February 27, 2019
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said that the U.S. is abandoning its threat to raise tariffs to 25% on $200 billion of Chinese goods, the Wall Street Journal reports.
January 30, 2019
China’s legislature will vote in March on a new foreign investment law that will ban forced technology transfer and illegal government “interference” in foreign business practices, Xinhua reports.
December 13, 2018
China on Wednesday purchased 1.5 million tonnes of U.S. soybeans since US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a trade ceasefire in Buenos Aires.
December 7, 2018
China has demanded the release of the CFO of Huawei Technologies, Meng Wanzhou, the Financial Times reports.
December 5, 2018
The CFO of Huawei Technologies, Meng Wanzhou, who is also the daughter of the company's founder, has been arrested by Canadian authorities in Vancouver at the request of the US government, the Wall Street Journal reports. The US government is seeking her extradition.
December 3, 2018
US Donald Trump tweeted today that China has agreed to cut tariffs on American made cars, the Wall Street Journal reports. Chinese officials didn’t immediately confirm or deny his assertion.
November 19, 2018
China will accept applications early next year from foreign insurers seeking to take control of their local joint ventures and is even weighing giving them full ownership earlier than flagged, Reuters reports, citing people with direct knowledge of the matter.
New US national security rules are set to disproportionately hit Chinese investments in sensitive industries such as biotechnology and nanotechnology, the Financial Times reports.
November 18, 2018
Asia-Pacific leaders failed to agree on a communique at a summit in Papua New Guinea on Sunday for the first time in their history as deep divisions between the United States and China over trade and investment stymied cooperation, Reuters reports.
The Trump administration said that China has failed to alter its “unfair” practices, Reuters reports.
November 12, 2018
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has resumed discussions with his Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier Liu He, on a deal to ease trade tensions, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people briefed on the conversation.
November 8, 2018
The U.S. Commerce Department said it would impose final anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on Chinese common alloy aluminum sheet products of 96.3% to 176.2%, Reuters reports.
November 2, 2018
Trump asked key cabinet secretaries to have their staff draw up a potential trade deal with China, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter.
October 30, 2018
The U.S. is preparing to announce by early December tariffs on all remaining Chinese imports if talks next month between presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping fail to ease the trade war, Bloomberg reports, citing three people familiar with the matter.
October 29, 2018
The U.S. has restricted American firms from doing business with a state-owned Chinese chip maker, Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co., that Micron Technology Inc. has accused of stealing its intellectual property, the Wall Street Journal reports.
October 16, 2018
A Reuters poll of 68 economists showed gross domestic product likely grew 6.6% in July-September from a year earlier, slowing from the previous quarter’s 6.7%.
October 12, 2018
Presidents Donlad Trump and Xi Jinping are planning to meet at the G20 summit at Buenos Aires in November.
China’s trade surplus with the US surged to a record high of $34.13 billion in September, compared with $31.05 billion in August, Reuters reports, citing Chinese customs data.
October 3, 2018
White House economic adviser Lawrence Kudlow said Tuesday trade talks between the U.S. and China could resume when policy makers meet in Buenos Aires in December for the Group of 20 meeting, the Wall Street Journal reports.
A US judge has found the China’s ZTE Corp violated probation imposed in March 2017, and extended until 2022 the term of a monitor he appointed to assess ZTE’s compliance with American export control laws, Reuters reports. The monitorship originally was scheduled to end in 2020.
September 22, 2018
China has cancelled trade talks with the US, the Wall Street Journal reports.
September 17, 2018
US President Donald Trump has announced America would impose tariffs on $200 billion worth of goods and was prepared to tax all imports, the New York Times reports.
China's Ministry of Commerce has vowed retaliation, the South China Morning Post reports.
The Chinese government said it plans to impose new tariffs on $60 billion in U.S. exports, the Wall Street Journal reports.
September 14, 2018
Investment in factories, railways and other projects in China so far this year grew at its slowest pace in more than 25 years, the Wall Street Journal reports.
September 13, 2018
The Chinese side has accepted the Trump administration's invitation to a new round of trade talks, Reuters reports.
September 12, 2018
The Trump administration is proposing a new round of trade talks with China later this month, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people briefed on the matter.
