China is among parties interested in bidding to build two new ports on the Panama Canal, its administrator said Tuesday, despite US talk of retaking control of the vital trade route.US President Donald Trump made the threat earlier this year, alleging that China controls the strategic waterway because Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings operates existing ports at either end — Cristobal on the Atlantic, and Balboa on the Pacific.The firm agreed in March to transfer control of both ports to a conglomerate led by US-based BlackRock, but the deal — viewed with suspicion by China — has not been finalized.  The Central American country is hoping to attract $8.5 billion in investment over the next decade to expand port capacity, and to build a gas pipeline and a new reservoir, among other projects.In addition to new ports, the project envisions the construction of a gas pipeline and a new reservoir.”We have to be open to participation of all interested parties,” and solicit “the broadest possible competition,” canal administrator Ricaurte Vasquez told journalists. He said all parties would bid on an equal footing.He declined to speculate about a possible increase in tensions with the United States if the projects were awarded to Chinese firms in the future.The Panama Canal Authority, which has begun meeting with interested parties ahead of the bidding process, plans to award contracts for the two terminals in late 2026 and begin operations in 2029.Hong Kong’s Cosco Shipping Ports and Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) are among international players that have expressed interest — along with Singapore’s PSA International, Taiwan’s Evergreen, German Hapag Lloyd, Denmark’s Maersk and France’s CMA Terminals.Panama’s five main ports are all located near the canal and are operated by concessionaires from the United States, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.The 80-kilometer canal is used mainly by the United States and China and carries five percent of the world’s maritime trade.The United States built and operated the Panama Canal for a century before handing control to Panama on the last day of 1999.

Asia extended a global equities rally Wednesday after another round of tepid US data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again next month.A report that US President Donald Trump’s top economic aide was the frontrunner to be the central bank’s next boss added to the risk-on mood as investors rediscovered their mojo after a recent stutter.Bets that officials will lower borrowing costs at their December meeting have surged this week after a number of key members of the policy board said they backed a third successive cut as fears about the labour market overshadowed still-high inflation.And a fresh batch of reports on the world’s top economy  — some delayed by the government shutdown — provided fresh ammunition to those calling for more easing.Payroll firm ADP said the four weeks to November 8 saw private employers shed an average 13,500 jobs per week, while official figures showed retail sales rose slower in September than August and less than expected. Meanwhile, the Conference Board’s consumer confidence index dropped to its lowest level in seven months, with shoppers expressing greater worry about labour market conditions and the outlook for household incomes.Analysts said the reading was particularly a concern ahead of the holiday spending period.The Labor Department also said wholesale inflation picked up in September but in line with forecasts.However, the rise was driven by a big jump in goods prices, highlighting the steeper costs that businesses face.”The shutdown backlog released an avalanche of extremely stale prints: ADP soft, retail sales weaker, Core PPI tame, Richmond Fed grim, consumer confidence dismal,” wrote Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.”None of it is current, none of it is forward-looking. But in a market starving for macro inputs, even freezer-burnt data tastes dovish. Goldman’s economists shaved third-quarter GDP tracking to 3.7 percent, reinforcing the narrative that growth is cooling right into the December (policy board) window.”The chances of a more dovish Fed were also given a boost after Bloomberg reported that Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, was considered the leading candidate to take the lead at the Fed when Jerome Powell’s term ends next year. Hassett is a close ally of the president and Bloomberg said he was seen as someone who would back rate-cut calls by Trump, who has regularly slammed Powell for not taking such action early enough. “Hassett is viewed as closely aligned with President Trump’s preference for lower interest rates, and his appointment would likely reinforce the administration’s push for easier policy,” said National Australia Bank’s Rodrigo Catril.Wall Street’s three main indexes enjoyed a third day of healthy gains, and Asia again followed suit.Tokyo and Seoul gained around two percent, while Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei and Wellington also chalked up healthy advances.The gains come after a pullback on trading floors for much of November owing to worries about lofty valuations, particularly among tech firms, with some questioning the wisdom of the vast sums of cash invested in the artificial intelligence sector.In corporate news, Chinese ecommerce titan Alibaba dropped more than one percent after reporting a fall in profit linked to consumer subsidies and the building of data centres to deal with its AI ambitions.- Key figures at around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.9 percent at 49,605.57 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.6 percent at 26,054.70Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,876.05Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1583 from $1.1570 on TuesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3191 from $1.3165Dollar/yen: DOWN at 155.82 yen from 155.97 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 87.81 pence from 87.86 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $58.06 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $62.62 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 1.4 percent at 47,112.45 (close) London – FTSE 100: UP 0.8 percent at 9,609.53 (close)

