CHINA IS BUILDING FLOATING NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS

With 70 percent of our global real estate consisting of oceans and other bodies of water, one country with plenty of experience dealing with overcrowding is taking to the seas to build new power plants. According to new reports, China is working on floating nuclear power plants that will power its manmade chain of islands. China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation has been tasked with building a fleet of these structures in order to power the various radar systems, lighthouses, airfields, and other structures that currently reside upon the new islands in the South China Sea. And predictably, it’s no small undertaking.

#China plans to build 20 floating #nuclear power stations to boost maritime construction https://t.co/htQilcXeJV pic.twitter.com/YZ7fO5oX5g

— People's Daily,China (@PDChina) April 21, 2016

Liu Zhengguo, an executive at the Corporation, has been quoted as saying that “demand is pretty strong” for the nuclear stations, and Chinese media reported that the government has plans to build up to 20 of these mobile plants. While the concept of floating nuclear power stations isn’t particularly new (Russia recently began building them for use in the Arctic), China’s move marks the latest in its ambitious five-year plan. As the New York Times reports, the nation currently boasts building more nuclear power stations than any other country.

“Nuclear reactors afloat would give the Chinese military sustainable energy sources to conduct their full panoply of operations, from air early warning and defenses and offensive fire control systems to anti-submarine operations and more,” Patrick Cronin, senior director of the Asia-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, told the Chicago Tribune. And more concerning, perhaps, are the potential safety risks associated with such a large undertaking. “China has already done enough damage to the maritime environment by hastily building artificial islands and destroying irreplaceable coral reefs,” Cronin continued. “We do not need a nuclear accident in these importing fishing grounds and sea lanes.”

China 'has deployed missiles in South China Sea' - reports

Previous satellite images of Woody Island show extensive building work including a runway

China appears to have deployed surface-to-air missiles on a disputed island in the South China Sea, say reports.

Civilian satellite images, taken on 14 February and published by Fox News, appear to show two batteries of eight missile launchers and a radar system on Woody Island in the Paracels.

Taiwan, which along with Vietnam claims the island, confirmed the deployment.

The deployment of missiles would significantly increase tensions in the acrimonious South China Sea dispute.

China has been carrying out extensive land reclamation work in the South China Sea, which it says is legal and for civilian purposes.

But the work has angered other countries which also claim the territory, and there is growing concern about the militarisation of the region.

Reuters quoted a US official confirming the "apparent deployment".

The latest images were captured by ImageSat International.

They show a close-up of a section of beach which resembles the coastline on the north of Woody Island, and point out two missiles batteries. Each battery is made up of four launchers and two control vehicles.

Two of the the launchers appear to have been erected, says the report.

Images have also shown extensive reclamation work on islands, including Fiery Cross Reef

An image taken of the site on 3 February shows the beach empty.

Fox News quoted a US defence official as saying the missiles appeared to be the HQ-9 air defence system, with a range of about 200km (125 miles).

Taiwan's defence ministry told the BBC the missiles would be capable of targeting civilian and military aircraft, and that it would watch developments closely.

The news comes as South East Asian regional leaders end a two-day meeting in Washington DC where South China Sea had been a topic of debate.

US President Barack Obama said the members had discussed the need for "tangible steps" to reduce tensions, including "a halt to further reclamation, new construction and militarization of disputed areas".

A Pentagon spokesman said the US could not comment on intelligence matters but watched such issues "very closely".

"The United States continues to call on all claimants to halt land reclamation, construction, and militarization of features in the South China Sea," he said in a statement to the BBC.

Source: BBC

Asia shares mostly firm, China sets yuan higher

Asian shares bounced to snap a five-session losing streak on Monday as a strong fix for China's yuan eased devaluation concerns and Shanghai stocks returned from the Lunar New Year holidays with only modest losses.

The Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC eased 2.2 percent in its first session since Feb. 5, a relatively benign move given the wild swings seen worldwide recently.

More troubling were the January readings on Chinese trade which showed exports fell 6.6 percent in yuan terms from a year earlier, while imports dived 14.4 percent.

Still, rallies in European bank stocks and on Wall Street on Friday helped soothe jitters enough for MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS to rise 1.2 percent. That follows a loss of almost 4 percent last week.

E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 added 0.7 percent, while the cash market is closed on Monday for a holiday.

Japan's Nikkei .N225 jumped 4.7 percent to retrace some of last week's 11 percent drop, the largest such fall since 2008, though sentiment remained fragile.

"Although we consider the violent risk-off move of recent weeks largely unwarranted by economic fundamentals, the sheer magnitude of the sell-off has raised the risk that market volatility could feed back into the real economy," said Ajay Rajadhyaksha, an economist at Barclays.

"Central banks have very limited ability to ride to the rescue of risk assets."

Barclays pointed to three sources of volatility that had potential negative feedback loops: lower oil prices, capital outflows and macroeconomic weakness in China, and pressure on European banks.