September 11, 2018
Liu He, President Xi Jinping’s economic-policy chief, told visiting American business executives that U.S. companies’ China operations won’t be targeted in Beijing’s trade counterattacks, the Wall Street Journal reports.
China is seeking WTO backing to impose $7 billion a year in sanctions on the US for Washington’s non-compliance with a ruling in a dispute over dumping duties, Reuters reports.
September 8, 2018
The US trade deficit with China has widened, hitting a record monthly high of $31.05 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports.
September 5, 2018
Official Chinese data this week is expected to show export growth remained strong in August, Reuters reports.
August 31, 2018
In an interview with Bloomberg News, US President Donald Trump threatened to pull America out of the WTO.
August 27, 2018
The Trump administration has pledged to pay farmers $4.7 billion to offset losses from trade disputes with foreign buyers of U.S. agricultural products, the Wall Street Journal reports.
August 23, 2018
The US and China have implemented 25% tariffs on $16 billion worth of each other’s goods, Reuters reports, even as mid-level officials from both sides resumed talks in Washington.
Trade talks between the US and China have failed miserably, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people closely tracking them.
August 20, 2018
The Trump administration is moving closer this week to levying tariffs on nearly half of Chinese imports, the Wall Street Journal reports.
August 16, 2018
Tencent Holdings shared fell by 5% today after reporting its first quaterly profit drop in more than a decade, the Wall Street Journal reports. This wiped out ove $175 billion of the company’s market value since January.
Reuters reports that the US and China will be holding a new round of trade talks later this month. A Chinese delegation led by Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen will meet with U.S. representatives led by Under Secretary of Treasury for International Affairs David Malpass.
August 14, 2018
China’s economy seems to be slowing, with fixed-asset investment slowing to a nearly two-decade low for the first seven months of the year, the Wall Street Journal reports.
In another ominous sign for China, a unit of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, an organization with military heritage that runs commercial enterprises for the Chinese government, said on Monday that it failed to pay back interest and principal for $73 million of onshore bonds, the Wall Street Journal reports. It also said it might have trouble paying a separate 500 million yuan bond due Sunday.
August 11, 2018
New loans by Chinese banks totaled $211.8 billion in July, up 75% from the same period last year, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing preliminary statistics released by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.
August 9, 2018
China released an updated list of items it would target with similar tariffs that would go into effect on August 23rd, if the US goes ahead with its plan to impose new 25% tariffs on $16 billion in Chinese goods, the Wall Street Journal reports.
August 8, 2018
The US will begin collecting 25% tariffs on another $16 billion in Chinese goods on 23rd August, Reuters reports.
China’s imports were up 27.3% in July from a year earlier, accelerating from a 14.1% increase the previous month the Wall Street Journal reports, citing the General Administration of Customs.
Shenzhen Energy Group Co Ltd will drop its plans to buy three U.S. solar power stations after failing to get approval from a U.S. government panel, Reuters reports.
August 1, 2018
The Trump administration plans to propose slapping a 25% tariff on $200 billion of imported Chinese goods, Reuters reports.
The US Department of Commerce added 44 Chinese entities onto its export control list, citing national security or foreign policy concerns, the South China Morning Post reports.
July 31, 2018
The Chinese Politburo has said that China's economy “faces some new problems and new challenges,” the Wall Street Journal reports, as official data showed that the country's business activities faltered in July in the face of US tariffs.
July 25, 2018
Qualcomm has scrapped a $44 billion deal to buy NXP Semiconductors after Chinese regulators did not rule on the transaction, the New York Times reports.
July 24, 2018
The Trump administration announced it would provide up to $12 billion in emergency relief for farmers hurt by the president’s trade war, the New York Times reports.
July 23, 2018
China says it won't devalue its currency to help its exports, Reuters reports.
China has launched an anti-dumping probe into stainless steel imports worth $1.3 billion from the European Union, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia, Reuters reports.
China's State Council said it would speed up raising ¥1.35 trillion yuan for local infrastructure, the South China Morning Post reports.
US President Donald Trump has accused China and the EU of “manipulating their currencies” to gain a price advantage in trade, the Financial Times reports.
July 16, 2018
China's economy grew 6.7% in the three months ended June from a year earlier, the Wall Street Journal reports.
China has complained about the US' proposed tariff list on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to the WTO, Reuters reports.
