Chinese troops fired in air, we exercised great restraint: Indian Army

 Chinese soldiers fired in the air while attempting to close in on Indian positions across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh on Monday night, the Indian Army said today adding that Chinese PLA troops has been "blatantly violating agreements and carrying out aggressive manoeuvres."

The firing is apparently taking place on the LAC after a halt of almost four decades.In a detailed statement the Army said on Tuesday that the Chinese troops yesterday were "attempting to close-in with one of our forward positions along the LAC and when dissuaded by own troops, PLA troops fired a few rounds in the air in an attempt to intimidate."

"It is the PLA that has been blatantly violating agreements and carrying out aggressive maneuvers, while engagement at military, diplomatic and political level is in progress," the Indian Army said.

The Army's statement came after China claimed that Indian troops "illegally crossed" the LAC near Pangong Tso on Monday and accordingly Chinese troops were forced to take "countermeasures" to stabilise the situation.

ALSO READ: Ladakh faceoff LIVE: PLA blatantly violating agreements, says Indian Army

It added that despite this provocation, the Indian troops exercised great restraint and behaved in a responsible manner.

"Indian Army is committed to maintaining peace and tranquility, however, it is also determined to protect national integrity and sovereignty at all costs," it further said and refuted the statement by the Western Theatre Command (one of the five commands of China's PLA) as an "attempt to mislead their domestic and international audience."

Earlier, sources told ANI that an incident of firing had taken place on the LAC in the Eastern Ladakh sector where troops of India and China have been engaged in a stand-off for over three months.

India recently outflanked China by taking control of strategic height near Pangong lake's southern bank. It thwarted an attempt by the Chinese army to transgress into Indian areas near the southern bank of Pangong Tso near Chushul in Ladakh.

India and China have been engaged in a standoff since April-May over the transgressions by the Chinese Army in multiple areas including the Finger area, Galwan Valley, Hot springs, and Kongrung Nala. The situation worsened after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in violent clashes with Chinese troops in Galwan valley in June.

Chinese mainland reports 49 new Covid-19 cases, 39 domestically transmitted

China's health authority said on Monday that it received reports of 49 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Chinese mainland on Sunday, of which 39 were domestically transmitted and 10 were imported.
Of the domestically transmitted cases, 36 were reported in Beijing and three in Hebei Province, the National Health Commission said in its daily report, Xinhua reported.

On Sunday, one person was discharged from hospital after recovery. No deaths related to the disease were reported, according to the commission.
As of Sunday, the overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 83,181, including 177 patients who were still being treated, with two in severe condition.
ALSO READ: Coronavirus LIVE: India sees rapid rise in Covid-19 cases, tally at 333,008
Altogether 78,370 people had been discharged after recovery and 4,634 people had died of the disease, the commission said.
By Sunday, the Chinese mainland had reported a total of 1,837 imported cases. Of the cases, 1,745 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, and 92 remained hospitalized. No deaths from the imported cases had been reported.
The commission said one new suspected case was reported Sunday and there were currently three suspected cases.
According to the commission, 3,852 close contacts were still under medical observation after 392 people were discharged from medical observation Sunday.
A police officer sprays disinfectant on a traveller outside Hankou Railway Station after the travel ban was lifted. Photo: ReutersA police officer sprays disinfectant on a traveller outside Hankou Railway Station after the travel ban was lifted. Photo: Reuters
Also on Sunday, 18 new asymptomatic cases, including 11 from abroad, were reported on the mainland. No asymptomatic case was re-categorized as a confirmed case. A total of nine asymptomatic cases, including two imported ones, were discharged from medical observation, according to the commission.
The commission said 112 asymptomatic cases, including 62 from abroad, were still under medical observation.
By Sunday, 1,109 confirmed cases including four deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 45 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 443 in Taiwan including seven deaths.
A total of 1,067 patients in the Hong Kong SAR, 45 in the Macao SAR, and 431 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospitals after recovery.
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First Published: Mon, June 15 2020. 08:34 IST
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Coronavirus outbreak: Tencent employees asked to work from home till Feb 21

Chinesegaming giant Tencent Holdings Ltd has asked its employees to continue working from home until Feb.21, extending the period from Feb.14 announced previously, to protect employees from the spread of the coronavirus, the company said on its official WeChat account on Sunday.
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(Reporting by Dominique Patton and Winni Zhou; Editing by Richard Chang)

Coronavirus: Over 800 dead in China, toll surpasses SARS epidemic

The number of new coronavirus deaths on the Chinesemainland hit 811 by end of Feb. 8, the National Health Commission said on Sunday morning, surpassing that of the SARS epidemic in 2002/2003.
The new deaths on Saturday reached another daily record at 89, the data showed, pushing the total well over the 774 who died from SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.

Of the coronavirus deaths, 81 were in China's central Hubei province, where the virus has infected most people. New deaths in Hubei's capital Wuhan, where the outbreak started, saw a rare decline.
New infection cases on Saturday recorded the first drop since Feb. 1, falling back below 3,000 to 2,656 cases. Of those, 2,147 cases were in Hubei province.
Joseph Eisenberg, professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan, said it was too early to say whether the epidemic was peaking due to the uncertainty in the number of cases.
"Even if reported cases might be peaking, we don't know what is happening with unreported cases," he said. "This is especially an issue in some of the more rural areas." The total of confirmed coronavirus cases in China stood at 37,198 cases, showed the commission data.

Trade deal: A temporary respite for Xi as Trump looks at impeachment

For ChinesePresident Xi Jinping, the phase-one trade deal with U.S. President Donald Trump isn’t exactly a reason to pop open the champagne.
After months of arduous negotiations, false starts and dashed hopes, the agreement announced on Friday night helps steady a relationship in free-fall. While that’s important for Xi, who has faced rumblings of discontent as the economy grows at the slowest pace in almost three decades and protests in Hong Kong rage with no end in sight, it’s at best a temporary respite.

