Chinese economy grows by 4.5% in first quarter

Chinese economy grew by 4.5% in the first quarter of 2023 amid Beijing’s intensive efforts to consolidate the post-pandemic recovery, according to South China Morning Post.

This was above the 4% growth predicted by Wind, a Chinese data provider, and up from the 2.9% growth seen in the fourth quarter of last year.

After its growth slowed to the second worst in nearly five decades at 3% last year, China set a modest growth target for 2023 at around 5%.

All other major economic indicators, released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday, showed recovery may still be uneven. Retail sales up by 10.6% last month from a year ago, rising from 3.5% growth in combined figures for January and February.

Industrial production, a gauge of activity in the manufacturing, mining and utilities sectors, rose by 3.9%YoY in March.

But fixed-asset investment – a conventional tool for Beijing to drive up growth – rose by just 5.1%YoY in the first three months of 2023, down from a rise of 5.5% in the first two months of the year.

Beijing has also pledged to shore up trade as a pillar for the overall recovery this year and exports surprised the market with strong growth in March despite signs of weak external demand.

The economic recovery may still be uneven as low price indices triggered warnings about the risks of deflation and inadequate demand, while pressure to create enough jobs continued to persist.

The urban surveyed jobless rate, meanwhile, stood at 5.3% in March, down from 5.6% in February.

The jobless rate for the 16-24 age group also remained at an elevated level of 19.6% in March, up from 18.1% in February.

 

 

 

Tehran to host Petrochemical Forum

Tehran will host the 14th edition of Iran Petrochemical Forum (IPF) at the IRIB International Conference Hall on May 1-2.

The 14th Iran Petrochemical Forum is a suitable ground for cooperation between active domestic and foreign companies so that the latest developments, plans and new investment opportunities for the development of the country's petrochemical industry are provided to the participants.

Hassan Abbas-Zadeh said during this international event, a large number of specialized meetings will be held, and a strategic meeting is dedicated to the members of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) with the aim of examining the future cooperation of the Iranian petrochemical industry in the markets of the BRICS member countries, highlighting that for the first time, member countries of the BRICS group will attend the international conference of the Iranian petrochemical industry.

Other important event of this conference is the holding of special meetings with the presence of ambassadors and political and commercial representatives of Iran in order to examine the development of energy diplomacy, empowering the petrochemical industry with the aim of preventing crude sales (selling final products instead), and self-sufficiency in this industry, the NPC director further noted.

The petrochemical industry plays a crucial role in Iran’s non-oil economy, as petrochemical export is the second-largest source of revenue for the country after crude oil. Petrochemical exports already constitute nearly 33 percent of the country’s non-oil exports.

According to NPC Managing Director Morteza Shahmirzaei, the petrochemical industry is a value and job-creating industry, which has no risk.

The official has stated that currently, the petrochemical sector has the highest added value in the oil industry chain.

He has announced that marketing Iran’s petrochemical products throughout the world is on the agenda of the NPC’s activity, and mentioned completing the production value chain as another major program of the company.

“As we have previously announced, we will fully provide all the capacity of the National Petrochemical Company to the private sector and investors so that the plan to complete the value chain of the petrochemical industry will be realized”, he noted.

 

FBI makes arrests over alleged secret Chinese police stations in New York

According to Saudi Gazette, US prosecutors have arrested two men in New York for allegedly operating a Chinese secret police station in Manhattan’s Chinatown neighborhood.

Liu Jianwang, 61, and Chen Jinping, 59, both New York City residents, face charges of conspiring to act as agents for China and obstruction of justice.

China has previously denied operating the stations, calling them “service centers” for nationals overseas.

Jianwang and Jinping worked together to establish the first overseas police station in the United States on behalf of China’s Ministry of Public Security, the US Department of Justice alleged on Monday.

The outpost was closed in the fall of 2022, the department said, after those involved became aware of an FBI investigation into the station.

“This prosecution reveals the Chinese government’s flagrant violation of our nation’s sovereignty by establishing a secret police station in the middle of New York City,” said Breon Pearce, the top prosecutor in Brooklyn.

The stations are believed to be among at least 100 operating across the globe in 53 countries, including the UK and the Netherlands. And last month, Canada’s federal government announced an investigation into two Montreal-area sites thought to be police outposts.

“The PRC’s actions go far beyond the bounds of acceptable nation-state conduct. We will resolutely defend the freedoms of all those living in our country from the threat of authoritarian repression,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen, from the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

According to prosecutors, Jianwang was closely connected to Chinese law enforcement, and was enlisted to help China with repressive activities in the US beginning in 2015, including harassing Chinese dissidents.