July 12, 2018
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said that trade talks between China and the US have "broken down," the New York Times reports.
July 11, 2018
The US has threatened 10% tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports. China's Commerce Ministry has expressed "shock" at this move, Reuters reports.
Meanwhile, ZTE has cleared the last major hurdle of the deal US President Donald Trump made to save the firm, and is poised to resume business with its US suppliers, the Wall Street Journal reports.
July 6, 2018
The Trump administration has followed through with its threat to impose tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese products, the New York Times reports.
In response, China's Commerce Ministry has said the US has started "the biggest trade war in economic history," and has vowed retaliation, CNN reports.
June 27, 2018
US President Donald Trump has backed away from plans to create tough new restrictions on Chinese investments in the U.S. and U.S. technology exports to China, the Wall Street Journal reports.
June 25, 2018
Chinese President Xi Jinping has told a group of 20 mostly American and European multinational chief executives that he plans to "punch the US back" for its tariffs, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people briefed on the event.
Meanwhile, prominent academics in China have begun to question online whether China can match the US in a trade war, Bloomberg reports.
June 24, 2018
The US is crafting rules that would block firms with at least 25% Chinese ownership from buying companies involved in what the White House calls “industrially significant technology,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
June 18, 2018
US President Donald Trump has threatened to slap tariffs of $200 billion on Chinese goods if Beijing retaliates against US tariffs worth $50 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The Senate voted to reinstate a ban on selling U.S. parts to Chinese telecommunications company ZTE, rejecting a deal President Donald Trump made with Beijing to save the firm, the Wall Street Journal reports.
June 15, 2018
China has announced it would retaliate against US tariffs by imposing $50 billion worth of tariffs of its own on US goods, the South China Morning Post reports.
June 14, 2018
US President Donald Trump has approved tariffs of up to $50 billion on Chinese goods, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has vowed to retaliate.
June 13, 2018
US President Donald Trump is unlikely to veto a bipartisan congressional effort to block his attempts to ease pressure on ZTE, according to senior Republican senators, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The Trump administration is preparing to levy tariffs on tens of billions of dollars of Chinese goods in the coming week, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing US officials briefed on the matter.
June 12, 2018
ZTE shares have fallen by about 40% in the first day of trading in nearly two months, the Wall Street Journal reports.
June 7, 2018
Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE has reached a deal with the Trump administration, agreeing to pay a $1 billion fine and overhaul leadership, Reuters reports. In return, the US will lift a ban on its doing business with U.S. suppliers.
June 5, 2018
China has offered to buy nearly $70 billion of American farm, manufacturing and energy products in the first year of a trade deal, if the US will abandon tariff threats against it, the Wall Street Journal reports.
June 3, 2018
Chinese and U.S. teams, led by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, conducted trade talks in Beijing today and yesterday, Xinhua reports.
June 2, 2018
The US may claim up to $1.7 billion in penalties from Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE, Reuters reports, citing people familiar with the matter.
May 31, 2018
The US will shorten the length of validity for some visas issued to Chinese citizens, the AP reports.
China will cut import tariffs for daily consumer goods, Xinhua reports.
A memo from the US Chamber of Commerce has criticized the Trump administration's trade policies, saying it will threaten as many as 2.6 million jobs, the Wall Street Journal reports.
May 30, 2018
The Trump administration said it would proceed with tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese imports and broader investment restrictions, the Financial Times reports.
May 22, 2018
The US Senate Banking Committee unanimously approved legislation that would tighten national-security reviews of Chinese technology deals by the interagency Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., strengthen export controls, and prohibit the Trump administration from lifting stiff penalties imposed on ZTE, the Wall Street Journal reports.
May 20, 2018
The Trump administration will halt sanctions on China while trade talks with it proceed, the New York Time reports.
May 18, 2018
US President Donald Trump has met with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He at the White House.
China has dropped an anti-dumping levy it imposed a month ago on US sorghum imports, the South China Morning Post reports.
May 17, 2018
China has offered the US a package of trade concessions aimed at reducing the trade deficit by some $200 billion a year, Reuters reports, citing US officials familiar with the proposal.
May 15, 2018
Senior US senators have ditched a plan to make American companies’ outbound investments to China and other countries potentially subject to national security reviews, under heavy lobbying by General Electric and IBM, the Financial Times reports.