The deal did nothing to address the swathe of industrial policies that have driven frustrations with China in Washington. Nor will it reduce the intensifying competition between the two sides over the future of 5G technology, geopolitical hot spots like Taiwan and the South China Sea, or Beijing’s hard-line policies in China’s far western region of Xinjiang -- all areas that Xi’s critics say could’ve been handled better.
“The party secretary has always been the prime custodian of the U.S. relationship, so its rapid implosion reflects poorly on Xi,” said Richard McGregor, a senior fellow at the Sydney-based Lowy Institute who wrote “The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers.” “All he has been able to do is to fight the other side to a messy draw which hasn’t resolved any of the underlying rivalries. The two sides will inevitably clash again.”
For the moment, Xi can point to some positives. While the phase-one deal only reduced instead of rolled back tariffs as Beijing demanded, the suspension of future increases helps bring some certainty for investors who have seen Chinese exports to the U.S. fell in 10 of the 11 months this year. Several key economic data points for November came in stronger than expected, helping to boost stocks on Monday.
Charles Liu, a former economic negotiator with the Chinese delegation at the United Nations and founder of Hao Capital, said the deal will help put a lid on the trade-war inspired nationalism that would make compromise more difficult and hinder China’s long-term development plans. It would also help Xi rebut criticism about his more assertive foreign policy.
“The deal means that he can clearly show to the population that he’s attempting to form a more collaborative relationship with the United States,” Liu said. “There has been some domestic criticism for China coming out on the global front too aggressively too early. This helps to reduce that pressure.“
But China is well aware that major hurdles remain, a sentiment reflected in coverage of the deal by state-run media outlets that played down the deal while noting that it might stabilize the economy. Hu Xijin, editor of the Global Times newspaper, noted that China “felt the strength of the U.S.” throughout the trade war and called on both countries to respect each other to avoid “a cruel strategic clash.”
The most likely immediate flash point is the future of 5G and the fate of Huawei Technologies Co., China’s flagship tech company. The Trump administration has already hit it with sanctions and sought to prosecute its chief financial officer. Now both the U.S. and China are racing to convince nations across the world to follow their lead, sometimes using threats: On Saturday, China’s ambassador to Germany threatened retaliation if Huawei was excluded as a provider of 5G wireless equipment.
On the ground, Chinese officials are preparing for the tech war to continue indefinitely.
“There is this impetus to decouple down to a very detailed level,” said Paul Triolo, head of global technology policy at Eurasia Group, who said China has sent officials to companies to understand their level of dependence on U.S. technology. “There seems to be resignation that the U.S. is not going to let up.”
There’s also no sign of geopolitical tensions easing, with officials from both nations increasingly noting that the conflict amounts to a clash of systems. At a briefing in Bangkok on Friday, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral John Aquilino said the U.S. and China “have inherent disagreements between ideologies.”
Even if Trump wins re-election and moves to repair the relationship with Xi -- a big question mark -- the U.S. Congress has become increasingly hostile to Beijing. U.S. lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to pressure China over Hong Kong, and they are pushing for measures to address China’s detention of an estimated one million ethnic Muslim Uighurs in “re-education” camps.
China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, voiced some of the country’s frustrations in a speech on Friday in which he accused the U.S. of “slandering China’s social system, development path and cooperation with other countries.” After the last round of talks broke down in May, Xi renewed calls for China to pursue “self-reliance” in key technologies and even called on citizens to join a “new Long March.”
These tensions are likely to resurface at a political level as soon as the two sides begin talking about a phase-two trade deal. While China is likely to insist that Trump drop all punitive tariffs, the U.S. is likely to ask for structural changes to China’s economy that wouldn’t be palatable to the nation’s hawks, according to He Weiwen, who previously served as a commercial attache at the Chinese consulates in New York and San Francisco.
“For China, this is a matter of sovereignty,” He said. “A phase two deal will be more difficult.”

Trade deal around the corner? China says tech consultations with US sealed

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He had a phone call with US trade officials as both countries confirmed technical consultations on some parts of a trade agreement were basically completed, China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Saturday.
Liu spoke with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Friday night, the statement said.

The Commerce Ministry said both sides agreed to properly address each other's core concerns.
Both sides confirmed the United States will import Chinese-made cooked poultry and catfish products, while China will lift a ban on US poultry, according to the statement. The two countries also agreed on the application of public health information systems for meat products, according to the statement.
The Commerce Ministry said top negotiators from both nations will hold a phone call again soon, and will continue to have negotiations.
Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan, China's central bank Governor Yi Gang, and the National Development and Reform Commission's deputy head Ning Jizhe also joined the phone call, according to the statement.

India looks for wider Chinese market access to arrest falling farm exports

India is looking for greater access to the Chinese market as it seeks to arrest the fall in farm commodity exports.
After hitting a record of $43.2 billion in 2013-14, India's exports of agricultural produce began declining gradually due to lack of innovation and competitiveness and the sustained increase in minimum support prices (MSP). Consistently falling prices, changing preferences and domestic policies have also contributed to fall in major items such as buffalo meat, guar gum and oil meal. The silver lining is in seafood, which has had very good growth the past few years.

Both countries have discussed the issue of expanding bilateral trade at the informal meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu.
The decline in exports, which began after FY14, has continued this fiscal. Between April and August 2019 alone, products registered with the government owned Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) reported a decline of 16 per cent in dollar terms and a staggering 22 per cent drop in cereal exports. Apeda oversees half of India's overall farm exports. The total drop in exports does not seem that sharp due to sea food exports.
With Chinese president Xi Jinping's two-day visit, exporters are looking for a big boost to India's farm commodities, especially those impacted by the ongoing US-China trade war.
While China has already allowed its market access to many of India's farm commodities including rice and sugar, the country is looking at including many other products, especially marine and other items. India's Dhampur Sugar has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chinese importers for shipment of 50,000 tonnes of sugar. Exports of certian products such as buffalo meat are routed through Vietnam, despite their having received formal approval for direct entry into China.
While China has already started importing limited quantities of rice from India, there is further potential of around $500 million worth of rice trade, according to experts. India's marine exports have had impressive growth, though, surging to $485 million in the first half of the current financial year from around $141 million in 2017-18.
"Now, we are talking about $1 billion worth of marine exports to China only. There is a huge demand for India's agricultural produce in China, but market access has been an issue which China should resolve. In the recent past, China has shown some interest to expand market access to India, which has been encouraging," said Ajay Sahai, Director General, Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO).
Oil meal exporters have been the major losers the past few years, with importers cutting expenses on animal and bird feed. Cotton prices fell due to prolonged bearish phase in which China reduced cotton buying, while buffalo meat started losing ground after India's tough stand on abattoirs. The crude oil fall after FY15 has drastically cut guar gum demand.
"India's exports of agricultural commodities are declining for quite some time. Issues like access output, buffer stock and price decline are also impacting the country's farm produce. With land being limited and productivity going down, prices of agricultural commodities will only rise in the long run. Interestingly, India's agricultural exports have a lot to do with the purchasing power of consumers in importing countries. With most global economies facing problems, India's overall agricultural exports may suffer some short-term impact. But we are very bullish about the long term," said Sahai.
Meanwhile, independent experts have raised a red flag on India's competitiveness in the global agricultural produce market.
"Indian commodities would be able to find space in the international market only if they are quality- and price-competitive. By increasing minimum support price (MSP) without considering the ground reality of the international market, Indian produce has become outpriced. Hence, its exports of agricultural commodities have been declining steadily," said Vijay Sardana, an agricultural economist.
Another reason for the decline is lack of innovation. Since consumers in importing countries get substitute supplies from other countries at much better prices, they prefer to import from other regions, said Sardana.
Between the crop years 2013-14 and 2019-20, the government raised MSP of all farm commodities by 50-60 per cent.
Data compiled by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations have reported a sustained decline in the prices of global agricultural commodities due to bumper production.

