China open to talks with Trump admin on lowering tariffs, ministry says
China is "evaluating" an offer from the U.S. to hold talks on tariffs, according to a Friday statement from the Chinese Commerce Ministry. This shift in tone could leave the door open for the world's two largest economies to deescalate the trade war that has left global markets in turmoil.
"The U.S. has recently taken the initiative on many occasions to convey information to China through relevant parties, saying it hopes to talk with China," the ministry said in a statement, according to a Reuters translation. The ministry also said that Beijing was "evaluating this."
However, while Beijing appears to be open to negotiations, the Chinese Commerce Ministry warned that it would not be forced into making a bad deal. According to the Reuters translation, the ministry said that "attempting to use talks as a pretext to engage in coercion and extortion would not work."
On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo on "Mornings with Maria" that he believed Beijing was looking to reach an agreement with the U.S.
"I am confident that the Chinese will want to reach a deal. And as I said, this is going to be a multi-step process. First, we need to de-escalate. And then the over time we will start focusing on a larger trade deal," Bessent said.
President Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs last month. He slapped a 145% tariff on Chinese imports. Meanwhile, Beijing put a 125% tariff on U.S. imports. However, the country recently waived the tariff on a host of American-made products.
There were already exemptions for some pharmaceuticals, microchips and aircraft engines, but China added an exemption for ethane imports, according to Reuters.
Beijing's change in messaging regarding the tariffs comes in stark contrast to its April 23 comments during a U.N. Security Council Arria-formula meeting on "The Impact of Unilateralism and Bullying Practices on International Relations." At that meeting, China accused the U.S. of using tariffs to bully the rest of the world.
"Under the guise of reciprocity and fairness, the U.S. is playing a zero-sum game, which is essentially about subverting the existing international economic and trade order by means of tariffs, putting U.S. interests above the common good of the international community and advancing hegemonic ambitions of the U.S. at the cost of the legitimate interest of all countries," Chinese U.N. Ambassador Fu Cong said in his opening remarks.
A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the meeting was "a waste of U.N. Security Council members' time." The spokesperson also slammed the meeting as an example of China's manipulation of "the multilateral system to support its economic, political, and security interests."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNBC
8 minutes ago
- CNBC
Jim Cramer sees a 'bizarre' rotation in the market — plus, Starbucks makes a move in China
Every weekday the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer holds a "Morning Meeting" livestream at 10:20 a.m. ET. Here's a recap of Monday's key moments. 1. The stock market is starting the week relatively flat following Friday's rally due to a solid jobs report. Investors are awaiting trade news updates as American and Chinese officials gather in London . The flow of rare earth minerals out of China is a big focus of the talks. Within the stock market Monday, Jim Cramer said the action is interesting. "What I'm seeing is a kind of a very bizarre rotation. ... A lot of stocks that have been laggards like Texas Instruments are really taking off," Jim said. Meanwhile, stocks that had been certified winners are headed down. The rotation is "very daunting for people because you're buying lesser quality and selling high quality," Jim said. 2. Club name Starbucks has been on the recovering end lately, climbing nearly 7% last week and adding modest gains in Monday's session. In its latest move to navigate the competitive Chinese market, the company is cutting prices on non-coffee beverages in the country. The latest strategy is part of the coffee chain's campaign to win customers over during the summer. "It helps the story that they're doing some discounting," Jim said. It's no secret that Starbucks has had some difficulties in the region and has been looking for a strategic partner for its operations there. "I think [a partnership] would be well received by the market," said Jeff Marks, director of portfolio analysis for the Club. 3. It's a different story for portfolio name Broadcom , which closed 5% lower Friday after reporting earnings Thursday and is taking another hit Monday. Jim reminded members that on Friday he advised to hold off on buying into the stock's sell-off. "I said today's the day you buy," he said Monday. The company reported a strong quarter with AI revenue rising 46% year over year. Marks said the only real issue was the stock came into the print red hot, so it fell victim to high expectations, leading to the drop. However, the semiconductor manufacturer did see price targets raised at several firms Monday, including at Barclays, which went to $265 a share, up from $215. 4 . Stocks covered in Monday's rapid fire at the end of the video were: Warner Bros Discovery , Tesla , General Mills , and Conagra Brands . (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long AVGO, SBUX . See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