May 14, 2018
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will visit the US from May 15-19 to talk trade, Xinhua reports.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says the Trump administration is exploring "additional remedies" to its punishment of Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE.
May 13, 2018
US President Donald Trump seems to have had a change of heart on Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE, the New York Times reports. After the company said it was halting major operating activities after being penalized by the US for violating Iran sanctions, Trump said he is now working with Chinese President Xi Jinping to prevent the collapse of the company.
“Too many jobs in China lost,” Mr. Trump tweeted. “Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!”
May 4, 2018
May 3, 2018
A collection of over 1,000 economists, including 16 Nobel Laureates have written an open letter to US President Donald Trump warning him his trade views echo America's mistakes in the 1930s, the Guardian reports.
May 2, 2018
US President Donald Trump is sending three cabinet members, three senior advisers, and an ambassador to China to discuss trade, the Financial Times reports.
A Chinese government official close to the high-level trade talks with America said China will not bow to US trade pressure and is prepared to fight to the end if a trade war breaks out, the South China Morning Post reports.
The Trump administration is considering restricting the sale of products from Chinese telecom firms citing national security concerns, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter.
April 29, 2018
China's securities regulator is allowing foreign firms to control 51% of local securities joint ventures, up from 49%, the Wall Street Journal reports. That cap is to be removed in three years, allowing for 100% control.
April 27, 2018
The US may extend its scrutiny to informal partnerships between American and Chinese companies in the field of artificial intelligence, Reuters reports, citing sources familiar with the discussions.
April 26, 2018
The Justice Department is investigating whether Huawei violated U.S. sanctions related to Iran, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter.
April 25, 2018
The EU has asked the WTO if it can join China's trade dispute against the US over its import tariffs on steel and aluminum, Reuters reports.
April 21, 2018
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin may visit China, CNBC reports, although nothing has been confirmed yet.
April 20, 2018
Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp said on Friday a U.S. decision to impose sanctions on the company was unfair and threatens its survival, Reuters reports.
Several ships carrying sorghum from the United States to China have changed course since Beijing slapped hefty anti-dumping deposits on imports of the grain from the US, Reuters reports.
China's Ministry of Commerce has announced that China will continue imposing anti-dumping duties on cellulose pulp, Xinhua reports.
April 19, 2018
China's Commece Ministry says it will impose temporary anti-dumping measures on a certain type of synthetic rubber imported from the United States, the European Union, and Singapore, the Straits Times reports.
April 18, 2018
China’s international trade representative held a series of meetings with ambassadors from major European countries last week to ask them to stand together with Beijing against U.S. protectionism, Reuters reports, citing to four sources familiar with the discussions.
April 17, 2018
China's economy grew by 6.8% in the first quarter of this year, defying expectations of a slowdown, the Wall Street Journal reports.
China expanded its US Treasury holdings in February despite escalating trade tension between Beijing and Washington, the Financial Times reports.
April 16, 2018
The US has banned American companies from selling components to Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp for seven years, Reuters reports. The US Commerce Department said this was because ZTE violated U.S. sanctions by illegally shipping U.S. goods and technology to Iran.
April 12, 2018
US President Donald Trump, in a sharp reversal, is told a gathering of farm state lawmakers and governors that America was looking into rejoining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the New York Times reports. This was in response to complaints from Republican lawmakers who said farmers and other businesses in their states would suffer from the US' withdrawal from the TPP since they send many of their products abroad.
The US is planning to impose new tariffs on China and is threatening to block Chinese technology investment into the country, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing officials familiar with the strategy.
April 11, 2018
Central bank governor Yi Gang said today that China will allow domestic and foreign financial firms to compete on an equal footing and “sharply” expand the business scope for foreign banks, Reuters reports.
April 10, 2018
Chinese President Xi Jinping has promised to open his country’s economy further, Reuters reports. At a speech at the Boao forum, he pledged to lower import tariffs on products including cars, and push previously announced measures to open the financial sector.
The comments sent U.S. stock futures, the dollar and Asian shares higher.
April 5, 2018
US President Donald Trump says he's considering imposing tariffs on an additional $100 billion in imports from China, the Wall Street Journal reports.
