BRICS News

Can’t we just get along? File photo of US President Donald Trump with Chinese President Xi Jinping. It is unclear how the tariffs will affect their warm relationship
 
A number of G7 and World Trade Organization members have taken retaliatory measures and/or filed complaints against recent US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
On Tuesday, Russia became the seventh WTO member – after fellow BRICS members China and India, and others – to file a request for “dispute consultations” with the US over the latter’s new tariff policy.

Shanghai has become a major commercial and trade hub for the One Belt, One Road initiative [Photo by Jason Mrachina, Creative Commons]
More than 200 companies representing 40 countries are participating in the Belt and Road Brand Expo which was inaugurated in Shanghai on Friday.

While Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have met numerous times, both their countries have boosted cultural exchange and trade in recent years [PPIO]
The opening of a new freight train route between China and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a continuing sign of efforts by both regions to deepen their communication and transportation ties, officials have said.

African nations are strong emerging markets and new technologies in finance and banking can help keep that dynamo going, experts in Kigali, Rwanda said today
World economic experts speaking at the 25th session of the African Regional Conference for the Society for the Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) in Kigali, Rwanda have called on the continent’s nations to immerse themselves in the latest finance-driven technologies.

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.

With only a few hours till the beginning of the sporting world’s most important event – the FIFA World Cup 2018 – in Russia, millions of people around the globe are preparing for what promises to be an exciting edition of the football extravaganza.
Running June 14 to July 15, this year sees the return of Panama, Tunisia, Senegal and Egypt who have been absent for many years. Egypt, for example, returns after 28 years, making an appearance in Italy in 1990.

Trump agreed with Kim that there were road bumps on the path to the summit, but that these were overcome
China, which has played a key role in bridging the gap between Pyongyang and Washington and has been praised by the White House for its efforts, on Tuesday praised the achievements of the Singapore summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The two leaders met at 9am Tuesday in what many described as a historic summit effectively ending a 63-year state of war between North Korea and the US.

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.

Putin and Xi Jinping have cemented not only trade ties but found common ground on political issues as well [PPIO]
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday awarded one of the highest state honors to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Golden Hall of the Great Hall of the People in the capital Beijing.

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
US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has been downplaying the possibility of a global trade war with allies even as he heads to China Friday to meet with officials there to avert a similar economic standoff.
For the past three months the two economic giants have threatened each other with more than $200 billion worth of goods and products that would fall under new punitive tariffs.