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CHINA

ABB profit rise falls short of expectations

Swedish-Swiss engineering giant ABB on Wednesday reported a 41 percent increase in first quarter net profit, driven by strong demand from industry and power utilities.

Net profit reached $655 million during the first three months of the year while revenues registered their strongest quarterly growth in two years with an increase of 21 percent to $8.4 billion, the group said in a statement.

According to a survey carried out by Reuters, analysts had expected ABB to post profits of $687 million.

Orders grew by 28 percent across all of the engineering group’s divisions.

“Our results show we’re gaining traction in both growth and profitability,” said chief executive Joe Hogan, predicting “continued strong demand.”

“ABB’s long-term key growth drivers remain intact-the increasing need for energy efficiency, industrial productivity and more reliable power infrastructure in both the mature and emerging economies,” he added.

ABB experienced a 12 percent drop in annual net profit last year to $2.56 billion, announcing large cost cutting but forecasting that emerging markets would drive growth through 2011.

Earlier in the month, the company announced it had won a $120 million order from China’s State Grid Corporation (SGCC) for an ultra high voltage electricity line.

In March, ABB landed a $900 million order from Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (PGCIL) to deliver an ultrahigh-voltage transmission system in Agra, India.

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CHINA

China derides Copenhagen democracy meet as ‘political farce’

China on Tuesday blasted a democracy conference in Copenhagen attended by Taiwan's president and a Hong Kong activist alongside Danish government officials this week, qualifying it a "political farce".

China derides Copenhagen democracy meet as 'political farce'
Demonstrators gathered outside the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday. Photo: Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix

The Copenhagen Democracy Summit was held Monday and Tuesday in the Danish capital and organised by the Alliance of Democracies, an organisation targeted by Beijing sanctions in March and founded by former NATO boss Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

In addition to Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law, Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod also participated in the forum by video link, which Beijing said violated “the one-China principle.”

“This summit is a political farce,” the Chinese embassy in Denmark wrote in a statement published on Tuesday. “Inviting those who advocate Taiwan and Hong Kong ‘independence’ to the meeting violates the one-China principle and interferes in China’s internal affairs,” it said.

“Some hypocritical western politicians are good at meddling in other countries’ internal affairs and creating divisions and confrontation in the name of ‘democracy’ and ‘freedom’. They are bound to fail,” it added.

At the conference on Monday, Kofod said it was “deplorable” that Beijing had imposed sanctions on 10 European individuals and organisations in response to EU sanctions on Xinjiang officials over their actions against the Uyghur Muslim minority.

Like most countries, Denmark applies the one-China principle — under which Beijing bars other countries from having simultaneous diplomatic relations with Taipei — though it does maintain relations with Taiwan.

Cut off politically from the rest of China since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the territory is self-governing but is not recognised by
the United Nations.

Beijing considers Taiwan a rebel province that will one day return under its control, by force if necessary.

China’s sabre-rattling has increased considerably over the past year, with fighter jets and nuclear-capable bombers breaching Taiwan’s air defence zone on a near-daily basis.

“Our government is fully aware of the threats to regional security, and is actively enhancing our national defence capabilities to protect our
democracy,” Tsai told the conference in a video address on Monday. US President Joe Biden is expected to present his China strategy soon, as
calls mount for him to publicly commit to defending Taiwan militarily in the event of a Chinese attack.

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