NORTH AMERICA

China welcomes Locke nomination for U.S. ambassador postChina on March 10 presented open arms to U.S. President Barack Obama’s nomination of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke as the new ambassador to China， as the two countries try to strengthen their ties and nurture more mutual trust.The world’s two biggest economies have been seeking to steady ties after a year that exposed strains over human rights， Taiwan， Tibet and the gaping U.S. trade deficit with China.Locke， who has criticised China for its trade practices and resistance to opening its markets， would be the first Chinese-American to fill the post if he is confirmed by the U.S. Senate.“China welcomes the nomination of Gary Locke as ambassador to China，” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters at a regular press briefing.“China-U.S. relations are extremely important. We hope that the new ambassador appointed by the U.S. can play an active role in promoting China-U.S. relations toward greater developments，” Jiang said. She did not elaborate.Locke is also the former governor of Washington state， which enjoys close economic ties with China due to major corporate residents such as Microsoft Corp. and Boeing Co.The current U.S. ambassador to China， Jon Huntsman， will step down on April 30， and is considering joining the ranks of other Republican prospects hoping to challenge Obama in the 2012 election.Jiang’s comments were China’s first official mention of Locke’s nomination after the White House’s formal announcement on Wednesday， but state media played the news prominently earlier in the week when the possible appointment was first reported. (Reuters)China cuts holdings of US treasuries by US$5.4bChina slimmed its holdings of U.S. treasuries in January by US$5.4 billion to US$1.15 trillion， but still remained the largest foreign holder， according to data released by the US Treasury Department on March 16.This is the third consecutive month that China trimmed its US debt holdings， which peaked at nearly 1.18 trillion last October.Among the top five foreign holders of US debts， China is the only one to have reduced holdings in January. After the cut， Chinese holdings account for 26 percent of total foreign holdings of Treasure securities.Japan， the second largest foreign owner， increased its holdings by US$3.6 billion to US$885.96 billion in January. Third largest holder Britain raised its holdings to US$278.4 billion， from the previous of US$272.1 billion in last December.The US$5.4-billion cut reflects China’s move to diversify its foreign reserve portfolio in order to ensure asset safety and stable returns. (China.org.cn)China currently has the largest foreign exchange reserves in the world. By the end of 2010， the country’s outstanding foreign exchange reserves topped US$2.8 trillion， 41 percent of which were US treasuries.The US debt figures are now under close watch because Americans have started to believe that their country’s surging debt is unsustainable. U.S. federal budget deficit reached 1.29 trillion dollars in the fiscal year 2010 ended September 30. According to President Obama’s fiscal year 2012 budget， the U.S. federal deficit in 2011 is expected to hit a new record of 1.65 trillion dollars. (China.org.cn)WTO rules in China’s favor in US trade disputeChina welcomes a ruling from the World Trade Organization (WTO) over a Sino-U.S. business dispute， said the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on March 12.The WTO ruled that U.S. parallel anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties imposed on four Chinese imports -- standard steel pipes， rectangular steel pipes， off-road tires and laminated woven sacks -- are inconsistent with WTO rules.China argues that the U.S. imposure of two sets of duties on Chinese products is a “double remedy” that is illegal and unfair. The WTO ruling supported China’s position on the dispute， according to the officials.Furthermore， MOC officials urged business authorities in the U.S. to amend its parallel anti-dumping and antisubsidy measures involving the four products.Chinese officials hope that the U.S. would correct its errors with regards to trade policies against Chinese imports and ensure fairness in the market. (Xinhua)WTO rules in China’s favor in US trade disputeChina welcomes a ruling from the World Trade Organization (WTO) over a Sino-U.S. business dispute， said the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on March 12.The WTO ruled that U.S. parallel anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties imposed on four Chinese imports -- standard steel pipes， rectangular steel pipes， off-road tires and laminated woven sacks -- are inconsistent with WTO rules.China argues that the U.S. imposure of two sets of duties on Chinese products is a “double remedy” that is illegal and unfair. The WTO ruling supported China’s position on the dispute， according to the officials.Furthermore， MOC officials urged business authorities in the U.S. to amend its parallel anti-dumping and antisubsidy measures involving the four products.Chinese officials hope that the U.S. would correct its errors with regards to trade policies against Chinese imports and ensure fairness in the market. (Xinhua)China vows to boost