Latest news with #DGA-AlbrightStonebridgeGroup
Nikkei Asia
26-05-2025
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
Targeting DeepSeek won't fix Washington's flawed AI strategy on China
Paul Triolo is a Partner at DGA-Albright Stonebridge Group and Global Tech Policy Lead of DGA Group. The Trump administration appears poised to take a series of actions targeting DeepSeek, a fast-rising Chinese artificial intelligence startup whose advanced AI models have quickly gained traction among developers and tech enthusiasts worldwide. A recent congressional report called DeepSeek a "profound threat" to national security, citing concerns about potential data transfers to China, censorship applied to model outputs, and allegations that the firm used restricted Nvidia chips to train its models.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
After the U.S. and China pause tariffs, rare mineral exports are now in the spotlight for future trade deals
The U.S. wants to maintain access to China's rare earth minerals. While China see its dominance of the market as a way to apply major pressure on the U.S. as the two negotiate a broader trade deal. The U.S. and China reached a détente on what had been an escalating trade war. On Sunday, at the end of this weekend's trade summit in Geneva, both sides agreed to pause the tariffs they had placed on one another. The U.S.'s tariffs on Chinese imports will be 30%, down from 145%, while China lowered its tariffs on U.S. goods from 125% to 10%, according to a joint statement. The agreement foreshadows the possibility of a future, much broader trade deal in the future. Both sides said there was a 'mechanism' in place for them to facilitate more talks. One of the key questions still left to address is China's export controls on its rare-earth minerals. China's outsize role in the global rare-earths market, and the U.S.'s desire to maintain a steady flow of the minerals, make the issue one of the most sensitive parts of the deal. As the leading exporter of rare-earth minerals, China holds massive influence in the global market for these critical materials. 'Dominating this sector is probably one of their most important sources of leverage over the U.S. and over the world,' said Dexter Roberts, nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, a think tank based in Washington, D.C. For that reason, China will be unlikely to relent on its export controls. 'Now that they punished the U.S. with rare earth [export controls], they're not going to take away this economic part of their economic arsenal,' Roberts said. Many of those minerals are key ingredients in advanced manufacturing of products like electric-vehicle batteries, smartphones, and for military applications such as missiles and radar systems. The fact that rare-earth minerals are used in the defense technologies means the exports have national-security implications for both countries, only adding to the complexity and urgency of finding a solution that suits both sides. After the White House announced its global tariff policy on April 2, China ratcheted up its export controls on rare earths as retaliation. Included in those new policies was a requirement that foreign countries would have to apply for licenses to purchase rare-earth minerals. While it does have a tense relationship with the U.S. at the moment, China does not want to close it off entirely from the rare-earth minerals market, according to Jeorg Wuttke, partner at the advisory firm DGA-Albright Stonebridge Group and an expert in Chinese trade. 'The Chinese don't want to cut off the U.S., but they want to threaten it,' he said. Rare earths represent big business for Chinese firms. In 2024, its total exports of rare-earth minerals rose 6% to 55,431 metric tons, according to Reuters. Though, because they are commodities with fluctuating prices, the value of those exports fell 36% to $488 million. During the height of the U.S.-China trade dispute last month, production came to a virtual standstill. The trade war both hit China's rare-earth industry on two fronts, making it both more expensive for foreign buyers and requiring them to get government approval for any purchases they did make. Despite the mounting frustrations between the two countries, China is wary of giving off the appearance of politicizing its rare-earths business because doing so could put off the rest of the world from doing business with it, Wuttke said. 'The Chinese are very aware of the fact they want to come across as reliable supplies to American companies,' Wuttke said. 'As much as they dislike American policies, they still want to be engaged with U.S. companies.' Part of China's additional export controls included a policy that required companies to apply for a license to purchase rare-earth minerals. One of the first companies to apply for such a license was Tesla, which uses them to make batteries for its cars, among other things. There are some indications that as relations thaw, U.S. companies will receive expedited approvals during the process, according to Reuters. Others, however, see China as being unbothered about applying significant pressure to the U.S. over rare earths. 'I don't think China's really worried that if they play too much hardball, they're suddenly no longer going to be relevant in the rare-earth market,' said Dexter Roberts. 'I don't believe that.' The U.S. has begun looking for other sources of rare-earth minerals—namely in Greenland and Ukraine. The U.S. does also have its own deposits of rare-earth minerals, but they are not mined to the extent they are in China. Mining these elements is expensive and bad for the environment, making it difficult work to undertake. Any effort by the U.S. to diversify its supply chains away from China would be considered a medium- or long-term goal. Agreements over minerals with allies would also take years to negotiate and then implement. And the construction of any new entirely new mines takes, on average, 18 years for them to become operational, according to S&P Global. That means the most likely outcome is further reconciliation—however uneasy—with China. Experts said a deal with China over rare earths could be on the horizon. 'They could announce something on rare earths in the coming days,' Roberts said. 'I wouldn't be surprised.' This story was originally featured on
Malay Mail
01-05-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Beijing delays US trade talks amid Trump team divisions, eyes tariff fallout in July