April 4, 2018
China has announced tariffs of 25% on soybeans, aircraft, cars and other imports worth $50 billion, AFP reports. China's commerce ministry has listed 106 products to be targeted, just hours after Washington unveiled its own target list. It said a date for the implementation of the tariffs would be announced separately.
April 2, 2018
China has imposed $3 billion worth of tariffs on the US, AFP reports. The tariffs cover 128 US imports.
March 28, 2018
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with a delegation from the US Congress led by Senator Steve Daines, Xinhua reports.
March 26, 2018
Chinese officials are preparing new regulations allowing foreign financial groups to take majority stakes in securities companies, the Financial Times reports, citing people briefed on the discussions. Beijing has also offered to buy more semiconductors from the US by diverting some purchases from South Korean and Taiwanese manufacturers, in an effort to avert a trade war with America.
March 25, 2018
In the face of tariff rhetoric, China and the U.S. have quietly started negotiating to improve U.S. access to Chinese markets, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
A letter U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer sent Liu He, China's economic czar set out specific requests, including a reduction of Chinese tariffs on U.S. automobiles, more Chinese purchases of U.S. semiconductors and greater access to China’s financial sector by American companies, those people said.
March 24, 2018
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He warned American Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that Beijing was ready to defend its interests in the face of impending US tariffs against China, AP reports.
March 23, 2018
US President Donald Trump has pledged punitive trade measures against China, including tariffs on $60 billion of imports and tighter restrictions on acquisitions and technology transfers, the Wall Street Journal reports.
March 22, 2018
US President Donald Trump plans to announce at least $50 billion worth of tariffs and other penalties on China today, the New York Times reports, citing people briefed on the matter.
Meanwhile, China plans to retaliate with tariffs targeting U.S. agricultural exports from Farm Belt states, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter.
A World Trade Organisation ruling against Obama-era anti-subsidy tariffs yesterday has also given China ammunition to criticize the US’ conduct in trade affairs, Reuters reports. China has accused the US of “repeatedly abusing” international trade rules.
Best Buy, the largest US consumer electronics retailer, will cut ties to China's Huawei Technologies, Reuters reports, citing a person familiar with the matter.
March 21, 2018
The Trump administration plans to make it more difficult for Chinese firms to acquire advanced U.S. technology or invest in American companies, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people involved in the planning.
Meanwhile, Reuters reports that China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement citing its vice minister Wang Shouwen as telling a WTO meeting that China will actively take steps to safeguard its interests as well as those of its industries in response to U.S. trade probes.
March 20, 2018
Four senior Trump administration officials have confirmed that the president is preparing to impose a package of $60 billion in annual tariffs against Chinese products, the Washington Post reports. This is twice the original $30 billion in tariffs Trump's aides proposed to him last week. Trump is expected to announce these tariffs on Friday.
Meanwhile, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang expressed hope that China and the US could avoid a trade war, Reuters reports. Li spoke at the close of the annual parliament session, and also said China would improve access to its services and manufacturing sectors while further lowering import tariffs.
March 19, 2018
Forty-five U.S. trade associations representing some of the largest companies in the country urged President Donald Trump in a letter on Sunday not to go ahead with tariffs against China, Reuters reports. They warn it would raise prices on consumer goods, kill jobs and drive down financial markets.
March 16, 2018
US President Donald Trump is preparing a raft of trade penalties against China, according to people familiar with the discussions, the New York Times reports. These penalties include tariffs on at least $30 billion of annual Chinese products, an amount equal to the cost the US Trade Representative's office estimates Chinese policies aimed at acquiring American technology impose on American companies annually.
The penalties may also include investment restrictions, caps on visas for Chinese researchers, and challenges to China’s trade practices at the World Trade Organization.
March 15, 2018
Silicon Valley venture capitalists and tech executives have warned that US President Donald Trump's move to block Singapore-based chipmaker Broadcom from taking over American rival Qualcomm could result in retaliatory restrictions of Chinese investment into Silicon Valley.
March 14, 2018
US President Donald Trump is seeking tariffs of up to $60 billion on Chinese imports, according to two people who had discussed the issue with the Trump administration, Reuters reported today.
The tariffs would target the technology and telecommunications sectors. A third source said these tariffs could come "in the very near future," and could expand to include 100 products.
