest oil producer Rosneft (ROSN.MM) wants to boost its supplies of oil to China through Kazakhstan to as much as 18 million tonnes (36,000 bpd) per year from around 10 million tonnes in 2017, three industry sources said on Friday.
China’s independent oil refiners face an uphill struggle as excess capacity in the sector and slower demand for fuel creates a tougher trading environment, a top executive has warned.
Amid escalating tensions in the Korean Peninsula, South Korean President Moon Jae-In sought Russian backing Wednesday for calls to block critical crude oil supplies to the North Korean regime after its latest nuclear test.
Hong Kong stepped up efforts on Wednesday to clean up a massive palm oil spill, with authorities scooping up more than 90 tonnes of foul—smelling, styrofoam—like clumps in one of the worst environmental disasters to blight the territory’s...
Equities in Asia closed mostly lower on Wednesday as China data came in mostly in line with expectations and markets awaited the Federal Reserve's decision on monetary policy.
Beijing-based investment attorney Kai Xue joins Eric and Cobus to discuss why he thinks Africa is no longer appealing to Chinese companies. Kai Xue is a longtime Sino-African affairs analyst and carefully monitors trade, foreign...
China wields huge influence over the North Korean economy, accounting for more than 80% of its smaller neighbor’s foreign trade and serving as its main gateway to the rest of the world.
China was the top foreign buyer of U.S. crude in February, according to data that show the growing interdependence of the world’s big energy-consuming nations at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions.
OPEC’s campaign to prop up oil prices is getting unlikely support from its biggest customer.
On December 13, President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team announced the selection of ExxonMobil Chief Executive Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State. We asked ChinaFile contributors to respond to the choice with a specific focus on how...
Output agreement could boost the country’s oil industry and reduce its reliance on Saudi crude
Daqing is home to China’s biggest oil field, and the city’s troubles reflect a broader reality for the country: Once a major exporter of oil, China is now one of the world’s biggest net oil importers.
Lower oil price wreaks havoc on debt repayments
Is the improvement fleeting or real?
Concerns prompted emergency meetings between the Chinese envoy and state companies.
Heavy clashes continued early Monday near the UN’s two bases in the capital Juba.
India is replacing China as the center of the world’s oil demand growth as its economy expands faster than any other major country.
China’s lofty ambition to revive its ancient silk road trading routes is now becoming a reality. When complete, One Belt...
China’s engagement in Africa is often seen by many observers in a vacuum without a broader understanding of how the relationship compares to Beijing’s strategy in other regions of the world. South America, in particular, provides an interesting...
Chinese president Xi Jinping’s three-country tour of the Middle East and North Africa offers yet another example of Beijing’s expanding...
Beijing confirms for the first time plans for East African nation, already home to U.S. base.
As we approach the sixth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit in Johannesburg, we try better to understand the main issues that surely will arise when Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Jacob Zuma meet on...
Crude oil, a key export for Canada, has dropped from a 2014 peak of $107 per barrel to just $44 today (Nov. 9)
Chad is one of the poorest, most corrupt, and, increasingly,...
The days of China’s relying on export manufacturing and infrastructure construction as drivers of economic growth are gone.
Goldman Sachs says Chinese hoarding may avert $20 oil scenario.
After a year of intense flirtation, the Sino-Russian relationship is beginning to look like a one-sided love affair. Indeed, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to China last week—his first since the United States and...
Economic slowdown in China exacerbates strain for trading partners in Africa.
Government auditors are taking a closer look at U.S.$10 billion worth of offshore oil investments by state-run China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) that owe their existence to a Hong Kong businessman with a flair for networking in the...
China goes to great lengths to differentiate its engagement in Africa from the continent’s former European colonizers by emphasizing so-called “win-win development.” Chinese leaders regularly visit Africa where they emphatically reject the...
Oil prices climb as Chinese stocks rebounded, easing concerns about China’s economic growth, and expectations of higher Iranian crude-oil exports receded.
It has been almost one year since a terrorist bombing in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region, shocked the nation and brought economic woes and social conflicts in the largely Uighur-populated area into the spotlight again.
I arrived...
Saudi Arabian Oil Company President and CEO Khalid A. Al-Falih has seen global oil prices rise and fall through at least six market cycles during his more than 30 years with the world’s largest crude producer and exporter.
Al-Falih, 55,...
If China can advance a stable Pakistan through development programs, the whole region would benefit.
Beijing looks West toward Eurasian integration.
More than 11,000 soldiers from the Philippines, U.S. and Australia will take part in joint drills in the South China Sea.
The world’s most indebted oil producer bolsters ties to China as corruption scandal shuts it out of international bond markets.
The China National Offshore Oil Corp has identified over 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas at the Lingshui 17-2 gas field.
Two Chinese oil companies show contrasting approaches in their attempts to operate in the South China Sea where, to the discomfort of its smaller neighbours, China’s claims in disputed waters have grown increasingly assertive.
