COVID-19 International Developments: Daily Scan, June 08, 2020

Economic

Coronavirus: China needs GDP growth of about 3 per cent in 2020 to meet job goals, analysts say

While the government decided not to set an economic growth target, it did not mean it was not important, analysts at the Bank of China said in research published last week. “In fact, the GDP growth target has been integrated into the fiscal, monetary and other policy targets,” the analysts said. “It is calculated based on job security, poverty alleviation, the fiscal deficit and risk mitigation. “The implied target of China’s economic growth in 2020 is 3 to 3.5 per cent.” China is relying on increased infrastructure spending to boost growth, but that will not necessarily help small private businesses, which accounted for about 80 per cent of urban employment and 60 per cent of GDP last year, according to experts. Click here to read.... [2]

China renews interest in trans-Pacific trade pact that followed TPP amid escalating US tensions

Last week, Premier Li Keqiang said that China was willing to consider joining the Comprehensive Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTPP), a deal which emerged after US President Donald Trump pulled out of the original Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in January 2017. “For regional free trade agreements, including CPTPP, China has a positive, open and welcoming attitude,” said Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng, citing the fact that agreements like the CPTPP are in line with World Trade Organisation rules as a key factor. Click here to read.... [3]

EVFTA, EVIPA approved to boost Vietnam-EU economic, trade relations

Vietnam’ National Assembly deputies officially ratified the Europe-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the Europe-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) on Monday morning.The EVFTA is expected to give Vietnamese companies better access to European markets, thus ensuring Vietnam’s economic security.The trade pact will erase import tax for Vietnamese products. In exchange, Vietnam is expected to become more attractive to European investors. Click here to read.... [4]

Diamond majors De Beers, Alrosa sit on billions of dollars’ worth of unsold stock as coronavirus freezes industry

The pandemic has devastated the diamond world. Jewellery stores closed their doors, India’s cutting, and polishing artisans were forced to stay home, and De Beers had to cancel its March sale because buyers couldn’t travel to view the merchandise. De Beers and Alrosa have moved to defend their market. The miners refused to cut prices, instead allowing buyers unprecedented freedom to renege on contracts to buy stones. They have also reduced production to control stock levels. Yet the diamonds keep piling up. The world’s five biggest gems producers are probably sitting on excess inventories worth about US$3.5 billion. Click here to read.... [5]

Bangladesh’s dredging master plan to bring back navigability

The Bangladeshi government has taken up a dredging master plan to bring navigability to the internal waterways across the country. Under it, around 10,000 kilometres of river routes will be made navigable through excavating 178 rivers. The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority [BIWTA] is expected to do the job. As per the plan, it had begun excavation of 12 important river routes, capital dredging in 53 river routes, navigability development of the river route from Mongla port to Pakshi via Chandpur, Mawa, Goalando, and restoration of old Brahmaputra, Dharla, Tulai and Punarbhaba rivers.Also, excavation of 470km of river routes under the Bangladesh-India river protocol had already begun. It will be jointly financed by the two countries. Click here to read.... [6]

Shipping industry warns of trade logjam as crews remain stranded

The international shipping industry has warned of a threat to global trade from a mounting crisis on board merchant vessels, with up to 400,000 crew stranded either at sea or at home by travel restrictions because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Pandemic restrictions bar crew from disembarking to return to their home country, or from travelling to a port where their ship is waiting for a crew change. Many seafarers are also struggling to obtain entry or exit visas, while the suspension of commercial flights increases the difficulties in moving crew around. Last month, the International Maritime Organisation published a 12-step protocol for safe crew changes. But governments have been slow to implement them, and the number of crew stranded at sea was rising on a weekly basis. Click here to read.... [7]

OPEC and Russia extend record oil cuts to end of July

OPEC and allied nations agreed on Saturday to extend a production cut of nearly 10 million barrels of oil a day through the end of July, hoping to boost energy prices hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic. "Prices can be expected to be strong from Monday, keeping their $40 plus levels," said Bjornar Tonhaugen from Rystad Energy. Saudi Arabia, OPEC's de facto leader, and Russia have to perform a balancing act of pushing up oil prices to meet their budget needs while not driving them much above $50 a barrel to avoid encouraging a resurgence of rival U.S. shale production. It was not immediately clear whether Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait would extend beyond June their additional, voluntary cuts of 1.18 million bpd, which are not part of the deal. Click here to read.... [8]

