Toyota will now cut production in China by 70%, the cut back will last until June 5.
A few days ago they originally planned for 50% cuts, until June 3. The problem is lack of parts from disaster stricken Japan.
Tag Archives: China
Former U.S. official supports my earlier posts, saying Libya is about oil & China
In an earlier posting I warned that the Libyan situation could lead to World War 3. It’s all about not letting China have Libya’s oil.
Former U.S. Treasury official, Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, admitted to Iranian media, that the so called rebellion in Libya was about oil, and not letting China have it: “In my opinion, what this is about is to eliminate China from the Mediterranean. China has extensive energy investments and construction investments in Libya.”
Roberts says the real reason the United States wants Gaddafi out, is because he refused to join the U.S. created United States African Command, which was created to counter China’s influence in the region: “The U.S. is countering this by organizing the United States African Command (USAC), which Qaddafi refused to join. So that’s the second reason for the Americans to want Qaddafi out.”
Roberts says if NATO succeeds in Libya, Syria and then Iran will be next: “If NATO, which is now the cover for the ‘world community,’ succeeds in overthrowing Qaddafi, the next target will be Syria. Iran is a major target because it is an independent state that is not a puppet of the Western colonialists.”
Roberts warned that this could lead to World War 3. He compared what the U.S. and U.K. did to Japan before World War 2: “In my opinion, what is going on is comparable to what the U.S. and Britain did to Japan in the 1930s. When they cut Japan off from oil, from rubber, from minerals; that was the origin of World War II in the pacific. And now the Americans and the British are doing the same thing to China.”
There is much more to the interview by Press TV
Iran and Pakistan speed up pipeline development, Germany onboard
The Iran-Pak (or Pak-Iran) Gas pipeline just got a boost from Germany. A German company signed a deal to lay the new pipeline between Pakistan and Iran.
The German company might be ILF Consulting Engineers, who were hired to do a feasibility study earlier in the month of April.
The pipeline will begin from Iran’s Assalouyeh Energy Zone in the south, run through Pakistan, and could end up in China, depending on future deals with China. Originally the pipeline was to run to India, but there were issues with the Indian government.
Toyota cutting production in China
Toyota announced that they will reduce production in China, to 50%. Parts supply problems are blamed. The reduced production will last until June 3.
Deadly Chinese Hail Storm
18 people were killed, and 155 injured after a major hail and wind storm hit southern China.
Most people were killed when 45 houses collapsed. The storm struck on April 17.
Many farms were destroyed, creating tens of millions of U.S. dollars in damage. It now adds to the growing concern over world food supply.
Obama increasing College funding…in China!!!
So you voted for Barack Obama because you’re hoping to go to college, but can’t afford the skyrocketing costs. You thought Obama was going to help you pay for college? You’re right, if your going to college in China!
Last week Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, announced that the U.S. State Department will spend U.S.$3 million on scholarships for study in China. On top of that First Lady Michelle Obama announced that they have convinced U.S. corporations to help fund U.S.$3.25 million for the “100,000 Strong Initiative”. Those corporations include Caterpillar, Citigroup and Coca-Cola.
The program is in addition to the usual Fulbright scholarship program.
So now even college students are being shipped off to China! I guess it makes sense, you know, follow the jobs.
New Chinese Water Torture, dumping U.S. bonds a little at a time
For the fourth month in a row, China is selling off its U.S. Treasury bonds (U.S. Sovereign debt). China is the biggest holder of U.S. bonds, but since February, they’ve been getting rid of them, a little at a time.
So far the Chinese have sold U.S.$600 million in U.S. bonds, that’s according to the U.S. Treasury.
Japan has the second biggest holdings of U.S. Treasuries, but there is concern that Japan will sell them off, to help pay for rebuilding after the March 11 disasters.
Former U.S. official says don’t blame China for U.S. economic problems, yet
“If we didn’t import from China, we’d import from somewhere else.”-Henry Paulson, former U.S. Treasury Secretary
Henry Paulson is saying that if U.S. corporations didn’t have China to ship jobs to, they’d ship off U.S. jobs somewhere else. He, and others, believe that by shipping off U.S. jobs to other countries, it helps to keep inflation down.
Of course it does, because that means less people working which brings down consumer spending which helps keep inflation down. Inflation traditionally goes up when the economy is good and people spend more money, which is what is happening in China right now.
There is worry that the fast growing inflation in China could spread to the rest of the world. For those countries whose economies are in trouble it’s not a good thing: “If China has problems, our problems would be more difficult.”-Henry Paulson
Food Crisis: World Food prices in “Danger Zone”, creating Mass Poverty
The U.S. based World Bank says international food prices have entered the “danger zone”, and are heading towards the “tipping point”.
