At first glance, it is an argument that seems to make sense—and it would be crazy to oppose: because the earth’s raw material resources are finite, infinite growth is impossible. This leads many to conclude that, somehow, growth must be limited. What is there to this argument? Read More Here
The skyrocketing price of shipping goods across the globe may hit your pocketbook sooner than you think — from that cup of coffee you get each morning to the toys you were thinking of buying your kids. Transporting a 40-foot steel container of cargo by sea from Shanghai to Rotterdam now costs a record $10,522, […]
Australia is often blamed for putting all its eggs and everything else into one basket then shipping the lot to China. Those who worry about Beijing’s resultant leverage over Australia may feel vindicated after the travails of 2020 and 2021, but the trade war rooted in geopolitics hasn’t net-net hurt the Australian economy or its […]
The prices of raw materials used to make almost everything are skyrocketing, and the upward trajectory looks set to continue as the world economy roars back to life. From steel and copper to corn and lumber, commodities started 2021 with a bang, surging to levels not seen for years. Read Here | Bloomberg
China and Australia’s trade is interlinked in many areas but the largest value items are commodities Beijing arguably cannot readily source in sufficient supply elsewhere. This is often missed when Australia and China’s trade relationship is weighed against security ties with the US and a rapidly changing world order some view as a New Cold […]
Two-way trade between China and Africa fell 19.3 per cent in the first half of the year to US$82.37 billion as coronavirus ravaged economies and cut demand for commodities. China, one of the biggest importers of raw materials from Africa, including copper, cobalt and oil, cut its imports from the continent by 31 per cent […]
President Donald Trump announced that the United States will impose a 10 percent duty on an additional $200 billion of Chinese imports as of next week, quickly escalating a trade war that has hit broad swaths of the global economy. Read Here – Politico Also Read: U.S. China Trade War: Analysis of Latest Developments
Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia Philip Lowe’s speech last week highlighting the risks to the Chinese financial system from shadow banks – non-bank financial institutions often operating in more lightly regulated wholesale markets – has once again drawn attention to the major economic risk in China. Read Here – Lowy Institute
If nothing further is done, the U.S.-China trade deal reached this month will be remembered, to quote a phrase coined by the current president of the United States, as “the single worst trade deal” ever negotiated. Read Here – CFR
The fifth icy age has descended on China–Australia relations—cooling business, frosting diplomacy and chilling strategic perspectives. China has put Australia into diplomatic ‘deep freeze’. China speaks of ‘a growing lack of mutual trust’, accusing Australia of ‘systematic, irresponsible, negative remarks and comments regarding China’. Australia concedes ‘tensions’ while blaming ‘misunderstandings and mischaracterisations’. Read Here – The Strategist