BEIJING, May 1 — China is holding off on entering serious trade negotiations with the United States as it waits to see which of former President Donald Trump's advisers will shape his evolving trade policy, according to sources familiar with the matter. Beijing is in no hurry to resolve the tariff deadlock, citing deep divisions within the Trump administration's trade team and ongoing uncertainty about the final direction of US policy, according to a report published in the South China Morning Post. 'There is no clear sign which clique will win,' one source said, referencing the competing views of Trump's key advisers — Peter Navarro and Robert Lighthizer, who favour decoupling, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who supports a balanced deal. The source said engaging in talks prematurely would risk exposing Beijing's negotiating position without knowing who would ultimately be on the other side of the table. A commentary by a state-linked social media account, Yuyuan Tantian, said while the US had approached China through multiple channels for talks, there was 'no need' for Beijing to respond without substantial moves from Washington. China is expected to watch closely until the end of July, when a 90-day reprieve on tariffs imposed by the US lapses. These tariffs, announced on April 2, apply to most countries except China, which was not granted the grace period. 'The key is to see how much the US market can handle and how it performs around July,' said another source, suggesting tariff increases were likely but should remain moderate. Beijing is also monitoring deals the US might strike with other countries, such as India and Indonesia, during the grace period before determining its next steps. In the meantime, China has intensified efforts to strengthen economic ties beyond the US and advance domestic self-reliance initiatives that have been in place since 2020. Officials say this strategy has boosted China's resilience, making its high-end manufacturing increasingly indispensable and hard to replace in the global supply chain. While acknowledging America's economic strengths, the same source cited unpredictability and internal political constraints as weaknesses that complicate the US' ability to coordinate and maintain a consistent trade strategy. By mid-April, over 75 countries had reached out to the US for trade discussions, including Japan, although progress remains unclear with many reporting a lack of clear proposals from Washington. Asean nations, also affected by the tariffs, face limited options and are reluctant to take sides amid the escalating US-China rivalry, sources said. Joerg Wuttke, a partner at the advisory firm DGA-Albright Stonebridge Group, noted that the US administration lacked cohesion, with Trump's personal decision-making taking precedence over structured policy discussions. Trump adviser Peter Navarro claimed that 90 deals could be completed within the grace period, but Treasury Secretary Bessent is leading the negotiations. Still, Trump's personal preferences are expected to dominate final decisions. Despite public claims by Trump that Chinese President Xi Jinping had reached out, Beijing denied the assertion, labelling it 'fake news' and clarifying that no formal talks had begun. Sources confirmed that communication between both sides has never fully ceased but remains informal and strategic, with no fixed agenda or clear timeline for talks. Observers expect the situation to evolve after summer, when the economic impact of tariffs could trigger rising US consumer prices and possibly shift Trump's stance based on public response and political pressures.
Asharq Al-Awsat
28-03-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
After Years of Survival, China's Huawei Returns to Revenue Peak
China's Huawei is expected to claim triumph over US sanctions at its upcoming annual results, bolstered by its software push, progress in chips and booming smart-driving technology business that has helped it move out of "survival mode". The company is set to confirm that it took 860 billion yuan ($118 billion) in revenues last year, just shy of its 2020 peak of 891 billion yuan, before chip stockpiles dwindled and US restrictions cut consumer business revenues in half. Its chairman disclosed its 2024 revenue in February. It will also report full-year profit. In October, it posted a 13.7% drop in nine-month net profit. Huawei's executives have previously said Washington's moves pushed the company into "survival mode", driving it to explore new business lines that have largely involved creating products that can serve as alternatives to Western technology and partnering with local Chinese authorities and government-backed firms. The company has in past months struck a more confident tone, with founder Ren Zhengfei telling Chinese President Xi Jinping in May that concerns China had about a lack of homegrown chips and operating systems had eased. Huawei has not disclosed in detail its revenue drivers, but has said that its consumer business has returned to growth while its foray into autos has developed rapidly. The company likely shipped over 45 million phones in 2024, up by 25% or more on a year earlier, though yield rates on chips remain a constraint, according to consultancy Isaiah Research. "Huawei has already shown incredible resilience in the face of this national state-led effort, and this process has arguably forced Chinese firms across the IT stack to become more innovative and collaborative," said Paul Triolo, a partner at DGA-Albright Stonebridge Group. "This is one of the legacies of Huawei's re-emergence as a technology powerhouse." Huawei declined to comment. In the wake of US sanctions, Huawei moved into exploring areas such as building 5G infrastructure for mines and supplying energy storage systems to data centers. Cut off from Google's Android and Oracle, it built its own operating system HarmonyOS, which it says is running on over a billion devices, as well as an internal software management system it calls "MetaERP". Banned from using US semiconductor technology, it has created its own advanced chips including ones that compete with top artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia's products. The company has also become a prominent supplier of advanced autonomous driving technology, working with state-owned automakers to revive themselves as viable electric vehicle makers. Huawei has worked with Dongfeng Motor-backed Seres to sell Aito-branded cars, with sales more than tripling last year. Its best-selling models M7 and M9 are equipped with Huawei's advanced driver assistance systems and sold in Huawei's showrooms nationwide. There are similar projects with Chery, BAIC, JAC Group and SAIC Group. Going forward, the company has said it wants to integrate artificial intelligence into its industrial communications services and to build out its software systems on connected devices, according to state media. Huawei has also signaled it intends to compete more aggressively in overseas markets for its smartphones, having launched its foldable Mate XT smartphone in Malaysia in February in a glitzy event. Without full access to Android, it is unlikely to regain its former position in Western consumer markets, though its data infrastructure presence has grown in areas such as the Middle East, Triolo said. "Huawei's international presence will be more of a patchwork affair, but in some areas, like an alternative AI stack, it could eventually dominate in key markets."
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump tariffs run 'counterproductive' to US inflation goals
President Trump has deployed his tariffs as a means to achieve other goals in his talks with neighbor countries and trade partners, especially China. DGA-Albright Stonebridge Group senior counselor Myron Brilliant comes on Market Domination with Julie Hyman and Josh Lipton to share his assessment of Trump's trade policy approach, calling it "counterproductive" as other countries are already in the process of mitigating risks from the US. O'Leary Ventures Founder and Chairman Kevin O'Leary joined Yahoo Finance earlier today to elaborate on Trump's tariff policy strategy and his views on an acquisition of TikTok. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Domination here.