Trump has also blocked Singapore-based chipmaker Broadcom from taking over American rival Qualcomm, the BBC reports.
His order claimed there was "credible evidence" the deal "threatens to impair the national security of the US." There were concerns the deal would allow China to pull ahead in 5G wireless technology.
March 13, 2018
Patrick Yu, President of Cofco, China's biggest food company, has also said trade war will not be good for the world economy, Bloomberg reports.
March 11, 2018
The Trump administration wants China to import more cars, aircraft, soybeans, and natural gas to help reduce the bilateral trade deficit, the Financial Times reported.
Meanwhile, Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan said that any trade war with the United States will only bring disaster to the world economy, according to Reuters.
March 5, 2018
March 2, 2018
Trump announced on Thursday he would impose hefty tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to protect U.S. producers, risking fears of retaliation from China, Europe, and Canada, according to Reuters. Trump said the duties of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum would be formally announced next week. Meanwhile, Financial Times reported that U.S. industry groups warned that thousands of jobs could be lost in US manufacturing because of the plan. Agricultural trade groups also raised concerns about the threat of retaliation, which could be targeted at US exports of wheat and other foodstuffs.
Reuters also reported that China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, pledged the country would loosen restrictions on trade and investment, and integrate more closely with global standards.
March 1, 2018
Feb 28, 2018
Feb 27, 2018
Feb 26, 2018
China is sending its most influential economic policymaker to Washington this week for talks aimed at defusing trade tensions. Liu He, the director of the Office of the Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs and President Xi Jinping’s right-hand man on economic policy, will make the trip from Feb 27 to March 3, Chinese Foreign Ministry has confirmed.
Feb 14, 2018
Feb 13, 2018
China is drawing up options for hitting back at the US if Washington imposes trade penalties for alleged intellectual property theft, but so far Beijing wants to avoid escalation mindful of the pain it could cause its own consumers, Financial Times has reported. The newspaper quoted a Chinese scholar as saying, "China has lots of cards to play but is in no rush to play them.For now there is small-scale trade friction, not a trade war. Our moves have always been defensive. We will not escalate the situation."
In a related development, the China Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute said in an email to Reuters that China will oppose any “unfair and unreasonable” trade measures by countries such as the United States against its steel companies. “We will also study and discuss the counter-measures to try to seek a fair position for Chinese companies without any violation of W.T.O. (World Trade Organisation) agreement.”
Meanwhile, President Trump said on Monday (Feb 12) that he would push for a “reciprocal tax” against countries, including U.S. allies, that levy tariffs on American products, Reuter has reported, adding U.S. officials did not provide details on how such a tax would be structured or what goods it would apply to.
Feb 9, 2018
Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi said in Washington on Feb 8 that China and the United States could properly address bilateral trade issue through opening of markets and "making a bigger cake of cooperation." He made the remarks while meeting with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Feb 5, 2018
Feb 2, 2018
Feb 1, 2018
President Donald Trump’s decision to slap stiff tariffs on U.S. imports of Chinese solar panels and washing machines has sparked fear among pork producers of possible retribution from China, the world’s largest consumer of pig meat and the U.S. pork sector’s No. 3 market, reported Reuters. “Without a doubt, our biggest concern is the trade situation,” said Steve Meyer, a Kerns and Associates economist and National Pork Producers Council consultant.
Jan 31, 2018
In his first State of the Union speech to Congress, President Trump vowed on Tuesday, Jan 30, 2018, to protect American intellectual property, but made no mention of China, which his administration has accused of trade abuses, Reuters has reported. Trump's comments on trade during the speech were restricted to three sentences in which he repeated that “fair and reciprocal” trade were necessary, but did not elaborate.
Jan 30, 2018
Jan 21, 2018
Commerce Department has sent President Donald Trump the results of its national security probe into aluminum imports. Trump has promised he would take action to protect steel and aluminum workers from imports, especially in the face of Chinese overcapacity in both metals, according to a Reuters report.
Jan 19, 2018
Washington cleared its first Beijing-backed takeover of an American company since Donald Trump became president a year ago, according to a report by Financial Times on Jan 19. Naura, a Chinese state-controlled semiconductor company, received US regulatory approval for the purchase of Akrion Systems, a Pennsylvania-based rival,
FT says the decision by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US to approve the deal could weaken widespread fears among business leaders that the Trump administration is using the inter-agency vetting of deals that pose national security risks as a new tool against China and its growing appetite for American technology.
