Latest news with #Wang Wentao
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Nvidia CEO meets China's commerce minister to discuss AI cooperation, foreign investment
Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Thursday to discuss artificial intelligence (AI) cooperation, days after the chipmaker said it was resuming sales of its H20 chips to the country. Advertisement Wang said China's policies for attracting foreign investment remained unchanged, and its doors would only open wider, according to a statement issued by the ministry on Friday. Highlighting the country's vast market, Wang encouraged multinational firms, including Nvidia, to continue providing high-quality and reliable products and services to Chinese customers. Huang said the Chinese market was attractive and affirmed Nvidia's commitment to deepening collaboration with Chinese partners in the AI sector, according to the statement. On Monday, Nvidia said it was filing applications to resume sales of its H20 chips in China after the US government assured the company that licences would be granted. Those chips have been subject to Washington's export restrictions since April. The company also planned to introduce a new RTX Pro graphics processing unit that fully complied with regulatory requirements. 03:34 Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang praises China's AI progress following chip sales approval Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang praises China's AI progress following chip sales approval Huang has emerged as an unofficial US emissary amid geopolitical tensions with China. 'This month, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang promoted AI in both Washington and Beijing,' the California-based company said in its statement.
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China pledges more consumption incentives to service the service sector
China has vowed to continue cutting red tape and attracting foreign investment to boost service consumption over the next five years, as Beijing turns to domestic demand for a reliable source of economic growth in an uncertain environment for international trade. Advertisement There is a 'shortage of high-quality service on the supply side' even as service consumption grows at a faster rate than that of goods, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao said at a press conference in Beijing on Friday. To address the shortage, China will 'reduce some restrictive measures and enrich service supply' from 2026 to 2030, especially in sectors such as healthcare and elderly care, Wang said. Wang's comments came as the world's second-largest economy attempts to drive up domestic consumption to compensate for a trade picture complicated by a tense, multi-front trade war launched by US President Donald Trump earlier this year. 'China-US economic and trade relations have weathered many storms, and both sides remain important economic and trade partners,' Wang said when asked about the topic. 'Facts prove that 'decoupling' is impossible.' Advertisement In 2024, the combined goods imports of mainland China and Hong Kong accounted for about 13.3 per cent of global imports, the minister noted. This made China the world's second-largest import market, nearly on par with the US and its 13.6 per cent share.
Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Economists urge Chinese local govts to target consumption to drive growth
BEIJING, July 18 (Reuters) - Chinese economists urged local governments to focus on consumption to support economic growth over the next five years, as trade tensions weigh on exports and expose vulnerabilities in the economy. Liu Qiao, Dean of the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University, told a media event on Thursday that certain provinces could look at consumption growth or the increase of household disposable income to drive their economies. "I think this would send a message. China needs to have a different growth approach, and it's time to give it a try," said Liu, who is also policy adviser to Beijing. Local governments have long used infrastructure investment and land sales to grow their economies, but both now face constraints. Commerce minister Wang Wentao said on Friday that China faces a complex situation during the next five years. "We will roll out targeted measures as the situation evolves, to further spur the momentum of goods consumption and release the potential of services consumption," he said at a press conference. Wang estimated China's annual retail sales would surpass 50 trillion yuan ($6.97 trillion) by the end of 2025. Government advisers have been stepping up calls to make the household sector's contribution to the economy a priority in Beijing's 2026-2030 five-year plan. Top leaders are currently gathering proposals and the plan is expected to be approved by parliament in March. The world's second-biggest economy grew 5.3% in the first half of the year despite concerns about sweeping U.S. tariffs. But economists are worried about deepening deflationary pressure. "Deflationary pressure is the biggest concern of the Chinese economy and China's policy in the short term," said Yan Se, deputy director of the Economic Policy Research Institute at Peking University. Yan said that while monetary policy could offer a quick solution, the key was to improve people's welfare. "Why don't we raise the salary? Why don't we raise the unemployment insurance? That will help not only to fight the deflationary pressures, but also help the Chinese economy to transition from a traditional manufacturing sector driven growth into a new quality productive force driven economic growth." ($1 = 7.1772 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Free Malaysia Today
5 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
China says successful US trade talks make return to tariff war unnecessary