World Bank president, Robert Zoellick, blames in on several things.
People in countries where the economies are good, are buying more meat. The problem is that increasing meat production means more grain crops going to ranchers, instead of food for people. Crops used for bio-fuels, instead of food, is also a problem.
Then there’s a supply system problem; it’s taking longer to rebuild stocks of basic food ingredients, once they are used up. This is made worse by the fact that many countries are facing lower crop production mainly because of climate change (cold wx, flooding and drought).
Add to that oil. Petroleum is used for fertilizers, pesticides, etc, and that is adding to the cost of food production.
One country, China, is so scared of lack of food that they’re buying up huge tracts of land in Africa for food production.
Zoellick says this is a long term problem, we’re only at the beginning of higher food prices. Also, while countries with more money to buy food are seeing higher prices, the poorer countries are paying far more for their food.
Zoellick says just since last year the higher prices have pushed 44 million people into poverty. He predicts another 10% increase in food prices will push another 10 million people into poverty.
Cold War between China & U.S. began 2005
“If the United States would not allow CNOOC to purchase Unocal, will not itself guarantee China a steady energy supply and opposes Chinese purchases of Iranian oil and gas, how can China survive?”-Zhang Guobao, former vice chairman National Development and Reform Commission
In 2005 China tried to buy California based Unocal. The attempt was blocked by the U.S. government.
Before anybody in the U.S. says “good, we don’t want foreigners taking over our oil”, guess what? Too late, ever hear of BP? British Petroleum has been slowly taking over U.S. oil companies since 1998 (ever wondered what happened to AMOCO, or ARCO, or Castrol? They all owned by BP now). At least the Chinese have a track record of spending money big time, for other projects, in the countries they move into, BP does not come close.
On top of that, China has been allowed to take over smaller U.S. companies, why not the oil companies? Is it because BP can’t handle the competition? Officially our government says it’s about National Security. You mean letting a limey, red coat, mortal enemy of the founders of the United States, British company take over U.S. oil companies is not a National Security threat?
In 2007 Zhang Guobao issued a warning to the United States, saying the blocking of their purchase of Unocal “will have many after effects.” Can you say ‘get your game on!’ Remember China is our largest creditor, we owe them big time for financing our financially inept, elected officials deficit spending.
China has already retaliated by not allowing Coca-Cola to take over a Chinese beverage company in 2009. Then again, Atlanta, Georgia based, Coca-Cola was so arrogant that they didn’t think it necessary to lobby Chinese politicians (something they do all the time here in the U.S.).
Several attempts by U.S. companies, to take over Chinese companies, have been squashed. But remember when China tried to buy GM’s Hummer brand? That fell through, because of the Chinese government. It seems that the Chinese government has decided that not only are they going to block U.S. companies from moving into China, but they are going to block any Chinese company from investing in the U.S. Sounds like an economic war. All they need to do now is start dumping U.S. bonds, and we’re toast.
Many U.S. media still claim that the United States is the biggest customer for China, wrong. In the last decade, the Chinese have been moving their consumer market eggs into different baskets (wise move). They’re invested big time in Latin America, blowing the United States away, another reason why Obama’s trip to Latin America was a total waste. Australia has become such a big supplier of crops to China, that their economy is going gang busters as well. In fact, when you look at most of the countries that are not being affected by the global recession, they all have one common factor; China is invested big time with their economies!
By the way, remember that big announcement Obama made when he went to China in 2009? Even Chinese officials claimed it would end the U.S. recession. What happened?
In January 2011, it was announced that the U.S. and China agreed to a $45 billion trade deal. Obama lauded the deal saying it would support (not create) 235,000 jobs. But there’s a catch. Obama, and members of Congress said the deal was contingent upon China addressing certain ‘human rights’ issues.
“We also know this: history shows that societies are more harmonious, nations are more successful and the world is more just when the rights and responsibilities of all nations and all peoples are upheld — including the universal rights of every human being.”-President Barack Obama
“…raised our strong, ongoing concerns with reports of human rights violations in China, including the denial of religious freedom and the use of coercive abortion…”-House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio
“While we appreciate those words, the United States will watch the actions of the Chinese government to make sure that they meet the words that were spoken in the White House yesterday.”-Robert Gibbs, White House Spokesman
I believe the reason why the U.S. economy is still struggling is because the U.S. don’t wanna play with China anymore, and China don’t wanna play with the U.S., it’s all just Nuevo Cold War rhetoric now.