Libya's largest oilfield resumes production

Libya's El-Sharara oilfield, the country's largest, resumed production on Sunday, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said.NOC said the production was resumed after long negotiations."We hope that resuming production in the El-Sharara field will be the first step to restore life to the oil and gas sector in Libya, and a start to save the economy from collapse," NOC said in a statement. El-Sharara oilfield produces more than 300,000 barrels of crude oil per day, forming roughly one third of the oil-rich country's production. Libya holds Africa’s largest crude reserves, but nine years of conflict and violence in the country since the 2011 ouster of ruler Muammar Gaddafi have hobbled production and exports. Click here to read.... [9]

Strategic

India and China agree to ‘peacefully resolve’ border tensions

India and China have agreed to peacefully settle their border tensions in the Himalayas through diplomatic and military channels. “Both sides agreed to peacefully resolve the situation in the border areas in accordance with various bilateral agreements and keeping in view the agreement between the leaders that peace and tranquillity in the India-China border regions is essential for the overall development of bilateral relations,” India’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday after bilateral talks between the two countries.Military commanders from both sides met on Saturday in Chushul, a village in the Leh district of Ladakh, near the disputed border. While India said the meeting took place in a “cordial and positive atmosphere,” China did not immediately respond. Beijing has on multiple occasions described the border situation as “stable and controllable.” Click here to read.... [10]

Lawmakers form new global alliance against China

A group of senior lawmakers from several democracies including the US have launched a new cross-parliamentary alliance to help counter what they say is the threat China's growing influence poses to global trade, security, and human rights. The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, which launched Friday (June 5), said China's economic rise is putting the global, rules-based order under pressure and that countries that have tried to stand up to Beijing have mostly done so alone - and "often at great cost." The list of participating nations includes the US, Germany, UK, Japan, Australia, Canada, Sweden, Norway, as well as members of the European parliament. Click here to read.... [11]

White House Report Recommends Multi-Pronged Approach to Counter China

China is using government, military, economic, diplomatic and information levers to change the well-tested and beneficial international order, and the United States must have a similar strategy to combat these efforts, according to a White House report.The White House addressed the whole-of-government approach to counter China — a great power competitor — in a report published last month titled "The United States Strategic Approach to the People's Republic of China." Click here to read.... [12]

German foreign minister laments decline of US ties under Trump

Germany's top diplomat Heiko Maas on Sunday gave a muted response to days of speculation that US President Donald Trump might slash US troop stationing in Germany from 34,500, capping it at 25,000 in the future. On Friday, the Wall Street Journal had reported that Trump had ordered the Pentagon to slash US troop numbers in Germany by 9,500. "The Pentagon has not yet publicly commented and has instead redirected press inquiries to the White House — this indicates that the decision is purely politically motivated and not made by experts," lawmaker for the ruling CDU party, Andreas Nick said. Click here to read.... [13]

Germany to focus on border security in EU presidency

Cross-border data-sharing and asylum policies will be a priority when Germany takes over the European Union's rotating presidency this year, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said on Tuesday. "I intend for us to make security a central tenet of the German presidency," Seehofer said on the first day of the European Police Congress in Berlin.The interior minister urged for the new European Commission to make agreeing on EU-wide asylum policies as much a priority as its ambitious plan to combat climate change. "I have a lot of appreciation for the Green Deal and I also agree with it — but a common, European asylum policy is at least equally important for Europe's future," the interior minister said. Click here to read.... [14]

EU shouldn’t limit ties with ‘emerging superpower’ China to economy & trade – German FM

China is not only Germany’s “largest trading partner,” but also “an emerging superpower,” Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told Bild newspaper on Sunday. The European Union should, therefore, work out a shared strategy for dealing with Beijing, he argued. Brussels should not restrict its dialogue with China to economic issues only, Maas said, urging the EU to recognize its “decisive role in the world trade.” In the same interview, he notably described the US – Berlin’s long-standing NATO ally – as a “complicated” partner. Click here to read.... [15]

UK ready to accept EU tariffs on British goods to untie post-Brexit trade deadlock – report

