Trade war won't impact Hong Kong's role as global hub for commerce: John Lee
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In his opening speech at the 2025 World Tourism Cities Federation Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu affirmed that Hong Kong would continue to be a 'major global trading centre' and 'a centre of free trade'.
'That's thanks … to the Hong Kong port in our harbour, to the Hong Kong International Airport, and to our varied and seamless transport links to China, our country,' he told a room of 800 tourism leaders.
'These seamless links, and our singular status as the city where East has long met West, are not going to change.
'In a world beset by trade woes and geopolitical crises, Hong Kong is determined to continue its dedication to free and open trade.
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'This was what also allowed Hong Kong to become 'one of the world's greatest centres for tourism.''
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AllAfrica
9 hours ago
- AllAfrica
US tariffs won't stop China's long game in SE Asia
As the United States presses its 'reciprocal tariffs' campaign against ASEAN members, Washington's hard-nosed trade tactics are sending ripples far beyond the negotiating rooms of Singapore, Jakarta and Hanoi. US negotiators may frame this as an effort to win better market access for American goods and chip away at Chinese expansion in Southeast Asia, but Beijing is watching closely and repositioning itself to turn US-ASEAN tensions to its long-term advantage. The Trump administration's strategy has been characteristically direct: levy hefty tariffs first and then issue a laundry list of concessions in return for partial relief. This year, on April 2, the US implemented 'reciprocal tariffs' ranging up to 49% on imports from certain ASEAN nations, including Vietnam and Cambodia, while others, such as Singapore, were subject to 10% duties. Those came down after negotiations but are still in the range of 19-24% for top trading partners like Thailand (19%), the Philippines (19%), Vietnam (20%) and Malaysia (24%). For most ASEAN economies, where the US is a key export market, forfeiting preferential access jeopardizes GDP growth, jobs and even political stability. The US calls for restricting Chinese exports and future compliance with possible future sanctions against Beijing puts ASEAN directly in the middle of a raging competition. This is where China sees both a challenge and an opening. For 15 consecutive years, China has been ASEAN's largest trading partner. In the first quarter of 2025, two-way trade hit $234 billion, with full-year figures projected to surpass $1 trillion, far ahead of US-ASEAN trade volumes. The US push to force ASEAN to cut Chinese goods directly targets the integrated supply chains that underpin this relationship. But rather than counter with public threats, Beijing is moving toward a more subtle, calculated response: embedding itself more deeply in ASEAN's economic fabric in ways that US tariff policy will struggle to unwind. Another important prong is accelerating local production within ASEAN. Chinese enterprises are establishing or setting up factories inside Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, not to lower labor expenses, but to meet 'rules of origin' for more products to contribute in the global supply chain. The policy is not new. It is a rerun of the 'China plus one' diversification strategy popular during the US-China trade war, but its pace is picking up speed. Regional trackers show that Chinese greenfield spending on ASEAN production reached a record US$26.4 billion level during 2023, surpassing US spending, which was around $7 billion. Its logic is straightforward as by having the US specifically target products having as little as 10-20% Chinese content, direct production inside ASEAN makes Washington's market-access blocking increasingly difficult. The move also binds ASEAN economies to Chinese industrial complexes all the more securely via supply deals, shared infrastructure and local employment integration. Another dimension of Beijing's counterplay is to diversify China's outbound investment from its Belt and Road infrastructure construction to ASEAN's production clusters, tech parks and logistic hubs. As such, China ensures that while goods are technically 'ASEAN-made,' financial, technological and logistical pillars thereof remain all strictly aligned with Chinese technology and funds. Such infrastructural presence makes it considerably harder for US trade policy to disrupt China's presence in the region's value chain. At the same time, China is preparing to fill the inevitable gaps left by US-ASEAN trade adjustments. Many ASEAN negotiators have already signaled a willingness to buy more American agricultural products, aircraft and energy, often at higher cost than other suppliers, to placate Washington. But there are sectors where US goods are simply too expensive or fail to meet local requirements. In steel, electronics, textiles, and increasingly in renewable energy equipment, China remains the more competitive supplier. If ASEAN reduces imports of these goods from China to comply with US demands, Beijing can redirect supply to domestic markets or other fast-growing partners, while simultaneously offering ASEAN cooperation in emerging sectors such as electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing and agricultural technology. Such versatility is coming up trumps. During the first half of 2025, China's shipments to Southeast Asia increased 