BRICS Business

File photo of US President Donald Trump with Chinese President Xi Jinping. It is unclear how the tariffs will affect their warm relationship
China on Saturday continued its second day of harsh criticism of the Trump administration for imposing tariffs set to go into effect on July 6.
A Chinese state newspaper said the US President had an “obsession with playing the disgraceful role of global economic disruptor.”
“The wise man builds bridges, the fool builds walls,” it said.

Emerging market currencies have been rattled by the prospects of a trade war between the US and major advanced economies
Despite assurances from Brazilian President Michel Temer that the currency real was not in crisis devaluation, it slipped further on Friday as one of the worst performers among emerging markets.
In three days it has fallen by 2.4 per cent against the dollar, marking its worst decline in two years.
Since the beginning of 2018, it has fallen by more than 17 per cent. In contrast, it fell only 1.99 per cent in all of 2017.

Much of the Belt and Road imports come from countries like Russia, India and the rest of Central Asia [PPIO]
China has increased its imports from Belt and Road countries to $666 billion, up by 20 per cent from the previous year, the State Information Center said on Monday.
Exports to the same countries grew by only 8.5 per cent to reach just over $774 billion, the Center said.
The bulk of growth was to be found in imports from Central Asia, India and Russia. This region accounts for some 70 per cent of China’s Belt and Road trade.

Beijing has strongly criticized the Trump administration for pushing tariffs on billions of dollars of imported goods from China but said it would fight to the end to protect its interests
The world’s top two economies will be locked in trade discussions over the next two days after both sides issued warnings about an escalation of trade hostilities.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is no longer being depicted by the White House as the insane leader of a rogue state. Here, he is addressing the central committee of the ruling Workers’ Party in Pyongyang [North Korean Central News Agency]
All eyes are on the Korean Peninsula this week as the leaders of the North and South prepare for a historic summit which comes after years of tensions and war rhetoric.
The summit is the third such meeting of Korean heads of state in the past 65 years.

Since President Michel Temer took power, Brazil has slowly climbed its way out of recession. However, he will not stand for election in October 2018 [PPIO]
Brazilian markets are cheering the International Monetary Fund’s revised growth forecast for their country.
In its April publication of the World Economic Outlook, the IMF said that it had revised its growth projects for Brazil among a slew of other emerging economies.

Putin and Xi Jinping have cemented not only trade ties but found common ground on political issues as well [PPIO]
Trade between BRICS allies China and Russia has increased about 30 per cent in the first quarter of 2018, Chinese officials said.
The uptick in exchange between the two economic giants will take their trade to $100 billion in 2018, Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng told reporters on Thursday.
Gao said that this year’s trade volume would surpass last year’s which was $84 billion – a 21 per cent rise over 2016.

China will account for more than one-third of the world’s use of renewable energy by 2040 [By Kenueone [CC0 or CC0], via Wikimedia Commons]
With the US opting out of the Paris Accords on Climate Change, many have turned their focus to China to spearhead efforts to curb green house emissions and move from fossil fuel to renewable energy.
The potential for growth in the latter in China is usge says a British Petroleum Energy Outlook report for 2018.

China has enacted 36 sets of conditions for its companies to invest abroad in a bid to curb bad investments and cut debt [PPIO]
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday that foreign direct investment (FDI) in China has been steadily growing in Q1 of 2018.
Total FDI during this period grew by 0.5 per cent to 227.54 billion yuan, or $36 billion, with a focus on technology industries.
Year on year, the increase has been 0.4 per cent.

Early morning on the Zambezi River, a popular tourist destination [Preuss]
The Zambia Tourism Agency (ZTA) is hosting more than 60 international buyers and media this week ahead of the Zambia Travel Expo (ZATEX) from April 12 to 14 in Lusaka.
There are three familiarisation tours which feature a trip to a game reserve, but the one common feature is that all three tours include a visit to Livingstone, the Zambian city closest to the Victoria Falls.