link1s.site

MOFCOM refutes EU comments on anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese EVs

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Monday rejected remarks from the EU Ambassador to China on the anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles (EVs).

MOFCOM said China had expressed strong opposition through various channels since October 2023 and has always advocated for handling economic and trade frictions through dialogue and consultation in order to maintain the overall strategic partnership between China and Europe.

EU Ambassador to China Jorge Toledo claimed on Sunday that the EU has been trying to engage with China for months regarding the imposition of tariffs on Chinese EVs but that China had only recently sought to initiate discussions. This is false, the spokesperson said.

MOFCOM said that after the European Commission (EC) officially filed a case, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao sent a letter to European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis on October 24, 2023, expressing hope to resolve the case through dialogue and negotiation.

On November 13, 2023, Wang sent another letter to the European side proposing negotiation suggestions.

In February 2024, Wang met with Dombrovskis during the WTO's 13th Ministerial Conference face to face and proposed dialogue and negotiation with the European side.

On May 19, 2024, Wang reiterated the hope for dialogue and negotiation to resolve the case in a letter to the European side.

Additionally, Chinese technical experts have been sending signals to the European side regarding on-site inspections, hearings, and other channels since the case was filed, expressing willingness to resolve trade frictions through dialogue and negotiation.

On the day the preliminary ruling was announced on June 12, Dombrovskis replied to Wang in a letter, expressing the desire for both sides to strengthen dialogue to resolve the case.

On June 22, Wang held a video conference with Dombrovskis, and they agreed to start negotiations on the EU's anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese EVs.

Subsequently, China sent a working group to Europe for negotiations on June 23, and multiple rounds of technical consultations were held simultaneously via video.

MOFCOM said that China has shown the utmost sincerity and hopes that the European side will meet China halfway, show sincerity, and push forward the negotiation process to reach a mutually acceptable solution as soon as possible.

China has always believed that trade protectionist measures are not conducive to the development of global green industries and automotive industry cooperation. Efforts should be made to adhere to dialogue and cooperation to promote economic green transformation, rather than creating divisions and disrupting global industrial and supply chains, MOFCOM said.

China firmly opposes any unilateralism and protectionism that politicizes and weaponizes economic and trade issues, and will take all necessary measures to defend its own interests against any abuse of rules and suppression of China, MOFCOM added.

