Kenyan president hails new China-built railway

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta described the trip he took on the Standard Gauge Railway line built with China's help in his country as a ''wonderful experience''.

The president made the remark when traveling from the port city of Mombasa to capital Nairobi after the new railway's opening this week.

Kenyatta believes the line will transform his country and create huge savings for his people.

Brazilian President Temer faces difficulty forcing through reforms

Brazilian President Michel Temer took office last year with a promise to implement tough reforms to lift the country out of recession. His plans revolved around unpopular changes to the pensions system. 

With the president now mired in a scandal, it remains to be seen if he will have enough political capital to spend in achieving those reforms.

An alleged tape recording placed the Brazilian president into the massive "Car Wash" corruption probe, which has resulted in calls for his resignation or impeachment – as well as single-digit approval ratings.

Chinese counties to pilot agricultural disaster insurance to improve risk management

A total of 200 major grain-producing counties in China will pilot agricultural disaster insurance this year and next year to improve their ability to counter natural disasters, according to the Ministry of Finance.

The 200 pilot counties, which mainly plant rice, wheat, and corn, are located in 13 major grain-producing provinces in China, including the top three producing provinces, Heilongjiang, Henan and Shandong.

Agricultural disaster insurance would improve farmers' ability to counter natural disasters. /VCG Photo

The pilot projects will focus on improving insurance coverage and compensation standards for farmers with relatively large grain cultivation operations.

The finance ministry encouraged local governments to explore customized insurance services and share experience.

The disaster insurance system is designed to ease financial burdens for the government as post-disaster reconstruction is mostly financed by the state.

Chinese-built Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway: A new chapter for Kenya

‍Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta inaugurated a Chinese-constructed railway, the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), in Mombasa on Wednesday, which is also the country’s largest infrastructure project since independence.

Kenyatta said the railway marks a new chapter in the history of Kenya.

The first passenger train of the 480km SGR Wednesday left Mombasa, the largest port in East Africa, at 11:10 a.m. local time for Kenya's capital, Nairobi, with the country’s president on board.

A train carries out a test run on Kenya's Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) on May 24, 2017. /Xinhua Photo

"Today, we celebrate the laying of one of the key cornerstones to Kenya's journey of transformation to an industrial, prosperous and middle-income country," Kenyatta said ahead of embarking on the inaugural trip, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The line has been developed for passengers and cargo transportation between Nairobi and Mombasa. It will shorten passengers' journey time from 10 hours to just four and a half, and decrease the time to transport cargo between the two cities from two days to eight hours.

The line will shorten passengers' journey time from 10 hours to just four and a half. /AFP Photo

The project cost 3.8 billion US dollars and 90 percent of the funding was from China. The construction of the SGR was initiated in December 2014 by the China Road and Bridge Corporation. According to the contract, the company will provide services including scheduling, maintenance, and personnel training for the next ten years.

It was made possible because of the close Sino-Kenya friendship, said Kenyatta.

"I want to thank our partner and true friend, China, for the support that has enabled the construction and completion of the project after only two and a half years," he said.

 The Mtito Andei station on Kenya's Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway /Xinhua Photo‍

Chinese state councilor Wang Yong, who attended the launching ceremony as the special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping, described this line as early fruit that came out of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in late 2015.

"The Mombasa-Nairobi SGR is an exemplary project of China-Africa cooperation on the construction of roads, railways, aviation networks and industrialization," Wang said.

The railway will bear great significance in promoting the development in Kenya and the region, speeding up Africa's industrialization process, and expanding the reach of the Belt and Road to more African countries, Wang added. 

The Emali station on Kenya's Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway /Xinhua Photo

"China stands ready to work with Kenya to make the Mombasa-Nairobi railway a railway of prosperity and development for Kenya, and a new example of the transformation and upgrade of China-Africa cooperation," said Wang.

The completion of the SGR is considered a win-win achievement of China-Africa cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.

People throw confetti at the port city of Mombasa on May 30, 2017 after Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta inaugurated a cargo train before its first journey to Nairobi. /AFP Photo

The launch came one day after the Kenyan leader launched the first SGR cargo service between the two cities. Passenger train trial operations will start on Thursday, while those of cargo trains will begin on August 1.

© 2017 AutoNavi - GS(2015)2681号

US commerce chief hopes to finish NAFTA talks by early January

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has said the best window to complete the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is by early January, well before Mexico's general elections and US congressional elections in 2018.

