Latest news with #China-US
New Straits Times
12 hours ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
China, HK stocks power ahead as eased trade tensions fuel rally
SHANGHAI: China stocks rose for a fifth straight session on Wednesday while Hong Kong shares hit near four-year highs, as eased China-US trade tensions added fuel to a rally driven by a trillion-yuan hydropower dam project in Tibet and Beijing's campaign against intense price wars. Both China's blue-chip CSI300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index climbed as much as 0.9 per cent to eight-month highs, before paring gains to end slightly higher. Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng jumped 1.6 per cent to hit its highest level since late 2021. In a sign the rally likely has legs, daily turnover in China stocks was near five-month highs on Wednesday, while margin financing - money borrowed to buy stocks - has hit a level not seen in nearly four months. "External and internal headwinds have subsided faster than expected," Huatai Securities said in a note to clients, adding that "in the latest round of tariff talks with the US, China has strengthened its hand." China's economy benefits from the government's stepped-up campaign against 'involutionary competition' and positive real estate policies, Huatai added. In a sign of reduced tensions, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that US and Chinese officials will meet in Stockholm next week to discuss an extension of the deadline for negotiating a trade deal. "I think trade is in a very good place with China," Bessent said. Chinese tech stocks, which are sensitive to China-US relations, jumped on Wednesday. China's tech-focused STAR50 Index gained 0.5 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Tech Index jumped 2.5 per cent. Sentiment has been buoyed by bets that steelmakers, coal miners and solar energy firms will benefit from Beijing's move to cut industrial capacity and rein in deflation, though some stocks in these sectors corrected on Wednesday following recent price surges. Mood has also been aided by China's massive hydropower dam project that started construction this week.
RTHK
13 hours ago
- Business
- RTHK
China eyes stronger US cooperation at tariff talks
China eyes stronger US cooperation at tariff talks Spokesman Guo Jiakun says China-US ties should be developed on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit. Photo courtesy of Foreign Ministry website China said on Wednesday it will seek to strengthen cooperation with the United States at next week's trade talks in Stockholm. "On the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit... we will enhance consensus, reduce misunderstandings, strengthen cooperation and promote the stable, healthy and sustainable development of Sino-US relations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday he would meet his Chinese counterparts in Stockholm next week for tariff talks, eyeing an extension to a mid-August deadline for levies to snap back to steeper levels. Bessent told Fox Business he will be speaking with Chinese officials in the Swedish capital on Monday and Tuesday for a third round of high-level negotiations, to work out what he said would be a likely postponement of the deadline. Washington and Beijing slapped escalating, tit-for-tat levies on each other's exports earlier this year, reaching triple-digit levels, stalling trade between the world's two biggest economies as tensions surged. But after top officials met in Geneva in May, both sides agreed to temporarily lower their tariff levels in a de-escalation set to expire next month. Officials from the two countries also met in London in June. "That deal expires on August 12, and I'm going to be in Stockholm on Monday and Tuesday with my Chinese counterparts, and we'll be working out what is likely an extension then," Bessent said in the interview. He noted that Washington also wanted to speak about a wider range of topics, potentially including Chinese purchases of Iranian and Russian oil. (AFP)
RTHK
a day ago
- Business
- RTHK
New round of China-US tariff talks next week: Bessett
New round of China-US tariff talks next week: Bessett Scott Bessent says trade with China was in "a very good place". File photo: Reuters US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he will meet his Chinese counterparts in Stockholm next week for tariff talks, as a mid-August deadline for levies to snap back to steeper levels approaches. Bessent told Fox Business that trade with China was in "a very good place", and the meetings in the Swedish capital will take place next Monday and Tuesday. "I think we've actually moved to a new level with China, where it's very constructive and... we're going to be able to get a lot of things done now that trade has kind of settled in at a good level," he said. That will be the third round of high-level negotiations to work out what he said would be a likely extension of the August 12 deadline for higher tariffs. Beijing has not commented on Bessent's remarks on the talks. While a previous tariff truce was focused on restarting the flow of Chinese rare earth metals and US semiconductor software and materials, Bessent said that in Stockholm, Trump administration officials would discuss other issues, including reducing China's over-reliance on manufacturing and exports. Earlier this year, Beijing and Washington slapped escalating, tit-for-tat levies on each other's exports, reaching triple-digit levels, stalling trade between the world's two biggest economies as tensions surged. But after top officials met in Geneva, both sides agreed to temporarily lower the tariff levels in a de-escalation set to expire next month. Bassett also said the US was poised to announce "a rash of trade deals" with other countries, and Japan could be among these despite an election setback for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and difficult negotiations. "I wouldn't be surprised if we aren't able to iron out something with Japan pretty quickly," he said. (Reuters/AFP)
Express Tribune
2 days ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
Chinese firms to retain 50% proceeds
