Business

DUBLIN, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The number of British nationals becoming Irish citizens stood at 529 persons in 2017, more than five times higher than the figure of 98 recorded in the previous year, reported local media on Sunday.

The Irish Times, a local daily newspaper, quoted Senator Neale Richmon of the Irish parliament as saying that the 2016 number of British nationals giving up their citizenship for Irish passports was almost doubled than the 2015 figure which stood at 54.

BRUSSELS, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Nearly one and half month after the signing of the trade truce between the European Union (EU) and the United States, the two sides finally launch their first high-profile meeting, as U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer is set to land here Monday.

Reached between European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and U.S. President Donald Trump in late July, the truce has somewhat eased trade tensions between the two sides in recent weeks, but it doesn't mean they are over.

Disagreements are already obvious.

ISLAMABAD, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- China and Pakistan pledged here on Saturday to push forward the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries to a new high.

While meeting with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi hailed the smooth and successful general elections in Pakistan in July, saying China respects the choice made by the Pakistani people on their own will.

As Pakistan's good friend, good partner and good neighbor, China will stand firmly with the Pakistani side, Wang said.

CHANGCHUN, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's leading train maker on Friday released its new-generation carbon-fiber light rail train at an exhibition held in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province.

The body of the train is made of carbon fiber composite and weighs 30 percent less than those made of stainless steel, making it more energy-efficient, according to its manufacturer CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Co. Ltd.

The value of Indian Rupee is constantly falling against US$ . Contrary to that, Pakistani Rs and Bangladeshi Taka is rising.

Following charts show the performance of three currencies during last 30 days;

BEIJING, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- China's goods trade went up 9.1 percent year on year to 19.43 trillion yuan (about 2.85 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first eight months of this year, customs data showed Saturday.

Exports rose 5.4 percent year on year in the January-August period to 10.34 trillion yuan while imports grew 13.7 percent to 9.09 trillion yuan, resulting in a trade surplus of 1.25 trillion yuan, which narrowed by 31.3 percent, according to the General Administration of Customs.

In August, exports rose by 7.9 percent while imports jumped by 18.8 percent.

BEIJING, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Saturday's China Daily published an article titled "The West once again gets it wrong on China," which is an excerpt from a signed article published on Qiushi magazine. The following is the full text of the article:

The United States equates China's economy with "state capitalism", saying socialist market economy is not real market economy but state-led protectionist and mercantilist economy, which, it claims justifies the imposition of high tariffs on Chinese goods.

New Delhi, Sept 7; GANASHAKTI: The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:

The first two-plus-two meeting between the foreign and defence ministers of India and the United States represents the institutionalization of the  strategic alliance with the US.

Kathmandu, Sept 8; GANASHAKTI: Kathmandu and Beijing have finalised a transit protocol that will give Nepal access to Chinese ports for trade with China and beyond. This will bring to an end Nepal’s heavy dependence on Indian ports for trade with other countries.

Officials of the two governments signed the protocol after a marathon meeting on Thursday night, giving final shape to the framework treaty signed between the two countries when Nepal Prime Minister K P Oli visited China in March 2016 in the wake of economic blockade by India.

By Lalit K Jha

Chicago, Sep 8 (PTI) President Donald Trump on Friday said he wants to stop the subsidies that growing economies like India and China have been receiving as he wants the US, which he considers as a "developing nation", to grow faster than anybody.

Addressing a fundraiser event in the Fargo city of North Dakota, he also accused the World Trade Organization (WTO) of allowing China to become a "great economic power".