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☆ China says it ‘firmly opposes’ a potential forced sale of TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

China’s commerce ministry said Thursday that a forced sale of TikTok would “seriously damage” global investors’ confidence in the United States. “If the news [about a forced sale] is true, China will firmly oppose it,” Shu Jueting, a spokeswoman for the ministry, told a Thursday news conference in Beijing, adding that any potential deal would need approval from the Chinese government. “The sale or divestiture of TikTok involves technology export, and administrative licensing procedures must be performed in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations,” she said. “The Chinese government will make a decision in accordance with the law.”Previously, Beijing didn’t weigh in directly on a potential forced sale. Chinese regulators first added algorithms to the restricted list of technologies in August 2020, when the Trump administration threatened to ban TikTok unless it was sold.

China and U.S. flags are seen near a TikTok logo in this illustration picture taken July 16, 2020. Florence Lo | ReutersBEIJING — China says it would "strongly oppose" a forced sale of TikTok, making clear the government's involvement with the social media giant that's trying hard to distance itself from Beijing authorities. ByteDance did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Chinese Commerce Ministry's remarks. But the commerce ministry's claim of control over a TikTok sale or spinoff indicates Beijing wants to be involved. When asked about the commerce ministry's remarks Thursday, TikTok's CEO said the app isn't available in mainland China and is based in Los Angeles.

Both are owned by Beijing-based parent company ByteDance, but Douyin launched before TikTok and became a viral sensation in China. Like TikTok, it’s a short-form video app. Then in 2017, the privately-owned tech company bought a US-based video startup and released TikTok as the overseas version of Douyin. The download page for the TikTok app displayed on an Apple iPhone. Besides TikTok, there’s also shopping app Temu, fast fashion retailer Shein and video editing app CapCut, which is also owned by ByteDance.

[1/2] Staff members chat behind Chinese and U.S. flags displayed at the 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, China September 4, 2021. REUTERS/Florence LoBEIJING, March 23 (Reuters) - China has never deliberately pursued a trade surplus with the United States, Shu Jueting, a commerce ministry spokesperson, said on Thursday, despite signs that China is continuing to reduce its reliance on American exports. She said this was needed to "create the conditions for enterprises from both sides to expand trade cooperation and reduce the trade deficit through dialogue". The goods trade gap with China widened $29.4 billion to $382.9 billion in 2022. Trade tensions between the United States and China have been simmering ever since the US-China Phase One Trade Deal expired at the end of 2021.

☆ China Says It Opposes a Forced Sale of TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A TikTok advertisement at Union Station in Washington, D.C., addresses user security and privacy concerns. BEIJING—China said it would strongly oppose any forced sale of TikTok, responding for the first time to a Biden administration demand that the video app divest itself from its Beijing-based parent ByteDance Ltd. or face a nationwide ban. China’s Commerce Ministry said Thursday that a forced sale by Washington could damage the confidence of Chinese investors in the U.S. and said any sale or spinoff of TikTok would involve technology-export issues that would need to be handled according to Chinese law and with the approval of the Chinese government.

☆ Watch live: TikTok CEO testifies before House committee as potential U.S. ban looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

TikTok has touted a complex plan known as Project Texas to help ease U.S. concerns over its ownership. After two years of negotiations with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, the White House reportedly demanded last week that ByteDance sell TikTok. On Thursday, a Chinese commerce ministry spokeswoman said, "If the news is true, China will resolutely oppose it." TikTok became a viral sensation in the U.S. by allowing young people to create and share short videos. But the company announced this week that it has 150 million users in the United States, a figure that, if confirmed, amounts to nearly 60% of the population.

☆ China renews pledge for wider market access for foreign investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, March 16 (Reuters) - China's commerce ministry said on Wednesday it will continue to push for the relaxation of market access for foreign investors, renewing efforts to lure foreign capital as the world's second-largest economy emerges from three years of COVID disruptions. As China reopens after dropping its zero tolerance policy for COVID-19 in December, convincing foreign investors to return to China will help reinvigorate an economy that grew at its slowest rates last year in half a century. China will "help foreign companies seize the opportunity to deepen their presence in China," Shu Jueting, a commerce ministry spokesperson, told reporters. Shu told reporters that China will also "steadily expand institutional openness." China's fresh efforts to court foreign investors and businesses also came as global uncertainties, from wars to bank crises, push them to search for new safe havens.