Trade war: US consumers to pay $12.2 bn more for apparel, footwear and toys

If the United States does impose tariffs on another $300 billion worth of Chinese goods, it would cost U.S. consumers $12.2 billion more for apparel, footwear, toys and household appliances each year, the National Retail Federation (NRF) said on Friday.
The tariffs would result in consumers paying another $4.4 billion on apparel, $2.5 billion on footwear, $3.7 billion for toys and $1.6 billion for household appliances, the retail trade group said, based on a study it had commissioned.

"It would be impossible for all market participants in our industry to simultaneously move sourcing to other countries. The capacity does not exist," David French, NRF's senior vice president of government relations, said in a statement. "In the short term, retailers would be forced to continue to use Chinese suppliers and pass on higher costs to their customers." Many retailers including J.C. Penney Co and Macy's Inc have opposed more tariffs on Chinese goods and warned of higher prices for domestic consumers.
Separately, on Friday, the United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA), which represents brands, retailers, importers and wholesalers based in the United States, estimated that additional tariffs on clothing and home textiles would cost American consumers $4.9 billion per year.
"We can conservatively estimate an increase in retail prices for products still made in China...That means a family of four would pay an additional $60 per year just on clothing," USFIA said.
"The fact remains that for many (fashion brands and retailers), China remains the No. 1 supplier in the world, with no realistic options for other sourcing destinations that could replace China," it added
President Donald Trump has threatened to extend tariffs on another $300 billion worth of goods imported from China. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are to meet on the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting in Japan at the end of next week to discuss the trade issues.

Hits and misses: Highlights of Xi Jinping's second Belt and Road Forum

Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted some 5,000 delegates from across the globe at the Belt and Road forum in Beijing last week to discuss his signature infrastructure project, which began in 2013 to rebuild ancient trading routes across Eurasia. This year’s gathering eschewed the pageantry of the inaugural summit in 2017, as Beijing tried to address international criticism by toning down its rhetoric and tightening oversight.
Here are three takeaways from the summit, and how Xi fared in the international spotlight.

A Chastened Xi
Compared with his keynote speech two years ago, Xi was more muted on the Belt and Road initiative’s growing presence in other countries. The president stuck to discussing steps China is taking to clean up the project, and vowed “zero tolerance” on corruption.
People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang said the central bank would “build an open, market-oriented financing and investment system,” and the government released its analysis framework for debt sustainability.
Xi didn’t announce new numbers on upcoming investment into the program, though he said $64 billion worth of deals were signed at last week’s forum. In 2017, he said China would add 100 billion yuan ($14.8 billion) to the Silk Road Fund and two state-owned banks would provide special loans for BRI projects worth 380 billion yuan in total.
This year’s joint statement -- released after Xi chaired a round table with participating leaders -- repeatedly called for “high-quality” projects and standards. The 2017 communique didn’t use the phrase. The document also encouraged developed nations to invest in “connectivity projects” in developing countries, and said cooperation “will be open, green and clean.”
“International lenders will not invest in a project that has not been de-risked or is not financially viable,” said Daniel Russel, vice president for international security and diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute. “China’s challenge now is to demonstrate that the forum’s lofty rhetoric about ‘Green BRI’ and ‘Clean BRI’ has been translated into action throughout the Belt and Road.”
Rehabilitation Signals
China’s efforts to rehabilitate the Belt and Road’s image did have some success, drawing eight more heads of state to this year’s conference.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, previously one of the biggest critics of the initiative in Southeast Asia, said his country is fully supportive and and stands to benefit from its BRI project. Earlier this month, Malaysia struck a deal with China to resume the East Coast Rail Link project for 44 billion ringgit ($10.7 billion) -- down from 65.5 billion ringgit -- after deciding to terminate it in January.
In March, Italy became the first Group of 7 country to sign up for the BRI, a big win for Beijing that also raised alarm bells in the region. At last week’s forum, developed countries including Austria, Switzerland and Singapore signed up for so-called third-party market cooperation. Japan, France, Canada, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Australia have already signed the document, agreeing to help build infrastructure in developing countries.
ALSO READ: Why India is against Belt & Road forum, China's biggest diplomatic event
“The attendance of some EU countries leaders show the projects are attractive to some developed countries which also have their own domestic economic issues,” said Suisheng Zhao, executive director of the Center for China-US Cooperation at the University of Denver’s Graduate School of International Studies. “Since the trade war with the US broke out, China has reexamined its leverage in its relations with major countries and readjusted some accordingly.”
Trade Message
While Xi made no mention of the ongoing trade war with the US in his speech on Friday, a large part of it alluded to the major issues in negotiations -- such as cleaning up state subsidies, reducing non-tariff barriers, boosting imports and protecting intellectual property.
China won’t engage in currency devaluation that “harms others,” Xi said in the speech. The phrase mirrors language he’s used to describe China’s diplomatic policies. Bloomberg News reported earlier that the US was asking China to keep the value of the yuan stable to neutralize any effort to soften the blow of US tariffs.
While he reiterated Chinese talking points about opening up, Xi specifically highlighted the significance of implementation, another sticking point in the China-US trade talks. “We will establish a binding enforcement system for international agreements,” Xi told the forum. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said the two sides have “pretty much agreed on” a mechanism for sticking to the trade deal.
“It’s clear that Xi sought to use this year’s Belt and Road Forum as a platform to pursue multiple objectives: to rebrand the Belt and Road and also to telegraph to the United States that he is prepared -- rhetorically, at least -- to address American concerns that have led to the current trade confrontation,” said Daniel Kliman, senior fellow in the Asia-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security.

