Latest news with #ChinaUSDeal
The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
China's factory activity contracts in May, but there are signs of improvement
China's factory activity contracted in May, according to an official survey released on Saturday, although the decline slowed from April as the country reached a deal with the U.S. to slash President Donald Trump 's sky-high tariffs. China 's purchasing managers index rose from 49.0 in April to 49.5 in May, the National Bureau of Statistics said. PMI is measured on a scale from 0 to 100, where 50 marks the cutoff between expansion and contraction. Meanwhile, the manufacturing index showed growth in the sector, although the index measuring new orders remained under 50 despite some improvement. National Bureau of Statistics senior statistician Zhao Qinghe said some companies with U.S. business reported accelerated resumption of foreign trade orders, and there was an improvement in import and export conditions. The U.S.-China deal, reached earlier this month, cuts Trump's tariffs from 145% to 30% for 90 days, creating time for negotiators from both sides to reach a more substantive agreement. China also reduced its taxes on U.S. goods from 125% to 10%. But the remaining tariffs are still higher than they were before Trump took office, and businesses and investors face uncertainty about whether the truce will last. Trump said Friday that he will no longer be 'Mr. NICE GUY' with China on trade, declaring in a social media post that the country had broken an unspecified agreement with the United States. He later said in the Oval Office that he will speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping and 'hopefully we'll work that out,' while still insisting China had violated the agreement. Over the past week, tensions between Beijing and Washington also intensified after the U.S. said it would start revoking visas for Chinese students studying in the country. China has lodged a protest with the U.S. over the matter, calling the decision unreasonable.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
China's factory activity contracts in May, but there are signs of improvement
BEIJING (AP) — China's factory activity contracted in May, according to an official survey released on Saturday, although the decline slowed from April as the country reached a deal with the U.S. to slash President Donald Trump's sky-high tariffs. China's purchasing managers index rose from 49.0 in April to 49.5 in May, the National Bureau of Statistics said. PMI is measured on a scale from 0 to 100, where 50 marks the cutoff between expansion and contraction. Meanwhile, the manufacturing index showed growth in the sector, although the index measuring new orders remained under 50 despite some improvement. National Bureau of Statistics senior statistician Zhao Qinghe said some companies with U.S. business reported accelerated resumption of foreign trade orders, and there was an improvement in import and export conditions. The U.S.-China deal, reached earlier this month, cuts Trump's tariffs from 145% to 30% for 90 days, creating time for negotiators from both sides to reach a more substantive agreement. China also reduced its taxes on U.S. goods from 125% to 10%. But the remaining tariffs are still higher than they were before Trump took office, and businesses and investors face uncertainty about whether the truce will last. Trump said Friday that he will no longer be 'Mr. NICE GUY' with China on trade, declaring in a social media post that the country had broken an unspecified agreement with the United States. He later said in the Oval Office that he will speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping and 'hopefully we'll work that out,' while still insisting China had violated the agreement. Over the past week, tensions between Beijing and Washington also intensified after the U.S. said it would start revoking visas for Chinese students studying in the country. China has lodged a protest with the U.S. over the matter, calling the decision unreasonable.
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
China's factory activity contracts in May, but there are signs of improvement
BEIJING (AP) — China's factory activity contracted in May, according to an official survey released on Saturday, although the decline slowed from April as the country reached a deal with the U.S. to slash President Donald Trump's sky-high tariffs. China's purchasing managers index rose from 49.0 in April to 49.5 in May, the National Bureau of Statistics said. PMI is measured on a scale from 0 to 100, where 50 marks the cutoff between expansion and contraction. Meanwhile, the manufacturing index showed growth in the sector, although the index measuring new orders remained under 50 despite some improvement. National Bureau of Statistics senior statistician Zhao Qinghe said some companies with U.S. business reported accelerated resumption of foreign trade orders, and there was an improvement in import and export conditions. The U.S.-China deal, reached earlier this month, cuts Trump's tariffs from 145% to 30% for 90 days, creating time for negotiators from both sides to reach a more substantive agreement. China also reduced its taxes on U.S. goods from 125% to 10%. But the remaining tariffs are still higher than they were before Trump took office, and businesses and investors face uncertainty about whether the truce will last. Trump said Friday that he will no longer be 'Mr. NICE GUY' with China on trade, declaring in a social media post that the country had broken an unspecified agreement with the United States. He later said in the Oval Office that he will speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping and 'hopefully we'll work that out,' while still insisting China had violated the agreement. Over the past week, tensions between Beijing and Washington also intensified after the U.S. said it would start revoking visas for Chinese students studying in the country. China has lodged a protest with the U.S. over the matter, calling the decision unreasonable.
