China News

Fossil fuel and agriculture industry executives on Wednesday criticized a plan by President Donald Trump's administration for big fees on China-linked ships entering U.S. ports, arguing at a hearing in Washington that the move would hobble their ability to export everything from coal to soybeans.The proposed fees on China-built vessels could top $3 million per U.S. port call.The administration says the fees would curb China's commercial and military dominance on the high seas and promote a U.S.

Fossil fuel and agriculture industry representatives are expected to criticize the Trump administration's plan to impose big fees on China-linked ships entering U.S. ports during a hearing in Washington on Wednesday, arguing the move would hobble their ability to export everything from coal to soybeans.At issue are proposed fees on China-built vessels that could top $3 million per U.S. port call.The Trump administration says the fees would curb China's commercial and military dominance on the high seas and promote a revival in U.S. shipbuilding, but numerous other U.S.

South Korea has deployed a large stationary floating platform in a disputed section of the Yellow Sea, escalating tensions with China over a contested maritime zone where both countries' exclusive economic zones (EEZs) overlap. The move, described by Seoul as a "reciprocal measure," comes in response to a growing Chinese presence in the area, which includes numerous offshore structures that China claims are for fish farming.The deployment was confirmed Wednesday by South Korean Oceans Minister Kang Do-hyung during a parliamentary session.

Iranian oil shipments into China are set to fall in the near-term after new U.S. sanctions on a refiner and tankers, driving up shipping costs, but traders said they expect buyers to find workarounds to keep at least some volumes flowing.Washington on Thursday imposed new sanctions on entities including Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical, a "teapot," or independent refinery in east China's Shandong province, and vessels that supplied oil to such plants in China, the top buyers of…

“We estimate that coal shipments to China will show a 15% fall y/y during the first quarter of 2025, reaching a three-year-low. Seaborne cargoes have slowed due to weaker domestic demand and higher competition from domestic supplies and overland imports. Thermal coal cargoes have been particularly affected, though coking coal shipments have also decreased,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analysis Manager at BIMCO.During the first two months of 2025, thermal coal demand weakened due to a 6% y/y decrease in electricity generation from coal.

The Philippines and its allies are trying to expand the Squad grouping of nations to include India and South Korea to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region, the Philippines' Armed Forces chief General Romeo S. Brawner said on Wednesday.The Squad is an informal multilateral grouping made up of Australia, Japan, the Philippines and the United States, whose defence forces have conducted joint maritime activities in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea…

The United States is preparing to impose docking fees at its ports on any ship belonging to a fleet that includes Chinese-built or Chinese-flagged vessels, according to a draft executive order, a move aimed to both revitalize U.S. shipbuilding while countering China’s dominance in global shipping and shipbuilding.The draft order from President Donald Trump also urges allied nations to adopt similar policies or risk facing retaliatory measures from the U.S.China’s growing control over the maritime industry has become a rare bipartisan concern in the U.S.…

Some shipping companies are discreetly moving operations out of Hong Kong and taking vessels off its flag registry. Others are making contingency plans to do so.Behind these low-profile moves, six shipping executives said, lie concerns that their ships could be commandeered by Chinese authorities or hit with U.S. sanctions in a conflict between Beijing and Washington.Beijing's emphasis on the role of Hong Kong in serving Chinese security interests and growing U.S. scrutiny of the importance of China's commercial fleet in a possible military clash…

On February 21, 2025, the Office of the US Trade Representative (UST) released a notice of a proposal to impose wide-ranging fees on shipping companies and vessels with a Chinese nexus. The USTR has yet to release regulatory or administrative language that implements the proposals, and there is no guarantee this will actually happen. Interested parties should consider submitting comments as well as reviewing their charterparty and other relevant agreementsSUMMARY OF USTR PROPOSALSThe USTR notice does not set forth a single unified scheme of fees…

Asia's crude oil imports are off to a weak start in 2025, as top importer China continues to buy less and new sanctions put the brakes on cargoes from the continent's top supplier Russia.Asia's imports for the first two months of the year are on track to be 26.17 million barrels per day (bpd), down 780,000 bpd from the 26.96 million bpd for the same period last year, according to data compiled by LSEG Oil Research.The drop of about 3% in crude imports by Asia in the first two…

The U.S. Trade Representative's office has proposed charging up to $1.5 million for Chinese-built vessels entering U.S. ports as part of its investigation into China's growing domination of the global shipbuilding, maritime and logistics sectors.USTR said in a January 16 report on a probe launched during the administration of former President Joe Biden that China increased its share of global shipbuilding tonnage from 5% in 1999 to over 50% in 2023 because of massive state subsidies…

Two U.S. Navy ships sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait this week in the first such mission since President Donald Trump took office last month, drawing an angry reaction from China, which said the mission increased security risks.The U.S. Navy, occasionally accompanied by ships from allied countries, transits the strait about once a month. China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, says the strategic waterway belongs to it.The U.S. Navy said the vessels were the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and Pathfinder-class survey ship, USNS Bowditch.

