China vows to stay 'safe and promising land' for foreign investment
China retaliated last week against levies at the same level announced by US President Donald Trump on what he called "liberation day".
It also imposed export controls on seven rare earth elements, including gadolinium -- commonly used in magnetic resonance imaging -- and yttrium, which is used in consumer electronics.
Vice commerce minister Ling Ji told a panel of US company representatives on Sunday that the tariffs "firmly protect the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises, including American companies", his ministry said.
Those levies -- which come into effect on Thursday -- "are aimed at bringing the United States back onto the right track of the multilateral trade system", he told the representatives, including of GE Healthcare and Medtronic.
Also present was a representative of electric vehicle giant Tesla, run by close Trump advisor and tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has extensive business interests in China.
"The root cause of the tariff issue lies in the United States," Ling said.
He urged the firms to "take pragmatic actions to jointly maintain the stability of global supply chains and promote mutual cooperation and win-win outcomes".
The United States exported $144.6 billion in goods to China in 2024, much less than the $439.7 billion it imported, Commerce Department data shows.
Among its exports, key sectors include electrical and electronic equipment and various fuels, alongside oilseed and grains.
Trading floors were overcome by a wave of selling on Monday, in response to the showdown.
The selling in Asia was across the board, with no sector unharmed -- tech firms, car makers, banks, casinos and energy firms all felt the pain as investors abandoned riskier assets.
Among the biggest losers, Chinese e-commerce titans Alibaba tanked more than 14 percent and rival JD.com shed 13 percent, while Japanese tech investment giant SoftBank dived more than 10 percent and Sony gave up 9.6 percent.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Insider
9 hours ago
- Gulf Insider
Israel Considers Military Recruitment Inside USA And France As Soldier Shortage Persists
Amid an enduring soldier shortage, and as an all-out occupation of Gaza looms, the Israel Defense Forces are considering a campaign to recruit soldiers from Jewish populations living in the United States and other countries around the world. According to Israeli Army Radio, a state media outlet, Israel may mount an effort to recruit 600 to 700 Jews a year from the diaspora, a term referring to Jews living somewhere other than Israel. At first, Israel would concentrate its effort in the United States and France, the countries with the two largest Jewish populations, at roughly 6 million and 450,000, respectively. As of February, there were 3,500 diaspora soldiers serving in the IDF, with nearly 900 of them Americans. Israel calls such troops lone soldiers. 'The majority of American lone soldiers are coming after high school, either directly after high school or after a gap year program,' said Noya Govrin, Director of the Lone Soldiers Program at Nefesh b'Nefesh, a nonprofit that encourages Americans and Canadians to 'make aliyah' — that is, to move to Israel and become citizens. 'In the past two years, there has been a notable increase in college graduates that come to Israel to serve as lone soldiers,' she told Times of Israel . Earlier this month, one of those American lone soldiers who'd recently returned from service in Gaza was the target of an overnight arson attack on vehicles parked at his family's house in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Graffiti painted on the street accused him of being a murderer and proclaimed DEATH TO THE IDF. BREAKING:🇮🇱🇺🇲 An Israeli soldier with US citizenship was attacked in Clayton, Missouri, his vehicles were set on fire and destroyed. Graffiti outside the family's home called for death to the IDF. — Megatron (@Megatron_ron) August 6, 2025 'Awkward moment for some of my fellow Jews in the diaspora,' wrote Rafael Shimunov, New Yorker host of a 'Jewish Left' radio show. 'Cheerleading Israelis sending their kids to do genocide, but will never send their own.' The IDF is coping with a 10,000- to 12,000-soldier shortfall. There are two principal drivers: draft-dodging by ultra-Orthodox Israelis, and lower retention of current soldiers, who are leaving the IDF at an elevated rate as the war in Gaza nears its second anniversary. Some are voluntarily leaving via extreme means: At least 16 soldiers have killed themselves in 2025, and 54 since Oct 7. More than 3,700 have been diagnosed with PTSD. There are some 14,600 deserters, according to the Jerusalem Post , which appears to apply that term to draft-dodgers. The IDF is about to close the window on a sort of amnesty plan, which gives draft-dodgers until Thursday to sign up for service by phone or online and then be rapidly ushered into the IDF's ranks in the coming weeks. If they do, they'll be spared criminal charges and penalties that include a prohibition on foreign travel. The issue of ultra-Orthodox military conscription has threatened to topple Netanyahu's government, as parties representing that community have demanded legislation that would grant them an exemption from military service. In June 2024, Israel's Supreme Court ruled that the government must start drafting the Haredi, who'd previously enjoyed an exemption ever since Israel's creation in 1948. Haredi men typically dedicate their entire lives to religious study in seminaries called Yeshivas and receive public welfare. With Israel waging a multi-front war encompassing Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iran, the exemption has become increasingly unpopular with the other segments of Israeli society that must heed the call. As public opinion among both American Jews and non-Jews grows increasingly negative toward Israel's war in Gaza and the Zionist state in general, it remains to be seen how fruitful a recruitment campaign inside America would be. Priming the pump for IDF recruiters, Israel-catering members of the US Congress have controversially introduced a bill that would extend credit and employment privileges enjoyed by US military service members to American citizens serving in the IDF — with no such privilege for service in any other foreign army.