strategic partnership with BrazilChinese Premier Wen Jiabao met with Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota in Beijing on March 3， vowing joint efforts with Brazil’s new leadership to promote their strategic partnership.Calling Brazil a sincere friend and strategic partner of China， Wen said the country hopes to enhance contacts with Brazil’s new government， deepen political trust， and facilitate bilateral exchanges and cooperation in areas such as trade， investment， technology and culture.Premier Wen praised the comprehensive and rapid growth of China-Brazil cooperation in recent years. He called on both sides to take full advantage of bilateral cooperation mechanisms， strengthen solidarity and collaboration among emerging economies， safeguard the common interests of developing countries， and promote the reform of global economic and financial systems in a fair and rational way.Patriota is visiting China as the first senior official from Brazil’s new government， which took office on January 1 this year.He told Wen that the new Brazilian government highly values its ties with China and considers it an important strategic partner.Brazil is ready to make joint efforts with China to boost cooperation in various areas， enhance contact on major international and regional issues， and further cement their bilateral strategic partnership， he added.Also， Patriota met with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Beijing. Yang said China welcomes Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s upcoming state visit to China， as well as her attending the third BRIC Summit to be held in China.He believed that President Rousseff’s visit would positively promote the China-Brazil strategic partnership and be conducive to enhancing cooperation among emerging economies.President Rousseff thanked Chinese President Hu Jintao for his warm invitation and is anticipating her visit to China， said Patriota， adding he believed that President Rousseff’s visit would yield substantial results and improve bilateral relations. (Xinhua)Brazil and China seek cooperation in stock marketBrazilian and Chinese stock market representatives participated in the first Brazil-China Capital Markets Forum， in Sao Paulo， to seek joint business opportunities in the sector.In the forum， which was sponsored by the Sao Paulo and Shanghai Stock Exchanges， the representatives discussed the similarities and differences between the Brazilian and Chinese markets， as well as the market regulations in the two countries.“This forum aims at increasing the cooperation between the two countries and improving its economies’ positions，”said Zhang Yujun， president of the Shanghai Stock Ex- change.He said the Brazilian and Chinese economies complement each other， and the Chinese are interested in partnerships with Brazil.The country is expected to receive a lot of investments in the near future， not only from China， according to the president of Brazil’s Development Bank， Luciano Coutinho， who also participated in the forum.According to Coutinho， Brazil will receive two trillion U.S. dollars in investments in the next four years， and the investment level in the country will reach 23 percent of its GDP. (Xinhua)Brazil’s Petrobras keen on cooperation with ChinaBrazil’s state-controlled oil and gas giant Petrobras is analyzing future cooperation opportunities with Chinese companies， the company’s CEO Jose Sergio Gabrielli said.There are opportunities for cooperation in practically all sectors in which Petrobras operates， and Petrobras already has ongoing agreements with Chinese companies in several fields， Gabrielli said.“Last year， we signed a strategic cooperation agreement with China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) and China Development Bank (CDB) in the fields of exploration and production， refining， transport， sales， petrochemicals， fertilizers and general services，” he said.“China is one of Petrobras’ largest oil buyers，” Gabrielli said. “We continue to analyze other future cooperation opportunities with Chinese companies.”Petrobras is seeking international partners because as its production is expected to double in the next 10 years to reach 4 million barrels per day， the company needs to expand its structure， Gabrielli said.He said Petrobras’ strategic planning foresees the order of 169 platforms， 504 support vessels， 53 drills and 48 oil tankers until 2020.Moreover， the company will need other equipment， such as reactors， generators， turbines， cranes， pumps， compressors， filters， and thousands of kilometers of ducts.The company is seeking partners from both Brazil and abroad to meet the demand， he said.