logo
US considers more Chinese companies for ‘entity list', source says

US considers more Chinese companies for ‘entity list', source says

Business Times16-05-2025

[WASHINGTON] The US Commerce Department is considering placing more Chinese companies, including ChangXin Memory (CXMT), on its restricted export list, a person familiar with the matter said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is also looking at adding subsidiaries of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation and Yangtze Memory Technologies to the 'Entity List', the person said.
Timing of the move has been complicated by a recent trade deal between the US and China, according to the Financial Times, which first reported the news.
Companies on the list cannot receive goods or technology exports without a license, which is generally denied. Companies are added for activities viewed as contrary to US national security or foreign policy interests.
The Biden administration added more than two dozen Chinese entities to the list in January, including Zhipu AI, a developer of large language models, and Sophgo, a company whose TSMC-made chip was illegally incorporated into a Huawei artificial intelligence processor.
The Commerce Department at that time also strengthened controls on the flow of chips to China to better prevent diversion to Huawei. REUTERS

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

US, China begin key trade talks in London
US, China begin key trade talks in London

Straits Times

timean hour ago

  • Straits Times

US, China begin key trade talks in London

US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng shake hands as they pose for a photo during trade talks at the Lancaster House in London. PHOTO: AFP LONDON - China and the United States began a new round of trade talks in London on June 9, Beijing's state media reported, as the world's two biggest economies seek to shore up a shaky truce after bruising tit-for-tat tariffs. The two sides are meeting in the historic Lancaster House, run by the UK Foreign Office, following a first round of talks in Geneva in May. Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng was again heading the team in London. Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported the start of the talks. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are leading the US delegation, President Donald Trump said on June 6. 'The meeting should go very well,' Mr Trump said on his Truth Social platform. His press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told Fox News on June 8: 'We want China and the United States to continue moving forward with the agreement that was struck in Geneva.' While the UK government reiterated that it was not involved in the discussions, a spokesperson said: 'We are a nation that champions free trade.' UK authorities 'have always been clear that a trade war is in nobody's interests, so we welcome these talks', the spokesperson added. Rare earths The talks in London come just a few days after Mr Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping finally held their first publicly announced telephone talks since the Republican returned to the White House. Mr Trump said June 5's call reached a 'very positive conclusion'. Mr Xi was quoted by Xinhua as saying 'correcting the course of the big ship of Sino-US relations requires us to steer well and set the direction'. Tensions between the two nations have soared, with Mr Trump accusing Beijing of violating a tariff de-escalation deal reached in Geneva in mid-May. (From left to right) US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, and Chinese International Trade Representative and Vice-Minister of Commerce Li Chenggang, posing for a photo at the Lancaster House on June 9. PHOTO: AFP 'We need China to comply with their side of the deal. And so that's what the trade team will be discussing tomorrow,' Ms Leavitt said on June 8. A key issue will be Beijing's shipments of rare earths – crucial to a range of goods including electric vehicle batteries and which have been a bone of contention for some time. 'Rare earth shipments from China to the US have slowed since President Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs in April,' said Ms Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB. 'The US wants these shipments to be reinstated, while China wants the US to rethink immigration curbs on students, restrictions on access to advanced technology including microchips, and to make it easier for Chinese tech providers to access US consumers,' she added. In April, Mr Trump introduced sweeping worldwide tariffs that targeted China most heavily. At one point, Washington hit Beijing with additional levies of 145 per cent on its goods, prompting China to respond with tariffs reaching 125 per cent on US goods. After two days of talks in Switzerland, both sides agreed to slash the eye-watering tariffs for 90 days, but key differences remain – especially over China's rare earth export restrictions. The impact was reflected in the latest official export data released on June 9 in Beijing. Exports to the United States fell 12.7 per cent in May from the previous month, with China shipping US$28.8 billion (S$37 billion) worth of goods. This was down from US$33 billion in April, according to Beijing's General Administration of Customs. 'Green channel' Throughout its talks with Washington, China has also launched discussions with other trading partners – including Japan and South Korea – to try to build a united front to counter Mr Trump's tariffs. On June 5, Beijing and Canada agreed to regularise their channels of communication after strained ties. Beijing has also proposed establishing a 'green channel' to ease exports of rare earths to the European Union, and fast-tracking approval of some export licenses. China is expected to host a summit with the EU in July, marking 50 years since Beijing and Brussels established diplomatic ties. According to a spokesperson for Mr Starmer, Britain's finance minister Rachel Reeves took advantage of the talks in London to meet with her US counterpart Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng on June 8. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

US and Chinese officials meet in London for pivotal trade talks
US and Chinese officials meet in London for pivotal trade talks

