October 3:
China Fortune Land Development Co. Ltd. has signed a deal to develop and manage 14,000 acres of Egypt's new administrative capital at a cost of $20 billion. The development, which will include homes and offices and all infrastructure, will take place in the second phase of construction of the new capital east of Cairo. The new capital is one of several mega-projects announced by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi designed to attract foreign investment and create jobs for Egypt's booming population of 91 million. In January, during a visit to Cairo, President Xi Jinping signed 21 investment and aid deals, including one to build the new capital's first phase, which will cost some $45 billion. The new capital will be as big as Singapore, have an airport larger than London's Heathrow, and more than 6,200 miles of streets, Reuters reports.
October 5:
"An investigation into companies doing business [with North Korea] should capture many large Chinese firms," according to a North Korean source cited by UPI. "The sanctions have actually given more benefits to Chinese companies," the source said. He claimed that China feigns compliance with sanctions and the suspension of mineral imports, but Chinese companies have been acquiring North Korea's raw materials on a "massive scale." Beneficiaries include companies like China's Wanxiang Group, which has an exclusive importation contract, valid until 2026, with North Korea's Hyesan Youth Copper Mine and is jointly operating the "Hyejung Mining Joint Venture Co." with North Korea, which purchases all of the mineral resources in North Korea's Yanggang Province. The U.S. and China are currently negotiating restrictions on North Korea trade in the wake of North Korea's fifth nuclear test last month, Bloomberg reports.
October 8:
The official People's Daily has published an editorial claiming that the "chaos" of the American election has "deepened the confusion and helplessness of the American people." "For a long time, the United States trumpeted the extraordinary excitement of its elections as a symbol of its superior institutions. It's time for this ‘teacher of democracy' to put away its super self-confidence and arrogance."
October 11:
The Russian military will cooperate with China to fend off the threat posed by the U.S. missile defense program, ABCNews.com reports. "Under the pretext of countering the North Korean and Iranian 'missile threats,' a system intended primarily for engaging Russian and Chinese missiles is being developed," Lt. Gen. Viktor Poznikhir of the Russian military's General Staff said. "The missile defense system considerably shifts the balance of offensive weapons, allowing the planning of a more efficient pre-emptive strike. Russian military experts believe that the U.S. hopes to gain the capability to strike any region of the world, including Russia and China, with nuclear-tipped missiles with impunity," Poznikhir said at the Xiangshan regional defense forum in Beijing. He said Russia and China are cooperating to counter the U.S. missile defense program. Joint drills were held earlier this year to simulate a joint action to fend off missile strikes under the protection of a missile defense system, and a similar exercise will be conduct next year.
October 12:
China's defense minister Chang Wanquan has opened the Xiangshan regional defense forum in Beijing with what the official Shanghai Daily called "thinly veiled criticism" of the U.S.: "Some countries seek absolute military superiority, ceaselessly strengthen their military alliances, and seek their own absolute security at the cost of other countries' security," Chang said. Major General Cai Jun, of the PLA Central Military Commission's joint staff department, said Washington was using North Korea's actions as a pretext to gain military superiority over China. Deploying the THAAD system in South Korea, he said, was "not conducive to the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula. It has increased the risk of military conflict." Cai warned the U.S. missile defense program could trigger "an arms race at a high level, even to outer space."