“In addition to manufacturers already established in Brazil， for which we work to increase competitiveness and productivity， we are encouraging manufacturers from abroad to settle here， especially in association with local companies， so that we can build as much as possible in Brazil，” he said.Gabrielli also said that by 2014， Petrobras’ several ventures will absorb the investment of 224 billion U.S. dollars foreseen in the company’s business plan. The amount will most likely increase with the plan’s review， which is already undergoing.According to the CEO， besides its own money， Petrobras also has the credibility to obtain necessary financing for its operations. In September 2010， the company carried out world’s largest share sale， managing to raise some US$70 billion dollars. (Xinhua)Argentina sues consultancy over inflation figuresArgentina has fined a private economic consultancy US$125，000 for publishing inflation data it accuses of “generating confusion among the population”.The government， which began changing staff and methodology at the state statistics office four years ago， is widely believed to be trying to lowball the numbers to conceal a worsening inflation problem. Its discredited data pointed to consumer prices rising 10.9 per cent in 2010， while private economists believe the rate was nearer 25 per cent and likely to rise to around 30 per cent this year.In what economists described as an attempt to muzzle the messenger， the government earlier this month ordered consultancies to spell out how they calculated inflation， or face sanctions under the Trade Loyalty Act.“They don’t want us to talk about inflation， it’s preventing free speech，” said Orlando Ferreres， a deputy economy minister in 1989， whose OJF consultancy received the first fine. It is planning to appeal.Mr Ferreres noted that the government only objected to his consultancy’s inflation data， not any of its other calculations. “This is a sensitive issue but it’s also a macroeconomic one. We can’t put out a number that isn’t realistic，” he said.Private economists say they base their estimates in part on data from Argentina’s provinces， whose data point to far higher inflation than national figures show.Even though shoppers complain about constantly rising prices， especially for food which is estimated to have risen 40 per cent overall in 2011， the government refuses to admit there is any cause for concern. It says price tensions are normal in an economy which grew 9.1 per cent last year.Cristina Fernández， the president， blames businesses –the “price formers” – for the wide disparity in prices in shops. Amado Boudou， the economy minister， has meanwhile advised Argentines to “shop around” for deals.Unions ignore the official data， as do judges when they calculate maintenance payments in family court. Teachers’unions are battling to secure pay rises of at least 30 per cent and threatening to strike next week when the new school year is due to start unless they get them.With presidential elections in October likely to keep pressure on state spending， inflation is not expected to slow in the near term and the government has shown no inclination to adopt inflation-busting policies.“In our assessment， given the proximity of the October elections， the government is increasingly concerned about escalating inflationary pressures. But rather than embracing a conventional strategy to arrest the deteriorating inflation dynamics， it has chosen to adopt more controls and to put pressure on the private consultancy firms that publish much higher inflation readings than the discredited official prints，”said Alberto Ramos， an economist at Goldman Sachs， in a note to clients.Economists say that to reveal their sources would breach confidentiality agreements which protect shopkeepers from any potential government pressure to alter prices. Mr Ferreres said that the government was demanding information on prices from consultancies which even the state statistics office now failed to provide. (Financial Times)CIC Chairman Sees Greater Cooperation with Brazil CompaniesChinese investment in Brazilian companies “is just at the beginning”and is set to grow， as Brazil and China seek “enhanced cooperation” in trade， a Chinese government official said on March 18.“We’re interested in investing in the equity market”[in Brazil] said Jin Liqun of the China Investment Corporation on the sidelines of an event in Rio de Janeiro， organised by Fundacao Getulio Vargas. “It’s just the beginning. We will have greater cooperation with Brazilian companies as we go on.”China’s state-owned steelmaker Baosteel Group Corp already has a successful joint investment with miner Vale SA(VALE， VALE5.BR) in Brazil but China’s interest now goes further than just importing raw materials like iron ore from Brazil， while China sends back manufactured goods， Jin said.“China and Brazil are increasing trade cooperation and will cooperate further. Brazil has made huge progress over recent years and now even sells aircraft to China，” Jin said. “With Brazilian advances in science and technology Brazil can export more manufactured goods to China and our cooperation will grow.”In 2008， China replaced the U.S. as Brazil’s biggest trading partner. “If Brazil exports more manufactured goods to China it will be welcome，” the official said. Jin dismissed suggestions that China may be exporting goods at belowmarket prices.“Trade that occurs between sovereign countries can’t be unfair. If you don’t want it you don’t do it!” Business can only be sustainable if you trade on an equitable basis， he said.Buyers in other countries are still buying Chinese products even after RMB has appreciated 20% over the last two years， and will continue to appreciate， Jin said.“This is because of the increased competitiveness of the Chinese economy，” Jin said. “It’s an issue of economic structure.” (www.automatedtrader.net)