On June 7, 2018, United States Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced a settlement deal with Chinese smartphone manufacturer ZTE requiring that the Chinese firm pay a $1 billion fine, shuffle top leadership, and deposit $400 million in an escrow account in case ZTE violates the deal. – Analyst Ziqing Zhang
On June 8, the United States State Department issued an alert to American citizens living and traveling to China to seek medical attention if they experienced strange ‘auditory or sensory’ symptoms. The symptoms described in reports are eerily similar to those experienced by the American diplomats evacuated to the United States from Guangzhou in late May 2018 and from Cuba in 2016. – Analyst Ziqing Zhang
As of the end of May 2018, multiple outlets indicated that the United States may soon be lifting its ban on Chinese telecommunications company ZTE after talks of a preliminary $1.4 billion agreement is met. The deal is broken up into $1 billion in fines, $400 million in damage control for intellectual property violations, and over $350 million from amending a 2017 settlement agreement. – Dillon Billingham
On May 25, concerns over the price tag attached to a Myanmar port construction (China’s CITIC Group won the rights 3 years ago) arose as experts questioned why the project would cost so much. In addition, the less than flattering reports of China’s motivation behind the $7.5 billion deep-sea port in Kyaukpyu are being questioned by critics of the One Belt One Road Initiative (OBOR) also known as the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI). – Dillon Billingham
As of May 30, Chinese construction firm, Gezhouba Group, acquired Brazilian water supply company Sistema Productor São Lourenço as part of the expansive the Belt and Road Initiative. The project is expected to help alleviate water shortage problems in Sao Paulo. Some experts are concerned that China is trying to expand its renewable energy influence in international markets by buying up foreign utility firms. – Ziqing Zhang
As of May 31, the Canadian government announced that it was blocking a proposed $1.18 billion USD acquisition of the Canadian firm Aecon Group Inc. by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) over national security concerns. – Adriana Ray
In the last week of May, the Canadian government announced that it was blocking a proposed $1.18 billion acquisition of the Canadian firm Aecon Group Inc. by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), citing national security concerns. Had the deal gone through, CCCC would have potentially received troves of documents from the Canadian government detailing government contracts, including nuclear reactors agreements.
The most recent round of US-China trade talks ended on Sunday, June 3 without any signed trade deals. Some reports earlier this week claimed that China agreed to buy more agricultural products, including soy beans and corn as well as energy products such as natural gas. – Ziqing Zhang
On March 31, six countries sharing banks of the Mekong River agreed to an aggressive investment program involving 227 projects expected to cost $66 billion over five years. Leaders from Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and China reached the agreement at a summit in Hanoi. – Ziqing Zhang
On May 30, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that China’s GDP enjoyed a 6.8% growth in the first quarter. However, the IMF currently predicts decreasing growth, down to 6.6%, due to the Sino-American trade friction’s potential impact on the country’s trade. – Ziqing Zhang
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