Several businesses specializing in selling lingerie through livestreaming have had their sessions cut short after they featured a female model and their brush with internet censorship came to light in January. A man poses in a white dress and robe set posted on Chinese video-sharing platform Douyin on December 17, 2022. The emergence of male lingerie models has caused mixed views online in China, from merriment and annoyance to reluctant acceptance. Male models are not the only workaround. Even outside of China, platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have faced criticism for restricting the sharing of images involving partial nudity, especially of women.

☆ China opposes U.S. adding Chinese firms to trade blacklist
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG, March 3 (Reuters) - China opposes the United States adding several Chinese firms to its trade blacklist, China's commerce ministry said on Friday. China urges the United States to stop using any excuse to suppress Chinese firms, the ministry said in a statement posted on its website. The U.S. Commerce Department, which oversees export controls, recently added two units of genetics company BGI (300676.SZ) to the export control list. Reporting by Meg Shen and Twinnie SiuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Such efforts to attract foreign investment come as the pandemic and geopolitical tensions push companies to diversify their supply chains away from China. The Commerce Ministry said Thursday that for the first time, it would launch events for an "Invest in China Year." Apple later said the Zhengzhou factory disruptions would delay deliveries of some iPhone 14 models. He also noted "serious challenges" to attracting foreign investment. Those include unfair competition with local players in China due to industrial policies, lack of legal protection for foreign business in China and geopolitical risks, Wang said.

Analysts expect China's oil imports to hit a record high in 2023 to meet increased demand for transportation fuel and as new refineries come on stream. China and India have become major buyers of Russian crude amid Western sanctions on Russian oil and more recently, embargoes and price caps because of the Ukraine war. In India, the world's third-biggest oil importer, crude imports rose to a six-month high in January, government data showed. Russia plans to cut oil production by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd), equating to about 5% of its output, in March after the West imposed price caps on Russian oil and oil products. Prices will move higher "as the market pivots back to deficit with underinvestment, shale constraints and OPEC discipline ensuring supply does not meet demand", they wrote.

Both crude benchmarks settled $2 down on Friday for a decline of about 4% over the week after the United States reported higher crude and gasoline inventories. Analysts expect China's oil imports to hit a record high in 2023 to meet increased demand for transportation fuel and as new refineries come on stream. China and India have become major buyers of Russian crude amid Western sanctions on Russian oil and more recently, embargoes and price caps because of the Ukraine war. Russia plans to cut oil production by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd), equating to about 5% of its output, in March after the West imposed price caps on Russian oil and oil products. Prices will move higher "as the market pivots back to deficit with underinvestment, shale constraints and OPEC discipline ensuring supply does not meet demand", they wrote.

☆ China Sanctions Lockheed Martin and Raytheon as Tensions Over Balloon Increase
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Dave Sebastian | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Lockheed Martin is prohibited from export and import activities related to China under the country’s latest sanctions. HONG KONG–China has imposed fresh sanctions on the U.S.’s two largest defense contractors, a largely symbolic gesture that nevertheless signaled escalating tensions between the world’s two largest economies following the shooting down of a Chinese balloon by an Air Force fighter jet. On Thursday, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said it blacklisted Lockheed Martin Corp. and an arm of Raytheon Technologies Corp. over the companies’ arms sales to Taiwan. Putting the companies on its “unreliable entities list” prohibits them from export and import activities related to China.