China’s stranglehold on the rare earths industry — from natural reserves and mining through processing and innovation — is the result of a decades-long drive, now giving Beijing crucial leverage in its trade war with the United States.The 17 key elements will play a vital role in the global economy in coming years, as analysts warn that plans to secure alternative supply chains by Western governments could take years to bear fruit.Rare earths are crucial for the defence sector — used in fighter jets, missile guidance systems and radar technology — while also having a range of uses in everyday products including smartphones, medical equipment and automobiles.Visited this month by AFP, the southeastern mining region of Ganzhou — which specialises in “heavy” rare earths including yttrium and terbium — was a hive of activity.Media access to the secretive industry is rarely granted in China, but despite near-constant surveillance by unidentified minders, AFP journalists saw dozens of trucks driving in and out of one rare earths mine, in addition to several bustling processing facilities.Sprawling new headquarters are being built in Ganzhou for China Rare Earth Group, one of the country’s two largest state-owned companies in the industry following years of consolidation directed by Beijing.Challenges this year have “paved the way for more countries to look into expanding rare earth metal production and processing”, Heron Lim, economics lecturer at ESSEC Business School, told AFP.”This investment could pay longer-term dividends,” he said.- Trade war -Sweeping export restrictions China imposed on the sector in early October sent shockwaves across global manufacturing sectors.The curbs raised alarm bells in Washington, which has been engaged in a renewed trade war with Beijing since President Donald Trump began his second term.At a high-stakes meeting in South Korea late last month, Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed to a one-year truce in a blistering tariff war between the world’s top two economies.The deal — which guarantees supply of rare earths and other critical minerals, at least temporarily — effectively neutralised the most punishing US measures and was widely seen as a victory for Beijing.”Rare earths are likely to remain at the centre of future Sino-US economic negotiations despite the tentative agreements thus far,” Heron Lim told AFP.”China has demonstrated its willingness to use more trade levers to keep the United States at the negotiating table,” he said.”The turbulence has created a challenging environment for producers that rely on various rare earth metals, as near-term supply is uncertain.”Washington and its allies are now racing to develop alternative mining and processing chains, but experts warn that process will take years.- Supremacy ceded -During the Cold War, the United States led the way in developing abilities to extract and process rare earths, with the Mountain Pass mine in California providing the bulk of global supplies.But as tensions with Moscow eased and the substantial environmental toll wrought by the rare earth industry gained prominence, the United States gradually offshored capacity in the 1980s and 1990s.Now, China controls most of global rare earths mining — around two thirds, by most estimates.It is already home to the world’s largest natural reserves of the elements of any country, according to geological surveys.And it has a near total monopoly on separation and refining, with analysis this year showing a share of around nine tenths of all global processing.Furthermore, a commanding lead in patents and strict export controls on processing technology solidify efforts by Beijing to prevent know-how from leaving the country.”The United States and the European Union are heavily reliant on imports of rare earth elements, underscoring significant risks to critical industries,” said Amelia Haines, commodities analyst at BMI, at a seminar this month.”This sustained risk is likely to catalyse a faster, broader pivot towards rare earth security,” she said.- Chasing alternatives -US defence authorities have in recent years directed large sums towards shoring up domestic production — part of efforts to achieve a “mine-to-magnet” supply chain by 2027.Washington has also been working with allies to develop extraction and processing alternatives to China.Trump signed a rare earths deal last month promising $8.5 billion in critical minerals projects with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia — its vast territory home to extensive rare earth resources.The US president also signed cooperation deals covering the critical minerals sector last month with Japan, Malaysia and Thailand.Despite the flurry of activity and headlines this year, Washington has been aware of its rare earths problem for years.In 2010, a maritime territorial dispute with Tokyo prompted Beijing to suspend shipments of the minerals to Japan — the first major incident highlighting geopolitical ramifications of China’s control over the sector.The episode sparked calls by the administration of then-president Barack Obama to shore up US domestic resilience in the strategic field.But 15 years later, China remains the chief rare earths power.