CNN
13 minutes ago
- CNN
Trump to promote $1,000 ‘Trump Accounts' for newborns at WH event
President Donald Trump is set to host a roundtable at the White House Monday to promote a key feature of the sweeping Republican domestic policy bill – a provision that would provide every American newborn with a $1,000 investment account, a White House official told CNN. The accounts, which the administration has dubbed 'Trump Accounts,' would be established for all newborn US citizen children under a pilot program included in the House-passed legislation. The government's $1,000 contribution would be placed in an index fund tied to the overall stock market and managed by the child's legal guardians. The accounts will start at $1,000 per child and guardians or other private entities can contribute up to $5,000 additional dollars every year throughout the child's life. 'The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill will literally change the lives of working, middle class families across America by delivering the largest tax cuts in history, increasing the child tax credit, AND by creating this incredible new 'Trump Account' program, which will put the lives of young Americans on the right financial path' said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Monday's event, taking place in the State Dining Room at the White House, will feature top executives from Dell, Uber, Altimeter Capital, ARM Corp, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Robinhood and Goldman Sachs. According to the White House official, the CEOs are expected to pledge billions of dollars in investments into Trump Accounts for the children of their employees. 'The creation of investment accounts for every child will compound into substantial nest eggs providing support for education, home ownership, and starting families. Dell Technologies will proudly match dollar for dollar the government's seed investment into these accounts for all the children born to Dell team members. This bold move to an ownership society for all included in the Reconciliation Bill will have profound and far-reaching benefits for the country,' said Dell Technologies CEO Micheal Dell, who will attend the roundtable Monday. The roundtable comes as the Trump administration intensifies its push to secure Senate passage of the president's domestic policy package ahead of the Fourth of July. NBC News was first to report.
CNN
18 minutes ago
- CNN
China has a valuable card to play as it holds trade talks with the US today
Source: CNN A new round of trade negotiations between the United States and China has started in London, with both sides trying to preserve a fragile truce brokered last month. The fresh talks were announced last week after a long-anticipated phone call between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which appeared to ease tensions that erupted over the past month following a surprise agreement in Geneva. In May, the two sides agreed to drastically roll back tariffs on each other's goods for an initial 90-day period. The mood was upbeat. However, sentiment soured quickly over two major sticking points: China's control over so-called rare earths minerals and its access to semiconductor technology originating from the US. Beijing's exports of rare earths and their related magnets are expected to take center stage Monday at the London meeting. A person familiar with the matter told CNN the US-China talks were underway. China's official news agency Xinhua also reported the start of the discussions. Experts say Beijing is unlikely to give up its strategic grip over the essential minerals, which are needed in a wide range of electronics, vehicles and defense systems. 'China's control over rare earth supply has become a calibrated yet assertive tool for strategic influence,' Robin Xing, Morgan Stanley's chief China economist, wrote in a Monday research note. 'Its near-monopoly of the supply chain means rare earths will remain a significant bargaining chip in trade negotiations.' Since the talks in Geneva, Trump has accused Beijing of effectively blocking the export of rare earths, announcing additional chip curbs and threatening to revoke the US visas of Chinese students. The moves have provoked backlash from China, which views Washington's decisions as reneging on its trade promises. All eyes will be on whether both sides can come to a consensus in London on issues of fundamental importance. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier He Lifeng. On Saturday, Beijing appeared to send conciliatory signals. A spokesperson for China's Commerce Ministry, which oversees the export controls, said it had 'approved a certain number of compliant applications.' 