16.6%, while those to the US fell 21.7%. These statistics indicate that although Washington can upset certain flows, it cannot readily compensate for the size and agility China brings to ASEAN's broad economy. Apart from goods, China fills a gap in services and finance. With US tariff policy casting a cloud over ASEAN export planning, Beijing is making financial markets in China accessible, developing renminbi settlement mechanisms and reinforcing measures facilitating trade and decreasing reliance on the US dollar. These measures cushion ASEAN economies against US policy fluctuations and integrate them further into China's financial system. Tone is no less significant than strategy. The warlike tack coming out of Washington, including reports of President Donald Trump boasting about countries 'kissing my ass' to get tariff relief, has backfired on the US across the globe. Such language can generate domestic backlash against leaders who are perceived to be buckling under US pressure. By contrast, Beijing has been careful to refer to its engagement as 'mutually beneficial cooperation' and 'win-win development.' Such gentler, inclusive language works better not only with ASEAN leaders but also resonates well with public opinion and is therefore politically easier for governments to uphold or deepen economic relationships with China. China's signal to ASEAN is already loud and clear: make the best possible deal with the US. Chinese Premier Li Qiang said, 'Facing rising protectionism and unilateralism in some places of the world, we must be committed to expanding opening up and removing barriers.' The implicit message is also loud and clear: China will be waiting to invest, supply and promote. The message makes Beijing the pragmatic counterpart at a time when the US is coming across as unpredictable and crudely transactional. Nevertheless, Beijing needs to be cautious. Push too hard, and it confirms Washington's storyline of ASEAN overdependence on China. Move too gradually, and ASEAN nations might rearrange supply chains in a fashion that actually diminishes Chinese clout. The sweet spot is measured by integration through more joint enterprises, increased domestic employment, vigorous technology diffusion and jointly designed R&D centers. These programs make Chinese engagement not only economically essential but also politically acceptable to a range of different ASEAN governments. Trump's 'reciprocal tariffs' policy is designed to push ASEAN away from China. However, Beijing's counter-steps, from localized production and diverted investment to plugging supply gaps and deepening financial links, underscore China's long-game strategy in the region. For ASEAN, the most sustainable course is still balancing diversified trade with both powers. For China, the key is to make its economic presence in Southeast Asia too deep and too valuable to be uprooted. If Beijing can achieve this balancing act, the very policies designed to weaken its influence in the region could end up bolstering them, not through public posturing, but through low-key, measured integration driving the very heart of ASEAN's economic future. Bilal Habib Qazi is an independent researcher based in Pakistan with a PhD in international relations from Jilin University in China. His research interests span geopolitics and strategic competition, foreign policy analysis, international security and regional order, as well as global governance and international organizations. He may be reached at bhqazi@
RTHK
11 hours ago
- RTHK
Trade truce extension cushions HK stocks
Trade truce extension cushions HK stocks The Hang Seng Index ended up 62 points, or 0.25 percent, at 24,969 on Tuesday. File photo: AFP Mainland and Hong Kong shares ended up on Tuesday as the extension of a tariff truce between the United States and China helped cushion investor sentiment. The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed trading for the day up 62 points, or 0.25 percent, at 24,969. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index ticked up 0.32 percent to end at 8,916 while the Hang Seng Tech Index declined 0.38 percent to close at 5,439. On the mainland, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended up 0.5 percent to 3,665 while the Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.53 percent higher at 11,351. The combined turnover at these two indexes was 1.88 trillion yuan , up from 1.83 trillion yuan on Monday. Shares related to lithography machines, brain-computer interface technology and gas led gains while stocks related to high-performance thermoplastics, energy and metal, and defense equipment suffered major losses. The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 1.24 percent to close at 2,409. Washington and Beijing on Monday extended a tariff truce by 90 days in a decision that markets had widely expected. "This is not a surprise to the financial markets. Investors already assumed the deadline would be extended," said Zhang Zhiwei, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, adding that the trade negotiations will take months and investors had shifted their focus to the US-Russia summit. Blue-chip stocks on the mainland have gained 15 percent while the Hang Seng Index has rebounded more than 20 percent since early April when US President Donald Trump first announced the duties. Semiconductors lifted mainland A-shares on Tuesday, with both Wafer Works (Shanghai) and Cambricon Technologies soaring 20 percent. Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese top foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp jumped 5 percent after Bloomberg reported that China urged local firms not to use Nvidia's H20 chips. Ben Bennett, Asia head of investment strategy at L&G Asset Management, said it is neutral on Chinese equities and that "we don't think the government will provide significant extra stimulus in the coming months, but would stand ready if the US turns up its tariff pressure." Moh Siong Sim, a currency strategist at Bank of Singapore, said "it's largely a stalemate situation where the can is being kicked down the road for further trade negotiations." (Reuters/Xinhua)
