China, Hong Kong stocks weaken as US tariff deadline looms
As of the midday trading break, China's blue-chip CSI300 Index slipped 0.6 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.2 per cent.
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng was down 0.5 per cent and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index weakened 0.4 per cent.
Although China is not at risk of being slammed by imminent higher tariffs, thanks to the trade truce with the US, sentiment was still largely subdued as the tariff deadline looms.
The US is now close to finalizing several trade agreements in the coming days and will notify other countries of higher tariff rates by July 9, US President Donald Trump said on Sunday, with the higher rates set to take effect on August 1.
"Markets are set to see more volatility from here," and it's unlikely to see a sustained uptrend with the expiring tariff deadline and trade policy uncertainties impacting risk appetite, analysts at Huatai Securities said in a note.
Leading the onshore markets' losses on Monday, the AI sector declined 1.2 per cent and the rare earth sector lost 0.4 per cent with trade tensions looming.
The medical services sector weakened 0.8 per cent after China's finance ministry said on Sunday it was restricting government purchases of medical devices from the European Union in retaliation.
Helping offset the losses, Chinese property developers listed in mainland and Hong Kong, climbed by 1.4 per cent and 0.8 per cent, respectively, after the housing regulator vowed to put a floor on dropping home prices.
Traders are also watching for China's key inflation data on Wednesday to gauge the health of the world's second-largest economy in the face of persistent deflation pressure and trade risks.
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Malaysia Sun
18 minutes ago
- Malaysia Sun
Openness brings progress, closure leads to backwardness: Chinese FM on U.S.-imposed tarrifs
KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Openness brings progress, while closure leads to backwardness, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Saturday when commenting on U.S.-imposed high tariffs against various countries. Amid the ongoing mixture of changes and chaos in the current international situation, every country must make a choice between unilateralism and multilateralism, closeness and openness, unity and division, said Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, who was here attending the ASEAN Plus foreign ministers' meetings in the Malaysian capital. China's choice is to be more open, he stressed, explaining that this is not only the basic experience of China's development and growth, but also the inevitable logic of history moving forward. China has taken the initiative to provide zero-tariff treatment for products to the least developed countries and the entire Africa, fully completed negotiations on the Version 3.0 China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, and has created a new model of cross-regional cooperation at the ASEAN-China-GCC summit, he added. In contrast, the high tariffs imposed on various countries are a clear violation of World Trade Organization rules, disrupting the stable operation of the production and supply chains, and hindering the recovery and development of the world economy, said the Chinese foreign minister, adding that such move is irresponsible, unpopular, and unsustainable. Wang said that China will continue to stand firmly with countries in the region, promoting unity, cooperation, and collective strength, and will always be an advocate of multilateralism, a defender of free trade, and a contributor to open development, he said.
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Brazil and China to study South American transcontinental railway project
Brazil and China agreed on Monday to study the feasibility of a transcontinental railway that could reshape South America's trade routes by connecting Brazil's Atlantic Ocean coast to Peru's Pacific Ocean port of Chancay. The memorandum of understanding was signed between Infra S.A., the Brazilian state-owned company linked to the Ministry of Transport, and the China Railway Economic and Planning Research Institute, part of China State Railway Group. The plan outlines a railway of about 4,500 kilometres (roughly 2,800 miles), running from Ilhéus in the northern Brazilian state of Bahia to Rio Branco in the northwestern state of Acre, before crossing the Andes towards the Peruvian coast. Some estimates put the cost of proposed project at upwards of US$70 billion. If built, the corridor could shorten shipping times to Asia by as much as 12 days compared with current Atlantic routes that pass through the Panama Canal. For now, however, the agreement is only for technical, environmental and economic studies, expected to last for up to five years. The signing follows months of increased contact between Brasília and Beijing over the matter. In April, a Chinese delegation visited the Fico and Fiol railway lines in Brazil, which are expected to form key parts of the planned corridor. The team also toured the Port of Santos, Latin America's busiest port, which is expanding with Chinese investment. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government considers access to the Pacific essential for strengthening ties with Asia and boosting agricultural and mineral exports. The idea of linking Brazil to the Pacific by rail is not new. A similar project was first discussed over a decade ago but was shelved amid questions about cost, technical obstacles and environmental impact. The announcement comes as unease in Washington rises over China's growing economic influence in the western hemisphere. In November, shortly after US President Donald Trump's re-election victory, Mauricio Claver-Carone, now his special adviser on Latin American affairs, called for tariffs of up to 60 per cent on any company using Peru's Chancay port for trade with China. Claver-Carone said the tariff would not only discourage general use of the port but also help prevent its use for transshipment – routing goods through other countries so they can be re-exported and enter their final market facing lower tariffs. The so-called Fico and Fiol lines, to be operated under public–private partnerships, now form the backbone of Brazil's railway expansion and would be central to the new route. For China, the railway would help unlock the potential of the Chancay megaport near Lima, built with Belt and Road Initiative funding at a cost of around US$3.5 billion. Inaugurated in November, the port is expected to become a major link for South American trade with Asia. Analysts say that without a direct connection to Brazil, its role as a regional hub would be limited. In Peru, however, the news of the agreement triggered unease. Leolino Dourado, a researcher at the Centre for China and Asia-Pacific Studies in Lima, noted that some Lima officials were unsettled because Peru was not formally involved in the signing, despite the project passing through its territory. Local media described it as a violation of Peru's sovereignty. Even so, Dourado noted that Peruvian ministries have held talks with Brazilian and Chinese officials this year and that the absence of the foreign ministry may have contributed to misunderstandings. 