China says successful US trade talks make return to tariff war unnecessary
BEIJING : China wants to bring its trade ties with the US back to a stable footing, its commerce minister said, adding that recent talks in Europe showed there was no need for a tariff war while urging the US to act in a manner befitting of a superpower.
Commerce minister Wang Wentao told reporters today that the 'ups and downs' in the two countries' relationship underscored their economic interdependence.
Asked about the US specifically, Wang said: 'Major countries should act like major countries. They must shoulder their responsibilities,' adding that China would protect its national interests.
China is facing an Aug 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with the US, after Beijing and Washington reached a preliminary deal last month to end weeks of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs.
If no deal is reached, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil from duties exceeding 100%.
Wang said negotiations in Geneva and London earlier this year demonstrated there was no need to return to a trade war.
'Practice has proven that through dialogue and consultation, with leadership and communication at the highest levels, we can properly manage contradictions and resolve our differences,' he said.
'We will continue to strengthen dialogue and communication, deepen consensus, reduce misunderstandings, enhance cooperation, to jointly put China-US economic and trade relations back on track to achieve healthy, stable and sustainable development,' he said.
China's rare earths exports rose 32% month-on-month in June, customs data showed on Monday, in a sign that agreements struck last month in London to free up the flow of the metals were possibly bearing fruit.
Chipmaker Nvidia will also resume selling its H20 AI chips to China, Chief Executive Jensen Huang said at an event in Beijing this week, a move US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said was also part of negotiations on rare earths.
Wang said today that he had met Huang the previous day, describing the meeting as evidence that 'as the dust settles, everyone has come to the conclusion – especially the US side – that forced decoupling is impossible'.
Wang said the current overall tariff level imposed by the US on China was 'still high' at 53.6%.
Analysts have said that additional duties exceeding 35% will probably wipe out Chinese manufacturers' profit margins.
'Both sides have come to understand that they need each other, as lots of the goods and services that we exchange are irreplaceable, or at least difficult to exchange in the short-term,' Wang said.
'China does not want a trade war, but it is not afraid of one,' he reiterated.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
11 minutes ago
- The Star
DeepSeek, Trump's plan steer agenda at China's premier AI forum
SHANGHAI: Star founders, Beijing officials and deep-pocketed financiers converge on Shanghai by the thousands this weekend to attend China's most important AI summit. At the top of the agenda: how to propel Beijing's ambitions to leapfrog the US in artificial intelligence - and profit off that drive. The World Artificial Intelligence Conference, which has featured Elon Musk and Jack Ma in years past, was devised to showcase the cutting-edge of Chinese technology. This year's attendance may hit a record as it's taking place at a critical juncture in the US-Chinese tech rivalry. This week, US President Donald Trump unveiled his so-called AI Action Plan - a sort of call to arms to ensure the country keeps its lead in the post-ChatGPT epoch. At the same time, the emergence of DeepSeek in January galvanised a generation of Chinese developers to ride a nationwide investment and innovation wave. From Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to fledgling firms such as Minimax, the country's AI aspirants have since moved aggressively to try and close the gap with the likes of OpenAI and Google. "While many recognise DeepSeek's achievements, this represents just the beginning of China's AI innovation wave,' said Louis Liang, an AI sector investor with Ameba Capital. "We are witnessing the advent of AI mass adoption, this goes beyond national competition.' The Shanghai conference rundown for now remains largely unknown - as it has in years past just days before kickoff. Chinese Premier Li Qiang will attend, and tech leaders from Tencent Holdings Ltd. to ByteDance Ltd. and startups like Zhipu AI and Moonshot are likely to turn out in force. Here's what we can expect from the summit starting Saturday. DeepSeek's Aura Neither the startup nor its reclusive founder Liang Wenfeng feature in the advance literature for the event. And yet, the two-year-old firm is likely to be one of the topics du jour. Since its low-cost, high-performance AI model humbled much of Silicon Valley, the industry has watched China closely for another seismic moment. In a field notorious for splashing billions of dollars on Nvidia Corp. chips and data centres, DeepSeek's no-frills approach inspired a re-think of traditional models. And it challenged what till then was unquestioned US supremacy in bleeding-edge technology: Xi Jinping himself turned out in public in February to congratulate Liang and his fellow tech entrepreneurs. China craves another big breakthrough. Downloads and usage of DeepSeek models have slowed, as has the pace of new model rollouts that peaked over the spring at once every few days. Now, much of the industry talk centres on why DeepSeek's R2 - the followup to its seminal R1 - hasn't yet emerged. Local media have blamed everything from Liang's perfectionist streak to performance glitches. Trump's, and Xi's, Ambitions The conference gets underway days after the US leader signed executive orders to loosen regulations and expand energy supplies for data centres. "From this day forward, it'll be a policy of the United States to do whatever it takes to lead the world in artificial intelligence,' Trump told executives and lawmakers at a DC event. Among the attendees was Jensen Huang, whose Nvidia is one of the companies at the heart of the global AI movement. Much has been made in Washington of China's seemingly meteoric ascent in AI, with observers saying the country is now perhaps just months behind the US in terms of AI sophistication. That's a wafer-thin margin compared with sectors such as semiconductors, where America is regarded as many years or even generations ahead. Trump's newly announced action plan is likely to spur Chinese companies into accelerating their own plans to go global, in part by aggressively open-sourcing their AI platforms. Beijing wants AI to become a US$100 billion industry by 2030. At the Communist Party's April Politburo study session, Xi emphasised that China must push for breakthroughs in critical areas like high-end chips and AI research. Rise of the Robots Chinese humanoid makers are expected to showcase their most advanced models. Last week, UBTech posted a video of its Walker S2 humanoid walking to a battery station, removing the pack from its back, placing it on the recharge pad before fitting itself with a new battery. While obviously edited and