"Of these, we consider China the biggest medium-term risk, but the least immediate issue," wrote Rajadhyaksha.

Indeed, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) took the opportunity of the U.S. dollar's recent decline to fix its yuan at its highest in over a month on Monday CNY=SAEC, hoping to deflect speculation about a possible devaluation.

In an interview over the weekend, PBoC Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said there was no basis for the yuan to keep falling, and China would keep it stable versus a basket of currencies while allowing greater volatility against the U.S. dollar.

Figures out over the weekend suggested there was still life in the Chinese consumer with retail sales growing 11.2 percent during the week-long Lunar New Year vacation compared with the same holiday period last year.

Retail figures from the United States out on Friday had also been relatively upbeat and helped calm market jitters a little.

The Dow .DJI ended Friday with a gain of 2 percent, while the S&P 500 .SPX added 1.95 percent and the Nasdaq .IXIC 1.66 percent. The rally snapped a five-day losing streak, but all three indices were still down on the week.

Global oil prices had also surged as much as 12 percent on Friday after a report once again suggested OPEC might finally agree to cut production to reduce the world glut. [O/R]

Early Monday, U.S. crude CLc1 had eased 35 cents to $29.09 a barrel, while Brent crude LCOc1 dipped 45 cents to $32.91.

Oil was aided in part by weakness in the U.S. dollar as a steep drop in Treasury yields undermined the currency's interest rate differentials.

Against a basket of currencies .DXY, the dollar was up a shade at 96.120 having been at its lowest in almost four months. Likewise, it edged up to 113.68 yen JPY=, having touched a 15-month trough just under 111.00 last week.

The euro was last at $1.1219 EUR=, having slipped from a 3-1/2 month peak of $1.1377.

Gold eased off XAU= to $1,222.80 an ounce, after enjoying its best week in four years.

Source: Reuters

China Shandong: Miners rescued after 36 days

Four Chinese miners who had been trapped underground for 36 days have been rescued, Chinese state media say.

The men were trapped by a cave-in at a gypsum mine in eastern Shandong province on 25 December.

China's CCTV showed dramatic footage of one of the men appearing on the surface and then being taken to hospital.

In all, 29 people were initially trapped by the collapse: 15 have now been rescued and one confirmed dead, while 13 are still missing.

Owner's suicide

The four miners - who were detected more than 200 metres (656ft) below the ground - were led to safety late on Friday; their eyes were covered by masks as they appeared on the surface, reports say.

Local media say the men are being examined in a local hospital.

More than 400 rescue and emergency workers were in the operation.

For several weeks, they were tunnelling down to the surviving men, and water and liquids were passed down through a narrow borehole.

On Friday, the miners were winched up - one-by-one - in a specially made capsule

Footage from inside the mine earlier showed the four men sitting together. One of them was heard saying: "I feel relieved and secure now. We will remember you (rescuers) forever," CCTV reports.

Local official Zhang Shuping hailed the operation.

"What a relief," he said, adding that the rescued miners were in a stable condition.

Mr Zhang said the search for the miners still missing would continue and rescuers would use light detection equipment to try to locate them.

The mine collapse near the town of Pingyi in December was so violent that it registered at China's earthquake monitoring centre.

Source:BBC

Global stocks rise as slower China growth boosts stimulus hopes

Global equity markets on Tuesday snapped back from a rout at the start of the year after data showing weak economic growth in China prompted speculation Beijing would boost stimulus efforts, but a renewed drop in U.S. oil prices raised a cautionary flag.

Stock markets from Asia to Europe and on Wall Street jumped on Chinese gross domestic product data that showed the slowest growth last year in a quarter century.

Shares in Europe rose more than 1 percent, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS gained 1.6 percent.

The elation expressed in equity markets struck Simon Smith, chief economist at online brokerage FxPro, as odd, as the weak GDP data are strange reasons to cheer China. Stimulus can only mean more interest rate cuts or reduced reserve requirements, which would weaken the Chinese currency further.

"Most of the time developed markets have been happy to ignore and be totally uncorrelated to the China markets," he said.

The Dow and S&P 500 posted modest gains, while the Nasdaq traded near break-even with U.S. crude prices sliding under $29 a barrel. The International Energy Agency, which advises developed countries on energy policy, said the market should remain oversupplied this year and weaker prices could lie ahead.

The possibility that oil may tumble further has reminded investors of the financial crisis in 2008 when many financial stocks cratered and their prices never recovered to former levels, Rick Meckler, president of hedge fund LibertyView Capital Management LLC in Jersey City, New Jersey.

"I wouldn't be surprised if the markets end up today," said Meckler, who added that people are afraid that oil may collapse.

"You're just having this testing of what the bottom on energy is and no one knows the impact of a complete collapse the energy industry would have on U.S. equity prices," he said.

