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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) participates in an arrival ceremony at Rarotonga International Airport in Rarotonga, August 30, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Jim Watson/Pool By Andrew Quinn RAROTONGA | Fri Aug 31, 2012 10:37pm EDT RAROTONGA (Reuters) - The United States will buttress security partnerships across the Pacific as it strengthens ties with island nations, but also hopes to work more closely with China as Beijing expands its own influence in the region, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday. Clinton arrived in the tiny Pacific outpost of the Cook Islands for this year's Pacific Islands Forum, part of Washington's effort to woo nations across the Asia-Pacific which are increasingly coming under China's shadow. Clinton told the gathering, which represents 16 independent and self-governing states ranging from Australia and New Zealand to smaller islands such as Tuvalu and Nauru, that the ...

By Bloomberg News - 2012-09-01T01:10:54Z China ’s manufacturing shrank for the first time in nine months, an official survey showed, signaling the growth slowdown in the world’s second-biggest economy may be deepening. The Purchasing Managers Index fell to 49.2 in August from 50.1 in July, the National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said today in Beijing. That compares with the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey for a reading of 50, which marks the dividing line between expansion and contraction. Today’s data increase pressure on Premier Wen Jiabao to step up stimulus to reverse a growth slowdown that may extend into a seventh quarter, after export gains stalled in July and new lending declined. Stabilizing expansion is the key task for the economy in the second half, Wen said last month. “Downside risks to economic growth are increasing,” Chang Jian, a Hong Kong-based economist at Barclays Plc who formerly work...

RAROTONGA, Cook Islands â€" U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday pledged renewed American commitment to security in the Asia-Pacific, where tensions are rising between China and its smaller neighbors over territorial disputes and many nations face threats from climate change. Speaking at a meeting of leaders of South Pacific island nations, Clinton said the United States would not abandon its long history of protecting maritime commerce in the region and serving as a counterbalance to domination by any particular world power. Here is a look at some of the week’s best photographs from around the globe. More World News William Wan As Party Congress approaches, swaths of Beijing teeter between utter apathy and intense concern. Juan Forero A car accident nearly undoes a reporting mission. Anup Kaphle 270 workers arrested after police shot dead 34 of their colleagues at Marikana pla...

SHANGHAI â€" Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany ended a two-day visit to China on Friday with a renewed call to strengthen ties between Germany and China and a new pledge from Beijing that it would continue to invest in Europe. Ms. Merkel visited China at the invitation of Prime Minister Wen Jiabao at a time when both countries are facing the prospect of slower growth and weakening demand for their exports. Traveling with a large delegation of German officials and business executives, the chancellor held talks in Beijing with President Hu Jintao and Mr. Wen, as well as the two men expected to succeed them early next year, Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang. Neither side indicated any significant progress on political or economic issues, but Mr. Wen called for the European Union to take bolder steps to resolve its debt crisis . He also said China intended to invest more in European debt. Experts on China say Beijing is eager to have Europe welcome more Chinese investment in k...

SHANGHAI â€" Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany ended a two-day visit to China on Friday with a renewed call to strengthen ties between Germany and China and a new pledge from Beijing that it would continue to invest in Europe. Ms. Merkel visited China at the invitation of Prime Minister Wen Jiabao at a time when both countries are facing the prospect of slower growth and weakening demand for their exports. Traveling with a large delegation of German officials and business executives, the chancellor held talks in Beijing with President Hu Jintao and Mr. Wen, as well as the two men expected to succeed them early next year, Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang. Neither side indicated any significant progress on political or economic issues, but Mr. Wen called for the European Union to take bolder steps to resolve its debt crisis . He also said China intended to invest more in European debt. Experts on China say Beijing is eager to have Europe welcome more Chinese investment in k...