'China is willing to further enhance communication and dialogue with relevant countries regarding export controls to facilitate compliant trade,' the spokesperson said. Kevin Hassett, head of the National Economic Council at the White House, told CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday that the US side would be looking to restore the flow of rare earth minerals. 'Those exports of critical minerals have been getting released at a rate that is higher than it was, but not as high as we believe we agreed to in Geneva,' he said, adding that he is 'very comfortable' with a trade deal being made after the talks. On Monday morning in an interview with CNBC, Hassett said: 'This was a very significant sticking point, because China controls… something like 90% of the rare earths and the magnets. And if they're slow rolling, sending those to us because of some licensing deal that they set up, then it could potentially disrupt production for some US companies that rely on those things.' 'And there are enough of those, like, for example, auto companies, that President Trump took it very seriously, called President Xi and said, we got to we got to get this stuff coming out faster. And President Xi agreed,' he added. In April, as tit-for-tat trade tension between the two countries escalated, China imposed a new licensing regime on seven rare earth minerals and several magnets, requiring exporters to seek approvals for each shipment and submit documentation to verify the intended end use of these materials. Following the trade truce negotiated in Geneva, the Trump administration expected China to lift restrictions on those minerals. But Beijing's apparent slow-walking of approvals triggered deep frustration within the White House, CNN reported last month. Rare earths are a group of 17 elements that are more abundant than gold and can be found in many countries, including the US. But they're difficult, costly and environmentally polluting to extract and process. China controls 90% of global rare earth processing. Experts say it's possible that Beijing may seek to use its leverage over rare earths to get Washington to ease its own export controls aimed at blocking China's access to advanced US semiconductors and related technologies. The American Chamber of Commerce in China said on Friday that some Chinese suppliers of American companies have received six-month export licenses. Reuters, citing two sources, also reported that suppliers of major American carmakers – including General Motors, Ford and Jeep-maker Stellantis – were granted temporary export licenses for a period of up to six months. While China may step up the pace of license approvals to cool the diplomatic temperature, global access to Chinese rare earth minerals will likely remain more restricted than it was before April, according to a Friday research note by Leah Fahy, a China economist and other experts at Capital Economics, a London-based consultancy. 'Beijing had become more assertive in its use of export controls as tools to protect and cement its global position in strategic sectors, even before Trump hiked China tariffs this year,' the note said. As China tackles a tariff war with the US head on, it's clear that the disruptions are continuing to cause economic pain at home. Trade and price data released Monday painted a gloomy picture for the country's export-reliant economy. Its overall overseas shipments rose by just 4.8% in May, compared to the same month a year earlier, according to data released by China's General Administration of Customs. It was a sharp slowdown from the 8.1% recorded in April, and lower than the estimate of 5.0% export growth from a Reuters poll of economists. Its exports to the US suffered a steep decline of 34.5%. The sharp monthly fall widened from a 21% drop in April and came despite the trade truce announced on May 12 that brought American tariffs on Chinese goods down from 145% to 30%. Still, Lü Daliang, a spokesperson for the customs department, talked up China's economic strength, telling the state-run media Xinhua that China's goods trade has demonstrated 'resilience in the face of external challenges.' Meanwhile, deflationary pressures continue to stalk the world's second-largest economy, according to data released separately on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). In May, China's Consumer Price Index (CPI), a benchmark for measuring inflation, dropped 0.1% compared to the same month last year. Factory-gate deflation, measured by the Producer Price Index (PPI), worsened with a 3.3% decrease in May from a year earlier. Last month's drop marks the sharpest year-on-year contraction in 22 months, according to NBS data. Dong Lijuan, chief statistician at the NBS, attributed the decline in producer prices, which measures the average change in prices received by producers of goods and services, to a drop in global oil and gas prices, as well as the decrease in prices for coal and other raw materials due to low cyclical demand. The high base of last year was cited as another reason for the decline, Dong said in a statement. See Full Web Article