MSCI's all-country world stock index .MIWD00000PUS rose 0.8 percent, while the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 rose to close 1.37 percent higher at 1,310.95.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI is rose 59.44 points, or 0.37 percent, to 16,047.52. The S&P 500 .SPX gained 4.69 points, or 0.25 percent, to 1,885.02 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 0.59 points, or 0.01 percent, to 4,489.01.

Global benchmark Brent crude futures rose, while the U.S. futures contract slid, though the price of both remained within 30 cents of each other. The U.S. contract did not settle on Monday, a public holiday in the U.S. market.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 traded up 2.8 percent at $29.34 a barrel. U.S. crude futures CLc1 fell 1 percent at $29.14. Earlier they had touched an intra-day high of $30.21.

Investor risk appetite improved on the expectation of further stimulus in China and rising Brent crude prices. Chinese oil demand likely hit a record in 2015, helping bolster the global oil benchmark.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major trading currencies, slid 0.02 percent .DXY. The dollar added 0.10 percent against the Japanese currency JPY=, moving to 117.43 yen.

Against the euro EUR=, the dollar slipped 0.32 percent to $1.0925.

The benchmark U.S. Treasury note US10YT=RR fell slightly to lift its yield to 2.0347 percent.

Top-rated German bond yields rose as investors favored riskier assets. The price of 10-year German bonds DE10YT=TWEB, viewed as a safe-haven in times of market turmoil, fell and its yield rose 1.5 basis points to 0.485 percent, off the day's high just above 0.50 percent.

U.S. gold for February delivery GCcv1 fell 0.14 percent to $1,089.20 an ounce.

Source:Rueters

China 'expels' French journalist over Uighur article

China has effectively expelled a French journalist over an article she wrote that was critical of Beijing's policy towards Muslim Uighers in Xinjiang.

Beijing confirmed it would not renew press credentials for Ursula Gauthier, of the French news magazine L'Obs.

It said an article she wrote about the unrest in Xinjiang supported "terrorism and cruel acts" that killed people.

Ms Gauthier called the claims "absurd" and said Beijing was trying to "deter" foreign reporters in the country.

If her press card is not renewed, Ms Gauthier cannot apply for a new visa, and will have to leave China by 31 December.

She would be the first foreign journalist to be expelled since Al Jazeera correspondent Melissa Chan in 2012.

China blames the long-running unrest in western autonomous Xinjiang region on Islamist separatists, many of whom it says have foreign ties.

But Xinjiang's ethnic Uighurs, most of whom are Muslim, say Beijing's repression of their religious and cultural customs is provoking the violence.

China has been cracking down on what it calls "terrorists" with foreign links in Xinjiang

Ms Gauthier published her article after the attacks in Paris in November, suggesting China's solidarity with France might have an ulterior motive, to justify its own crackdowns in Xinjiang.

The article triggered condemnation from the Chinese government and state media who demanded an apology and retraction from her.

China's foreign ministry on Saturday confirmed it would not renew Ms Gauthier's press card, saying she had failed to make a "serious apology" to the Chinese people and was no longer "suitable" to continue working in the country.

"China will never support the freedom to champion terrorism," it said.

The foreign ministry complained of a double standard whereby tough action in the West is called anti-terrorism but in China is described as the repression of ethnic minorities.

But Ms Gauthier called the accusations "absurd" and said she was being asked to apologise "for things that I have not written".

She told the Associated Press she feared the move was "only meant to deter foreign correspondents in the future in Beijing".

Uighurs and Xinjiang

• Uighurs are ethnically Turkic Muslims
• They make up about 45% of the region's population; 40% are Han Chinese
• China re-established control in 1949 after crushing short-lived state of East Turkestan
• Since then, there has been large-scale immigration of Han Chinese
• Uighurs fear erosion of traditional culture

Source: BBC

China accuses US of B-52 'provocation' over Spratly Islands

An aerial image allegedly shows Chinese dredging around the Spratly Islands

China has accused the US of "serious provocation" after it flew B-52 bombers near one of the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.

Chinese military personnel were put on "high alert" during the incident on 10 December, and issued warnings to leave.

The Pentagon said it was looking into the complaint.

China claims large swathes of the South China Sea but is in territorial dispute with a host of regional neighbours.

In October, China rebuked the US after a destroyer sailed close to a reef.

On Saturday, a statement from China's defence ministry accused the US of deliberately raising tensions in the area with the B-52 over-flight of the disputed Spratly Islands, which it calls Nansha.

A report in the Wall St Journal said there were two B-52s on the mission and that one unintentionally flew within two nautical miles of Cuarteron Reef on the Spratly Islands, possibly due to bad weather.

China said the flights "constitute a serious military provocation and are rendering more complex and even militarising conditions in the South China Sea".

It urged the US to take measures to prevent similar incidents.

The US has not taken sides on sovereignty issues in the area but has a "freedom of navigation" policy asserting right of passage for its military.

However, Pentagon spokesman Cmdr Bill Urban said the B-52 over-flight was not part of this policy, which analysts say might suggest a navigation error.