Belt & Road Initiative not an exclusive club, must benefit all: Xi Jinping

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday said that the Belt and Road Initiative should benefit all around the world and deliver common development by following the established international norms.
Addressing a roundtable meeting of the 37 heads of states and governments who attended the 2nd Belt and Road Forum (BRF), which would close on Saturday, Xi again stressed that the trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) would focus on common development of all the participating countries and their people.

"We must implement the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits to see that all voices are heard, all reached their full potential and all stand to benefit," the Chinese President said.
The BRI must be open, clean and green and follow high standards, people centred sustainable approach, he said, adding that it should be aligned to the United Nations' sustainable development agenda.
"Align our cooperation with universally accepted rules, standards and best practices and pursue social and economic progress and environmental protection in a balanced way. The BRI should be beneficial to all and deliver common development," Xi said.
Those attended the BRF meeting included Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and heads of several Asian, African and Latin American countries besides heads of the UN and the IMF. India and the US skipped the meeting.
India, which boycotted the first BRF meeting held in 2017 over its objections to the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), skipped its second edition for the same reasons.
India has also been airing its concerns over the BRI financing, saying that connectivity initiatives must follow principles of financial responsibility to avoid projects that would create unsustainable debt burden for communities.
This time the US has emerged as a fierce critic of the BRI, saying that its predatory financing is leaving the smaller countries in heavy debt.
The concerns grew louder after China acquired Sri Lanka's Hambantota port for a 99-year lease as a debt swap.
The heavy Chinese financing of the $60 billion CPEC also raised concerns over Pakistan's ability to pay back.
China has clarified that less than 20 per cent of the CPEC projects are based on loans provided by it and rest of the 80 per cent ventures are either directly invested by Beijing or, used Chinese grants.
The BRI was launched by President Xi when he came to power in 2013. It aims to link southeast Asia, central Asia, the Gulf region, Africa and Europe with a network of land and sea routes.
China is doling out huge sums of money for infrastructure projects in countries from Asia to Africa and Europe, enhancing its global influence.
In his speech at the opening ceremony of the 2nd BRF on Friday, Xi allayed fears that China is using the BRI as a geopolitical tool to attain superpower status.
He said the BRI is "not an exclusive club".
"Everything should be done in a transparent way and we should have zero tolerance for corruption," he said.
Xi said that China will not engage in beggar-thy-neighbour currency devaluation.
China will continue to improve the exchange rate formation mechanism of its currency and keep the exchange rate generally stable on a reasonable and balanced level, he said.
Xi said the joint building of the Belt and Road has opened up new space for the world's economic growth and it has also created a new platform to boost international trade and investment, expanded new practices to optimise global economic governance, and made new contributions to improving people's well-being in all countries.
Besides Putin and Khan, Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari, Myanmar state councillor Aung San Suu Kyi are among the top leaders taking part in the event. France, Germany, the UK, Spain, Japan, South Korea and the EU sent high-level representatives.
China said representatives from 150 countries and international organisations are taking part in it.
Commenting on the BRF meeting, Li Xiangyang - director of China's National Institute of International Strategy - said that "the BRI has helped China expand its global friendship network which shows that China is playing an increasingly pivotal role in promoting regional development and safeguarding multilateralism".
The initiative, which focuses on utilising market and economic resources to explore new diplomatic relations with other countries, also drives the country's transition to economic diplomacy, Li told Global Times on Saturday.

Pop! Goes the China tech bubble after key funding sources dry up

Last year, the wave of mainland money piling into Chinese technology companies pushed valuations into bubble territory. That made life difficult for foreign private equity firms that have to make new investments to survive — but there’s a glimmer of light at the end of this investing tunnel. Fundraising from rich Chinese entrepreneurs and shadow banks is drying up, so there could be less cash competing for returns in future.
More than a third of private equity money newly invested in the Asia-Pacific region last year was in China tech and internet plays, according to Bain & Co. With so much money chasing a limited number of targets, valuations inevitably climbed: The median enterprise value for Chinese internet and tech takeovers was 31 times Ebitda, twice as high as for other industries in greater China and 2.4 times greater than the median multiple for Asia-Pacific deals in 2016-2018, said Bain.

Even private equity firms that invested earlier in a Chinese tech firm’s fundraising process haven’t been doing as well as they once were. In 2014-2015, investors in greater China internet and technology firms exited with about 4.7 times the amount they put in, according to Johanne Dessard, a director at Bain. By 2016-2018, that had fallen to less than two times.
As we’ve seen in the share price performance of tech businesses such as smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp. and food delivery app Meituan Dianping, getting an initial public offering away doesn’t necessarily stop the rot:
Not So Hot
Of the 10 biggest Chinese new economy firms to list in the last 12 months, five are trading under water
A hefty 62 percent of private equity-owned Chinese internet and software companies that went public in 2017 and 2018 lost more than 30 percent of their market value in the first 12 months after listing. That compares to an average increase of 105 percent for companies that listed in 2015 and 2016.
The honeymoon was bound to end, because the mountain of Chinese cash seeking returns has been shrinking. Yuan-denominated fundraising fell for the first time in eight years in 2018. Money from peer-to-peer lenders dried up amid Beijing’s crackdown on the sector, while China’s decision to put brakes on domestic IPOs to support the stock market blocked the exit door for potential investors.
Where Did the Money Go?
For the first time in eight years, dollar fundraising by private equity firms investing in China outweighed yuan funds
It’s been a striking reversal. After foreign and onshore firms were allowed to raise yuan-denominated private equity funds in late 2006, the segment raced to overtake the dollar market in Asia. With rich Chinese entrepreneurs and peer-to-peer lenders piling in, by 2009 yuan funds raised $9.1 billion, compared to $3 billion for dollar funds, according to the Centre for Asia Private Equity Research.
That trend persisted until last year, when the government’s crackdown on the asset management sector plus a tanking stock market caused mainland investors to retreat. In 2018, $34.5 billion was raised for dollar funds while $10.9 billion was raised in yuan, with fundraising dominated by Hong Kong-based megafunds Hillhouse Capital Management Ltd. and PAG. Hillhouse raised $10.6 billion and PAG $6 billion in their most recent rounds.
The other major source of onshore money is also drying up. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. are still cash-rich, but they’re getting pickier about investing after high-profile failures like bike-sharing firm Ofo, posing a further challenge for startups already struggling with funding.
The slowdown in mainland fundraising doesn’t mean the end for Chinese tech firms. There’s still a lot of dry powder: Committed but unspent capital hit a record $317 billion in the Asia-Pacific at the end of last year, enough to fund three years of investing at the current pace. And the Shanghai stock exchange is looking to set up a Nasdaq-style tech board, which may buoy valuations.
That could be enough to allow foreign private equity firms to get a reprieve this year and pick some targets. After years competing with Chinese money for mainland targets, and losing, offshore investors may finally have the upper hand again.

