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Free Malaysia Today
10-07-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
China hopes EU will ‘make fewer accusations' on market access
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said China's 'unyielding' support for Russia had created heightened instability and insecurity in Europe. (AFP pic) BEIJING : China hopes the EU would make fewer accusations, the Chinese commerce ministry said today in a retort to EU criticism that European firms had limited access to the Chinese market. Setting the tone for an expected China-EU summit in Beijing in late July, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen earlier this week said China had flooded global markets with its overcapacity, limited access to its market, and de-facto enabled Russia's war economy. China hopes the EU would 'make fewer accusations and communicate more, be less protectionist, and be more open,' He Yongqian, a spokeswoman for the Chinese commerce ministry, said at a regular press conference. China hopes the EU would view their economic and trade relationship 'without emotion and prejudice,' He said. In an address to the European parliament on Tuesday, Von der Leyen praised China for expanding its economy by more than 10 times over 50 years, lifting 800 million of its people out of poverty, and transforming itself into an industrial giant and clean tech leaders. 'But our relations with China must be rooted in a clear-eyed assessment of this new reality,' she said. Von der Leyen said China had 'unique instruments at its disposal' that allowed it to flood global markets with subsidised overcapacity not just to boost its own industries, but to choke international competition. She also said China's 'unyielding' support for Russia had created heightened instability and insecurity here in Europe, becoming a de-facto enabler of Russia's economy as the war between Moscow and Kyiv persisted. Her criticism of China followed a visit to Brussels by China's foreign minister Wang Yi, who told the EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas that he hoped the EU would develop a more objective and rational understanding of China and adopt a more positive and practical policy toward China.
Forbes
07-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How The U.S. Can Reduce Dependence On China's Rare Earth Minerals
American leaders in Washington cannot continue to rely on Beijing for materials while the Chinese are emerging as a military rival. The only way out of a potentially dangerous situation, from an American perspective, is to drastically reduce dependency on China, especially when it comes to the critical minerals sector. China's commerce ministry issued a statement on July 4 saying that Beijing and Washington have accelerated efforts toward the agreement reached during the June 9-10 trade talks in London, all while warning the Trump administration against undermining their "hard-won" consensus. American and Chinese officials agreed upon a framework to implement the Geneva agreement in early May, expediting rare earth shipments to the United States. In a reference to its own rare earth export curbs, the Chinese commerce ministry said that the Chinese government "is currently reviewing and approving eligible export license applications for controlled items." Confirming reports that the United States resumed exports of chip design software, ethane and jet engines, the statement added that the White House had also undertaken reciprocal steps "to lift a series of restrictive measures against China and has informed China about the relevant situation.' This diplomacy underscores how China has been able to effectively counter U.S. restrictions on semiconductor sales and technology transfers. The Trump administration's negotiations with the government of President Xi Jinping are a necessary short-term step to avoid disruptions to the American economy and its military superiority. But it must be treated as an extremely temporary measure because the deal struck last month perpetuates U.S. dependence on China for critical minerals. Over the past couple of years there has been a massive surge in high-frequency Chinese air and naval exercises, especially incursions into Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone. Such incursions surged with nearly 450 flights recorded in mid‑2024 and continuing activity into the current year includes live-fire drills, amphibious landings, rocket force launches, and aircraft carrier operations encircling the island nation. Last summer, the Chinese navy held wargames with their Russian counterparts in the waters off the Aleutian Islands. Then this June, for the first time, both of China's two carrier strike groups operated together entering the second-island chain near Japan. Earlier this year, in February, a People's Liberation Army task group carried out live-fire navy drills in Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone in the Sea of Tasman. U.S.-Chinese diplomacy can help manage tensions, but it is extremely unlikely that Beijing will give up its strategic military plans. While the U.S. remains a superior military force, the United States remains vulnerable due to economic dependence on Chinese rare earth mineral supply chains. The American strategy has been to place restrictions on semiconductor exports as part of a broader effort to curb access to advanced technologies, along with discouraging investments. More recently, tariffs have become yet another element of trade restrictions. Washington has also been actively promoting India as a strategic alternative to China's global-scale manufacturing prowess with the aim of diversifying supply chains, de-risking economic dependence, and countering Beijing's industrial dominance. Considering that Beijing has had a major head start in the strategic field of rare earth minerals, the United States will have to work hard on multiple fronts to alter the current reality that the People's Republic controls 60–90% of global refining and processing capacity for critical minerals and raw ores mined elsewhere (e.g., Australia), which also have to be sent to China for processing. Current efforts are scattered across several different arenas: extraction and refining, public investment and market incentivization, supply chains involving allied and partner nations, technological innovation, downstream industrial strategy, trade policy and strategic reserve, and transparency and market reforms. The Trump administration will need to weave these various lines of efforts into a grand strategy on critical minerals security. One key strategic ally in this endeavor is Kazakhstan, which can become a reliable source of 17 of the 30 minerals critical for the U.S. economy. Astana can also serve as a geopolitical partner in the forging of non-Chinese supply chains.. Most importantly, Kazakhstan, while maintaining relations with its neighbors Russia and China, has a demonstrated desire to work with the United States and its western allies. The Eurasian landmass is thus a major battleground in great power competition, particularly between the United States and China. Beijing's objective is to maintain close economic relations with Washington while at the same time it grows its military power to undermine the U.S. global position. America cannot accept this situation. And the key to dealing with it entails making critical minerals security a top national priority.