☆ China imposes sanctions on Lockheed Martin, Raytheon over Taiwan arms sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The logo of Lockheed Martin is seen at Euronaval, the world naval defence exhibition in Le Bourget near Paris, France, October 23, 2018. REUTERS/Benoit TessierBEIJING, Feb 16 (Reuters) - China's commerce ministry on Thursday said it put Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) and Raytheon Technologies Corp (RTX.N) onto an "unreliable entities list" over arms sales to Taiwan, its latest sanctions against the two U.S. defense contractors. The regulations prohibit Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Missile and Defense Corporation, a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies, from "engaging in import and export activities related to China", according to the commerce ministry statement. China previously sanctioned the two firms in Feburary last year over a $100-million arms sale to Taiwan, a self-ruled island which Beijing views as a breakaway province. China's foreign ministry at the time said the sale "undermined China's security interests, seriously undermined China-U.S. relations and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait".

☆ Morning Bid: Growth trumps rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

While there were some questions about seasonal adjustments in the data, economists were impressed that sales growth was pretty broad based and have scrambled to re-crunch first quarter U.S. output forecasts as a result. There may be a more mixed picture from Thursday's data slate on producer prices, housing starts and weekly jobless claims. Even though rates futures and Treasury yields ticked back a bit today, pricing now has Fed policy rates moving as high as 5.25% and staying above 5% all year. And while full-year earnings growth estimates for S&P500 companies have sunk to zero, consensus forecasts are now pencilling in a rebound of almost 12% next year. Uncertainty about the pace of growth and annual tax receipts in April makes it difficult for government officials to predict the exact "X-date", it said.

Lockheed (LMT) Martin Corporation and Raytheon (RTN) Missiles & Defense, a subsidiary of Raytheon (RTN) Technologies Corp, will be added to China’s sanctions list, its Ministry of Commerce said in a Thursday statement. That move came after American forces downed what it called a Chinese surveillance balloon that entered its airspace late last month. Thursday’s Chinese commerce ministry statement made no mention of the downed balloon, nor the US sanctions on Chinese entities. Instead, it cited “national sovereignty” as the catalyst for the penalties while highlighting both companies’ sales of arms to Taiwan. China maintains that the balloon found over the United States was a civilian research aircraft accidentally blown off course.

☆ China slams U.S. for blacklisting six Chinese entities
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, U.S. February 4, 2023. REUTERS/Randall Hill/File PhotoBEIJING, Feb 14 (Reuters) - China resolutely opposes Washington adding six Chinese entities to its trade blacklist after a Chinese balloon was detected over the United States last week and shot down, China's commerce ministry said on Tuesday. "China hopes the U.S. will stop unreasonable suppression of Chinese enterprises, and will take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises," the ministry said. The Biden administration last Friday blacklisted six Chinese entities connected to Beijing's suspected surveillance balloon program. read moreThe entities include the government-owned China Electronics Technology Group Corporation 48th Research Institute, as well as Beijing Nanjiang Aerospace Technology, a unit of Shanghai-listed developer Deluxe Family (600503.SS).

China's launch of a spy balloon on a high-altitude journey over the United States was unacceptable and irresponsible, he said, but he was postponing - not canceling - his visit. Biden has said the balloon needed to be shot down, but has played down both the security threat and the impact on U.S.-China relations. GIVE TALKS A CHANCEShort of a high-level visit, there are opportunities for diplomacy. "The Chinese don't want to look weak and they probably don't want to admit that they lied (about the balloon). President Biden is also under pressure from Republicans in Congress who insist the balloon should have been shot down sooner," said Glaser.

A cut in the import duty by the world's second-biggest consumer could lift retail sales by making gold cheaper ahead of peak demand season and support global prices . The effective duty is now 18.45%, which includes the 12.5% import duty, 2.5% agriculture infrastructure development cess and other taxes. The finance ministry declined to comment while the trade ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "Smuggling is going up," said the commerce ministry official, adding that the duty could be cut in an upcoming budget. Indian gold prices jumped to a record 56,850 rupees per 10 grams last week.

☆ World must abandon Cold War mentality, China's vice premier tells Davos
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

In a special address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Liu repeatedly called on countries to improve diplomatic ties, "to "firmly safeguard world peace." China's Vice Premier Liu He said Tuesday that the world needs to abandon its Cold War mentality and seek to strengthen international cooperation. In a special address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Liu repeatedly called on countries to improve diplomatic ties, "to "firmly safeguard world peace." Earlier on Tuesday, China's commerce ministry said the country's vice premier would soon meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in Switzerland. Late last year, U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping signaled a desire to improve bilateral ties.