Xi orders Chinese Army to focus on combat ability and to be battle-ready

Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered the army to enhance its combat readiness to make sure it is always ready for a battle, saying risks and challenges are on the rise as the world is facing a period of major changes never seen in a century, state media reported Saturday.
The People's Liberation Army (PLA), the world's largest with two million troops, last year doubled the training period for new recruits from three to six months in a bid to improve their combat capabilities.

President Xi, who also heads the PLA besides the ruling Communist Party, told a meeting of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the overall high command of the Chinese military, that "the world is facing a period of major changes never seen in a century, and China is still in an important period of strategic opportunity for development".
Xi is the Chairman of the CMC. He is the only civilian in the high-power military body comprising top defence officials.
Preparedness is vital in the era of drastic changes, unpredictable risks, Xi said Friday, official media reported.
He ordered the armed forces to continue strengthening their combat preparedness and to make sure they are always ready for battle, state-run China Daily reported.
The entire armed forces should have a correct understanding of China's security and development trends, enhance their awareness of danger, crisis and war, and make solid efforts on combat preparations in order to accomplish the tasks assigned by the CPC and the people, Xi said.
Regarding combat capability as the only and fundamental criterion, Xi ordered all work, forces and resources to focus on military preparedness and ensure a marked progress in this regard, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Xi stressed the armed forces' ability to respond quickly and effectively to contingencies, asking them to upgrade commanding capability of joint operations, foster new combat forces, and improve military training under combat conditions.
Party and government departments and agencies at the central and local levels are required to support the defence and military development, he said.
Xi signed Friday an order to open the annual training session of the armed forces. The order demands that troops hone their combat capability and that military units organise events on a regular basis to verify soldiers' ability.
The armed forces must also strive to strengthen their readiness to respond to emergencies. Commanders must take the lead in studying the art of war and also must be the first to carry out training and exercises, according to the order.
Exercises must be conducted based on real combat scenarios and should involve the simulation of complicated situations and the deployment of multiple weapons and equipment from different services, it stipulates.
His call for battle preparedness came as acting US defence secretary Patrick Shanahan told the US forces that he sees China as a key priority.
"While we are focused on ongoing operations, Acting Secretary Shanahan told the team to remember China, China, China," reports from Washington quoted a US defence official as saying.
Besides launching the ongoing trade war to force Beijing to cut the USD 375 billion trade deficit, US President Donald Trump has been increasing pressure on China on a host of fronts including North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to relent and give up nuclear weapons programme.
China is engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in the South China Sea, and with Japan in the East China Sea. Both the areas are stated to be rich in minerals, oil and other natural resources. They are also vital to global trade.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over the area.
The US has been conducting regular patrols in the South China Sea to assert freedom of navigation in the area where Beijing has built up and militarised many of the islands and reefs it controls in the region.
The US has accused China of military and economic espionage and termed Xi's pet project Belt and Road Initiative to fund infrastructure projects as an attempt to coerce smaller countries with debt trap.
Chinese officials as well as trade bodies were deeply concerned over the continued trade war with the US as Washington has already imposed additional tariffs on over USD 250 dollars of Chinese exports. China too retaliated in equal measure.
Both sides agreed on a truce till March 1 as officials hold talks to narrow down the differences.
Since he took over power in 2012, Xi, who is now regarded as the President for life, has been pushing the PLA to enhance its combat capability with real time military drills.
With over USD 175 billion defence budget, the PLA is also focussed on massive modernisation, specially the expansion of the navy with two aircraft carriers to increase its reach far from the shores of China.

Ready to put tariffs on another $267 billion Chinese goods, says Trump

US President Donald Trump said he’s ready to impose tariffs on an additional $267 billion in Chinese goods on short notice, on top of a proposed $200 billion that his administration is putting the final touches on.
The implementation of tariffs on $200 billion of products from China “will take place very soon depending on what happens,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Friday. “I hate to do this, but behind that there is another $267 billion ready to go on short notice if I want.”

U.S. stocks erased gains after Trump’s remarks, with the S&P 500 Index falling by 0.3 percent to the lowest in two weeks by 12:37 p.m. in New York.
Trump latest tariffs threats, if he follows through, would more than cover the value of all goods the U.S. buys from China, according to U.S. government data from last year. The U.S. imported $505 billion of Chinese products in 2017, Census Bureau figures show.
The Trump administration has already slapped duties on $50 billion of Chinese exports since July, which spurred immediate in-kind retaliation from Beijing. China has said it would be forced to retaliate to all of the U.S.’s tariff measures, fanning concerns that a deepening trade war could dent the global economic outlook.
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Members of the public had until Thursday to comment on the administration’s plan to slap tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods, ranging from bicycles and baseball gloves to digital cameras, paving the way for Trump to announce the tariffs as early as Friday.
There’s no final decision on that round of tariffs as the U.S. Trade Representative’s office continues to “run their process,”
White House Deputy Press Secretary Lindsay Walters said on Friday.
Trade Talks
The president’s tough line contrasted with remarks earlier from White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow, who left open the possibility of a negotiated solution to the trade dispute, but said China must show it’s open to compromise.
While China’s response to U.S. demands has been unsatisfactory, Trump is still speaking to Chinese President Xi Jinping, and would be open to meeting in person, said Kudlow, director of the White House’s National Economic Council. An opportunity could take place when world leaders gather at the UN General Assembly in New York this month and the Group of 20 summit in Argentina in November, he said.
“It’s never too late to make good trade policy,” said Kudlow. "But I will say this: the world trading system is broken.” Trump is “dead serious” in his determination to push China to reform its trade policies, he added.
Trump is getting a last-minute earful from prominent technology companies and retailers as he considers whether to follow through with his plan to ratchet up tariffs on Chinese exports.
“It’s never too late to make good trade policy,” Kudlow said. "But I will say this: the world trading system is broken.” Trump is “dead serious” in his determination to push China to reform its trade policies, he added.
On Thursday, Cisco Systems Inc., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. and other technology companies sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer urging the administration to avoid imposing more tariffs. By increasing duties on telecommunications networking gear, the administration would raise the cost of accessing the Internet and slow the roll-out of next-generation wireless technologies, the companies said.
Manufacturers, and small and mid-sized firms in particular, can’t quickly adjust and the tariffs imposed so far haven’t led to any meaningful concessions, a coalition of the National Retail Federation and 150 organizations said in separate comments to Lighthizer. The administration should cease further tariffs actions and give another shot at talks for a trade deal with China, it said.
“Tit-for-tat tariffs are counterproductive and so far have only produced increased costs for American businesses, farmers, importers, exporters and consumers,’’ the coalition said.