choreographed, it encapsulated the advances that Chinese firms have made in a wide-open field - and their lofty ambitions. Unitree teased a bargain-basement price of under US$10,000 for its androids. It joins the likes of AgiBot and UBTech in collectively driving a promising field in which American companies have so far failed to stake out a clear lead, despite decades of effort. The Chinese companies "are targeting hundreds to thousands of units to be delivered this year, racing to establish the ecosystem,' Morgan Stanley analyst Sheng Wong said in a note this week. Show the Money Venture capitalists and deal-makers will be hunting for emerging tech leaders. And not all of them are Chinese. China's largest venture capital houses are tapping the market for at least US$2 billion in new funds. At least six of the country's most prominent VC firms - including Lightspeed China Partners and Monolith Management - are creating dollar-denominated funds designed to allow overseas investors to pool bets on Chinese companies. That's a wave of fundraising that hasn't been seen among Chinese VCs for years. It's unfolding as global investors reassess the country's startup landscape and economy, which are showing signs of revival after years of Covid-era stagnation and regulatory headwinds. Organizers promise a breakout event that will feature startup pitches and live demos for dealmakers. Startups by the hundreds are expected to fill a 70,000 sq-metre exhibition hall, showing off everything from autonomous delivery drones to machines that dispense toilet paper. Missing Global Touch Attendees are unlikely to spot US companies - at least not in major fashion. In 2024, Tesla Inc. popped up with its Cybertruck and Optimus robot. This year's speaker lineup doesn't (yet) include Musk but does list Yoshua Bengio, the Canadian scientist who pioneered artificial neural networks. With the US-China tech rivalry accelerating, many American companies remain wary of drawing the spotlight. Still, Beijing is likely to take the opportunity to continue pushing its international agenda. One of the conference centerpieces is a "High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance' to discuss the challenges in deploying AI responsibly. To many observers, it's also emblematic of China's overarching goal of setting global standards. "Since 2018, China has used WAIC to stake its claim on global AI technical and political leadership,' said Tom Nunlist, associate director of the Beijing-based consultancy Trivium. "With the race to AI now neck and neck between the US and China, that play is more compelling than ever.' - Bloomberg
New Straits Times
11 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Malaysia's semiconductor play heats up as investor interest surges
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's push to become a semiconductor powerhouse is gathering momentum, as its National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS) attracts investor interest, institutional backing and regional collaboration. With RM63 billion in committed investments, a growing base of local champions and closer Asean alignment, analysts said Malaysia is steadily positioning itself as a neutral yet indispensable node in the global semiconductor ecosystem. "We are encouraged to see that the NSS is gaining investor traction, institutional support and regional momentum," CIMB Securities said in a flash note. Launched in May 2024, the NSS aims to transform Malaysia from a "Made in Malaysia" base to a "Made by Malaysia" hub by deepening capabilities in integrated circuit (IC) design, research and design as well as advanced packaging. CIMB Securities said the strategy has drawn high-impact projects from global players such as Infineon, Carsem, NXP, Syntiant and Plexus. The research house said Malaysia also aims to develop 10 local semiconductor firms with revenues exceeding US$1 billion and 100 firms with revenues exceeding RM1 billion. "The government has identified 13 Malaysian-based companies across the semiconductor value chain as key beneficiaries, including Carsem (MPI), Inari Amertron Bhd, Pentamaster Corporation Bhd, ViTrox Corporation Bhd, and Kelington Group Bhd. "In addition, promising IC design and services firms like Oppstar Bhd, SkyeChip, Infinecs, and Experior are also being nurtured to spearhead Malaysia's next phase of semiconductor growth," it said. CIMB Securities said as Asean chair this year, Malaysia is also leading the charge on regional supply chain integration through the Asean Integrated Semiconductor Supply Chain Framework. "Malaysia's transition from a back-end assembly base to a design-to-packaging semiconductor hub remains a work in progress. "However, we are encouraged to see that the NSS is gaining investor traction, institutional support, and regional momentum," it said. Its top stock picks in the local outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) space are Inari Amertron and Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, with ViTrox also cited for exposure to the automated test equipment segment.
New Straits Times
41 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
IMF reaches deal with Argentina to unlock US$2 billion tranche
WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday announced a deal with the Argentine government as part of the first review of a US$20 billion loan programme, paving the way for a US$2 billion disbursement. This second loan tranche is still subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board, which is due to meet by the end of the month. It would bring the total amount available to Argentina under the programme announced in April to around US$14 billion. "The programme has had a strong start, underpinned by the continued implementation of tight macroeconomic policies, including a strong fiscal anchor and a tight monetary stance," the IMF said in a statement. It highlighted an exchange rate managed at expected levels and an easing of inflation, which reached 39.40 per cent year-on-year at the end of June, compared with 117.80 per cent at the end of 2024. The IMF noted continuing economic growth and a decline in poverty rates, which had topped 50 per cent at one point before falling back to 38.10 per cent at the end of 2024, around the level before budget-slashing libertarian Javier Milei became president. The Washington-based fund also cited Argentina's return to international financial markets after Moody's upgraded its rating earlier this month, from Caa3 to Caa1, although it remains in the speculative category. The IMF loan was part of a US$42 billion bailout that also included funding from the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. Milei was elected in December 2023 on the promise of reviving the South American country's crisis-hit economy, which achieved its first budget surplus in 14 years in 2024 thanks to austerity measures and sweeping public sector cuts. Argentina, which has a track record of economic crises and hyperinflation, is the IMF's biggest debtor, ahead even of war-torn Ukraine. It owes the IMF US$44 billion under a 2018 loan agreement — the lender's biggest ever — on which it has since renegotiated the repayment terms.
