A reader has alerted me to this article describing how China and Egypt have recently signed an agreement to tighten controls on China’s exports to Egypt. It seems to have had an effect. The article, in Al Masry Al Youm, notes that the prices of many Chinese-made goods, or their competitors, have increased. For instance, the prices for such goods as chandeliers and energy saving bulbs have reportedly risen between 30% to 40%. I can’t find the original Arabic-language article, but I did find a Chinese-language article providing more detail. It states that an agreement between the two countries was signed on May 1, 2009, and that it requires companies exporting to Egypt to first apply for a pre-shipment certificate from the Chinese authorities.
Recent Articles
More quality control problems. But this time in Egypt.
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Chinese textiles, Pakistani jobs, and Saudi oil
Here’s a graph worth watching. It shows how China accounts for a growing share of imports by Egypt, Syria, and Pakistan. I’ve written on this before. But what makes the graph interesting is the sudden increase in the share of imports Pakistan is buying from China, up from 4% to 16% of the total, in the past 10 years. Household electronics and furniture likely includes a large share. But so might textiles.
If so, that will create challenges for Pakistan’s large textiles industry. And job losses in Pakistan are not helpful in a country that is such an important strategic partner for China.
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A few more bits on Iran
I’ve been doing some digging for more Chinese-language articles on Iran. They aren’t as many as you might expect, and I’m reminded of how academics went silent ahead of the U.S. presidential elections. I know Western journalists have been calling Chinese academics for quotes of late, and that probably doesn’t help.
But I thought an editorial in Huanqiu, a hardline foreign affairs newspaper, was illustrative of China’s nuanced position. Written in February, it underscores China’s growing frustration with Iran over the past six months, echoing Yin Gang’s earlier article.
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An unexpected email
I’ve been forwarded an Arabic-language email. It claims to be advertising the first specialized center for “calling” the Chinese to Islam. “Know of any Chinese working in companies or factories either in Riyadh or outside the city?…Then call this number”, the email reads. It’s the first time I’ve heard of anything like it.
Singapore’s Middle East link
They are like royalty. The Al Kaffs, Al Saggoffs, and Al Junieds. Who are they? They, along with other Hadrami migrants, helped build Singapore in the 1800s.
I gave a speech last month at Singapore’s Middle East Institute on the subject. Titled “How Singapore can make better use of its Arab legacy”, I was trying to answer the question whether the Hadramis are still relevant in today’s economy.
I’ve been a fan of the Hadramis since discovering them in the Chinese coastal city of Yiwu. Originating from the eastern Yemeni coastal province of Hadramawt, the Hadramis are natural traders and have spread across South East Asia over the centuries playing an important role in the region’s economy.
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China’s oil and Sudan’s farms
I met Ibrahim Elbadawi at the Dubai School of Government last month. He has written an interesting paper on China’s activities in Sudan. It underscores not only Sudan’s growing reliance on oil activity, but also its reliance on China to fund the sector’s expansion. In short, China’s gas tanks are driving Sudan’s economy.
What appealed to me though was mention of Sudan as a potential “food basket”. I spoke with representatives from the Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development in Kuwait last year. They were all Sudanese. They also made it clear that Arab investors were throwing themselves at Sudan’s agricultural sector, but without much success.
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Global Cultural Rebalancing
Dr Abdul Monaim Soliman is trying to help the Arab world, and he’s looking to China as a model.
That’s important because Dr Soliman is Secretary General of the Arab Thought Foundation. The foundation brings together academics and businesspeople from across the Middle East to talk about preserving the Arab world’s identity.
I had the pleasure of speaking at the foundation’s annual conference in Kuwait last December. The panel topic was Arab economic integration, a typically sticky problem. But, at the very least, I thought the conference had a real buzz to it.
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The Chinese navy returns to the Gulf
Two Chinese naval warships are visiting the UAE. It’s the first time in modern history that the Chinese navy has visited the Gulf. The fact China cannot project its military power without an aircraft carrier argues against inflating the practical importance of the trip. But the visit certainly has symbolic importance, and I’m expecting to read a flurry of articles citing the event to be “the first time the Chinese navy has visited the Gulf since Admiral Zheng He in the 1400s”.
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Silk Road Gallery
Canton Trade Fair
August 12th, 2010
August 12th, 2010
“China cheat sheet helps investors survive”, Bloomberg, September 1, 2010
“No more silver bullets for Beijing”, Wall Street Journal, June 17, 2010
“China’s historic return to the Gulf”, Foreign Policy, April 2, 2010