How Chinese goods are choking Indian industry and economy: The hard numbers

“Chinese imports have thrown a spanner in the wheel of India’s economic progress per se, and the industrial sector in particular,” the parliamentary standing committee on commerce voiced in its report tabled last week.
Beginning with hard numbers that establishes its basic premise of huge and constantly growing Sino-Indian trade imbalance, the report dwells on the boiling debate on the market economy status to China, echoing a similar line of thought implicit in the US-initiated trade war.

Identifying the problem of costly capital in India vis-à-vis China, it suggests product specific strategies for improving the trade balance, underlining the accountability of pertinent institutions, including the Directorate General for Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties and the Risk Management Division of the Central Board of Indirect taxes and Customs.
The Committee found that Chinese manufacturers were re-routing their products through the markets of other countries that India has Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with. Straddling the South East Asia, underdeveloped members of ASEAN have served as hubs for Chinese exporters to circumvent anti-dumping and countervailing duties, it says.
It has recommended a relook at the Least Developed Countries (LDC) arrangements and joint verification/ certification mechanism with the partner countries.
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The report has also expressed skepticism about India's ongoing negotiations with these nation and China, among others for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.
It expressed hope that India might offer to reduce its tariffs by 74-86 per cent of all goods.
The unscrupulous imports from China are also on account of influx of under-invoiced Chinese goods, goods brought in through mis-declaration and outright smuggling, it says.
These illegalities have its share of adverse effect on domestic industry, the report declared. In April to December 2017-18, as many as 1,127 cases of smuggling have been registered by India, recovering more than Rs 5.4 billion worth of Chinese goods.
However, it also calls for measures such as encouraging people to buy Indian products, popularising ‘Swadeshi apnao’ (consume domestic goods) and generate positive public opinion about Indian goods, which, trade experts say, contribute little to revive domestic industry.
We look at the committee’s view from the perspective of data to understand the depth of the trade imbalance.
The big picture
16.6%: Chinese share in India’s imports grew from 11.6 per cent in 2013-14 to 16.6 per cent in 2017-18. This came as a result of Chinese imports growing at a staggering 20 per cent in 2017-18, compared to 9 per cent growth four years ago. India exports grew by 9.8 per cent in 2017-18.
$50 bn: In a decade to 2017-18, India’s exports to China rose by $2.5 billion. In the same period, China’s imports in India rose by $50 billion. India registered a trade deficit of $157 billion in 2017-18.
5%: Chinese government gives an effective rebate of 17 per cent to its exporter companies.
This, the committee says, results in Chinese goods being 5-6 per cent cheaper than their Indian counterparts, making it lucrative for Indian importers.
9%: On account of costlier energy, finance and logistics, Indian goods are costlier by about 9 per cent in the global market. Chinese industry gets loans at 6 per cent, compared to 11-14 per cent in India. Logistics costs are 1 per cent of the business in China, compared to 3 per cent in India.
294: Of the 803 licenses provided by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to foreign manufacturers selling in India under the Foreign Manufacturer Certification Scheme (FMCS), 294 licenses for 55 products have been granted to Chinese manufacturers.
A similar scheme has also provided 9,274 registrations for information technology and electronics products. Of this, 5857, 0r 64 per cent, registrations have been granted to Chinese manufacturers.
8%: Despite the fact that 75-80 per cent of Chinese steel products are covered under anti-dumping duty, their imports have increased 8 per cent in 2017-18.
Sectors that have been impacted
Industry Key number and how badly it hurts Recommendations
Pharmaceuticals 1,200%: In the life-saving drugs category, the dependence on Chinese imports is as much as 90 per cent. As much as 75% of the APIs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients) used in the formulations of essential drugs in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) are sourced from China.
China has increased the prices of bulk drugs 11-fold, or 1,200 per cent, during last two years. Revive India’s fermentation based API capability.
Solar 90%: Chinese solar imports form 90% of the India’s market share directly or indirectly through their offshore companies across South East Asia. Further, its dumping prices in India are lower than that of the price at which they sell in Japan, Europe or the US.
Under the Special Incentive Package Scheme, no domestic manufacturer has got any capital subsidy till now. Domestic industry must pursue innovation that will help in further reduction in price per unit.
Anti-dumping duty may be levied in a differential manner to facilitate level pegging for domestic industry.
Textile 35%: Cheap Chineseimports have resulted in 35 per cent closure of power looms in Surat and Bhiwandi, the report notes.
It fires a salvo at the GST structure, stating that taxing synthetic fibres at 18 per cent, yarns at 12 per cent and fabrics at 5 per cent has caused unintended benefit to China resulting in increased imports of fabric from there. Need to look at the LDC arrangements wherein imports from LDCs are fully exempt.
Increase the customs duty on garment imports.
Modernize the power loom and handloom sector for mass production with quality.
Toys 85%: About 85-90 per cent of toy market space is commanded by Chinese products, the report says. It has affected 50 per cent of the domestic toy industry.
Low-priced Chinese toys are either mass-produced or are rejects from other countries and are diverted to Indian sub-continent/ Africa. Further, Chinese toys are toxic in high proportion, it says. Issue quality control order (QCO) for toys and ensure toxic and cheap quality Chinese toys do not enter the country.
Import of finished toy products from China be banned
Bicycles 58%: Bicycle imports from China saw a rise of 58 per cent in volume and 47 per cent in value in April to October 2017 over the previous year.
Further, under-invoiced bicycles constitute 85% per cent of the total bicycle imports from China in 2017-18.
Apart from affecting bicycle manufacturers, it is gradually killing the unorganized industry of small bicycle parts manufacturers who provide employment to many skilled and unskilled workers. Carry out detailed analysis of the customs data in order to unravel the modus operandi of the unscrupulous importers involved and curb the entry of under-valued Chinese bicycles into the country.
Source: Impact of Chinese Goods on Indian Industry, 145th report of Parliamentary standing committee on commerce

