China's commerce minister backs closer Australia ties
Trade Minister Don Farrell has met Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in France. (AP PHOTO) Credit: AAP
China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao has had a "pragmatic and constructive" exchange on deepening bilateral economic and trade relations with Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell in Paris, according to a Chinese commerce ministry statement.
The two countries should enhance communication and co-ordination under multilateral and regional frameworks, and jointly safeguard the multilateral trading system in the face of "severe challenges" posed by unilateralism and protectionism, Mr Wang told Senator Farrell.
China and Australia should create a good business environment for the two countries' firms, Mr Wang added.
Senator Farrell is in France leading Australia's delegation to the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting.
On the sidelines of that meeting, Australia is set to host an informal meeting of World Trade Organisation ministers to discuss the importance of an open global trading system.
with AAP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
2 hours ago
- West Australian
Wall Street dips as investors focus on US jobs data
US stocks have dipped, dragged down by Tesla's shares, while investors looked ahead to the monthly jobs report to gauge the health of the labour market amid concerns of an economic slowdown. Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with US President Donald Trump by phone, China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported, as bilateral relations have been strained by trade disputes. The call comes amid accusations between the US and China in recent weeks over critical minerals in a dispute that threatens to tear up a fragile truce in the trade war between the governments of the two biggest economies. Weaker-than-expected US private payrolls and services sector data on Wednesday raised concerns about the effects of Trump's erratic trade policies, with investors focusing squarely on Friday's non-farm payrolls report. Initial jobless claims data showed people in the US filing new applications for unemployment benefits last week rose for a second straight week. "I don't think it's some sort of big warning sign right now but it speaks to the fact that the labour market has been softening more and just getting gradually weaker," said Kevin Gordon, senior investment strategist at Charles Schwab. The jobs report comes ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy decision later this month, where policy makers are widely expected to hold interest rates. Despite continued calls from Trump to slash interest rates, Fed chair Jerome Powell has opted to stand pat so far, awaiting further data to help dictate the policy decision as tariff volatility prevails. US equities rallied sharply in May, with investors boosting the S&P 500 index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq to their biggest monthly percentage gain since November 2023, thanks to a softening of Trump's harsh trade stance and upbeat earnings reports. The S&P 500 remains nearly 3.0 per cent below record highs touched in February. US central bank officials including Fed Board governor Adriana Kugler, Fed Kansas City president Jeffrey Schmid and Fed Philadelphia president Patrick Harker are scheduled to speak later in the day. In early trading on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 126.69 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 42,301.05, the S&P 500 lost 12.71 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 5,958.10 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 31.13 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 19,429.36. Eight of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors fell, with consumer staples declining the most with an about 1.0 per cent fall. Brown-Forman fell 14.9 per cent, the most on the S&P 500, after the Jack Daniel's maker forecast a decline in annual revenue and profit. Procter & Gamble said it will cut 7000 jobs, or about 6.0 per cent of its workforce, over the next two years, as part of a restructuring. Shares of the consumer goods bellwether fell 1.3 per cent. Tesla fell 4.5 per cent, touching an over three-week low. The car maker's sales dropped for the fifth straight month in several European markets, data early this week has showed. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.08-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.46-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and three new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 37 new highs and 16 new lows.
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Wall Street dips as investors focus on US jobs data
US stocks have dipped, dragged down by Tesla's shares, while investors looked ahead to the monthly jobs report to gauge the health of the labour market amid concerns of an economic slowdown. Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with US President Donald Trump by phone, China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported, as bilateral relations have been strained by trade disputes. The call comes amid accusations between the US and China in recent weeks over critical minerals in a dispute that threatens to tear up a fragile truce in the trade war between the governments of the two biggest economies. Weaker-than-expected US private payrolls and services sector data on Wednesday raised concerns about the effects of Trump's erratic trade policies, with investors focusing squarely on Friday's non-farm payrolls report. Initial jobless claims data showed people in the US filing new applications for unemployment benefits last week rose for a second straight week. "I don't think it's some sort of big warning sign right now but it speaks to the fact that the labour market has been softening more and just getting gradually weaker," said Kevin Gordon, senior investment strategist at Charles Schwab. The jobs report comes ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy decision later this month, where policy makers are widely expected to hold interest rates. Despite continued calls from Trump to slash interest rates, Fed chair Jerome Powell has opted to stand pat so far, awaiting further data to help dictate the policy decision as tariff volatility prevails. US equities rallied sharply in May, with investors boosting the S&P 500 index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq to their biggest monthly percentage gain since November 2023, thanks to a softening of Trump's harsh trade stance and upbeat earnings reports. The S&P 500 remains nearly 3.0 per cent below record highs touched in February. US central bank officials including Fed Board governor Adriana Kugler, Fed Kansas City president Jeffrey Schmid and Fed Philadelphia president Patrick Harker are scheduled to speak later in the day. In early trading on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 126.69 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 42,301.05, the S&P 500 lost 12.71 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 5,958.10 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 31.13 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 19,429.36. Eight of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors fell, with consumer staples declining the most with an about 1.0 per cent fall. Brown-Forman fell 14.9 per cent, the most on the S&P 500, after the Jack Daniel's maker forecast a decline in annual revenue and profit. Procter & Gamble said it will cut 7000 jobs, or about 6.0 per cent of its workforce, over the next two years, as part of a restructuring. Shares of the consumer goods bellwether fell 1.3 per cent. Tesla fell 4.5 per cent, touching an over three-week low. The car maker's sales dropped for the fifth straight month in several European markets, data early this week has showed. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.08-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.46-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and three new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 37 new highs and 16 new lows.
AU Financial Review
3 hours ago
- AU Financial Review
Trump and Xi speak on phone with tensions edging up
Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by phone with US President Donald Trump on Thursday, Chinese state media reported, as tensions between the two countries over trade resurfaced. The call came in the wake of renewed accusations between Washington and Beijing over violations of a trade deal struck weeks earlier in Geneva. The agreement, aimed at easing tensions, included a 90-day mutual tariff reduction that Trump described as a 'total reset.'