☆ China sets fuel oil import quota for non state-owned firms in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, Jan 13 (Reuters) - China has set the import quota for fuel oil at 16.2 million tonnes for non state-owned firms in 2023, the commerce ministry said on Friday. About 165 firms are allowed to import the fuel oil, the ministry said. The volume is the same as 2022. Reporting by Hong Kong newsroom Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China's exports, imports shrink again in Dec on weakening global demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SummarySummary Companies China's Dec exports worst since Feb 2020, slightly better than forecastImports tumble by smaller margin amid lacklustre demandDomestic demand should slowly recover after zero-COVID scrappedExport outlook gloomy in 2023, major threat to China's growthBEIJING, Jan 13 (Reuters) - China's exports shrank sharply in December as global demand cooled, missing their typical year-end bounce, while imports tumbled again as surging COVID-19 infections and a property downturn weighed heavily on domestic demand. WEAK GLOBAL DEMAND COULD TEMPER ECONOMIC RECOVERYChina's commerce ministry said on Thursday that slowing external demand and the rising risks of a global recession are posing the biggest pressures to the country's trade stabilisation, leaving "arduous tasks." REBOUNDAnalysts polled by Reuters expect China's economic growth to rebound to 4.9% in 2023, before steadying in 2024, a Reuters poll showed. Jin Chaofeng, whose company in the east coast city of Hangzhou exports outdoor rattan furniture, said he has no market expansion or hiring plans for 2023 as he remains cautious about the global demand outlook. "With the lifting of COVID curbs, domestic demand is expected to improve but not for exports...," he said.

☆ China consumer inflation accelerates in Dec; PPI falls with soft demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Lam YikBEIJING, Jan 12 (Reuters) - China's annual consumer inflation rate accelerated in December, driven by rising food prices even as domestic demand wavered amid restrained economic activity during the month. The consumer price index (CPI) was 1.8% higher than a year earlier, rising faster than the 1.6% annual gain seen in November, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Thursday. The producer price index (PPI) showed an annual drop for a third straight month. In December it was down 0.7% from a year earlier, falling less than an annual contraction of 1.3% seen in November. read moreReporting by Liangping Gao, Joe Cash and Liz Lee; Editing by Bradley PerrettOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Dec 16 (Reuters) - India's rupee trade settlement mechanism, a means of using rupees instead of dollars and other big currencies for international transactions, is attracting interest from more countries. The four countries have shown interest in opening special rupee accounts, called vostro accounts, but partner banks in India have not yet provided those facilities, documents showed. Mauritius and Sri Lanka have also shown interest, and have seen their special vostro accounts approved by the RBI, documents showed. Details of potential rupee-dirham trade mechanism are being firmed up by the central banks of India and UAE, a second government official said, requesting anonymity. Talks with Saudi Arabia on a rupee-riyal trade mechanism also continue, the government official added.

☆ Factbox: Chinese companies added to U.S. entity list
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Thursday added Chinese memory chipmaker YMTC and 21 "major" Chinese players in the artificial intelligence chip sector to a trade blacklist, broadening its crackdown on China's chip industry. YMTC was added to the list over fears it could divert American technology to previously blacklisted Chinese tech giants Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [RIC:RIC:HWT.UL] and Hikvision (002415.SZ). Here is a brief overview of some of the key actions taken as part of the package:FRESH ENTITY LISTINGSThe Biden administration added 35 Chinese companies and one Japan-based subsidiary of a Chinese company (YMTC) to the entity list, barring their suppliers from selling them U.S. technology without a hard-to-obtain permit. REMOVALS FROM THE UNVERIFIED LISTThe Biden administration removed 27 Chinese entities from the unverified list. Companies are added to the unverified list if the United States cannot complete on-site visits to determine whether they can be trusted to receive sensitive U.S. technology exports, inspections which in China require approval from the commerce ministry.

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