Malay Mail
06-07-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
China retaliates to EU ban with import restrictions on medical devices
HONG KONG, July 6 — China's finance ministry said today it was restricting government purchases of medical devices from the European Union that exceed 45 million yuan (RM26.5 million) in value, in retaliation to Brussels' own curbs last month. Tensions between Beijing and Brussels have been rising, with the European Union imposing tariffs on China-built electric vehicles and Beijing slapping duties on imported brandy from the bloc. The European Union said last month it was barring Chinese companies from participating in EU public tenders for medical devices worth €60 billion or more per year after concluding that EU firms were not given fair access in China. The measure announced by the European Commission was the first under the EU's International Procurement Instrument, which entered into force in 2022 and is designed to ensure reciprocal market access. China's countermeasures were expected after its commerce ministry flagged 'necessary steps' against the EU move late last month. 'Regrettably, despite China's goodwill and sincerity, the EU has insisted on going its own way, taking restrictive measures and building new protectionist barriers,' the commerce ministry said in a separate statement today. 'Therefore, China has no choice but to adopt reciprocal restrictive measures.' The EU delegation office in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China will also restrict imports of medical devices from other countries that contain EU-made components worth more than 50 per cent of the contract value, the finance ministry said. The measures come into force today. The commerce ministry said products from European companies in China were not affected. The world's second- and third-largest economies are due to hold a leaders' summit in China later in July. On Friday, China also announced duties of up to 34.9 per cent for five years on brandy originating in the European Union, most of it cognac from France, after concluding an investigation largely believed to be a response to Europe's EV tariffs. Major cognac producers Pernod Ricard, LVMH and Remy Cointreau were spared from the levies, however, provided they sell at a minimum price, which China has not disclosed. — Reuters
The Independent
04-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
China issues fresh warning over Trump's trade war
Chinese vice president Han Zheng warned against tariff and trade wars, stating there would be no winners, as Beijing and Washington intensify efforts to resolve their disputes. The Chinese commerce ministry expressed hope that the US would continue to meet it halfway to maintain stable bilateral trade and economic relations, which were impacted by tariffs imposed by Donald Trump. China had retaliated against tariffs by suspending exports of critical minerals and magnets but committed to removing these restrictions during trade talks in Geneva. A breakthrough occurred in London, where both sides agreed on a framework to implement the Geneva agreement, leading to the US lifting some restrictive measures against China. While a trade truce means China avoids higher levies after the pause on Donald Trump's tariffs ends, experts suggest his trade deals with other countries might still indirectly target China .
The Independent
04-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
China warns Trump's tariff war will have ‘no winners' as deadline looms
Han Zheng warned, in an apparent jab at Donald Trump, that tariff and trade wars would have no winners even as Beijing and Washington stepped up efforts to resolve their disputes. Addressing the World Peace Forum in Beijing, Mr Han said the multilateral trade system was key to avoiding disruptions in global supply chains. He made the remarks just days ahead of the 9 July deadline for countries on Mr Trump's tariffs list to negotiate trade deals with the US. The Chinese commerce ministry said this week that it hoped the US would continue to meet it halfway and maintain the stability of bilateral trade and economic relations, which nosedived earlier this year when Mr Trump imposed punishing import levies on the country. 'We hope the US side will deeply understand the mutually beneficial and win-win nature of China -US economic and trade relations," the ministry said. It called on Washington to preserve the positive momentum on talks to resolve disputes while warning third countries against "making a deal at the expense of China 's interests' with the US. China had retaliated against the Trump levies by suspending exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets. During a round of trade talks in Geneva in May, Beijing committed to removing the restrictions imposed since 2 April but the US said the critical materials were not moving as fast as agreed. A breakthrough came during talks in London the following month when the two sides agreed a framework to implement the Geneva agreement. 'China is currently reviewing and approving eligible export licence applications for controlled items," the commerce ministry said, referring to the rare earth export curbs. In response, the US took actions "to lift a series of restrictive measures against China' and 'informed Beijing about the relevant situation", the ministry said, confirming reports that Washington had resumed exports of chip design software, ethane and jet engines to the Asian giant. "Teams on both sides are stepping up efforts to implement relevant outcomes of the London framework," the ministry said, calling the framework "hard-won". US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick told Bloomberg last month that China was 'going to deliver rare earths to us" and, once they did, the US would 'take down our countermeasures". Thanks to this trade truce, China is not at risk of being hit with higher levies when the 90-day pause on the implementation of Mr Trump's tariffs ends next week. But Mr Trump's trade deals with the UK and Vietnam suggest China may remain an indirect target, according to China Economics head Julian Evans-Pritchard. "It seems that Trump is keen to crack down on the rerouting of Chinese exports via third countries, which has diminished the effectiveness of US tariffs," Mr Evans-Pritchard told Reuters.