CTV News
14-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Chinese businesses view tariff pause with caution and uncertainty
Visitors talk to a sales rep for televisions at the Canton Fair in Guangzhou in southern China's Guangdong province on April 15, 2025. (Ng Han Guan / AP Photo) BANGKOK — While U.S. President Donald Trump has talked of victory after reaching a weekend deal with China to reduce the sky-high tariffs levied on each others' goods, businesses in China are reacting to the temporary deal with caution. The U.S. and China have cut the tariffs levied on each other in April, with the U.S. cutting the 145 per cent tax Trump imposed last month to 30 per cent. China agreed to lower its tariff rate on U.S. goods to 10 per cent from 125 per cent. The lower tariff rates came into effect on Wednesday. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, announcing the reduction in tariff rates this weekend in Geneva, had said, 'We do want trade.' While the markets have responded to the agreement with gusto, rebounding to the levels before Trump's tariffs, business owners remain wary. Businesses like one kitchen utensil factory in southern Guangdong province were eager to get back to work. The business said they put at least four orders from their American clients back into production on Tuesday after the tariff pause was announced. 'We thought the negotiation would bring the tariffs down a bit, but didn't expect it would be so much,' said Margaret Zhuang, a salesperson for the utensil factory in Guangdong province, one of China's manufacturing hubs. The two countries are now planning to start negotiations for a longer-term deal. Kahlee Yu, sales manager of Yangjiang Hongnan Industry and Trade Company, which also manufactures kitchen utensils, said he was reaching out to American customers again. 'We're a little bit optimistic about the trade deal between the two sides. But it is still possible the tariff policies will change again, resulting in no orders from our American clients,' he said. However happy they were in the moment, the damage from tariffs announced in April has already been done, Zhuang added, as they are seeing fewer orders. Currently, she has orders for products up until June. Earlier this year, before Trump's trade war began, they had orders for production extending to August. The uncertainty also means companies are less willing to make new investments. Kelvin Liao, sales director at Action Composites, a manufacturer of carbon fiber auto parts in Dongguan, a major city in Guangdong, said he was originally planning to buy a piece of land to build a new factory, but opted instead to rent because of the tariff situation. 'It is good to reach a trade deal between the two countries. But people have already lost confidence in Trump, and we will take a wait-and-see attitude,' he said. 'We believe the signing a trade deal is just a pause and the ultimate goal of the US is to curb China's development.' Tariffs also remain in place for some industries, which are not part of the general deal. Hong Kong businessman Danny Lau, who owns an aluminum-coating factory, said his company still faces about a 75 per cent tariff from tariffs levied at different points since 2018 by the U.S. Still he welcomed the news from the weekend, saying he would reach out to existing American customers to gauge their views. 'Although the policy change doesn't cover our industry, we hope talks will continue and there will be better news during the 90-day pause,' he said. In April, some Chinese businesses said they would focus their attention on exporting to other markets, given how high the American tariffs were. Analysts said previously that the tariffs could cause Chinese businesses to diversify their supply chains and move part of their manufacturing capacity abroad, including to the U.S. Liao, the auto parts manufacturer, said his company already has a factory in Vietnam, and the products there were exported to the U.S. 'We don't believe that the US has the ability to produce the products like ours with lower costs. We will not give up on the US market.' —- AP researcher Yu Bing contributed to this report from Beijing. AP writers Kanis Leung in Hong Kong and Fu Ting in Washington contributed to this report. Article written by Huizhong Wu, The Associated Press
The Independent
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Chinese businesses view tariff pause with caution and uncertainty
While U.S. President Donald Trump has talked of victory after reaching a weekend deal with China to reduce the sky-high tariffs levied on each others' goods, businesses in China are reacting to the temporary deal with caution. The U.S. and China have cut the tariffs levied on each other in April, with the U.S. cutting the 145% tax Trump imposed last month to 30%. China agreed to lower its tariff rate on U.S. goods to 10% from 125%. The lower tariff rates came into effect on Wednesday. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, announcing the reduction in tariff rates this weekend in Geneva, had said, 'We do want trade." While the markets have responded to the agreement with gusto, rebounding to the levels before Trump's tariffs, business owners remain wary. Businesses like one kitchen utensil factory in southern Guangdong province were eager to get back to work. The business said they put at least four orders from their American clients back into production on Tuesday after the tariff pause was announced. 'We thought the negotiation would bring the tariffs down a bit, but didn't expect it would be so much,' said Margaret Zhuang, a salesperson for the utensil factory in Guangdong province, one of China's manufacturing hubs. The two countries are now planning to start negotiations for a longer-term deal. Kahlee Yu, sales manager of Yangjiang Hongnan Industry and Trade Company, which also manufactures kitchen utensils, said he was reaching out to American customers again. 'We're a little bit optimistic about the trade deal between the two sides. But it is still possible the tariff policies will change again, resulting in no orders from our American clients," he said. However happy they were in the moment, the damage from tariffs announced in April has already been done, Zhuang added, as they are seeing fewer orders. Currently, she has orders for products up until June. Earlier this year, before Trump's trade war began, they had orders for production extending to August. The uncertainty also means companies are less willing to make new investments. Kelvin Liao, sales director at Action Composites, a manufacturer of carbon fiber auto parts in Dongguan, a major city in Guangdong, said he was originally planning to buy a piece of land to build a new factory, but opted instead to rent because of the tariff situation. 'It is good to reach a trade deal between the two countries. But people have already lost confidence in Trump, and we will take a wait-and-see attitude," he said. 'We believe the signing a trade deal is just a pause and the ultimate goal of the US is to curb China's development.' Tariffs also remain in place for some industries, which are not part of the general deal. Hong Kong businessman Danny Lau, who owns an aluminum-coating factory, said his company still faces about a 75% tariff from tariffs levied at different points since 2018 by the U.S. Still he welcomed the news from the weekend, saying he would reach out to existing American customers to gauge their views. 'Although the policy change doesn't cover our industry, we hope talks will continue and there will be better news during the 90-day pause,' he said. In April, some Chinese businesses said they would focus their attention on exporting to other markets, given how high the American tariffs were. Analysts said previously that the tariffs could cause Chinese businesses to diversify their supply chains and move part of their manufacturing capacity abroad, including to the U.S. Liao, the auto parts manufacturer, said his company already has a factory in Vietnam, and the products there were exported to the U.S. "We don't believe that the US has the ability to produce the products like ours with lower costs. We will not give up on the US market.' —-