Russian military launches massive missile attack, Kiev children's hospital hit; President Biden issues statement condemning Russia's "brutalism"
A children's hospital in the Ukrainian capital was hit by a Russian missile on Monday as part of a wave of airstrikes across Ukraine that has killed at least 31 people and injured 154 others. "Russian terrorists have once again launched a massive missile attack on Ukrainian cities - Kiev, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Slaviansk, Kramatorsk," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelensky said Russia fired more than 40 missiles of different types at the five cities in daytime attacks, hitting residential buildings and public infrastructure. The Ukrainian air force said it intercepted 30 missiles. Authorities said the attack on Kiev killed seven people, while the attack on Kryvyi Rih, Zelensky's birthplace in central Ukraine, killed 10 and injured 47. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the attacks, calling the assault on the Kiev hospital and another medical facility in the capital's Dniprovsky district "particularly egregious," said his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric. "Direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects are prohibited under international humanitarian law. Any such attacks are unacceptable and must cease immediately," Dujarric said. The U.N. Security Council will meet Tuesday to discuss the Russian strikes, diplomats said. The Russian Defense Ministry said the strikes targeted Ukrainian defense factories and a military aviation base and were successful. It denied striking any civilian facilities and claimed, without evidence, that photos from Kiev showed the damage was caused by a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile. Ukrainian Air Force Colonel Yurii Ignat said Russia has been improving the effectiveness of its air strikes by equipping its missiles with enhanced features, including so-called heat decoys that can throw air defense systems off target. In comments sent to The Associated Press, he said the cruise missiles flew low in Monday's attack -- just 50 meters off the ground -- making them harder to hit. Western countries, led by the United States, have provided Ukraine with billions of dollars in arms support. They will hold a three-day NATO summit in Washington starting Tuesday to work out how to reassure Kiev of NATO's strong support and give Ukrainians hope that their country can survive the largest conflict in Europe since World War II. "Today's Russian missile strike that killed dozens of Ukrainian civilians and caused damage and loss of life to Kyiv's largest children's hospital is a horrifying reminder of Russia's brutality," U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement Monday. "It is critical that the world continues to stand with Ukraine at this important moment and that we do not ignore Russian aggression." Biden said in the statement that he will meet with President Zelensky during the NATO summit in Washington this week "to make clear our unwavering support for Ukraine." Biden continued: "We will join our allies in announcing new measures to strengthen Ukraine's air defenses and help protect their cities and civilians from Russian attacks. The United States stands with the Ukrainian people." Czech President Petr Pavel said the hospital attack was "inexcusable" and he hoped the NATO summit would reach a consensus that Russia is "the greatest threat and we must be fully prepared to deal with it." Zelensky said during a visit to Poland that he hoped the NATO summit would provide Ukraine with more air defense systems. The Ukrainian leader said rescuers were digging through the rubble of the Ohmatdit Children's Hospital in Kyiv and that the number of casualties was not yet known. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least 16 people were injured, including seven children, and the attack caused a two-story wing of the hospital to partially collapse. Doors and windows were blown off the hospital's 10-story main building, and the walls were charred. The floor of one room was splattered with blood. Hospital officials said the intensive care unit, operating room and oncology department were damaged.
Will chatGPT lead to job losses?
In fact, ChatGPT can bring more opportunities to many industries, such as customer service, marketing, speech recognition, and more. ChatGPT can help businesses engage with customers more effectively, improve the customer experience, and give businesses more time and resources to focus on other tasks. Come to see While ChatGPT can replace humans in certain situations, it is not a complete replacement for humans. In many cases, human-to-human communication is still the most effective way. Therefore, the emergence of ChatGPT will not lead to the unemployment of all people, but will cause structural changes in the labor force and the redistribution of occupations.
Carlsberg to buy Britvic for $4.2 billion
Carlsberg to buy Britvic for 1,315p per share Carlsberg will also buy out Marston's from brewing joint venture Danish brewer plans to create integrated beverage business in UK Shares in Carlsberg, Britvic, Marston's all rise July 8 (Reuters) - Carlsberg (CARLb.CO), opens new tab has agreed to buy British soft drinks maker Britvic (BVIC.L), opens new tab for 3.3 billion pounds ($4.23 billion), a move the Danish brewer said would forge a UK beverage "powerhouse" and that sent both companies' shares higher. Carlsberg clinched the takeover with a sweetened bid of 1,315 pence per share - comprising cash and a special dividend of 25 pence a share - after the British company rejected 1,250 pence per share last month. The acquisition will create value for shareholders, contribute to growth and forge a combined beer and soft drink company that is unique in the UK, CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen told investors on a conference call. "With this transaction we are creating a UK powerhouse," he said. He brushed off concerns from some analysts about integration risks, saying Carlsberg has a strong track record of running beer and soft drink businesses in several markets. Soft drinks already make up 16% of Carlsberg's volumes. COST SAVINGS As drinkers in some markets ditch beer for spirits or cut back on drinking altogether, brewers have looked to broaden their portfolio into new categories like hard seltzer, canned cocktails and cider, as well as zero-alcohol brews. Britvic sells non-alcoholic drinks in Britain, Ireland, Brazil and other international markets such as France, the Middle East and Asia. Carlsberg said the deal will deliver a number of benefits, including cost and efficiency savings worth 100 million pounds ($128 million) over five years as it takes advantage of common procurement, production and distribution networks. It will also see Carlsberg take over Britvic's bottling agreement with PepsiCo (PEP.O), opens new tab. Carlsberg already bottles PepsiCo drinks in several markets and there is scope to add more geographies in future, Aarup-Andersen said. arlsberg halted share buy backs on Monday as a result of the deal. Chief financial officer Ulrica Fearn said these would resume once Carlsberg reaches its revised target for net debt of 2.5 times EBITDA, from 3.5 times currently - a goal it expects to meet in 2027. "Whilst this represents a shift in the strategy away from organic top- and bottom-line growth and consistent returns to shareholders, we view it as a relatively low risk transaction with attractive financials," Jefferies analysts said in a note. Carlsberg also said on Monday it will buy out UK pub group Marston's (MARS.L), opens new tab from a joint venture for 206 million pounds. That will give it full ownership of the newly formed Carlsberg Britvic after the deal. ($1 = 0.7805 pounds) Get the latest news and expert analysis about the state of the global economy with Reuters Econ World. Sign up here. Reporting by Stine Jacobsen, Yadarisa Shabong and Emma Rumney Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Rashmi Aich, David Goodman and David Evans
China's generative AI patents are far ahead of the US!
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) recently said that China filed 38,000 artificial intelligtion-related generative AI patents from 2014-23, while the United States filed 6,276 of the 50,000 patents filed by all countries. Of the 50,000 applications, 25 percent were filed last year.The top five inventor regions are: China (38,210 inventions), the United States (6,276 inventions), the Republic of Korea (4,155 inventions), Japan (3,409 inventions) and India (1,350 inventions).
Former British PM Sunak appoints Conservative Party shadow cabinet
On July 8, local time, former British Prime Minister Sunak announced the appointment of the Conservative Party Shadow Cabinet, which is the first shadow cabinet of the Conservative Party in 14 years. Several former British cabinet members during Sunak's tenure as prime minister were appointed to the Conservative Party Shadow Cabinet, including James Cleverly as Shadow Home Secretary and Jeremy Hunt as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. But former Foreign Secretary Cameron was not appointed as Shadow Foreign Secretary. In addition, the new leader of the Conservative Party will be elected as early as this week. On July 4, the UK held a parliamentary election. The counting results showed that the British Labour Party won more than half of the seats and won an overwhelming victory; the Conservative Party suffered a disastrous defeat, ending its 14-year continuous rule.