Algeria formally applied to join the BRICS bloc and pledged $1.5 billion to become a shareholder in the group’s New Development Bank. The offer came at the end of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s five-day visit to China on Friday, when he also met with Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei in Shenzhen. (REUTERS)
China joined a coalition of major oil-producing countries, including Saudi Arabia and Russia to oppose a G20 proposal that calls for a tripling of renewable energy capacity by 2030. Major coal exporters like Indonesia and South Africa also opposed the plan. (REUTERS)
Citing security concerns, the Indian government rejected a $1 billion investment proposal by Chinese EV giant BYD to set up a joint venture auto factory. BYD had hoped to build its full line-up of vehicles in India, from hatchbacks to luxury vehicles. (ECONOMIC TIMES)
Saudi Aramco, the Kingdom’s state oil company, concluded its purchase of 10% of Rongsheng Petrochemical, as part of a blitz of downstream investment in China. The $3.4 billion investment, which was announced in March, will see 480,000 barrels of Saudi petroleum being shipped to China’s largest integrated refining and chemicals plant. It also follows the two governments’ cooperation (with Russia, South Africa, and Indonesia) to kill a G20 move to triple the implementation of renewable energy. (RIGZONE)
Wesizwe, a South African platinum mining company with a 45% stake held by the Chinese company China Africa Jinchuan Limited, announced its Bakubung platinum mine in South Africa’s Northwest Province will remain closed until further notice, due to a wildcat strike. The strike, which started on July 20, will further delay the commissioning of a platinum processing facility at the mine. (MININGMX)
China has announced it will resume its policy of offering 15-day visa-free entry to citizens of Singapore and Brunei. This follows the three-year suspension of the measure, due to China’s zero-COVID rules. (CNBC)
South African share prices and the rand both rallied for a second day on Tuesday, buoyed by Chinese leaders’ pledges to jumpstart demand in the world’s second-largest economy. China is South Africa’s largest trading partner and a major source of FDI. (REUTERS
Indonesian President Joko Widodo departed Wednesday for the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan, where he will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday. Both leaders will also attend the opening ceremony of the World University Games in the provincial capital Chengdu. (TEMPO)
China and Nicaragua have completed negotiations to implement a free trade agreement (FTA), according to commerce ministers from both countries. When ratified, this will be China’s fifth FTA in the Americas, a region that also includes 21 signatories to Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. (XINHUA)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized what he called China’s “increasingly problematic behavior” during a visit to the Pacific island country of Tonga. Citing military activity in the South China Sea, and Beijing’s recent security pact with the Solomon Islands, Blinken said the U.S. wants to work more closely with Pacific states. His visit coincides with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s visit to Papua New Guinea, where the U.S. recently concluded a deal for access to PNG’s military bases. (THE GUARDIAN)
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation to counter Chinese influence in the Inter-American Development Bank. At issue is the number of contracts awarded by the non-commercial lending institution to Chinese firms, which lawmakers complain outstrips China’s 0.1% share of the bank. China joined the IDB in 2009. The Inter-American Development Bank Transparency Act would force the U.S. Treasury to issue a two-yearly report on Chinese influence in the body. (PBS)
The Zimbabwean media is buzzing about a report that President Emmerson Mnangagwa chartered a Chinese private jet to fly his entourage to St. Petersburg for the Russia-Africa summit at a cost of $700,000 to Zim’s taxpayers. The jet was reportedly recently used to fly former Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang to Afghanistan and Pakistan. (ZIMLIVE)