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) participates in an arrival ceremony at Rarotonga International Airport in Rarotonga, August 30, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Jim Watson/Pool By Andrew Quinn RAROTONGA | Fri Aug 31, 2012 6:21pm EDT RAROTONGA (Reuters) - The United States will expand security partnerships across the Pacific as it strengthens ties with island nations that sit at the intersection of vast maritime resources and key shipping routes, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday. Clinton arrived in the tiny Pacific outpost of the Cook Islands to participate in this year's Pacific Island Forum, part of Washington's growing effort to woo nations across the Asia-Pacific which are increasingly coming under China's shadow. Clinton told the gathering, which represents 16 independent and self-governing states ranging from Australia and New Zealand to smaller islands such as Tuvalu and Nauru, that the U...

Fri Aug 31, 2012 7:52am EDT * W. and Central Africa to be "the next Pilbara" * China's drive to diversify iron ore sources to support Africa * Increased African transparency to draw more foreign investment By Rebekah Kebede PERTH, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Australian miners are betting that Africa will be the next frontier for iron ore, as they look beyond a fall this week in the price of the steel-making ingredient to its lowest level in nearly three years, battered by cooling Chinese demand. African countries could eventually rival Pilbara, Australia's main iron ore mining region and producer of about half of the world's seaborne iron ore supply, mining executives gathered at a meeting in Perth said on Friday. The demand downturn caused by China's slowing growth was a blip, Australian explorers and miners said, and as China seeks to diversify its iron ore supply, unexplored resources in Africa promise better...

Secretary of State Clinton is visiting the Cook Islands as the South Pacific, long a strategic backwater, attracts new attention amid Washington-Beijing competition for regional influence. When US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives in the Cook Islands today, her entourage and an aircraft carrier in tow, the message for the tiny South Pacific territory and its fellow island nations should be clear: America cares. Skip to next paragraph Subscribe Today to the Monitor Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition Or more precisely, “America cares more than China.” Ms. Clinton is dropping in on little-known Rarotonga, the Cook Islands’ capital, to meet leaders of 15 countries in the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) after their annual summit. Never before has such a high-ranking US diplomat attended such a meeting; even against the background of China’s growing ties in the South Pacific and Washington’s s...

Chancellor Angela Merkel has sought to defend Europe's stuttering solar cell industry by urging China to stop alleged price dumping by its manufacturers. She said talks instead of an EU anti-dumping probe should ensue. Attending German-Chinese trade talks in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin, Merkel said Germany would ask the EU Commission to waive an anti-dumping probe wanted EU ProSun, a grouping of some 20 European solar companies. Germany's troubled Q-Cells has a South Korean bidder Several German firms, seen as pioneers in Germany's drive to replace its nuclear power sector with renewables, have filed for insolvency in recent months.  In July, ProSun called on Brussels to open a probe, saying their cell prices were undercut by Chinese firms benefiting from state loans and subsidies. Chinese firms retorted that the allegations were "groundless" and warned of a trade war. Respect fair trade, urges Merkel At Friday's Tianjin talks, Mer...

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived Thursday in the South Pacific at the top of a six-nation Asia tour during which she aims to reassert American interests in the face of China's growing influence and calm rising tensions over territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Clinton was welcomed to the Cook Islands by exotic, colorfully clad local traditional dancers and dignitaries and lots of drumming. Her visit is clearly a big deal on this little island and she was beaming as she was presented with lei-type garlands called ae'i made with scented white flowers and 'ei maire, made with green leaves. Clinton's far-flung travels will keep her half a world away from U.S. politics at the height of the presidential conventions. But it will put her at the center of maritime disputes between China and its smaller neighbors. Clinton will visit Beijing at the midpoint of the 11-day tour that began in the remote Cook Islands, where she was the first...

Clinton in South Pacific with China in focus By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press â€" 1 hour ago   RAROTONGA, Cook Islands (AP) â€" U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived Thursday in the South Pacific at the top of a six-nation Asia tour during which she aims to reassert American interests in the face of China's growing influence and calm rising tensions over territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Clinton was welcomed to the Cook Islands by exotic, colorfully clad local traditional dancers and dignitaries and lots of drumming. Her visit is clearly a big deal on this little island and she was beaming as she was presented with lei-type garlands called ae'i made with scented white flowers and 'ei maire, made with green leaves. Clinton's far-flung travels will keep her half a world away from U.S. politics at the height of the presidential conventions. But it will put her at the center of maritime disputes between China and its smaller...

