44 h. ago As Chinese exporters explore home market, how are letters of credit helping?

After the United States imposed so-called reciprocal tariffs on imports from China in April, Beijing took steps to help Chinese exporters sell their products domestically. In addition to the staging of product promotion events across the country and the offering of fiscal and financial incentives, Beijing also encouraged the increased use of letters of credit (L/Cs) to help such businesses switch focus to the domestic market. What is a domestic letter of credit? A letter of credit, also known as...

Politics

44 h. ago Cheerleaders to critics: German machinery makers call for EU action on China

Germany’s iconic machine makers used to be among the loudest cheerleaders for ever-closer economic ties between China and Europe. Now, as exports dwindle and facing “increasingly strong [Chinese] competitors” beefed up by “unfair state subsidies”, the industry is demanding that Brussels put in place trade barriers to protect it. A new position paper published on Thursday by the Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA), representing medium-sized manufacturers that help constitute...

Politics

56 h. ago Trump’s hand against Beijing is getting weaker as Chinese exports to the U.S. tank 34% compared with a year ago

Trump’s hand against Beijing is getting weaker as Chinese exports to the U.S. tank 34% compared with a year ago  Fortune

Politics

63 h. ago Trump’s hand against Beijing is getting weaker as Chinese exports to the U.S. tank 34% YOY

Trump’s hand against Beijing is getting weaker as Chinese exports to the U.S. tank 34% YOY  MSN

Politics

64 h. ago Trump’s hand against Beijing is getting weaker as Chinese exports to the U.S. tank 34% year over year

Trump’s hand against Beijing is getting weaker as Chinese exports to the U.S. tank 34% year over year  Fortune

Politics

3 d. ago Chinese exports to EU surge, but bloc waiting to see if emergency action needed

The European Union says it is “too early to conclude” whether sky-high US tariffs on Chinese goods have caused a diversion of exports to the bloc that would cause it to take emergency measures. This was despite a surge in Chinese exports to the European Union coinciding with a big drop in shipments from China to the United States in May. China’s shipments to the US last month fell by 34.5 per cent from a year ago, while its exports to France rose by 24.1 per cent and to Germany by 21.5 per cent,...

Politics

3 d. ago China grants export permits to rare earth giant for US, Europe shipments

A top Chinese rare earth exporter, which hosted President Xi Jinping during a 2019 inspection, said it had obtained export permits for several destinations, including the United States. Investors welcomed the news, sending the company’s shares higher. JL MAG Rare-Earth said on Wednesday that it had also been granted licenses for Europe and Southeast Asia, and that it would export magnetic materials, components and motor rotors. “After the export controls imposed on medium and heavy rare earth...

Politics

4 d. ago Chinese premier urges faster tech applications amid US export controls

Chinese Premier Li Qiang has called for a push to speed up the application of new advances in science and technology, as the country accelerates efforts to break its dependence on US tech and develop a world-leading industrial base. In a State Council meeting on Monday, Li called the application of new technologies the “last mile” of innovation, as it links innovation and industry and is important in driving new products and services, state-run news agency Xinhua reported. The premier’s comments...

Politics

4 d. ago Pressured by US tariffs, Chinese exports expand in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia

Chinese exports to major industrial centres in Southeast Asia rose by double-digit percentages in the first five months of the year to satisfy growing consumer markets, feed offshore factory investments and offset losses from high US tariffs. Shipments to factory-magnet Vietnam increased by 18.8 per cent from January to May, compared with the same period in 2024, according to official data released on Monday. Meanwhile, exports to Thailand grew by 20.9 per cent, and Indonesia took 16.8 per cent...

Events

5 d. ago Chinese exports to the U.S. are cratering despite a trade truce

Chinese exports to the U.S. are cratering despite a trade truce  Quartz

Politics

5 d. ago US vows reprieve on some tech export restrictions as talks with China begin in London

Top economic officials from Washington and Beijing have launched a high-stakes round of trade talks in London, with a senior White House official signaling soon after the start that the US will ease some tech export restrictions on China, adding that he expected the Chinese government to ramp up rare earth mineral exports to American markets. The Chinese and American delegations – led by China’s vice-premier, He Lifeng, alongside US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard...

