China’s commodity demand picks up in November - December 8, 2017

Media Report

December 08 , 2017

Financial Times：China's commodity demand picks up in November
Financial Times reports: "China's demand for commodities picked up in November with the world's largest consumer of raw materials boosting imports of copper, crude oil, soyabeans and steel-making ingredient iron ore. Shipments of copper hit 470,000 tonnes, up 42 per cent from October, while imports of crude oil hit 9.04m barrels per day – their second highest recorded level – and 94.54m tonnes of iron ore arrived in the country, up from 79.5m the previous month. Soyabeans imports were 8.68m tonnes versus 5.86m in October. The stronger-than-expected import data should help provide a prop to commodity prices, which have been rattled hard by concerns about slowing economic growth in China, said traders. Copper in particular has been hit hard, falling 6 per cent over the past 10 days to $6,500 a tonne. 'The rise [in imports] backs up our view that a tightening copper-concentrate market is pushing many buyers into the refined market to satisfy its copper units,' said analysts at ANZ, adding that China's oil imports should also allay concerns about weak demand. Iron ore prices recently rose 3 per cent to $68.4 a tonne. China's commodity buying typically picks up in November after weakening in October due to a week-long public holiday. The slowdown was particularly pronounced this year because of the Communist party congress."
Quartz：The reasons why China will equal—or surpass—the US in artificial intelligence
Quartz reports: "The United States has long led the world in technology. But there's strong reason to believe that as artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly widespread, stateside engineers will quickly have to contend with another global powerhouse—China. A report jointly published by New York-based research consultancy Eurasia Group and Beijing-based VC firm Sinovation Ventures on Dec. 6 outlines how China has been making rapid advances in AI over the past few years. At present, write Paul Triolo of Eurasia Group and Kai-Fu Lee of Sinovation ventures, China lags behind the US when it comes to engineering talent, as well as in the hardware required to build effective "autonomous AI"—robots, self-driving cars, and other physical machines. But in effect, the 'US-China AI duopoly is not only inevitable. It has already arrived.' And China's AI prowess will soon match that of the US, perhaps even surpassing it, says the report. One major advantage China enjoys over the US, for example, is access to a massive pool of data."
The Economist：China gets a new system to curb corruption—and ideological lapses
The Economist comments: "Three hours into his marathon speech to the Communist Party congress in October, as delegates glanced surreptitiously at their watches, Xi Jinping, China's president, sprang a surprise. "The practice of shuanggui," he suddenly announced, "will be replaced by detention." Shuanggui is a system in which party members accused of corruption are locked up in secret jails, beyond the reach of the judiciary and isolated from family or lawyers. In 2016 Human Rights Watch, an NGO, documented cases of beatings, sleep deprivation, stress positions and other forms of torture in shuanggui jails. That makes it sound as if Mr Xi's unexpected moveis a step forward for human rights. It may not be. The abolition of shuanggui is the most visible part of a sweeping reform that in effect sets up an entirely new branch of government. Called the National Supervision Commission, it is designed to streamline administration, improve the implementation of policy and eliminate protectionist rules in the cities and provinces. A draft law governing the commission appeared in November; three provinces, Beijing, Zhejiang and Shanxi, have been giving it a trial run as it undergoes a public review. It is proving highly controversial, but is likely to get the go-ahead nationwide in March."

Calendar

2017-12-07 China criticizes India over drone crash inside border
2017-12-06 No. 3 Person of the Year 2017: Xi Jinping
2017-12-05 U.S. trade gap soars as imports from China hit record high
2017-12-04 Apple CEO backs China’s vision of an ‘open’ Internet as censorship reaches new heights
2017-12-03 China's Xi says country will not close door to global internet
2017-12-01 China sends its top actors and directors back to socialism school
2017-11-30 Obama Told Xi He Wants to Help Preserve Ties, State Media Says
2017-11-29 China has 'grave concerns' about North Korea's latest missile test
2017-11-28 How the U.S. and China Differ on North Korea
2017-11-27 What you need to know about Beijing’s crackdown on its “low-end population”

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