China

Court OKs sale of U.S. government-backed A123 to Chinese firm

WILMINGTON, Delaware - China's largest auto parts maker got court approval on Tuesday for its controversial purchase of A123 Systems Inc, a bankrupt maker of electric car batteries, but the judge said he was troubled that a U.S. rival might be working to kill the deal.

SEC charges consultant with fraud in Chinese reverse mergers

WASHINGTON - Securities regulators charged a New Jersey-based consultant on Tuesday with defrauding investors in the China-based companies he helped make public through a backdoor method known as a "reverse merger."

Chinese group in talks to buy AIG air lease arm

HONG KONG/NEW YORK - A group of Chinese companies, including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), is in talks to buy nearly all of American International Group Inc's aircraft leasing unit for about $5.5 billion, AIG said on Friday.

Nexen chief executive says CNOOC deal not yet done

CALGARY, Alberta - The $15.1 billion takeover of Canadian oil and gas producer Nexen Inc by China's state-owned CNOOC Ltd is not yet wrapped up despite the Canadian government's blessing after months of heated debate, Nexen's chief executive said on Monday.

U.S. intelligence sees Asia's global power rising by 2030

WASHINGTON - China's economy is likely to surpass the United States in less than two decades but the Asian country is not expected to take on the superpower role of the United States in gathering coalitions to deal with global issues, U.S. intelligence analysts said on Monday.

Investing Simplified, 10 Dec 2012

OECD sees economic traction in U.S. and Britain

PARIS - Economic growth appears to be gathering traction in the United States and Britain, while China and Italy may be about to turn up, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said on Monday.

China party chief stresses reform, censors relax grasp on internet

BEIJING - China must deepen reforms to perfect its market economy and strengthen rule of law, Communist Party chief Xi Jinping said in southern Guangdong, echoing groundbreaking comments by reformist senior leader Deng Xiaoping in the same province 20 years ago.

World, 10 Dec 2012

China economic recovery intact, but weak exports drag

BEIJING - China's exports growth slowed sharply to a much lower than expected 2.9 percent in November, a customs report said on Monday, underscoring the global headwinds dragging on an economy showing otherwise solid signs of a pick up in domestic activity.

Analysis: As China's clout grows, sea policy proves unfathomable

SHANGHAI - Imagine if the U.S. state of Hawaii passed a law allowing harbor police to board and seize foreign boats operating up to 1,000 km (600 miles) from Honolulu.

World 10 Dec 2012

Philippines sees Japan as balance to China ambitions

MANILA - A stronger Japan would act as a counterbalance to the military rise of China, something that is worrying smaller Asian nations as tensions grow over conflicting territorial claims in the region, the Philippines said on Monday.

World, Japan 10 Dec 2012

Ethiopia and Eritrea: An elusive peace on the cards?

Ethiopia and Eritrea are still at each others’ throats. The two neighbours fought hammer and tongs in sun-baked trenches during a two-year war over a decade ago, before a peace deal ended their World War I-style conflict in 2000. Furious veRed Sea, UNrbal battles, however, have continued to this day.