Free market vs growth model: The US-China power struggle is just beginning

Chinese President Xi Jinping has an ambitious master plan for his country’s transformation into a wealthy, technology-driven global economic power. And US companies need not apply.
That’s why the current trade rumble between the US and China, in which the Trump administration is threatening to slap tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports and Beijing promises to respond in kind, is far more than just a spat over market restrictions, intellectual property rights and the epic US deficit.

On a deeper level, the standoff reflects an escalating economic and military rivalry between a status quo power and one of the most remarkable growth miracles in history. It’s a clash between two divergent systems, (one state-directed, the other market-driven) with markedly divergent world views and national aspirations. That strategic tension seems likely to intensify, regardless of how the current brinkmanship over tariffs plays out.
It’s also a battle for global influence. Whereas the US has long sought to spread democracy and free markets to other nations, China’s ruling Communist Party is just starting to pitch its heavy-handed growth model as an alternative for developing nations. And Xi is backing it up with hundreds of billions of dollars in loans for infrastructure projects from Asia to Europe and beyond.
In the US, a bipartisan consensus has begun to emerge that now is the time to stand up to China, even if many oppose President Donald Trump’s tactics. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, has attacked Trump for not being tougher on China, saying last week that failure to change Beijing’s behavior now could hurt the US economy “for generations to come.”
With a roughly $13 trillion economy and expanding wealth, China is now going head-to-head with the US in advanced manufacturing and digital technologies. It also has the wherewithal to make rapid technological progress in defense, particularly with air-to-air missile systems that pose a strategic challenge in Asia for the US and its allies.
Xi is playing a long game, pursuing what he calls the “Chinese Dream,” or “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” To get there, he has set targets to double his country’s per capita gross domestic product (from 2010 levels) to $10,000 by 2021 and refashion China into a tech powerhouse, competitive in robotics, new energy-vehicles, chips, software and other bleeding-edge industries under his Made in China 2025 program. A separate development strategy envisions China ruling in artificial intelligence by 2030.
The aim is to produce global champions — not just national ones — and Xi’s government is ready to use the commanding heights of its one-party state to steer subsidies and use preferential policies and ambitious local content rules favoring Chinese companies to get there. At stake are industries that make up about 40 per cent of China’s value-added industrial manufacturing sector, according to an analysis by the US Chamber of Commerce, citing data by the Rhodium Group, a research firm.
Predatory Economics
China’s push for more self-reliance may reverse the trend toward deeper economic integration with the US that came following China’s accession into the World Trade Organization in 2001. China is the single largest foreign purchaser of US-manufactured goods — led by transportation, chemical, computer and electronics — outside of North America, according to the National Association of Manufacturers. Chinese goods have also flooded across American shores, pushing up the US trade deficit with China more than fourfold to $375 billion last year.
The Trump administration views such deficits as alarming and Chinese trade practices as brash mercantilism, even a national security threat. US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis labeled China a “strategic competitor using predatory economics” in January as he unveiled the Pentagon’s National Defense Strategy.
Xi views his economy’s shift into higher-tech manufacturing not only as a crucial part of its development, what with surging labor costs, a rapidly aging population and high corporate debt levels — but also as a fulfillment of China’s destiny. That process is well underway: China is set to overtake the entire euro area this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Talks to avoid a trade war have stalled in part over US demands that China reduce state support for high-tech industries. While China has signaled a willingness to buy more American goods to balance out the deficit, it has refused to trade away what it views as an essential part of its economic future.
Tech companies are on the front lines of this contest for global supremacy. Back in 2013, Chinese investigators started making life difficult for American tech “guardian warriors” like Google, Intel Corp., Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. after a magazine with ties to the Communist Party sounded the alarm about their dominant role in Chinese networks and business.
The US has been just as inhospitable to Chinese tech concerns, with telecommunication makers like Huawei Technologies Co., ZTE Corp. and China Mobile Ltd. being viewed as national security risks. The Trump administration has also weighed restrictions on Chinese companies and start-ups in sectors ranging from aerospace to robotics.
This week’s tariffs, however, may show which side has the stronger hand. The first batch will take force Friday barring any last-minute deal. Trump has threatened duties on another $200 billion worth of Chinese goods if Beijing imposes countermeasures.
Xi is betting that Trump will back down as price increases in politically sensitive states make him worry about losing the next election in 2020. Xi enjoys something closer to life-time job security, thanks to the repeal of Chinese presidential term limits in February.
The sharp downturn in Chinese stock markets amid rising trade tensions is scarcely a threat to his rule. His party-led government has a big say over strategy and investments plans at giant state-owned enterprises, which control 40 percent of China’s industrial assets and some of the world’s biggest banks.
Still, anti-trade rhetoric underpinned Trump’s election win, and if anything the former New York real estate developer has doubled down on using tariffs in spats with both foes and allies. Although polls suggest Trump faces difficult mid-term elections in November, a fight to replace a U.S. Supreme Court justice may prompt his political base to overlook slightly higher monthly bills.
Top Economists and trade experts who testified in June before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, set up by Congress to track the national security implications of trade with China, say tariffs are likely to inflict a lot of economic damage on both economies and depress global trade.
Great Unwinding
China will also return the favor -- Beijing has announced plans to target U.S. auto, aircraft, plastics and chemicals sectors -- and “the imposition of tariffs will not solve the underlying Chinese distortive behavior,” warned Linda Menghetti Dempsey, vice president of International Economic Affairs at the National Association of Manufacturers.
Instead of using tariffs, the U.S. could’ve sought to join with the European Union and Japan to bring a case against China at the World Trade Organization. But that’s unlikely after Trump slapped tariffs on EU nations and Japan, while also undermining the WTO. His withdrawal from the 11-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal removed another key device to alter China’s behavior.
Some prominent academics are calling for more drastic measures to undercut China’s practice of trading market access for technology transfers, such as unwinding Asian supply networks in high-end tech sectors.
Harvard Business School Professor Willy C. Shih favors tax incentives, and even setting up import processing zones in the U.S. to repatriate offshore suppliers for the likes of Intel, Apple and Microsoft. “It would strengthen our ability to sustain the most advanced semiconductor fabs in the United Sates,” Shih said.
In the end, the U.S. and China economic rivalry probably won’t be decided by administrative law judges or trade negotiators, but in the global marketplace. Right now, the U.S. still enjoys a lead in many tech and manufacturing sectors, particularly aerospace and biotech.
Yet the days when China could be dismissed as merely a low-wage assembly center for Western manufacturers are long gone. This is a country on what it views as a historic mission to become a 21st century economic power, and the contest is just beginning.