The UK's chief negotiator, David Frost, reportedly made a considerable new offer during a fresh round of trade talks with the European Union, the Daily Mail reported. Frost signalled that Britain is ready to accept some tariffs on a small number of its goods but demanded that the EU stop forcing London into abiding by the bloc’s environmental and labour standards. An official statement released by Frost said the UK is “close to reaching the limits of what we can achieve through the format of remote formal rounds.” Any trade deal with the EU must consider the UK’s “well-established position” on fisheries and other issues. Click here to read.... [16]

Tokyo Olympics in doubt without travel deal, says governor

The governor of Tokyo has questioned whether the Olympic Games can go ahead next year without an international deal on travel and quarantine. She has also called for possible cuts to the opening and closing ceremonies.Her remarks show how the Tokyo Olympics remain in jeopardy despite a one-year postponement, especially considering the looming danger of a second wave of Covid-19, and the limited time before critical decisions must be made. “A basic precondition for the Olympics is that the people of the world can come,” Ms Koike said. At present, foreigners who have visited 111 different countries are banned from entry to Japan. Click here to read.... [17]

Amazon Deforestation Soars as Pandemic Hobbles Enforcement

Since coming to office, President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil has enabled increased razing of the Amazon rainforest. Now, the coronavirus has accelerated that destruction.Illegal loggers, miners and land grabbers have cleared vast areas of the Amazon with impunity in recent months as law enforcement efforts were hobbled by the pandemic. An estimated 464 square miles of Amazon tree cover was slashed from January to April, a 55 percent increase from the same period last year and an area roughly 20 times the size of Manhattan, according to Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, a government agency that tracks deforestation with satellite images.Already last year, deforestation in the Amazon had reached levels not seen since 2008. Click here to read.... [18]

Medical

Das Coronavirus Podcast: Christian Drosten on Remesdevir

The big problem with Remdesivir is that the studies that have been done have been done with the intention of really helping patients who are not doing well. And unfortunately, with this disease, these are the patients who have been infected for a long time. Roughly, there are three virus phases. One is the virus phase, the first week. The other is the immune phase. And the third is the inflammatory phase. So first, second, third week. And now it’s like this: the phase when patients really come to the hospital, in which it gets worse and where it may even go to the intensive care unit - that happens in the second week. The virus phase is over, the virus replication phase, where the virus spreads. And now you have a drug here that works against the virus. The logical consequence of this is that you actually have to give it much earlier. You have to give this medication at a time when the patients are in the first week and are still mildly ill, so they actually have no serious infection. Now this substance is difficult to obtain, except in studies. It is a decision that is so difficult to make. That is why we do not really know at the moment how remdesivir actually works in early courses. But that's just one of the problems. Another problem is that the active ingredient in Remdesivir is not easy to chemically synthesize. As a result, there are not so many treatment courses. Click here to read.... [19]

Europe mulls BARDA-style development contracts for COVID-19 vaccines: Bloomberg

Not wanting to be left behind in the COVID-19 vaccine race, Europe is stepping up its efforts to secure supplies should any immunizations prove safe and effective. Right on the heels of news that the U.S. has picked vaccine finalists to fast-track, Europe is considering negotiations with pharmaceutical companies for early access, Bloomberg reports. No final decisions have been made, but if the mandate were approved, Europe would base its program on the U.S.’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, the report says. The agency has handed out billions of dollars in contracts for promising COVID-19 vaccines, therapies and diagnostics in return for access if the technologies work. BARDA last month inked a $1.2 billion deal with AstraZeneca, which is advancing a leading vaccine from the University of Oxford. Click here to read.... [20]

After Operation Warp Speed picks 5 finalists, experts question why some vaccines were left out

All eyes are on a handful of drug companies after news that the U.S. is prioritizing five COVID-19 vaccine programs. But since the selections went public, experts have been raising questions about the process and the drug makers that were left off. Earlier this week, The New York Times reported that AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Merck, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna had scored “finalist” status at Operation Warp Speed, an aggressive program to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to Americans this year. Four of the companies have already received federal funding for their programs, and the finalists will have access to additional resources, NYT reports. Click here to read.... [21]

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Image Source: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/corona-virus-coronavirus-virus-4932576/ [22]