Russia’s president Vladimir Putin met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing during the Belt and Road Forum earlier this week. Putin praised “unprecedented” energy cooperation between China and Russia, while the head of Russian energy firm Rosneft, Igor Sechin, lauded that Russia had become China’s top oil supplier, ahead of Saudi Arabia, in 2023
On September 13, the President of the European Commission (EC), the EU’s executive branch, announced an EC probe into subsidies given to Chinese EV producers, citing the “huge state subsidies” Beijing provides its automakers.
On September 8, Spain’s energy minister stated that the EU had no immediate plan to ban LNG imports from Russia due to ongoing energy insecurity and price shocks in EU member states.
On August 18, the Biden Administration announced that a Commerce Department investigation found Chinese companies are selling solar products through four South East Asian countries, including Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, in order to evade Obama-era tariffs on Chinese goods.
On August 3, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak announced Moscow’s plan to cut oil exports by 300,000 per day (bpd) beginning in September. In March, Russia pledged to slash oil output by approximately 500,000 bpd (constituting 5% of its oil production at the time).
On July 31, Reuters reported that Chinese battery firms have invested $4.4 billion for manufacturing projects in South Korea.
Russia appears to have postponed construction of the Northern Latitudinal Railway, a proposed 707km railroad project connecting Russia’s northern Yamal Peninsula with nearby Arctic regions, until at least 2027 and possibly to 2031.
On July 4, China’s Commerce Ministry enacted export controls of gallium and germanium that will require purchasers to apply for export permits beginning on August 1.
Singapore has detained a record thirty-three docking vessels in 2023 for safety failures, with nine ship detentions in April alone.
On June 1, Politico reported that Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines are advocating for their firms to qualify for the electric vehicle (EV) tax credit under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