Speaking at an event held at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington think tank, Ross also said that the Commerce Department would impose anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on Mexican sugar and Canadian softwood lumber if negotiated settlements in those trade disputes could not be reached. The deadline for a Mexican sugar deal is June 5.

Ross said he hopes that the sugar and lumber issues can be resolved before negotiations with Canada and Mexico to modernize NAFTA can be resolved. US sugar producers have sought the duties against Mexican competitors, arguing that Mexican government subsidies for the industry are unfair.

Workers load a truck with sugarcane in a field in Mexico on May 18, 2017. /VCG Photo

US lumber producers argue that Canadian competitors are also unfairly subsidized because their timber comes from government-owned land.

NAFTA negotiations cannot formally start until around August 16, when a consultation period with US lawmakers, industry and the public ends.

Ross said that he was hoping to start the talks sooner, but added that completing negotiations by January was important because Mexican elections could interfere with legislative approval of the agreement.

"Their elections are mid-year. The closer you get to it the more complicated it would becomes, particularly in terms of getting Mexican congressional approval," Ross said.

He also noted that the current "fast-track" negotiating authority in the US Congress needs to be reconfirmed in July 2018, while the US congressional mid-term elections in November 2018 will be looming large by then as well.

"Those will undoubtedly have some impact on congressional views," Ross said.

(Source: Reuters)

© 2017 AutoNavi - GS(2015)2681号

St. Petersburg International Economic Forum sees participation up 15%

Representatives from more than 500 foreign companies and the heads of major international organizations, such as the UN and the IMF, are attending the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Thirty-nine ministers from 26 countries have also confirmed their participation.

The forum provides for more than 100 business events under the theme of "Achieving a New Balance on Global Stage".

Russian officials say the forum, which includes more than 12,000 participants from around the world, gives Russia the opportunity to shine on a global stage.

The forum provides for more than 100 business events. /CGTN Photo

A large number of US businesses are also attending the forum. The Obama administration discouraged US companies from participating last year, but the situation has become quite different under Donald Trump's helm.

There are also business dialogues involving Russia and France, Japan, and countries in Latin America and Africa.

Panel discussions on improving economic cooperation among BRICS countries, including China, will also be held to determine the challenges that regional economic integration faces.

Representatives talk about "Increasing production efficiency with artificial intelligence". /CGTN Photo

According to the forum’s chief organizer, this year’s forum will focus on the current status of the international economic system and the prospects for its sustainable development. All 108 business events at the forum will search for the best paths to solve pressing problems and make use of emerging opportunities.

© 2017 AutoNavi - GS(2015)2681号

Recession shuts down half of the businesses in Greece

Greece's ongoing financial crisis has severely damaged small businesses in the country. The country's Chamber of Commerce and Industry said more than 100 stores have been shut down since 2008, while over one million people have lost their jobs.

High taxes and low wages limit people’s spending that they can hardly make ends meet.

“Greeks don't have money to go shopping. The stores cannot survive when people don't have money to spend,” an Athens resident said.

People protests government’s austerity measures on December 8, 2016 in Athens, Greece. It’s part of a nationwide 24-hour general strike in Greece. /CFP Photo

Today, there are 50 percent less businesses opening each year compared to 2008, with no new industries or manufacturing endeavors and no technology businesses. The new businesses opening are the typical entertainment and food facilities such as coffee shops, restaurants, snack stands.

One out of four Greek businesses fear that they will have to close down in 2017. At the same time, Greece's high unemployment rate is showing no sign of improvement amid a fresh escalation over its bailout conditions.

A shop by the street is damaged during a protest staged by anarchists against new agreement between Greece and the international creditors on February 26, 2015 in Athens, Greece. Constant strikes and riots are adding to the suffering if Greek economy. /CFP Photo

The duration and depth of the recession is such that the World Bank now compares it to the slumps seen in eastern European countries in the early 1990's. The poorest 20 percent of Greece’s 11 million people have suffered a 42 percent drop in disposable income since 2009.

Now, Greece is hoping for a deal during a June 15 Eurozone finance ministers' meeting in Luxembourg. The country’s finance minister insisted on Monday that the country had met all its reform commitments, and said it was now up to international creditors to agree on how to make Greece's debt sustainable and help the nation emerge from its financial crisis. 

© 2017 AutoNavi - GS(2015)2681号