Meanwhile, Reuters reports that the U.S. largely won a World Trade Organization ruling on Thursday that China had failed to comply with an earlier ruling against its punitive tariffs on U.S. broiler chickens.
The ruling means Beijing has failed in a bid to use one of Washington’s own favorite trade policy tools - punitive tariffs - against U.S. producers, and will be obliged to lower its tariffs, according to Reuters
In a related Reuters report, Chinese automaker GAC Automobiles’ plan to sell vehicles in the United States ran afoul of Washington trade politics. On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer cited GAC’s plans announced in Detroit on the Senate floor and argued that Chinese automotive trade rules are “manifestly unfair, and a typically unfortunate example of China’s rapacious trading policies.”
Jan 18, 2018
The U.S. government was considering a big “fine” as part of a probe into China’s alleged theft of intellectual property. In an interview with Reuters on Jan 18, Trump and his economic adviser Gary Cohn claimed that China had forced U.S. companies to transfer their intellectual property to China as a cost of doing business there. Based on the investigation, USTR would be making recommendations soon.
Jan 17, 2018
Chinese President Xi Jinping has told President Trump that the two sides must work together to find solutions to trade and economic disputes.The two spoke on Jan 16 at Trump’s request, and Xi called for a “constructive approach” and work “properly” to settle disputes and open up each other’s markets, according to CCTV, China's state-run TV network. A White House read-out says that Trump told Xi that the growing US trade deficit with China is not sustainable.
In a related development, U.S. lawmakers are urging AT&T to cut commercial ties to Chinese phone maker Huawei and oppose plans by China Mobile to enter the U.S. market citing national security concerns, according to a Reuters report. In early January, AT&T was forced to abandon a plan to offer its customers Huawei handsets after some members of Congress lobbied against it. The Trump administration has also blocked a string of Chinese acquisitions over national security concerns, including Ant Financial’s proposed purchase of MoneyGram.
Jan 12, 2018
China’s trade surplus with the US last year rose 8.6 per cent year on year to $275.8 billion, or about 65 per cent of China’s total global trade surplus, according to customs statistics China released on Jan 12. Huge trade deficit with China has been a major point of contention in Trump administration’s dealing with Beijing.
Meanwhile, Commerce Department on Thursday sent Trump the results of its probe into whether steel imports threaten U.S. national security, but declined to reveal any details of its recommendations.Trump now has 90 days to decide “on any potential action”.The probe could lead to broad tariffs or import quotas. White Housesaid Trump would announce his decision “at the appropriate time. Forcing a reduction of excess production in China is a key goal of any potential restrictions.
Jan 9, 2018
The White House is likely to introduce new tariffs designed to combat China's alleged unfair trade practices, according to a report by Politico. Senior administration officials have reportedly marked Trump's State of the Union address at the end of January as a provisional deadline to announce America's trade measures.
Jan 2, 2018
On January 2, 2018, the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) blocked Ant Financial’s proposed acquisition of MoneyGram. Ant Financial is owned by Jack Ma and other Alibaba executives. While the CFIUS ruling is a major blow to Jack Ma’s ambitions to expand his financial services empire, it also raises a number of larger questions about U.S.-China trade regulation under the Trump administration.
December 28, 2017
The Trump administration is setting the stage to unveil tough new trade penalties against China early next year. Washington Post said Trump is due by the end of January to render his first decision in response to petitions from U.S. companies seeking tariffs or import quotas on Chinese solar panels and washing machines manufactured in China and its neighbors. U.S. business executive fear that an oft-promised crackdown will ignite a costly battle.
November 30, 2017
The Trump administration has formally rejected China’s bid to be treated as a “market economy” under global trading rules. The high-stakes move comes as the US is starting to ratchet up trade pressure on Beijing, and is likely to heighten tensions between the world's two largest economies.
November 19, 2017
Chinese and U.S. companies signed deals valued at US$250 billion during President Trump’s state visit to China. The deals include purchases of Boeing aircrafts, Ford automobiles, U.S. soybeans and joint development of liquefied natural gas in Alaska.