Politics

5 d. ago US hints at reprieve on some tech export restrictions as talks with China begin

Top economic officials from Washington and Beijing launched a high-stakes round of trade talks in London, with a senior White House official signalling soon after the start that the US would ease some tech export restrictions on China, adding that he expected the Chinese government to ramp up rare earth mineral exports to American markets. The Chinese and American delegations – led by Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng, alongside US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick...

Politics

6 d. ago Tech hub Shenzhen launches plan to support consumption, exporters amid trade war

China’s top export city and tech hub, Shenzhen, is stepping up efforts to boost domestic consumption and support exporters amid a turbulent trade war between Beijing and Washington. “Consumption is the fundamental driving force behind economic growth and development,” according to a 39-point plan released by the Shenzhen Municipal Development and Reform Commission on Friday. Shenzhen will leverage its strategic strengths in four key categories: artificial intelligence (AI) terminals, smart home...

Events

7 d. ago Vietnam ramps up expansion of South China Sea outposts: think tank

Vietnam has continued to expand land reclamation on its occupied features in the South China Sea, with military-related construction of new ports and airstrips, according to a Chinese think tank. Citing satellite images, the Beijing-based South China Sea Probing Initiative (SCSPI) said on Friday that the Southeast Asian nation had reclaimed nearly 0.78 sq km (0.3 square miles) of land on 11 features in the contested Spratly Islands, known as the Nansha Islands in China, over the past six...

Events

7 d. ago Vietnam ramping up expansion of South China Sea outposts: Chinese think tank

Vietnam has continued to expand land reclamation on its occupied features in the South China Sea, with military-related construction of new ports and airstrips, according to a Chinese think tank. Citing satellite images, the Beijing-based South China Sea Probing Initiative (SCSPI) said on Friday that Vietnam had reclaimed nearly 0.78 sq km (0.3 square miles) of land in the past six months on 11 features in the contested Spratly Islands, which are known as the Nansha Islands in China. In total,...

Events

7 d. ago US retailers demand Chinese firms pay shipping costs as trade pressure grows

US retail giants are demanding that their Chinese suppliers split or even bear the full cost of shipping goods across the Pacific, as freight rates skyrocket amid the disruption caused by the trade war, sources at Chinese export firms told the Post. The move is the latest sign of the intense pressure America’s biggest retailers are putting on Chinese factories to absorb more of the additional costs created by the trade war, with the companies facing calls at home to “eat the tariffs”. Until...

Economics

1 week ago EU industry could grind to a halt over China’s rare earth restrictions

Chinese government restrictions on the export of rare earth elements have forced some European companies to halt production using the highly sought-after minerals essential for making smartphones and electric vehicles. The measures announced by Beijing on April 4 were seen as retaliation against US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs”, but European industry now warns it is being caught in the crossfire. The EU Chamber of Commerce in China has held several meetings with China’s Ministry...

Politics

1 week ago ‘Getting seriously worse’: EU firms sound alarm over China’s rare earth curbs

Chinese government restrictions on the export of rare earth elements have forced some European companies to halt production using the highly sought-after minerals essential for making smartphones and electric vehicles. The measures announced by Beijing on April 4 were seen as retaliation against US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs”, but European industry now warns it is being caught in the crossfire. The EU Chamber of Commerce in China has held several meetings with China’s Ministry...

Events

1 week ago US efforts to coerce China into trade concessions ‘will not work’, analysts say

US President Donald Trump’s attempts to force Beijing back to the negotiating table by piling “extreme pressure” on the Chinese economy through a barrage of export controls are doomed to fail, analysts said. Washington has unveiled new curbs on the sale of jet engine and chip design technologies to China in recent days, as Trump insisted in a social media post that he would no longer be “Mr Nice Guy” on trade. But Beijing responded with a stinging rebuke on Monday, with the Ministry of Commerce...

Politics

2 w. ago US export controls: a delay, but not a grounding, for China’s aircraft engines

Washington’s technology-export restrictions targeting Chinese plane makers this week will delay China’s jet engine indigenisation process in the near term, but any setback will only harden resolve in Beijing for tech self-reliance to test and launch a home-grown engine, analysts said on Friday. United States officials have reportedly suspended some sales of technologies linked to jet engines that could be built for Chinese state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China’s (Comac) civilian...

Politics