The management of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan discussed with representatives of Tencent Cloud International, a part of the Chinese holding Tencent Holdings Ltd, the issues of bilateral cooperation in the development of digital technologies and cloud infrastructure in the country, the press service of the regulator reports.
During the talks, the prospects of integrating Tencent’s WeChat Pay digital payment system with local payment systems of Uzbekistan, the possibility of making payments using QR codes, as well as expanding cooperation in this area were discussed, the statement said.
Following the meeting, the parties supported initiatives in the field of payment systems and agreed on future joint actions.
Miraziz Mirkhayotov, deputy director of the Central Bank’s payment systems department, told reporters that Chinese mobile payment services WeChat and Alipay (from Ant Group, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group) can be integrated with Uzbekistan’s national payment systems.
According to him, at the first stage, the parties are working to ensure that foreign tourists can make payments in Uzbekistan. At the second stage, similar work is planned to make payments by Uzbek residents in China through the republic’s payment systems Uzcard and Humo.
Germany topped the list of leading beer exporters to China in the first quarter of this year (by $23.258 million), according to the State Customs Administration (SCA) of the PRC.
It was followed by the Netherlands (by $11.799 million), Belgium (by $11.239 million), and Spain (by $10.028 million). Among Asian countries, Japan supplied the most beer to China – by $5.276 million.
In total, in January-March 2025, China imported beer from 52 countries and exported it to 89.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said China is one of the biggest threats to the country in terms of foreign interference and geopolitics, and criticized Beijing for partnering with Russia in the war against Ukraine, according to a Reuters report.
During Thursday night’s election debate, Carney called China the biggest threat to Canada’s security. At a news conference in Niagara Falls on Friday, he emphasized the need to counter outside interference from China.
Carney also said China’s collaboration with Russia in the war against Ukraine poses a threat to all of Asia, especially Taiwan.
“We are taking measures to address it,” he said.
The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa did not comment on the statement. Carney’s Liberal Party is leading in the polls ahead of the April 28 parliamentary election.
In addition, Canada remains embroiled in a trade standoff with the U.S., responding with duties on U.S. restrictions on Canadian cars, steel and aluminum.
Carney stressed that Canada has no plans to respond dollar-for-dollar, but recognized the restructuring of the global trading system.
In March 2025, China’s exports grew by 12.4% year-on-year, reaching $313.9 billion. This growth was significantly higher than the forecasted 4.4% and was the highest in the last five months. The main reason for this jump was the desire of Chinese manufacturers to speed up deliveries abroad before the new high US duties on Chinese goods come into effect.
On April 10, the administration of President Donald Trump increased tariffs on Chinese imports to 145%, citing trade imbalances and problems with fentanyl. In response, China imposed retaliatory duties of 125% on American goods and restricted exports of rare earth elements.
Experts warn that the March export growth is temporary. Exports are expected to decline in the coming months due to new tariffs and weakening global demand.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs and Citi have already lowered their forecasts for China’s GDP growth in 2025 to 4% and 4.2%, respectively. At the same time, China’s imports fell by 4.3% in March, indicating weak domestic demand. Purchases of soybeans fell particularly sharply – by 36.8%, which may be due to trade restrictions and delays in shipments from Brazil.
In response to the deterioration of trade relations with the United States, China is stepping up efforts to diversify its export destinations, increasing supplies to Southeast Asia, Africa, and India.
During his visit to Southeast Asia, President Xi Jinping emphasized the need to strengthen regional trade ties and counter unilateral protectionist measures.
Thus, despite the short-term growth in exports, the Chinese economy faces serious challenges amid the escalation of the trade war with the United States and weakening domestic demand.
The Chinese authorities have decided to raise duties on US products from 34% to 84%, The Global Times reported on Wednesday, citing the Commission on Customs Tariffs under the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. The new tariffs are to come into effect on April 10 at 12:01 a.m. local time (7:01 a.m. ET).
In turn, Chinese state media reported that the Chinese authorities added 6 US firms to the list of unreliable organizations and 12 US entities to the list of legal entities subject to export controls.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump, having received no signals of concessions from Beijing, signed a decree to increase duties on goods from China. According to the decree, the additional 34% duty previously announced by Trump is being increased by 84%. Thus, taking into account the 20% duties that Trump imposed on goods from China in the first term of his presidency, the duties now amount to 104%.
Last week, the Chinese authorities decided to impose additional duties of 34% on goods from the United States starting April 10.
CNBC noted that the United States was ready to reconsider its position on raising duties on Chinese goods if China abandoned its retaliatory duties on American goods. However, Beijing stated that it was not going to make concessions.
The Chinese company SHAC will invest 40 million euros in the construction of a plant in Novi Sad, Serbia. The company has already signed an agreement with the German automaker BMW. The plant is expected to open by the end of 2025, with the first serial deliveries to European customers scheduled for the first quarter of 2027.
Other Chinese investment projects in Serbia:
Energy sector: In May 2024, the Serbian Ministry of Mines and Energy signed two agreements with Chinese companies totaling about €2.7 billion. These investments include the construction of an oil and petroleum product refinery in Smederevo and the construction of a solar panel plant in Paracin.
Infrastructure: The Chinese company Shandong High-speed Group is involved in the construction of the Belgrade-Zrenjanin-Novi Sad highway, as well as in the reconstruction project of the Constantine the Great airport in Niš.
Automotive industry: Mei Ta has invested 60 million euros in the construction of a plant for the production of automotive components in Obrenovac.
These projects demonstrate the expansion of Chinese investment in various sectors of the Serbian economy, contributing to industrial development and job creation in the region.
Source: https://t.me/relocationrs/741
