Business

5 June 2019; AFP: China on Wednesday imposed a $23.6 million fine on US auto giant Ford's joint venture with Changan Automobile for "price fixing" in the latest incident of Beijing targeting an American company amid a festering trade war.

The fine, amounting to four percent of Changan Ford Automobile's sales in the southwestern city of Chongqing, was levied over violations of China's anti-monopoly laws.

5 June 2019; DW: The European Commission said in a debt report released Wednesday that Italy's massive public debt in 2018 violated EU budget rules and recommended beginning infringement procedures. 

"Italy is not projected to comply with the debt reduction benchmark in either 2019 or 2020 based on both the government plans and the commission 2019 spring forecast," the report said.

MOSCOW, June 5. /TASS/. Russia and Slovakia have agreed on supplies of Russian nuclear fuel to Slovak nuclear power plants in 2022-2030.

TVEL Corporation (part of Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom) and Slovak Power Plants (Slovenske Elektrarne) signed a relevant additional document to the bilateral general contract on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON, June 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. farmer sentiment in May dropped to its lowest level since October 2016 amid the U.S.-initiated trade disputes with China, a survey showed Tuesday.

The Ag Economy Barometer, which measures U.S. agricultural producer sentiment, dropped to 101 points in May, 14 points lower than that in April, said the survey by Purdue University and CME Group.

The results "erased all of the large improvement in farmer sentiment" that took place following U.S. President Donald Trump's election in November 2016, said the survey.

BRUSSELS, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission released the draft 2020 EU budget on Wednesday, which would focus on competitive economy, security and solidarity, and climate change.

This budget is designed to optimise funding for existing programmes as well as new initiatives and to boost the European added value in line with the priorities of the Commission.

BEIJING, June 4 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Tuesday issued a travel alert for Chinese tourists traveling to the United States.

Noting the frequent occurrence of shootings, robberies and theft in the United States recently, the ministry warned Chinese tourists of the risks of traveling there.

Chinese tourists are urged to learn about the public security situation and related laws and regulations of tourist destinations, to raise their safety awareness and step up precautions to stay safe.

The travel alert is valid until Dec. 31, 2019.

MOSCOW, June 5 (Xinhua) -- China and Russia agreed on Wednesday to upgrade their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era.

The decision was made at a meeting between visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

4 June 2019; DW: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has suggested that East Asia should consider a common trading currency backed by gold, saying the current foreign exchange system tied to the US dollar was prone to manipulation.

The Malaysian leader said the currency could be used for regional trade and would not be used for domestic transactions.

BEIRUT, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The United States is unwilling to lose its global dominance, taking aggressive and hostile measures against many countries, including trade frictions with China, said Lebanese experts.

It is not the first time that the United States waged such "wars", Hanna Gharib, head of the Lebanese Communist Party, told Xinhua.

"For the United States, no other country is allowed to advance technologically and scientifically. These are not new wars. It waged such wars against a lot of countries in the world such as Japan and Iraq," Gharib said.

MEXICO CITY, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday that he felt "very optimistic" about reaching an agreement with the United States before June 10, a date set by his counterpart Donald Trump to start imposing tariffs on Mexican products.

"We are not going to engage in a confrontation, we think that an agreement can be reached with the U.S. government," Lopez Obrador said during his morning press conference.