China Denies Selling Oil Illicitly to N.Korea
China on Friday denied reports it has been illicitly selling oil products to North Korea after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was not happy that China had allowed oil to reach the isolated nation. Trump said on Twitter the previous day that China had been "caught" allowing oil into North Korea and that would prevent "a friendly solution" to the crisis over North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes that it conducts in defiance of heavy U.N. Security Council sanctions.
Indonesia Police Say Interpol Issues Red Notices for 3 Sinopec Execs
Indonesian police said on Tuesday Interpol has issued red notices, the closest to an international arrest warrant, for three Chinese executives suspected of fraud linked to a more than $800 million Sinopec oil terminal development in Indonesia. China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, or Sinopec, is the second major Chinese state oil firm in less than three years to find staff facing allegations of corruption in Indonesia, where the resources sector is riddled with graft and legal and contractual uncertainty.
South Carolina Governor Urges U.S. to Divert Plutonium from Japan
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has written to U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz demanding a shipment of weapons-grade plutonium en route to her state from Japan be turned back or sent elsewhere, according to a copy of the letter seen by Reuters. The demand has the potential to embarrass the Obama administration a week before it hosts an important summit on nuclear non-proliferation and undermine what so far has been viewed as a success in keeping weapons-grade material safe.
China: $5 bln Loan to Boost PDVSA Output
Venezuela and China have signed a deal for a $5 billion loan designed to increase the OPEC country's oil production, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said. Maduro, speaking from China in a program broadcast on Venezuelan state television late on Tuesday, said the loan was destined "to increase oil production in a gradual way in coming months," without providing further details. A source at Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA told Reuters in March…
Obama: China Bullying in South China Sea
Obama: China forcing countries into subordinate positions; China hits back, accuses U.S. of throwing its weight around. U.S. President Barack Obama said Washington is concerned China is using its "sheer size and muscle" to push around smaller nations in the South China Sea, drawing a swift rebuke from Beijing which accused the United States of being the bully. China's rapid reclamation around seven reefs in the Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea has alarmed other claimants, such as the Philippines and Vietnam, and drawn growing criticism from U.S.
China Scolds Vietnam over China Sea Rig Row
China's top diplomat scolded Vietnamese officials during talks in Hanoi on Wednesday for "hyping up" a row over a Chinese oil rig drilling in disputed waters in the South China Sea, in tough comments that suggest relations will remain rocky. State Councilor Yang Jiechi also told his hosts that the rig's activities in waters also claimed by Vietnam were "completely legal", China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily briefing in Beijing.
China Will Help Iraq Where Possible
China said on Friday that it was watching security developments in Iraq closely after Islamist fighters captured two more towns in a sweep south, and offered the government in Baghdad whatever help it can give. China is the top foreign player in Iraq's oilfields, which are the largest in the Middle East open to foreign investment, and has a natural interest in the country's stability. "China is paying close attention to the recent security situation in Iraq and we support the Iraqi government's efforts to maintain domestic security and stability.
Vietnam says China Moving Rig; China Denies Sending Warships
Vietnam said on Wednesday a Chinese oil rig at the center of an increasingly bitter territorial dispute appeared to be on the move again, as China denied Vietnamese accusations that it had sent warships to the scene. The rig's deployment triggered anti-Chinese riots in Vietnam last month that killed at least four workers. Scores of Vietnamese and Chinese ships, including coastguard vessels, have squared off around the rig despite a series of collisions after the platform was towed to the area in early May.
China: U.S. Stoking South Chine Sea Tension
China's foreign ministry blamed the United States on Friday for stoking tensions in the disputed South China Sea by encouraging countries to engage in dangerous behaviour, following an uptick in tensions between China and both the Philippines and Vietnam. China this week accused Vietnam of intentionally colliding with its ships in the South China Sea after Vietnam asserted that Chinese vessels used water cannon and rammed eight of its vessels at the weekend near an oil rig.