Pakistan is exploring concrete steps to ensure Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's upcoming visit to China yields tangible results, with cabinet members urging resolution of longstanding issues hampering Chinese investment instead of merely signing more MoUs. To remove a major obstacle in relocating Chinese industries to the Gwadar Free Zone, the government has decided to allow Chinese firms operating there to retain 50% of their export earnings to settle dues, according to government sources. To ensure a productive visit, a ministerial committee has been formed to oversee planning, and called Pakistan's ambassador to Beijing, Khalil Hashmi, for further consultations. The committee has held several meetings thus far. Discussions are being held to assess whether hosting a Business Conference in Tianjin would help attract investment or if efforts should instead focus on addressing deeper concerns that have discouraged Chinese private sector participation over the past decade. PM Sharif will be visiting China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's Heads of State Council meeting at the end of August. Pakistan's embassy has proposed a Business Conference on September 2, but some officials believe it may not help achieve the desired results. One of the main hurdles in populating the Gwadar Free Zone has been facilitation of foreign currency operations. The issue has been discussed at various levels, including twice in the Cabinet Committee on Chinese Investment in Pakistan (CCoCIP). In March, the CCoCIP directed the finance, commerce, industries ministries, the Board of Investment, and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to implement a foreign currency facilitation pilot in Gwadar. Sources confirmed that the short-term solution now agreed upon is to let companies retain half of their export proceeds. Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal confirmed this to The Express Tribune. "For the short term, companies in Gwadar Free Zone can retain up to 50% of their export proceeds in Special Foreign Currency Accounts," said Iqbal. "These funds can be freely used for payments abroad of a current account nature, without prior SBP approval." However, Iqbal stressed that for long-term facilitation, the Gwadar Port Authority law will have to be aligned with other laws. As per sources, the SBP has maintained that legal changes are necessary for broader foreign currency use. It has recommended bringing Gwadar Free Zone in line with Export Processing Zones by amending the Gwadar Port Authority Act to waive relevant sections of the 1947 Foreign Exchange Regulation Act. Until then, the 50% retention policy will remain in place. Another issue highlighted by the sources remains the consistent provision of electricity and water to Gwadar, which has lingered for nearly a decade. Pakistan aims to attract Chinese industries seeking to relocate amid the China-US trade war, officials said. To address power issues, the cabinet committee directed the energy ministry to coordinate with the Pakistan Navy to ensure interim electricity supply to Gwadar's desalination plant from the naval grid. It also instructed the Power Division to fast-track revisions in electricity supply for Rashakai Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and submit a progress report to the CCoCIP. The ministerial committee's discussions have revolved around facilitating industrial relocation and evaluating the value of the proposed business conference. Another meeting of the committee was held Monday. The committee is co-chaired by SAPM on Industry Haroon Akhtar Khan and Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan, with Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and the national coordinator of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) also on board. Its mandate includes reviewing progress on agreements and MoUs signed during Sharif's 2023 China visit and subsequent roadshows. Sources said that during one of the meetings, Pakistan's ambassador briefed members on the rationale behind the proposed business conference. He shared that in the previous event, about 150 MoUs were signed and 1,000 B2B meetings took place. However, some committee members expressed concern that the MoUs never materialised into real investments. According to sources, one co-convener told the committee that the prime minister is just not interested in signing more MoUs. Cabinet members also discussed ongoing real investor concerns, including inconsistent policies, difficulty in profit repatriation, exchange rate volatility, and security issues. To address these, it was suggested that Pakistan offer China ready-to-operate industrial zones and SEZs with long-term land leases. It was also recommended that electricity be provided at regionally competitive rates. The SIFC has requested concrete suggestions from the Pakistani embassy in Beijing to make the business conference more impactful. The embassy has proposed exploring cooperation under government-to-government, government-to-business, and B2B models. The committee will also engage with Chinese business representatives to understand their needs and expectations, and identify ways to facilitate project-based investment, new industry development, and the relocation of Chinese production units. In coordination with provincial authorities, the committee will recommend legal facilitation measures and identify steps to remove bottlenecks to Chinese investment. The committee will also monitor the finalisation of a sector-specific investment "pitch book." Key sectors where Pakistan is seeking Chinese investment include chemicals, petrochemicals, iron and steel, copper, electric vehicles, auto parts, solar panel manufacturing, power storage, software development, ICT, and food processing.
India.com
3 days ago
- Business
- India.com
Big update on Rare Earth magnets as China makes big move, not good news for US and India due to....
China-US file image Big update on Rare Earth magnets: In a significant development impacting manufacturing activity across the globe, China is reportedly using export controls on rare-earth minerals as a strategic tool. Causing global supply chain disruptions and economic uncertainty through its unofficial export bans and tactical resumptions, Xi Jinping's China is trying to assert its economic power. Experts have noted that China had earlier stopped the exports of rare-earth magnet which are important for several industries like electronics, electric vehicles, wind turbines and defense, which led to its massive shortage in countries like USA and India. How is China using rare-earth minerals as strategic tool? However, after some months in June, China relaxed some of these unofficial export restrictions, resulting in an increase in supply of the critical minerals across the world. Data showed that a huge rise of 158% month-on-month in the shipments was seen after China started the exports. Informal trade restrictions imposed by China on capital equipment, critical minerals, and skilled technical personnel, can adversely impact India's electronics manufacturing ecosystem and constrain India's deeper integration into global value chains (GVCs), leading industry body India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) has said. India's electronics and mobile manufacturing sector has seen a remarkable growth over the past decade, driven by forward-looking policy interventions and private sector investments and the shift of GVCs to India. How China dominates global source of high-precision tools? China remains the dominant global source of high-precision tools and specialised machinery – an outcome of three decades of industrial clustering and deep GVC integration. 'For the electronics sector, including smartphones, this has created a high dependency on China for capital equipment,' the ICEA said in its letter. Recent curbs by China on rare earth materials are also risking input shortages for smartphone manufacturers operating in India. (With inputs from agencies)