'There were discussions at the technical level, but the lack of coordination within Peru created the impression that the country was left out,' he said. Dourado said he thought the economic case for the project was shaky, arguing that the long overland distance from Brazil to Chancay made rail freight more costly than shipping goods directly through Atlantic ports. In his view, any savings from a shorter sea leg to Asia would be outweighed by the higher expense of moving cargo by land. He noted studies that had raised similar doubts, including a 2015 International Union of Railways report that found little financial sense in building such a link. Dourado said that signs were few that conditions had improved since then. He also said that any viable route would likely cross environmentally protected areas or indigenous territories, which could lead to legal disputes and complex negotiations. Altering conservation laws to make way for tracks, he warned, would be far from straightforward. Without solid economic grounds and guaranteed funding, he added, there was a real risk the railway could remain little more than a grand vision. 'Crossing the Andes involves tunnels and bridges that push costs higher. Previous estimates put the northern route at about US$72 billion. If the line follows the southern option to reduce the environmental impact by using the existing Pacific Highway corridor, the cost jumps to nearly US$100 billion,' he said. Despite the doubts and tensions, Brazil and China expressed hope that the studies would clarify whether the plan could move from the drawing board to reality, linking South America's vast interior more directly to booming markets across the Pacific. 'This partnership is a fruit of wisdom and mutual trust, and will contribute to the dynamism and development of transport in our countries,' Wang Jie, general director of China State Railway Group, said in a statement. The Brazilian government also said that the project would, once completed, strengthen its agenda for regional integration and sustainable infrastructure. 'Brazil is ready to lead a new era of logistics infrastructure. And this leadership role will be exercised with a sense of responsibility, high-quality engineering, solid partnerships and future-oriented tracks,' Leonardo Ribeiro, Brazil's secretary of rail transport, said. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Hong Kong's famous dim sum Metropol Restaurant to close in September as HKUST buys the space
A restaurant known for serving dim sum from traditional trolleys will close at the end of September after the venue was acquired by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) for HK$354.4 million (US$45 million). In a reply to the Post, HKUST confirmed on Tuesday that it recently reached an agreement to purchase a property at United Centre in Admiralty for teaching purposes. Records showed the location was the fourth floor, which had been occupied by Metropol Restaurant for more than three decades. 'The university's School of Business and Management has always been setting up teaching facilities in business centres in the urban areas to facilitate classes and interaction for its students and staff,' a university spokesman said. He added the university would use such spaces for other activities to support its long-term development and foster student growth. Records show that Hong Kong Ping Jeng Lau, which operated the Metropol Restaurant and other eateries, had owned the property since 1989. A restaurant employee told the Post that the establishment would remain open until September 27, but had not offered any reason for the closure. The restaurant opened in 1990 and is one of three eateries in Hong Kong operated under the Heichinrou Group, a Japanese brand of traditional Chinese restaurants first established in the Chinatown of Yokohama, Japan, in 1884. On the group's website, Metropol Restaurant is described as the brand's premium eatery for dim sum lunches and banquets. It can accommodate 1,200 people, has five private rooms and is available for small parties or banquets of more than 100 tables. The other two restaurants are located in Diamond Hill and Kwun Tong. A notice in Japanese on the business group's website announced the closure of all its restaurants in Japan on May 20, and that the company had filed for bankruptcy the following day. Metropol Restaurant is one of the few dim sum restaurants in Hong Kong that still serves dim sum from trolleys. In an interview with the Post in 2012, Billy Cheong, then senior vice-president and managing director at Heichinrou Group, said he expected that Metropol would be the only restaurant to still use serving trolleys in busy areas such as Central and Admiralty in the future. He said the rent would be too high for any other restaurant to keep the practice going, as it required operators to hire additional staff and incur extra costs. The restaurant's looming shutdown is the latest in a recent string of closures in the city's catering sector. The 36-year-old Super Star Seafood Restaurant abruptly shut down its last remaining branch last week. Bakery chain Taipan Bread & Cakes, which invented 'snow skin' mooncakes, closed all of its branches last month after 41 years in business. In May, 33-year-old congee restaurant chain Ocean Empire Food Shop also shut all its outlets. Among the reasons cited by some of the eateries were high rents, shifting spending patterns among locals, who often crossed the border for leisure, and declining consumption by visiting mainland Chinese tourists following the Covid-19 pandemic. Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, said the situation had not improved in the catering industry as customers had become more cautious about spending money. 'Traditional Chinese restaurants encounter different challenges. The younger generation doesn't want to dine there,' he said. 'It's hard for the traditional restaurants to make changes; operators have to change their mindset and have to invest a lot to make changes. These restaurants are facing a lot of competition, and it is not easy to recruit new blood.' Vincent Cheung Kiu-cho, managing director of Vincorn Consulting and Appraisal, said it was difficult to find people who were willing to take over such restaurants as operating expenditures were high, including rent and the cost of ingredients and labour. 'Especially when the vacancy rate of commercial buildings is relatively high, if someone is willing to take over the property under such circumstances, it will be easier for the owner,' he said. Cheung said he believed there was a strong demand for facilities operated by tertiary institutions in urban areas as the government was promoting the 'study in Hong Kong' campaign to turn the city into an international education hub. He observed that some university campuses were in remote areas and they could be on the lookout for convenient locations to set up satellite centres for part-time students and those enrolled in external programmes. 'Having centres in the city centre can cater to their needs and provide accessibility for students to attend classes after work or on holidays,' he said. He added some educational institutions had been setting up satellite offices in the urban areas, citing the example of City University's acquisition of spaces in a Tsim Sha Tsui shopping centre. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