Fri Aug 31, 2012 5:19am EDT (Updates to close) * HSI down 0.4 pct, sheds 1.6 pct in August * CSI300 slips 0.3 pct, slumps 5.5 pct on the month * Citic Pacific hammered, iron ore prices at near 3-yr low * Esprit, Sands China top August performers, Li & Fung lags By Clement Tan and Vikram Subhedar HONG KONG, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares slipped and China sank to levels not seen since early 2009 on Friday, with both markets ending August in the red after first half corporate earnings disappointed and there seemed little chance of an imminent recovery. Turnover was lackluster ahead of an annual meeting of central bankers in Wyoming later on Friday, with the market expecting Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to keep expectations of monetary easing intact into September, but not immediately take any measures. A scheduled quarterly rebalancing of the MSCI China index at Friday's close did little to help boost...

China's President Hu Jintao smiles during a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing August 30, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Diego Azubel/Pool By Benjamin Kang Lim BEIJING | Fri Aug 31, 2012 4:19am EDT BEIJING (Reuters) - China's outgoing President Hu Jintao is angling to promote one of his closest allies to the military's decision-making body, sources said, in a move that would allow him to maintain an influence over Beijing's most potent instrument of power. Three sources with ties to the top leadership said Hu hopes to cut all of his direct links to the top echelons of power by early 2013, on the understanding that his protégé, Vice Premier Li Keqiang, is made a vice chairman of the military commission at the party's five-yearly congress later this year. Hu wants a clean handover of the party leadership, the presidency and the top military post t...

China’s benchmark stock index fell, capping a fourth month of losses, after declining earnings at companies from Citic Securities Co. (600030) to Sany Heavy Industry Co. showed the impact of the nation’s economic slowdown. Citic Securities, the nation’s biggest listed brokerage, dropped 1.2 percent and Sany Heavy sank to its lowest level since October 2010. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the nation’s biggest lender, slipped 0.8 percent after earnings growth slowed. Qingdao Haier Co., the largest refrigerator maker, climbed 3.9 percent after first-half profit rose. “Corporate earnings aren’t likely to have a big rebound in the second half of the year given the sluggish economy,” said Wang Zheng, Shanghai-based chief investment officer at Jingxi Investment Management Co., which manages about $120 million. “The government may step in to boost confidence in the market through measures such as encouraging share buybacks.” The Shanghai Composite Ind...

Fri Aug 31, 2012 1:05am EDT (Updates to midday) * HSI down 0.3 pct, CSI300 flat * Indices set for monthly losses * Citic Pacific dives, plagued by iron ore weakness * China insurers lifted by policy to boost medical coverage By Clement Tan and Vikram Subhedar HONG KONG, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares slipped, while China hovered near levels not seen since early 2009 on Friday, with both markets set to end August in the red after first half corporate earnings disappointed with little prospect of imminent recovery. Turnover was sluggish ahead of an annual meeting of central bankers in Wyoming later, with the market now expecting Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke to keep easing expectations intact going into September, but short of delivering fresh measures. Investors have in August rolled into stocks of companies that were able to project resilient earnings growth in a sluggish economic environment, with little pr...

Link this Share this (The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own) By John Foley BEIJING, Aug 31 (Reuters Breakingviews) - China’s indentured banks are at a turning point. For six decades, the government has treated... Email Print Fri Aug 31, 2012 10:34am IST (The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own) By John Foley BEIJING, Aug 31 (Reuters Breakingviews) - China’s indentured banks are at a turning point. For six decades, the government has treated them as tools of the state: dictating when to lend, and when to stop. The trick is becoming less effective, even as it may be getting more necessary. When the economy slumped in 2008, banks were part of the solution. They leveraged up the government’s 1.6 trillion yuan fiscal stimulus, mainly by offering loans to local government and large industrial companies. Bank credit added 4...