HKFP
12 hours ago
- HKFP
US President Trump signs order to extend China tariff truce by 90 days
US President Donald Trump on Monday ordered a delay in the reimposition of higher tariffs on Chinese goods, hours before a trade truce between Washington and Beijing was due to expire. The White House's halt on steeper tariffs will be in place until November 10. 'I have just signed an Executive Order that will extend the Tariff Suspension on China for another 90 days,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. The truce on steeper levies had been due to expire Tuesday. While the United States and China slapped escalating tariffs on each other's products this year, bringing them to prohibitive triple-digit levels and snarling trade, both countries in May agreed to temporarily lower them. As part of their May truce, fresh US tariffs targeting China were reduced to 30 percent and the corresponding level from China was cut to 10 percent. Those rates will now hold until November — or whenever a deal is cut before then. Around the same time that Trump confirmed the new extension, Chinese state media Xinhua news agency published a joint statement from US-China talks in Stockholm saying it would also extend its side of the truce. China will continue suspending its earlier tariff hike for 90 days starting August 12 while retaining a 10-percent duty, the report said. It would also 'take or maintain necessary measures to suspend or remove non-tariff countermeasures against the United States, as agreed in the Geneva joint declaration,' Xinhua reported. In the executive order posted Monday to its website, the White House reiterated its position that there are 'large and persistent annual US goods trade deficits' and they 'constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States.' The order acknowledged Washington's ongoing discussions with Beijing 'to address the lack of trade reciprocity in our economic relationship' and noted that China has continued to 'take significant steps toward remedying' the US complaints. Trump-Xi summit? 'Beijing will be happy to keep the US-China negotiation going, but it is unlikely to make concessions,' warned William Yang, an analyst at the International Crisis Group. He believes China sees its leverage over rare earth exports as a strong one, and that Beijing will likely use it to pressure Washington. US-China Business Council president Sean Stein said the current extension is 'critical to give the two governments time to negotiate an agreement' providing much-needed certainty for companies to make plans. A trade deal, in turn, would 'pave the way for a Trump-Xi summit this fall,' said Asia Society Policy Institute senior vice president Wendy Cutler. But Cutler, herself a former US trade official, said: 'This will be far from a walk in the park.' Since Trump took office, China's tariffs have essentially boomeranged, from the initially modest 10 percent hike in February, followed by repeated surges as Beijing and Washington clashed, until it hit a high of 145 percent in April. Now the tariff has been pulled back to 30 percent, a negotiated truce rate. Even as both countries reached a pact to cool tensions after high level talks in Geneva in May, the de-escalation has been shaky. Key economic officials convened in London in June as disagreements emerged and US officials accused their counterparts of violating the pact. Policymakers met again in Stockholm last month. Trump said in a social media post Sunday that he hoped China will 'quickly quadruple its soybean orders,' adding this would be a way to balance trade with the United States. China's exports reached record highs in 2024, and Beijing reported that their exports exceeded expectations in June, climbing 5.8 percent year-on-year, as the economic superpower works to sustain growth amid Trump's trade war. Separately, since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has slapped a 10-percent 'reciprocal' tariff on almost all trading partners, aimed at addressing trade practices Washington deemed unfair. This surged to varying steeper levels last Thursday for dozens of economies. Major partners like the European Union, Japan and South Korea now see a 15-percent US duty on many products, while the level went as high as 41 percent for Syria. The 'reciprocal' tariffs exclude sectors that have been targeted individually, such as steel and aluminum, and those that are being investigated like pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. They are also expected to exclude gold, although a clarification by US customs authorities made public last week caused concern that certain gold bars might still be targeted. Trump said Monday that gold imports will not face additional tariffs, without providing further details. The president has taken separate aim at individual countries such as Brazil over the trial of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of planning a coup, and India over its purchase of Russian oil.
