HONG KONG, July 9 (Reuters) - Nornickel (GMKN.MM), opens new tab is in talks with China Copper to form a joint venture that would allow the Russian mining giant to move its entire copper smelting base to China, four sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. If the move goes ahead, it would mark Russia's first uprooting of a domestic plant since the U.S. and Britain banned metal exchanges from accepting new aluminium, copper and nickel produced by Russia. It also means Nornickel's copper will be produced within the country where it is most consumed. Nornickel said in April it planned to close its Arctic facility and build a new plant in China with an unnamed partner. Executives at China Copper, owned by the world's largest aluminium producer Chinalco (601600.SS), opens new tab, flew to Moscow in June to discuss a possible joint venture, one of the sources said, adding that details of the structure and investment are still under discussion. Nornickel declined to comment. Chinalco and China Copper did not respond to requests for comment via email and phone. Sites being considered in China include Fangchenggang and Qinzhou in the Guangxi region, the two sources said, with another source saying Qingdao in Shandong province was also possible. A decision on a joint venture will be made over the next few months, a fifth source said, adding that Nornickel's Chinese output is likely to be consumed domestically. The new facility will have capacity to produce 450,000 tonnes of copper annually, two of the sources said, amounting to around 2% of global mined supplies estimated at around 22 million metric tons this year. Nornickel, which according to its annual report produced 425,400 tonnes of refined copper last year, processed all of its concentrates in 2023 at the Arctic plant, its only operation producing finished copper suitable for delivery to exchanges.

The U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet announced on Wednesday (May 22) that the 2024 Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC 2024) is expected to take place on June 26, with 29 countries participating in and around the Hawaiian Islands, a larger lineup than the previous exercise in 2022. The Philippines, which has had multiple maritime conflicts with China recently, and Japan, which has tense diplomatic relations with China, will send troops to participate. China has been excluded from participating in the international military exercise since 2018, and its aggressive actions and reactions are causing tensions in the Pacific region to continue to rise. The biennial Rim of the Pacific military exercise is the world's largest international maritime exercise. The U.S. Navy said that the exercise will last until August 2, and it is expected to involve 29 countries, 40 surface ships, 3 submarines, 14 countries' army forces, more than 150 aircraft and more than 25,000 personnel. The U.S. Navy said that the theme of the 29th RIMPAC 2024 is "Partners: Integrated and Ready", emphasizing inclusiveness as the core, promoting multinational cooperation and trust, and using military interoperability to achieve their respective national goals to strengthen integrated and ready alliance partners. Its goal is to "enhance collective strength and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific region" through joint training and operations. The 29 countries participating in the exercise this year include Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, the United Kingdom and the United States. Compared with the 28th RIMPAC held in 2022, which involved 26 countries, 38 surface ships, 4 submarines, 9 countries' army forces, more than 170 aircraft, and about 25,000 officers and soldiers, the number of countries, ships and army forces participating in this exercise has increased. The countries participating in this year's RIMPAC military exercise include all members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) between the United States, Japan, India and Australia, and the Australia-UK-US Trilateral Security Partnership (AUKUS), as in the previous exercise. In addition, countries surrounding the South China Sea and the South Pacific island nation of Tonga are also participating. Many analysts believe that the military exercise itself is sending a message to China: China's expansion in the Western Pacific region will be blocked and defeated. The United States invited China to participate in the RIMPAC military exercise twice in 2014 and 2016. In 2018, due to China's expansion in the South China Sea, the United States withdrew its invitation to China. In addition, despite Taiwan's repeated willingness to participate, Taiwan is still not included in the 29 countries participating in this year's RIMPAC military exercise. Analysts pointed out that the US-led RIMPAC military exercise is intended to unite allies to militarily intimidate China. If Taiwan is invited to join, it will be too provocative to China, which will not only aggravate the tension between the United States and China, but also embarrass some allies. The U.S. Navy said the commander of the U.S. Third Fleet will serve as the commander of the joint task force for the exercise, while Chilean Navy Commodore Alberto Guerrero will serve as deputy commander of the joint task force, which is a first in the history of the RIMPAC military exercise. In addition, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Rear Admiral Kazushi Yokota will also serve as deputy commander. Other key leaders of the multinational force exercise include Canadian Commodore Kristjan Monaghan, who will command the maritime forces, and Australian Air Force Commodore Louise Desjardins, who will command the air forces. According to the U.S. Stars and Stripes, Vice Admiral Michael Boyle is currently the commander of the U.S. Third Fleet. Vice Admiral John Wade has been nominated to replace Boyle. The U.S. Navy press release said the exercise will enhance the ability of international joint forces to "deter and defeat aggression by major powers in all domains and conflict levels," but did not provide specific information on which exercises will be held this summer. Previous RIMPAC training exercises have included sinking ships at sea with missiles, amphibious landings and the first landing of a Marine Corps Osprey aircraft on an Australian ship.

