China’s demand for Australia’s iron ore is the gift which keeps on giving. It took off in the second half of 2005 and has helped to deliver the Australian economy an amazing $1.2 trillion since …
Articles by: "David Uren"
The hack into the systems of ports operator DP World at the weekend exposes Australia’s high dependence on containerised imports for manufactured goods. Walk into any Bunnings, Harvey Norman, Officeworks, Myers or K-Mart store, and …
US efforts to encourage Indo-Pacific nations to diversify their trade away from China confront a well-established trend towards deeper regional integration, according to a report by the US-based Peterson Institute for International Economics. The Indo-Pacific …
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this week, has now advanced more than US$330 billion, which is about 80% of the lending of the World Bank over that period. The …
Western efforts to choke Russia’s oil profits are failing as production cuts agreed with Saudi Arabia push the market price towards US$100 a barrel and Russia’s biggest customers—China and India—start paying close to full market …
Summit season is in full swing, with the East Asia, BRICS and G20 leaders’ gatherings over the last month and APEC summit yet to come in November in San Francisco. It takes a balloonist’s tolerance …
Australia is more exposed to a downturn in the Chinese economy than any other advanced country. So far, however, commodity markets provide no evidence of a Chinese recession around the corner. The spate of gloomy …
The Chinese economy may be softening and commodity prices falling, but Australia’s exports to China hit a record $102.5 billion in the first half of this year thanks to massive shipments of lithium concentrate. Lithium …
The new military governments across Central and Western Africa enjoy a surprising strength of public support, according to research published by the United Nations Development Programme two weeks before the latest coup in Niger. The UNDP had …
Great opportunities await the Australian critical minerals industry, according to the Productivity Commission, but it says they are unlikely to include manufacture of end products such as batteries. The commission’s critique of the emerging industry …
Speeches by top trade officials last month highlight the rift that has opened up between the US and Australia on trade policy, and the implications for national security. The US is turning its back on …
Critical mineral projects will be favoured for federal government loans under its new critical minerals strategy, but there are to be no tailored tax breaks. Nor are there any plans to make downstream processing a condition of …