Beijing and Washington reached a preliminary deal last month to end weeks of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs. (AP pic) BEIJING : China wants to bring its trade ties with the US back to a stable footing, its commerce minister said, adding that recent talks in Europe showed there was no need for a tariff war while urging the US to act in a manner befitting of a superpower. Commerce minister Wang Wentao told reporters today that the 'ups and downs' in the two countries' relationship underscored their economic interdependence. Asked about the US specifically, Wang said: 'Major countries should act like major countries. They must shoulder their responsibilities,' adding that China would protect its national interests. China is facing an Aug 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with the US, after Beijing and Washington reached a preliminary deal last month to end weeks of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs. If no deal is reached, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil from duties exceeding 100%. Wang said negotiations in Geneva and London earlier this year demonstrated there was no need to return to a trade war. 'Practice has proven that through dialogue and consultation, with leadership and communication at the highest levels, we can properly manage contradictions and resolve our differences,' he said. 'We will continue to strengthen dialogue and communication, deepen consensus, reduce misunderstandings, enhance cooperation, to jointly put China-US economic and trade relations back on track to achieve healthy, stable and sustainable development,' he said. China's rare earths exports rose 32% month-on-month in June, customs data showed on Monday, in a sign that agreements struck last month in London to free up the flow of the metals were possibly bearing fruit. Chipmaker Nvidia will also resume selling its H20 AI chips to China, Chief Executive Jensen Huang said at an event in Beijing this week, a move US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said was also part of negotiations on rare earths. Wang said today that he had met Huang the previous day, describing the meeting as evidence that 'as the dust settles, everyone has come to the conclusion – especially the US side – that forced decoupling is impossible'. Wang said the current overall tariff level imposed by the US on China was 'still high' at 53.6%. Analysts have said that additional duties exceeding 35% will probably wipe out Chinese manufacturers' profit margins. 'Both sides have come to understand that they need each other, as lots of the goods and services that we exchange are irreplaceable, or at least difficult to exchange in the short-term,' Wang said. 'China does not want a trade war, but it is not afraid of one,' he reiterated.
Malay Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
Trade war avoidable if US will ‘act like a superpower', China says as Aug 12 deadline looms
China, US talks in Europe show tariff war unnecessary, commerce minister says Wang Wentao urges United States to act like a superpower China facing August 12 tariff deadline BEIJING, July 18 — China wants to bring its trade ties with the US back to a stable footing, its commerce minister said, adding that recent talks in Europe showed there was no need for a tariff war while urging the US to act in a manner befitting of a superpower. Commerce Minister Wang Wentao told reporters on Friday that the 'ups and downs' in the two countries' relationship underscored their economic interdependence. Asked about the United States specifically, Wang said: 'Major countries should act like major countries. They must shoulder their responsibilities,' adding that China would protect its national interests. China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with the United States, after Beijing and Washington reached a preliminary deal last month to end weeks of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs. If no deal is reached, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil from duties exceeding 100 per cent. Wang said negotiations in Geneva and London earlier this year demonstrated there was no need to return to a trade war. 'Practice has proven that through dialogue and consultation, with leadership and communication at the highest levels, we can properly manage contradictions and resolve our differences,' he said. 'We will continue to strengthen dialogue and communication, deepen consensus, reduce misunderstandings, enhance cooperation, to jointly put China-US economic and trade relations back on track to achieve healthy, stable and sustainable development.' China's rare earths exports rose 32 per cent month-on-month in June, customs data showed on Monday, in a sign that agreements struck last month in London to free up the flow of the metals were possibly bearing fruit. Chipmaker Nvidia will also resume selling its H20 AI chips to China, Chief Executive Jensen Huang said at an event in Beijing this week, a move US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said was also part of negotiations on rare earths. Wang said on Friday that he had met Huang the previous day, describing the meeting as evidence that 'as the dust settles, everyone has come to the conclusion – especially the US side – that forced decoupling is impossible.' Wang said the current overall tariff level imposed by the US on China was 'still high' at 53.6 per cent. Analysts have said that additional duties exceeding 35 per cent will probably wipe out Chinese manufacturers' profit margins. 'Both sides have come to understand that they need each other, as lots of the goods and services that we exchange are irreplaceable, or at least difficult to exchange in the short-term,' Wang said. 'China does not want a trade war, but it is not afraid of one,' he reiterated. (US$1 = 7.1811 Chinese yuan renminbi) — Reuters