In 2018, he allegedly participated in efforts to push a purported PRC fugitive to return to China, including repeated harassment and threats to the individual and his family, living in China and the US.

And prosecutors said he was also enlisted to locate a pro-democracy activist in China. Jiangwang denied these actions when confronted by US authorities.

If convicted, both Jianwang and Jinping face up to 25 years in prison.

Chinese embassies in the US and Canada have said the locations are overseas service stations’ opened during the pandemic to assist nationals abroad with driver’s licensee renewal and similar matters.

But human rights groups have accused China of using the outposts to threaten and monitor Chinese nationals abroad.

FBI director Christopher Wray said last November that his agency was monitoring reports of such stations, calling them a real problem.

“To me, it is outrageous to think that the Chinese police would attempt to set up shop, you know, in New York, let’s say, without proper coordination,” Wray said.

“It violates sovereignty and circumvents standard judicial and law enforcement cooperation processes.”

Flights between Saudi Arabia and Iran to resume soon

The Head of Iran's Foreign Ministry office in Razavi Khorasan Province Mohammad Beheshti Monfared has confirmed that the direct flights between the Iranian city of Mashhad and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, will resume soon.

Monfared made the remarks while speaking to Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). He said that the flights between Saudi Arabia and Iran will resume after updating agreements and finalizing negotiations between the officials of the two countries in the aviation sector.

Earlier, a Saudi technical team arrived in Tehran and visited its diplomatic places and embassy to discuss reopening Saudi Arabia's diplomatic missions in Iran, and then continued its trip to Mashhad to visit the Saudi Consulate General and review ways to reopen it.

Monfared said that the previous premises of Saudi Arabia’s Consulate General in Mashhad have not been used for seven years.

The Iranian technical team has also made a similar visit to Riyadh for the purpose of the embassy reopening there, IRNA said. It noted that the delegation will also pay a visit to Jeddah to inspect the Iran consulate office and its mission to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

It is worth mentioning that the Saudi delegation arrived in Iran three days after a meeting between Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian in Beijing.

The foreign ministers had signed a memorandum of understanding to resume diplomatic relations between the two countries, nearly a month after the tripartite agreement reached between Saudi Arabia and Iran, under the mediation of China, in this respect.

China not to supply weapons to any party in Ukraine war

China won't sell weapons to either side in the war in Ukraine, the country's foreign minister said Friday, responding to Western concerns that Beijing could provide military assistance to Russia.

China has maintained that it is neutral in the conflict, while backing Russia politically, rhetorically and economically at a time when Western nations have imposed punishing sanctions and sought to isolate Moscow for its invasion of its neighbor.

Qin Gang is the highest-level Chinese official to make such an explicit statement about arms sales to Russia. He added that China would also regulate the export of items with dual civilian and military use.

"Regarding the export of military items, China adopts a prudent and responsible attitude," Qin said at a news conference alongside visiting German counterpart Annalena Baerbock. "China will not provide weapons to relevant parties of the conflict, and manage and control the exports of dual-use items in accordance with laws and regulations."

The minister also reiterated China's willingness to help find a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

At the same news conference, Qin also blamed Taiwan's government for heightened regional tensions after Beijing held large-scale military drills in an attempt to intimidate the island it claims as its own territory.

In February, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. had intelligence suggesting China was considering providing arms and ammunition to Russia — and warned that such involvement in the Kremlin's war effort would be a "serious problem."

In recent days, European leaders have issued similar warnings, even as they visited China, and the European Union's foreign policy chief lashed out at Beijing, saying its support of Russia during the invasion was "a blatant violation" of its United Nations commitments.

In her remarks, Baerbock also referred to China's role as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, saying it bore a special responsibility for helping end the conflict.

"But I have to wonder why the Chinese positioning so far does not include a call for the aggressor, Russia, to stop the war," she said. "We all know that President (Vladimir) Putin would have the opportunity to do so at any time, and the people in Ukraine would like nothing more than to finally be able to live in peace again."

A visit to Moscow last month by Chinese leader Xi Jinping underscored how Beijing is increasingly becoming the senior partner in the relationship as it provides Russia with an economic lifeline and political cover. China announced Friday that Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu would visit Russia next week for meetings with counterpart Sergei Shoigu and other military officials.

