1. General

China, India Vow Pollution Cuts in Biggest Climate Move in 14 Years
Developing nations led by China and India pledged they’d work toward an agreement that would limit their fossil fuel emissions for the first time, the biggest advance in the fight against global warming in 14 years. Envoys from more than 190 nations also extended the Kyoto Protocol, the only ratified treaty limiting greenhouse gases. They will develop a document with “legal force” by 2015 that would curb pollution for all nations, according to a text adopted today in Durban, South Africa.
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China refines overseas oil grab strategy
Chinese oil companies are changing their approach to investing in oil and gas projects overseas, placing more emphasis on community development and less on Beijing's political goals. Over the past decade, China's state-controlled energy giants have been the most prolific buyers of oil and gas companies and fields internationally, spurred by a government policy to secure resources to fuel the country's economic boom.
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2. China in Africa

Zambia, China ink two big deals
ZAMBIA and China have signed an economic and technical cooperation grant agreement amounting to K43.3 billion and also an interest-free loan agreement of K32 billion in which the funds will be used in the fight against poverty and projects to be agreed upon by the two governments. The projects to be agreed would be those of a priority nature within the context of the Sixth National Development Plan (SNDP) in which poverty reduction was the Government’s core programme. Finance and National Planning Minister Alexander Chikwanda signed the economic and technical cooperation grant and interest-free loan facilities on behalf of the Government while visiting Vice-Foreign Minister of China Zhai Jun signed for his country in Lusaka yesterday.
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Ethiopia signs Djibouti railway deal with China
Ethiopia signed an agreement with a Chinese state-run firm to build the final section of a railway line that will link its capital Addis Ababa to the tiny Red Sea state of Djibouti, an official said. The deal signed late on Friday with the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) covers a 339-kilometre line that will join another project to connect the capital with Djibouti.
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China considers Seychelles port offer, denies base plan: report
China will consider turning to the Seychelles as a resupply port for navy ships taking part in anti-piracy operations off Africa, official media said, rejecting suggestions that this would amount to a military base that could unsettle the region. Chinese ships have participated in a multi-nation campaign against pirates striking out from Somalia, and have used ports in Djibouti, Oman, and Yemen to take on supplies, according to the International Institute For Strategic Studies in London.
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China to Develop Cotton Production in Africa
China, the world’s largest cotton importer and user, will promote and develop planting of the fiber in four African countries, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on its website today. China will provide seeds, machinery, fertilizer and other materials to help promote planting in Benin, Mali, Chad and Burkina Faso under the World Trade Organization framework, the ministry said. The Asian nation will also provide technical support and training on crop management to help the industry expand, it said.
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African media spotlight China's war on graft
Twenty journalists from five African countries, invited by the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC), recently completed a 12-day tour of China in which they observed the country's efforts to fight graft and corruption. Starting with a visit to the headquarters of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the CPC Central Committee's Organization Department in Beijing, editors and correspondents from major media bodies in Kenya, Liberia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Southern Sudan got an in-depth look at the Party's key anti-graft agencies.
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China promises more support for Ghana in 2012
The Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Gong Jian Zhong, says China is ready to support Ghana grow its economy, and from next year 2012, there would be more collaboration for economic development between the two countries. His Excellency Gong Jian Zhong said this during a visit to the Bui Hydro-electric Power Project site on Thursday, December 1, this year.
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3. India in Africa

Benin invites Indian firms for oil and gas exploration
The West African country of Benin Saturday invited Indian companies to help develop its oil and gas sector. "There is a lot of unexplored mineral reserves in Benin, especially in the oil and gas segment. We want India's expertise in exploration to find these resources and use them," said Chirstophe Kaki, director of cabinet, ministry of petroleum and mineral resources.
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Indian firms look to Africa for business opportunities
"My ambition is to develop these 300,000 hectares and go past to a million hectares," says Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi pointing to a map of Africa in his office in Bangalore in southern India. Ambitious as its sounds, Karuturi Global is now one of the biggest private land owners in the world. They have invested over a quarter of a billion dollars in Ethiopia and Kenya alone.
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India's Reliance sees Africa sales potential-exec
India's Reliance Industries is currently selling two to three million tonnes of petroleum products a year to Africa and sees potential for more, P. Raghavendran, the company's president of refinery business, said on Saturday. Reliance, which owns the world's biggest refining complex with total combined capacity of 1.24 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil, currently directly sells products into East Africa through its marketing firm Gapco.
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4. In Other Emerging Powers News

The First Russia-Africa Business Forum launched
The first Russia-Africa Business Forum was held here in Addis Ababa, on Friday at the presence of H.E Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and H.E Mikhail Margelov, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Cooperation with African Countries. At the opening session, Prime Minister Meles said Ethiopia and Russia has had long-standing friendly relations, adding that the fact that Russian medics played a vital role at the battle of Adwa in support of Ethiopian soldiers in defeating colonial aggression was an indication that the relations between the two countries were indeed close and exceptional during the Tsarist era. He also remarked that this relation was continued and radically extended during the Soviet era with economic, educational and security cooperation reaching the highest level.
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Russian Federation highlights Angola's role in Africa
The Russian Federation said that Angola, from the political point of view, "is a key force" in sub-Saharan Africa. The fact was acknowledged Monday in Luanda by the envoy of the Russian president, Dmitri Medvedev, at the end of an audience granted to him by Angolan head of State, José Eduardo dos Santos.
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West African Oil boost for Russia's Lukoil
Russian oil major Lukoil is looking to West African oil fields by investing up to $900 million in projects in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone. Vice-CEO of Lukoil Leonid Fedun says the West African projects could yield up to six billion barrels of oil and gas. The company’s foreign gas and oil deposits make up around 10% of its assets and it plans to double this number in the next few years. Lukoil expects the West African oil fields to make a great contribution to it. Some experts believe the development could increase Lukoil’s production by up to 10%.
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India to push for border talks before Hu's visit
India and China are looking at ways to bring boundary talks back on track before Chinese president Hu Jintao visits India on March 29 for the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India China, South Africa) summit. India is keen on making Hu's visit an "important bilateral event". But China insists that without a "substantial" agenda, there is no point in extending the president's stay. China's sourness stems from the derailment of the border talks in November. The dates of the talks - November 28, 29 -were clashing with a Buddhist conference in Delhi, in which the Dalai Lama was to give the valedictory address.
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5. Blogs, Opinions, Presentations and Publications

Nigeria could 'very soon' be the next African BRIC
It is 10 years since the idea of the BRIC nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China came into being, and this year they added a new member - South Africa - to the group. With an African country now part of this economically significant group, BBC World Service's Business Daily programme brought together the finance ministers from two of the biggest players on the African continent. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is Nigeria's finance minister and Pravin Gordhan, is South Africa's finance minister. Ed Butler first asked Pravin Gordhan how important he thought the development of the BRICS group was.
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China Stretching To Indian Ocean – Analysis
While the international community was fixated on the developments in the South China Sea and the Asia Pacific Region (APR), something else was quietly happening in the western end of the Indian Ocean. A high powered 40-member delegation of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) arrived in Seychelles on December 01, headed by Defence Minister and State Councillor Gen. Liang Guanglie. During this 3-day visit, the Chinese delegation changed China’s military profile in the western Indian Ocean–African tip. An agreement was signed for China to set up a naval base in the Seychelles for counter-piracy operations.
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