All-out trade war ahead? China issues retaliatory tariffs against the US

Beijing retaliated against planned US tariffs on Chinese goods by targeting high-value American exports — including farm products, cars, and crude oil — bringing the world's two biggest economies closer to an all-out trade war.
Shortly after the Trump administration unveiled plans Friday to impose tariffs of 25% on $50 billion in Chinese products, China's State Council announced it would levy penalties of the same rate on the US goods of the same value.
The US is "provoking the trade war", China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Friday, while pledging to defend the country's interests.
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In striking back at the US action, China expanded the list of US products that would be subject to tariffs to 659 types of goods, from some 106 types it originally disclosed in April. Most of the added goods on China's retaliatory list are agricultural, seafood and energy products. President Donald Trump said earlier Friday that the US would respond with more tariffs if China retaliated.
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Beijing is imposing the tariffs in two steps as Washington is doing — picking the same amounts and same dates the US is choosing. On July 6, China will levy duties on $34 billion of US products, covering 545 categories, ranging from soybeans, pork, chicken and seafood to sport-utility vehicles and electric vehicles. The farm goods were chosen to hit US states that supported Mr Trump, according to people with knowledge of Beijing's plan.
Then China plans to implement tariffs on an additional $16 billion of US goods, the State Council said. The start date for tariffs on those products, including chemicals, coal, crude oil and medical devices, will be announced later, it said. Commercial jets, airplane engines and other aviation equipment were left off the list.
Mr Trump, in a statement earlier on Friday, said any Chinese retaliation would be met with new tariffs. He has already threatened additional tariffs on $100 billion in Chinese imports, but the US hasn't yet detailed which products would be hit.
"The trade war was started many years ago" by China and others, Mr Trump said at the White House on Friday. He said the US economy is already humming and "after we do our trade deals, wait 'til you see our numbers."
The US tariffs on Chinese goods come after others the Trump administration imposed on metals imports from allies in Europe, Mexico, Canada and Japan. This puts Washington at the centre of a mounting trade confrontation, as Mr Trump tries to put into effect his "America First" trade policy.

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Caught in the middle are a number of big US companies, which complain that the tariffs penalise them for their globe-spanning supply chains. The US added semiconductors to its tariff list, for instance. Chips are often designed and produced in the US, sent to China for packaging or testing and then returned to the US. The chips would now be subject to tariffs on the return trip.
"Tariffs on semiconductors would harm, not help, US semiconductor companies, their workers, and American consumers," said a spokesman for the Semiconductor Industry Association.
Administration officials said the goal of the tariff fight is to protect high-tech US companies from pressure they face in China to transfer their technology to Chinese partners. Tariffs are necessary, the officials say, to force Beijing to change the way it does business.
If tariffs prompt American technology companies to move manufacturing out of China, that is also a plus, US officials say. Some of that production may return to the US. Even if it doesn't, they argue, the US would benefit if companies move assembly work to other low-wage nations because that would make it harder for Beijing to capture US technology.
"We're going to stop, we hope, their transfer of technology — their forced transfer of technology," US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Fox Business Network.
On July 6, the US will levy tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports, covering 818 product categories. That is a pared-down version of a preliminary tariff list announced in early April, reflecting input from US industry on which products should be excluded.
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Knocked off the initial list were products such as flat-screen televisions, copying machines and air-conditioning parts, according to an analysis by Chad Bown, a trade expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
The American Apparel and Footwear Association said it was pleased that machinery used to make clothing and shoes was removed from the tariff list. But association said, "any new tariffs present an immense burden for the American people."
The US trade representative's office added tariffs on imports of $16 billion of Chinese goods in 284 product categories. The products included semiconductors, machinery and plastics. Before tariffs are assessed on those goods, the trade representative plans to get industry comment at a public hearing on July 24. In addition, companies can ask that certain products be excluded from tariffs if they can't get those goods from suppliers outside of China.
The administration said it aimed to hobble China's plans to develop advanced technology under its "Made in China 2025" report, released in 2015. The report is a blueprint for making China a world leader in a number of technology areas, including robotics, semiconductors and electric vehicles.
"Anybody in the US who is affected by these [tariff] lines will have opportunity to come and make their pitch," said a senior administration official.
In addition to tariffs, the Trump administration is planning to restrict Chinese investment in the US unless China eases up its roadblocks to American investment in China. The Treasury Department is scheduled to release a proposal for limits on Chinese investment on June 30. Now foreign investments are subject to review on national-security grounds by the interagency Committee on Foreign Investment in the US. The Treasury plan will have "a broader definition of national security," Mr Lighthizer said.
The trade offensive was panned by many US industries. They say they recognise the problems in doing business in China, but oppose tariffs.
The National Association of Manufacturers said "tariffs will cause more problems than they solve" and urged the administration to negotiate a bilateral trade deal with China instead. The Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association, an auto parts group, said Chinese retaliatory tariffs "could negate" the gains to the US economy from recent tax cuts.
On Capitol Hill, the response depended as much on whether lawmakers were longtime free traders as on their party affiliation. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, a Texas Republican, said he was worried tariffs would "make it more difficult to sell more 'Made in America' products globally and expose many of our industries — particularly agriculture and chemicals — to devastating retaliation" from China.
The top Democrat on the committee, Richard Neal of Massachusetts said tariffs "can be an important tool in re-setting the US-China trade and economic dynamic." But he said the administration needed to produce a more coherent overall strategy toward China.
Earlier this month China offered to purchase nearly $70 billion of US agricultural, energy and other products if the US called off its tariff threat. That wasn't enough to persuade Mr Trump to change course on tariffs.