From 2h ago Introduction: China’s trade surplus hits $1tn Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. China’s annual trade surplus has exceeded $1tn for the first time, as the manufacturing powerhouse shrugged off the impact of Donald Trump’s trade war. New trade data today shows that Chinese factories swelled their sales to non-US markets this year, making up from a sharp drop in shipments to the US. In November, China’s exports grew 5.9% year-on-year, customs data shows. That reverses a…
Tag: Business
EU to unveil €3bn strategy to reduce dependency on China for raw materials
The EU is to unveil a €3bn (£2.63bn) strategy to reduce its dependency on China for critical raw materials amid a global scramble triggered by Beijing’s “weaponisation” of supplies of everything from chips to rare earths. The ReSourceEU programme will seek to de-risk and diversify the bloc’s supply chains for key commodities with a funding initiative to support 25-30 strategic projects in the sector. These projects cover rare earths – a group of 17 heavy metals that are actually abundant but difficult and costly to extract – as well as…
China has brought millions out of poverty. The US has not – by choice
The Chinese did rather well in the age of globalization. In 1990, 943 million people there lived on less than $3 a day measured in 2021 dollars – 83% of the population, according to the World Bank. By 2019, the number was brought down to zero. Unfortunately, the United States was not as successful. More than 4 million Americans – 1.25% of the population – must make ends meet with less than $3 a day, more than three times as many as 35 years ago. The data is not super…
Trump’s plan to impose semiconductor tariffs may be delayed, sources say
US officials are privately saying that they might not levy long-promised semiconductor tariffs soon, potentially delaying a centerpiece of Donald Trump’s economic agenda. Officials relayed these messages over the last several days to stakeholders in the government and private industry, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter and a third person briefed on the conversations. A fourth person following the matter also said the administration was taking a more cautious approach to avoid provoking China. The discussions have not been previously reported. Trump aides are taking their…
Netherlands suspends state seizure of Chinese chipmaker Nexperia
The Netherlands has suspended its seizure of the Chinese-owned chipmaker at the heart of a six-week dispute between the EU and China that threatened to halt car production at sites around the world. The Dutch minister of economic affairs, Vincent Karremans, said in a statement on Wednesday that the government would suspend its decision to take supervisory control of Nexperia as a gesture of “goodwill” to Beijing. “In light of recent developments, I consider it the right moment to take a constructive step by suspending my order under the Goods…
China suspends seafood imports from Japan as Taiwan row escalates
China has suspended imports of Japanese seafood again, as the fallout over the Japanese prime minister’s comments about Taiwan continues to escalate in one of worst bilateral disputes in years. The ban was first reported on Wednesday by the Japanese outlets Kyodo News and NHK, and appeared to be confirmed by China’s foreign ministry, which said there was “no market for Japanese seafood in the current climate”. The reports said China’s government had informed Japan it was suspending all seafood imports, months after it partly lifted a previous ban issued…
Inside Trump’s scramble to reduce US dependence on Chinese rare-earth metals
Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, returned from South Carolina last week brandishing a small piece of metal, proclaiming that it was the first rare-earth magnet made in the US in a quarter of a century. It was, he indicated to Fox Business, proof that the US is ending “China’s chokehold on our supply chain”. Thanks to the South Carolina company eVAC’s new rare-earth mineral processing center, Bessent added: “We’re finally becoming independent again.” Breaking China’s processing and manufacturing dominance in these materials, essential for some semiconductors, batteries and armaments,…
China voices ‘extreme disappointment’ with Dutch minister at centre of car chip row
Vincent Karremans called semiconductor supply chain crisis a ‘wake-up call for western leaders’ The Chinese government has expressed “extreme disappointment” with the Dutch minister at the heart of a row over chip supply to the car industry. A spokesperson for the ministry of commerce was responding to a Guardian interview with Vincent Karremans on Thursday in which the politician described the standoff between China and the European Union as a “wake-up call” for western leaders. Continue reading… The Guardian
Global markets fall after tech sell-off and fears over Chinese economy
Global markets have fallen after a tech sell-off that fuelled Wall Street’s worst day in a month and weak economic data in China showing an unprecedented slump in investment. Japan’s tech-heavy Nikkei fell 1.8% on Friday, South Korea’s Kospi plunged 2.6% and there was a 1.5% fall in Australia, after a torrid day on Wall Street as Nvidia and other tech companies tumbled over valuation concerns. Nvidia, the $4.5tn (£3.4tn) tech company, led a wider sector decline, falling 3.6% as investors reassessed the value of companies involved in the AI…
‘It’s a wake-up call’: Dutch row with Chinese chipmaker that threatened global car industry
A bitter battle over the future of a Chinese-owned chipmaker in the Netherlands that threatened to cripple the global car industry is a “wake-up call to Europe and the west”, the minister at the heart of the row has warned. The six-week standoff between the EU and Beijing over Nexperia and its vital supplies of automotive semiconductors has served up a sobering lesson to world leaders over their dependency on China, says Vincent Karremans. The Dutch economy minister says he has no regrets about the tussle and would not change…