Business Times

time2 hours ago

  • Business Times

US and Chinese officials meet in London for pivotal trade talks

[LONDON] Top US and Chinese officials were meeting in London on Monday (Jun 9) to try and defuse a high-stakes trade dispute that has widened from tariffs to restrictions over rare earths, threatening a global supply chain shock and slower economic growth. On the first of likely two days of talks, officials from the two superpowers were meeting at the ornate Lancaster House to try to get back on track with a preliminary agreement struck last month in Geneva that had briefly lowered the temperature between Washington and Beijing. Since then the US has accused China of slow-walking on its commitments, particularly around rare earths shipments. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Monday that the US team wanted a handshake from China on rare earths after Donald Trump said Xi Jinping had agreed to resume shipments in a rare call between the two presidents last week. 'The purpose of the meeting today is to make sure that they're serious, but to literally get handshakes,' Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, told CNBC in an interview. He said the US would expect export controls to be eased and rare earths released in volume immediately afterwards. The talks come at a crucial time for both economies, which are showing signs of strain from Trump's cascade of tariff orders since his return to the White House in January. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Customs data showed that China's exports to the US plunged 34.5 per cent year on year in May in value terms, the sharpest drop since February 2020, when the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic upended global trade. In the US, business and household confidence has taken a pummelling, while first-quarter gross domestic product contracted due to a record surge in imports as Americans front-loaded purchases to beat anticipated price increases. But for now, the impact on inflation has been muted, and the jobs market has remained fairly resilient, though economists expect cracks to become more apparent over the summer. Attending the talks in London will be US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and a Chinese contingent helmed by Vice Premier He Lifeng. The inclusion of Lutnick, whose agency oversees export controls for the US, is one indication of how central rare earths have become. China holds a near-monopoly on rare earth magnets, a crucial component in electric vehicle motors. Lutnick did not attend the Geneva talks at which the countries struck a 90-day deal to roll back some of the triple-digit tariffs they had placed on each other. Positive conclusion The second round of meetings comes four days after Trump and Xi spoke by phone, their first direct interaction since Trump's January 20 inauguration. During the more than one-hour-long call, Xi told Trump to back down from trade measures that roiled the global economy and warned him against threatening steps on Taiwan, according to a Chinese government summary. But Trump said on social media the talks focused primarily on trade led to 'a very positive conclusion,' setting the stage for Monday's meeting in the British capital. The next day, Trump said Xi had agreed to resume shipments to the US of rare earths minerals and magnets, and Reuters reported that China has granted temporary export licences to rare-Earth suppliers of the top three US automakers. China's decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets upended the supply chains central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told the Fox News programme Sunday Morning Futures that the US wanted the two sides to build on the progress made in Geneva in the hope they could move towards more comprehensive trade talks. The preliminary deal in Geneva sparked a global relief rally in stock markets, and US indexes that had been in or near bear market levels have recouped the lion's share of their losses. But Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, said while a temporary truce was possible, there was little prospect for the bilateral relationship to become constructive given broader decoupling trends and continued US pressure on other countries to take China out of their supply chains. 'Everyone around Trump is still hawkish and so a breakthrough US-China trade deal is unlikely, especially in the context of other deals that are further along and prioritised,' he said in an analyst note. REUTERS

US-China trade talks in London hang over markets
US-China trade talks in London hang over markets

Business Times

time3 hours ago

  • Business Times

US-China trade talks in London hang over markets

[LONDON] US-China trade talks in London held markets' attention on Monday (Jun 9), with Asian stocks rising, Wall Street mixed and Europe dipping. The London negotiations, following on from a first round in Geneva last month, aim to quell renewed tariff tensions between Washington and Beijing. New York's Dow and S&P 500 indices were lower, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose slightly in early trading. Asian shares closed up on hopes of a deal, and catching up with Wall Street from Friday, when US jobs data suggested the American economy was doing well, for now. The US dollar, however, was largely unmoved, with persistent fears of higher US inflation in the pipeline from Trump's generalised tariffs weighing on it. London, Paris and Frankfurt indices were all lower. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up While the US economy was showing resilience, official data on Monday showed China's exports to the US last month grew at a slower pace than expected, even as they picked up to the EU and Asia. The US-China talks took place following a call between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping last Thursday. They sought a de-escalation after each had accused the other of violating terms of a tariffs reprieve struck in Geneva in mid-May. The US side in London on Monday was being led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, while Vice Premier He Lifeng headed the Chinese team. Their meeting was helped by news that Beijing on Saturday approved some applications for rare-earth exports, while US aviation giant Boeing is to start sending commercial jets to China for the first time since April. Easing China's export controls on rare-earths was key for Washington, 'while China wants the US to rethink immigration curbs on students, restrictions on access to advanced technology including microchips, and to make it easier for Chinese tech providers to access US consumers,' said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB. 'The outcome of these discussions will be crucial for market sentiment,' she said. The US dollar's weakness came as economists warned that Trump's tariffs on most of the world could reignite inflation, and as the US Federal Reserve weighs whether to lower interest rates. 'The May minutes and recent comments by several (policy board) members... suggest the Fed is highly attentive to the risk that tariffs will lead to a persistent inflation shock,' wrote analysts at Bank of America. In corporate news, entertainment giant Warner Bros Discovery announced plans to split into two publicly traded companies, sending its share price higher by more than 9 per cent. One would be a Streaming and Studios company covering film and TV production and catalogues, and the other a Global Network company with television brands including CNN and Discovery, and free-to-air channels in Europe. US semiconductor maker Qualcomm also announced it was buying a UK firm, Alphawave, for US$2.4 billion as demand for database infrastructure heated up from demand in the AI sector. Alphawave shares in London jumped more than 22 per cent on the news. Qualcomm's shares rose three per cent in New York. AFP

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store