On both Ukraine and Taiwan, Qin articulated well-worn defenses of Chinese policies that underscore Beijing's rejection of criticisms from the West, particularly the U.S. Under the ardently nationalist Xi, China has sharpened its rhetoric, particularly on the issue of Taiwan, which split from mainland China amid civil war in 1949.

Tensions around the island rose significantly after China deployed warships and fighter planes near Taiwan last weekend in retaliation for a meeting between U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the island's president, Tsai Ing-wen.

China insists that self-governing Taiwan submit to its rule, either peacefully or by force, and Qin said the pursuit of independence by Taiwan's government and its foreign supporters — a veiled reference to chief ally the United States — were the reason for the tensions.

Baerbock warned that a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, through which much of the world's international trade passes, would bring global disaster.

"We therefore view the increasing tensions in the Taiwan Strait with great concern," she said. "Conflicts must be resolved peacefully. A unilateral change of the status quo would not be acceptable to us as Europeans."

Apparently rejecting Baerbock's concerns, Qin said Taiwan was "China's internal affair."

"Taiwan independence and peace cannot co-exist," he said.

 

Saudi Aramco transfers 4% stake to Sanabil Investments

A 4% stake in oil major Saudi Aramco has been transferred from state ownership to Sanabil Investments, which is wholly owned by the Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said on Sunday.

The state remains Aramco's biggest shareholder, owning 90.18% of the Company.

Riyadh-based Sanabil is an investment company that commits approximately US$3 billion a year to private transactions, its website says.

The transfer will solidify PIF’s strong financial position and credit rating, the crown prince's statement. The Fund is responsible for the bulk of projects aimed at transforming the Saudi economy to reduce its reliance on oil revenue.

 

Israel likely to disrupt normalization of Saudi-Iranian relationship

I am inclined to share an editorial of The Jerusalem Post titled “How Israel should approach Saudi-Iranian normalization?” Each line and word has to be read very carefully because with the normalization of Saudi-Iranian relationship both the United States and Israel will lose control on the Middle East as well as crude oil trade. On top of all rejection of decades old mantra, “Iran is a bigger threat for Saudi Arabia as compared to Israel” could cause a deep dent to the armament business of the US Military Complexes.

Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to end their diplomatic rift and reopen their missions last month in a deal brokered by China. How will the rapprochement between Tehran and Riyadh affect Jerusalem, and how should Israel respond to what appears to be a game-changer in the Middle East?

On the one hand, Saudi Arabia’s decision to move closer to Iran rather than Israel is of real concern. The Biden Administration has been pushing for normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel for some time, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated clearly in his inaugural speech three months ago that his main foreign policy objective is to broaden the 2020 Abraham Accords and reach an agreement with Riyadh, while halting Iran’s nuclear program – which both Israel and Saudi Arabia strongly oppose.

According to Yadlin, Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shi’ite Iran will remain enemies on religious, ideological and strategic levels, and it is not at all clear that they will be able to bridge the hostility between them within two months, as their agreement stipulates.

It is doubtful whether Iran will be able to fulfill its commitment and force the Houthis, who are acting relatively independently, to completely cease attacks against Saudi Arabia from Yemeni territory.

As the Post’s Seth Frantzman pointed out, the reason why the Saudi-Iranian deal was initially portrayed as a setback for Israel is that just days before it was announced, there had been reports in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times that Saudi Arabia had presented conditions for normalizing ties with Israel – including security guarantees from the US.

Frantzman argued that although the Saudi-Iranian deal might pave the way for relations between Riyadh and Syria, which would worry Israel, it could also lead to Iran scaling down its nuclear program, which would be a welcome development.

“Saudi Arabia will not want to sign a deal and then suddenly have Iran develop a bomb that threatens the region,” he wrote. “Clearly, regional stability means not having a nuclear-armed Iran or a nuclear arms race.”

Jerusalem and Riyadh have maintained clandestine contacts over establishing relations and Netanyahu said after meeting with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in January that they had discussed “the next steps to deepen the Abraham Accords and widen the circle of peace, with an emphasis on a breakthrough with Saudi Arabia.”

No Israeli officials have gone on record about the resumption of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, or the fact that it was a diplomatic victory for China in a region in which the US has historically played the dominant role.

The hope in Jerusalem is that, as in the case of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia’s detente with Iran will not prevent it from forging relations with Israel in the near future. Perhaps it will even expedite the process.

Regardless, now is not the time for Israel to take a wait-and-see approach, but rather to engage with both the US and – through appropriate channels – Saudi Arabia and explore how the window of opportunity for normalization can be maintained and eventually seized.