Tag: China

Shares in Chinese automakers such as BYD, Nio and Geely tumbled on Monday after industry leader BYD offered fresh incentives on over 20 models and the CEO of Great Wall Motors warned that the world’s largest auto industry was in an unhealthy state.

President Xi Jinping’s government is considering a new version of its master plan to boost production of high-end technological goods, according to people familiar with the matter, signaling its intention to keep a firm grip on manufacturing as President Donald Trump looks to bring more factories back to the US.

The intense trade war with the U.S. has left lasting scars on Chinese exporters with many looking to diversify away from the U.S., despite the temporary tariff reprieves, a private survey found.

Retail sales rose 5.1% from a year earlier in April, missing analysts’ estimates of 5.5% growth, according to a Reuters poll. Industrial output grew 6.1% year on year in April, stronger than analysts’ expectations for a 5.5% rise, while slowing from the 7.7% jump in March.

Chinese trade envoy Li Chenggang described talks with the U.S. as “good” after their first high-level engagement in Switzerland on May 12 led to a thawing in trade tensions. However, both sides have continued to trade thinly veiled swipes.

The U.S. and China on Monday agreed to temporarily suspend most tariffs on each other’s goods in a move that shows a major thawing of trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

President Trump recently hinted at a possible 80% tariff on China in a social media post. The statement, which was made on Truth Social, was vague and open to interpretation, causing confusion among investors.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and chief trade negotiator Jamieson Greer will meet China’s economic tsar He Lifeng in Switzerland this weekend for talks that could be the first step toward resolving a trade war disrupting the global economy.

China has announced a barrage of measures meant to counter the blow to its economy from U.S. President Donald Trump ’s trade war, as the two sides prepare for talks later this week.

China’s factory activity contracted at the fastest pace in 16 months in April, a factory survey showed on Wednesday, keeping alive calls for further stimulus as Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” package of tariffs snapped two months of recovery.

Senior Chinese officials on Monday outlined plans to support jobs and help exporters, while hinting at the possibility of more stimulus in light of rising trade tensions with the U.S.

China plans to help struggling businesses with targeted measures in the face of “increased external shocks,” according to a readout of a meeting chaired Friday by President Xi Jinping.

 U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration is talking with China to strike a tariff deal and that Chinese President Xi Jinping has called him, according to a Time magazine interview published on Friday, as Beijing has so far disputed the U.S. characterization of talks.

China has exempted some U.S. imports from its 125% tariffs and is asking firms to identify critical goods they need levy-free, according to businesses that have been notified, in the clearest sign yet of Beijing’s concerns about the trade war’s fallout.

China on Thursday said that there were no ongoing discussions with the U.S. on tariffs, despite indications from the White House this week that there would be some easing in tensions with Beijing.

China on Monday accused Washington of abusing tariffs and warned countries against striking a broader economic deal with the United States at its expense, ratcheting up its rhetoric in a spiralling trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.

China’s economy expanded by a better-than-expected 5.4% in the first quarter, maintaining a strong momentum, even as U.S. tariff threats prompt major investment banks to slash the country’s annual growth outlook.

A report that China was willing to enter into trade talks with the U.S. was greeted warmly by investors. But, if accurate, it suggests China’s preconditions mean talks aren’t a given.

China’s exports jumped more than expected in March as businesses frontloaded outbound shipments to avoid prohibitive U.S. tariffs, while imports extended declines as sluggish domestic demand persisted.

China on Friday retaliated against U.S. President Donald Trump’s country-specific tariffs by raising its levies on U.S. goods to 125% from 84%, the Chinese Finance Ministry said.