News on China.
An increasing number of industry companies are experiencing declining sales in China, writes Wall Street Journal. "We had planned on an economic downturn in China, but it is actually worse than expected," says the former Caterpillar CEO.
Increasing debt problems and a trade war with the US has created problems in China's economy.
China's exports and imports dropped in December in a development that shows the impact of the current trade war and an economic slowdown.
According to several news outlets, China will now ban the use of open-loop scrubbers in port areas and emission control areas in coastal regions.
Ahead of expected trade talks next month, China has made efforts to end the trade dispute with the US, yet the country is also unsure it has done enough.
Brazil's export of soy beans to China has increased due to the trade war between China and the US. But Brazil is prepared if China calls off its tariffs on US soy beans, says agriculture minister.
Weaker retail sales and lower industrial production slowed down China's economy in November. This creates a challenging basis for the country's policymakers who are set to gather next week .
China will, by all accounts, announce a new environmental initiative before long. The country is expected to surpass IMO's 2020 sulfur regulations and ban the use of open-loop scrubbers within a few years, according to estimations.
Chinese port Zhoushan is much smaller than Singapore in terms of bunker deliveries, but the port has big plans to challenge the world's biggest bunker port, reports Reuters.
As China's President Xi Jinping works toward a trade deal with the US, China resumed its buying of US soybeans in a move that brings some relief to US farmers.
China could very well be next in line to introduce a ban against open-loop scrubbers. The country's increasing environmental focus could lead to even tougher rules than the IMO's sulfur regulations, says bank.
Following Trump's recent claims that China had agreed to start buying certain US products "immediately", Chinese officials are preparing to restart imports of US soybeans and LNG.
The truce between the US and China may have postponed an open conflict, but it has not yet prevented one. ShippingWatch has gathered reactions from Maersk Line, HMM, OOCL and Hapag-Lloyd. Shipping bank Nordea is far from convinced about the effect of a temporary agreement.
A law firm now says that it is involved in a case concerning bad bunker in China. This means that the problem, which has affected close to a hundred ships since the spring of this year, has now spread further.
For the past two months, US exports of oil to China have clocked in at zero, according to Bimco. But other countries have increased their import of US oil.
ExxonMobil bridges its billion dollar investment in LNG production around the world with a new import terminal in China, Reuters reports. The american company will also initially end up sidestepping tariffs, the media bureau writes.
Two vessels carrying soy beans departed the US for China, which could indicate that buyers are getting increasingly desperate for supplies as trade war lingers between the two nations.
Iran's state-owned container carrier has entered a collaboration with Chinese company to operate the carrier's for new container ships, reports Alphaliner. The new joint venture is announced shortly before US sanctions against Iran take effect.
Asian state subsidies are significantly impacting competition for European carriers and yards, says the EU Commission, which will defend the maritime industry against overproduction of vessels.
Speaking to Lloyd's List, China rejects claims that the country is working on an upcoming ban on open loop scrubbers, a technology which has been criticized in several countries.
China now says that negotiations to resolve trade dispute with the US cannot take place while President Trump continues to threaten with new tariffs on Chinese imports.
China is allegedly planning to slash its average tariffs on imports from most its trading partners as early as October, sources say. The move would lower consumer impact of deepening US trade war.
US President Donald Trump acts on his threats, and starting next week the US will introduce additional tariffs on Chinese goods totaling USD 200 billion.
If the trade war between the US and China escalates, it will likely lead to less traffic going through the Panama Canal, warns the canal's administrator.
US President Donald Trump will likely already Monday take a new step in the trade dispute with China by placing tariffs on almost all of the US' annual import of goods from China.
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