Apple is giving the Apple Watch a major update for its 10th anniversary. The watch's display will be larger, and the entire device will be thinner and lighter. Both the Apple Watch Series 10 and the new Apple Watch Ultra 3 will be equipped with new chips, which may be paving the way for future Apple AI capabilities. According to sources, the Apple Watch health detection function has encountered some technical obstacles in the upgrade process, the blood pressure measurement function or can only realistically display fluctuations and cannot display values, and the sleep apnea detection and other functions can not appear on the new product. The shell material of Apple Watch SE series products may be replaced by hard plastic from aluminum shell. The plastic-clad Apple Watch may be sold at a lower price to compete with Samsung's cheapest Watch, the Galaxy Watch FE. In addition, Siri's new features may be delayed, and AirPods with cameras may arrive in 2026.

White House spokeswoman Karina Jean-Pierre denied a report in the U.S. media on the 8th that President Joseph Biden did not receive treatment for Parkinson's disease. Biden had the first televised debate of the 2024 presidential election with Republican opponent Donald Trump on June 27, and his poor performance on the spot triggered discussions about his physical condition. The New York Times reported that a doctor specializing in the treatment of Parkinson's disease had "visited" the White House eight times from August last year to March this year. Facing the media's questions about Biden's health, Jean-Pierre asked and answered himself at a regular White House press conference on the 8th: "Has the president received treatment for Parkinson's disease? No. Is he currently receiving treatment for Parkinson's disease? No, he is not. Is he taking medication for Parkinson's disease? No." Jean-Pierre said Biden had seen a neurologist three times, all related to his annual physical examination. She also took out the report issued by the doctor after Biden's most recent physical examination in February this year. The report said, "An extremely detailed neurological examination was once again reassuring" because no symptoms consistent with stroke, multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's disease were found. The doctor who went to the White House mentioned by the New York Times is Kevin Kanal, a neurology and movement disorder expert at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland and an authority on Parkinson's disease. Jean-Pierre suggested that the doctor might have come to treat military personnel on duty at the White House.

US President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday restricting investments in China, intended to further stymie China's advances in three cutting-edge technology areas: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies and certain artificial intelligence systems. The "decoupling" of high tech from China began under Donald Trump, and the Biden administration has continued that ambition. However, the new order doesn't target US investments already invested in China, but the new ones. The Biden administration has repeatedly claimed that the US restrictions will be narrowly targeted and will not "have a fundamental impact on affecting the investment climate for China." Biden's new executive order is still subject to consultation with the US business community and the public and is not expected to take effect until next year. The order has been brewed for a long time and has generated a lot of publicity. But almost no one believes that this executive order will deal a new practical blow to Chinese high technology, because almost everyone knows that China needs American technology more than American money. The order has gained much attention because it is seen as part of a broader trend of the US drifting away from China. The promulgation and brewing process of the executive order reflects the strong desire of American political elites to suppress China's high-tech development, as well as a fierce game between those supporting the executive order and the concerns of the technology and economic sectors about a potential backfire on the US. It is a kind of compromise. Washington obviously hopes that major allies will follow Biden's executive order. The UK's Sunak government has made cautious statements, stating that it is consulting business and the financial sector before deciding whether to follow suit. In fact, China also has the ability to influence the extent to which Biden's executive order is implemented, as well as the extent to which the US will go in terms of "decoupling" from China. We are definitely not just passive recipients of US policies. American political elites are eager to "decouple" from China as quickly and deeply as possible, but they fear two things: First, this will immediately damage the performance of relevant high-tech companies in the US, undermine their influence and further innovation. The current Biden administration, in particular, does not want to incur strong resentment from Silicon Valley and Wall Street toward the escalating "decoupling," which will ultimately lead to the loss of support for the Democratic Party. Second, they are afraid of pushing China toward more resolute independent innovation to achieve breakthroughs in key technologies such as chips. If the US "decoupling" policy gives birth to major technological achievements in China, it means that Washington will completely lose the gamble: They originally wants to stifle China's high-tech development, but ends up strangling their own companies. What China needs to do next is to fully unleash our innovation vitality, continuously reduce our dependence on high-tech products from the US, and prove that as long as we are determined to achieve independent innovation, we have the ability to accomplish things. We need to prove that being pressured by the US will only make us stronger. As long as there are several solid proofs of this trend, the US policy community will fall into unprecedented chaos, and their panic will be much more severe than when they saw the rapid expansion of the Chinese economy before Trump started the trade war. Regardless of the future of China-US relations, the current battle will be the key battle that determines the future competition between China and the US. China can only win and cannot afford to lose. High-tech products such as chips are not isolated. The innovation power of China's entire manufacturing industry and the creative vitality of the whole society are the foundation for shaping these key achievements. When pressured by the US, our society needs to generate confidence and resilience from all directions, and we need to accelerate and seize every opportunity, rather than shrink and simply defend. Otherwise, the US will gain the upper hand in momentum, and we will truly be in a passive and defensive position. We must see that the US is on the offensive, but its offensive is becoming weaker and weaker, and it is always hesitant with each step. What is presented to China are difficulties and risks, but also the dawn of victory.