As Beijing refutes President Donald Trump’s claims that he is a part of tariff negotiations, China’s top leaders have pledged to bolster their support for the country’s struggling economy.
Guo Jiakun, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, stated on Friday that the two countries had not yet started formal discussions over the trade dispute that US tariffs earlier this month had caused.
China’s retaliatory import duties have increased to 145 percent, while its current level is 145 percent.
China demands that the US first lift all “unilateral” tariffs in order to end the trade standoff.
boosting the economy
Meanwhile, a meeting of China’s top policymakers, including Xi Jinping, was held on Friday to discuss support for businesses and workers who are experiencing “external shocks,” according to state news agency Xinhua.
They added that they would “work with the international community to actively oppose unilateral bullying practices” in the statement.
The meeting’s readout “demonstrates that the government is willing to implement new measures in the event that the economy is impacted by the external shock,” according to Pinpoint Asset Management president and chief economist Zhiwei Zhang in a note.
Zhang did point out that “at this point, it seems Beijing is not in a rush to start a significant stimulus.”
He continued, “It takes time to track and assess the trade shock’s size and timing.”
Beijing has not made a public statement on the subject, but a report from the Reuters news agency reported that China is considering exemptions for some US imports.
No official list of goods requiring tariff relief has been made available, the report claimed, but businesses have been asked to do so.
already exempted
A leaked online document suggested 131 product categories, including those involving aerospace components and pharmaceuticals, could be exempted.
The Chinese Chamber of Commerce of the European Union acknowledged that it had spoken with the authorities about the problem because many businesses rely on crucial US imports.
According to the American Chamber of Commerce, some pharmaceutical companies have already benefited from exemptions for a certain drug.
Safran, a French aerospace company, reported receiving exemptions for some aircraft parts. These actions, according to analysts, could lower Chinese companies’ costs and lessen the strain on US exporters.
The Commerce Ministry has not yet made a public comment on the exemptions, which direct inquiries to “relevant authorities.”
In the meantime, global markets are keeping an eye out for potential de-escalation from both the US and China.
Source: Aljazeera
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