“In January, grain shipments to China are estimated to fall 51% y/y, partly due to a decline in import demand for soya beans caused by low crusher margins. Although Chinese soya bean production decreased 1% y/y in 2024, inventories are high after a surge in imports in the first half of the year. Import demand for maize and wheat has also declined due to record high harvests in China in 2024,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analysis Manager at BIMCO.As the world’s largest grain importer, China has for a long time strived to reduce its import dependence.

Two Iranian cargo vessels carrying an ingredient for missile propellant will sail from China to Iran in the next few weeks, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing intelligence from security officials in two Western countries.The reported transactions could make the Chinese entities involved subject to U.S. sanctions aimed at curbing Iran's weapons programs, as the two Iranian vessels are already under U.S. sanctions.The FT said the Iranian-flagged ships, the Golbon and the Jairan…

COSCO Shipping Specialized Carriers has taken delivery of the Green Rizhao, a 77,000dwt general cargo ship which was certified as being built with zero carbon emissions by China Classification Society (CCS).The vessel’s maiden voyage will involve transporting machinery and containers from Chinese Ports to Brazil.The news comes as China's shipbuilding boom saw the nation account for 55.7% of deliveries and 74.1% of orders in 2024. Its shipbuilding capabilities have advanced to include 24,000 TEU container ships, LNG carriers and cruise ships such as the Adora Magic City.

The U.S. probe targeting China's maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors is a "serious violation" of World Trade Organization rules and an outright protectionist act, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday.

The Philippine navy said on Friday its ships were holding drills near a contested shoal in the South China Sea, a day after Manila and Beijing agreed to seek common ground and find ways to cooperate despite ongoing disputes.The exercise around the Scarborough shoal, one of Asia's most hotly contested areas, was aimed at enhancing the navy's capability to secure what it said were Philippine waters and the country's territorial integrity, the navy said in a statement.It described…

A tanker subject to the new U.S. sanctions is discharging Russian oil at a port operated by Shandong Port Group in east China, shipping data on LSEG Eikon showed on Thursday.The tanker is the first since last week's sanctions announcement to discharge in Shandong province where many of China's independent refineries that have been big importers of Russian crude are based.It will be monitored closely by those in the industry anxious to know how strictly the measures will be implemented.The sanctions include a grace period exempting cargoes loaded before Jan.

The U.S. Trade Representative's office on Thursday said it has found China's targeted dominance of the global shipbuilding, maritime and logistics sectors is "unreasonable" and is "actionable" under U.S. trade law.The findings of a USTR probe, first reported by Reuters on Tuesday, did not include a specific recommendation of penalties against Beijing, leaving next steps up to President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Monday.USTR said its report "supports a determination that China's targeting of the maritime…

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has concluded that China uses unfair policies and practices to dominate the global maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors, three sources familiar with the results of a months-long trade investigation told Reuters.U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai launched the probe in April 2024 at the request of the United Steelworkers and four other U.S. unions under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the U.S. to penalize foreign countries that engage in acts that are "unjustifiable" or "unreasonable," or burden U.S.

On January 10, a group of over 240 shipping executives attended seminar in Shanghai on "Contributing to the China Solution to Cross the Carbon Threshold."The aim was to further build consensus on industry development needed to respond to the challenges brought by the new EU shipping carbon tax fuel regulations.Zhang Yong, deputy general manager of COSCO Shipping Group, shared four suggestions: first, focus on responsible investment and strive to increase low-carbon increments…

Shandong Port Group has banned U.S.-sanctioned tankers from calling into its ports in the eastern Chinese province, home to many independent refiners that are the biggest importers of oil from countries under U.S. embargo, three traders said.The province imported about 1.74 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Iran, Russia and Venezuela last year, accounting for about 17% of China's imports, ship tracking data from Kpler showed.If enforced, the ban would drive up shipping costs for independent refiners in Shandong…

Taiwan's Presidential Office held its first "tabletop" exercise involving government agencies beyond the armed forces on Thursday, simulating a military escalation with China amid renewed threats from Beijing, officials said.Dozens of central and local government agencies as well as civil groups participated in the three-hour exercise, the sources said, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.China has in recent years stepped up military threats, including the large massing of naval forces this month and daily military activities close to democratically governed Taiwan, wh