Daily Tribune
12 hours ago
- Daily Tribune
Stock markets cautious with eyes on Ukraine talks, US rates
European stock markets rose while Wall Street diverged yesterday as investors warily eyed signs of progress in talks to end Russia's war in Ukraine. Markets were also waiting for a key speech by the US Federal Reserve chief this week for clues on interest rate cuts that could bolster the world's biggest economy. Hopes for a Ukraine breakthrough rose after US President Donald Trump said he spoke by phone with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, following a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders at the White House. Zelensky said he was ready for what would be his first faceto-face talks with Putin since Russia's invasion nearly three and a half years ago. Wall Street opened mixed, as the broad-based S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq indexes retreated while the Dow rose. London, Paris and Frankfurt stocks all closed higher following a lacklustre session for Asian stock markets. Defence stocks fell sharply as chances grew for a breakthrough in Ukraine peace talks, with Germany's Rheinmetall dropping 4.7 percent and France's Thales down 4.1 percent. Investors were also eagerly awaiting a speech on Friday by US Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell at the annual retreat of global central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Traders hope Powell will provide more clues about a widely expected interest-rate cut at the Fed's September meeting, after data last week provided a mixed picture about inflation. 'Markets seem to be exercising some caution ahead of the Jackson Hole meeting later this week and as talks over a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine remain inconclusive,' said AJ Bell head of financial analysis Danni Hewson. Oil prices, which have been volatile for several days -- Russia is a major crude producer -- retreated by around one% after gains on Monday. 'Oil prices have dropped a little as a deal edges closer, given that it's likely to lead to an easing of sanctions on Russia energy imports, increasing supplies on global markets,' said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown. Japan's Nikkei briefly hit a record before retreating to close down 0.4%. Shanghai ended flat while Hong Kong, Sydney and Seoul fell, and Singapore, Bangkok and Mumbai edged up. Among individual companies, Intel shares advanced 6.9 percent in New York after Japan-based tech investment giant SoftBank said it would invest $2 billion in the troubled US chip giant.
Gulf Insider
19 hours ago
- Gulf Insider
Three U.S. Missile Destroyers Sail Toward Venezuela
More details are emerging about President Trump's latest show of force in Latin America aimed at narco-terrorist cartels fueling America's drug crisis, which claims 100,000 lives a year. According to Reuters, three Aegis destroyers, surveillance aircraft, and an attack submarine are being deployed to international waters off Venezuela. Sources close to the media outlet say 4,000 sailors and Marines will support the large force projection mission that includes three U.S. Aegis guided-missile destroyers (USS Gravely, USS Jason Dunham, and USS Sampson), along with P-8 surveillance planes, other warships, and at least one attack submarine. The operation will run for several months and focus on enhancing hemispheric defense to dismantle narco-terrorist cartels' command and control nodes that funnel drugs into the U.S. Also, this force projection is a signal to Beijing to limit Chinese activity in the region, particularly around critical infrastructure and trade chokepoints. The Trump administration has put Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel and Venezuela's Tren de Aragua on notice, classifying them as foreign terrorist organizations. The broader understanding is that this is all a part of hemispheric defense. Source: Heritage Foundation The deployment also signals to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government that Washington is not playing around. Maduro told the nation on Monday that his country will 'defend our seas, our skies and our lands.' He hinted at what he called 'the outlandish, bizarre threat of a declining empire.' On Tuesday, Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said combating drugs is a shared responsibility around the world: 'But we hope that major countries should play the role responsibly, maintain regional peace and stability, and properly handle the issue together with relevant countries.' Also read: Refugees In Austria Accused Of Failing German Courses To Stay On Benefits And Out Of Work
