Linda Kim BEIJING, August 22 -- China is hopeful that US President Donald Trump can “honour” his earlier hands-off stance on Hong Kong, although the Commerce Ministry spokesman neglected to mention the latest statement from the American leader linking the trade talks between Washington and Beijing with the anti-government protests in the city. China is hopeful that US President Donald Trump can “honour” his earlier hands-off stance on Hong Kong, although the Commerce Ministry spokesman neglected to mention the latest statement from the American leader linking the trade talks between Washington and Beijing with the anti-government protests in the city. Trump had been distancing himself from the tensions until earlier this week saying that trade talks with China would be hampered if Beijing used violent means to crack down on the ongoing protests in Hong Kong similar to those employed against pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989.Trump said that if a similar crackdown happened in Hong Kong, “there’d be tremendous political sentiment not to do something”, referring to trade negotiations between China and the United States. “It does put pressure on the trade deal. If they do something negative, it puts pressure,” he added. “We noticed that President Trump had said that Hong Kong is part of China and [China and Hong Kong] can sort it out on their own. We hope the US side can honor these words,” said Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng on Thursday. Protests have taken place in Hong Kong since June 9, sparked by demands for the city’s government to withdraw an unpopular extradition bill that would have allowed the transfer of suspects to mainland China. Protests have continued in the city for over 11 weeks despite Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam stating that the bill “is dead”. The stance from China’s Commerce Ministry is in line with China’s Foreign Ministry and state media as Beijing is opposed to linking the situation in Hong Kong with the talks over the ongoing trade war. Earlier on Wednesday, Trump added that “I don’t view it as leverage. I hope Hong Kong works out in a very humane way. I don’t view it as leverage or non-leverage. I hope it works out in a humane way. And I think that President Xi Jinping has the ability to make sure that happens”. Gao said China’s negotiating team has maintained contact with their American counterparts, with Vice-Premier Liu He believed to have taken part in a scheduled phone call with US trade representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin last week.
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Lora Smith WASHINGTON, August 21 -- The US president told reporters that buying Greenland, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark but has extensive home rule, would be “a large real estate deal” that could ease a financial burden on Denmark, but Denmark’s prime minister did not want to talk about a possible US purchase of the island of Greenland. President Donald Trump said he would be putting off a planned meeting with Denmark’s prime minister because she did not want to talk about a possible US purchase of the island of Greenland. “Denmark is a very special country with incredible people, but based on Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s comments, that she would have no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland, I will be postponing our meeting scheduled in two weeks for another time,” Trump said in a Twitter post on Tuesday night. “The Prime Minister was able to save a great deal of expense and effort for both the United States and Denmark by being so direct. I thank her for that and look forward to rescheduling sometime in the future!” the president wrote. Trump had been scheduled to make a state visit to Denmark on Sept. 2 on the invitation of Queen Margrethe II. Hours before the trip was called off, Carla Sands, the U.S. ambassador to Denmark, tweeted that the Scandinavian country was “ready for the POTUS @realDonaldTrump visit! Partner, ally, friend.” Earlier this week, the president told reporters that buying Greenland, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark but has extensive home rule, would be “a large real estate deal” that could ease a financial burden on Denmark. Frederiksen had ruled out any sale. Danish officials have been adamant about no-sale since reports emerged last week that Trump had directed advisers and lawyers to review a possible deal. “Greenland isn’t for sale, Greenland isn’t Danish, Greenland is Greenlandic,” she said Sunday during a visit to Greenland, according to local newspaper Sermitsiaq. “I keep trying to hope that this isn’t something that was seriously meant.” Larry Kudlow, head of the National Economic Council, earlier Sunday said Greenland is a “strategic place” rich in valuable minerals and that discussions are continuing. “The president, who knows a thing or two about buying real estate, wants to take a look at a potential Greenland purchase,” Kudlow said on “Fox News Sunday.” However serious White House discussions of a sale might have been, the topic prompted jokes on both sides of the Atlantic since Trump’s interest was first reported. He got into the act on Monday night with a tweet showing an image of a golden Trump tower on an austere Greenland landscape. “I promise not to do this to Greenland,” Trump wrote. Lora Smith WASHINGTON, August 19 -- US President Donald Trump on Sunday said he did not want the United States to do business with China’s Huawei even as the administration weighs whether to extend a grace period for the company. Reuters and other media outlets reported on Friday that the US Commerce Department is expected to extend a reprieve given to Huawei Technologies that permits the Chinese firm to buy supplies from US companies so that it can service existing customers. The “temporary general license” will be extended for Huawei for 90 days, Reuters reported, citing two sources familiar with the situation. On Sunday, Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One in New Jersey that he did not want to do business with Huawei for national security reasons. “At this moment it looks much more like we’re not going to do business,” Trump said. “I don’t want to do business at all because it is a national security threat and I really believe that the media has covered it a little bit differently than that.” He said there were small parts of Huawei’s business that could be exempted from a broader ban, but that it would be “very complicated.” He did not say whether his administration would extend the “temporary general licence.” Linda Kim WASHINGTON, August 19 -- U.S. President Donald Trump warned China on Sunday a suppression by force of Hong Kong protestors like the military crackdown on the pro-democracy movement at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989 would harm bilateral trade talks. "I think it would be very hard to deal if they do violence. I mean, if it's another Tiananmen Square...it's a very hard thing to do," Trump told reporters in New Jersey, referring to the crackdown that is believed to have killed hundreds of people, mostly students, when armed troops were deployed to clear the square. The world's two largest economies have been engaged in a tit-for-tat tariff war. Organizers said some 1.7 million people took to the streets in Hong Kong on Sunday, calling for full withdrawal of a now-suspended bill that would have allowed fugitive transfers to mainland China as well as an independent probe into alleged police violence. The protest, the biggest since a June 16 rally in which organizers said 2 million took part, represented Hong Kong citizens' strong frustration with Chief Executive Carrie Lam, who has refused to accept their requests. Another rally may be held on Aug. 31. The Chinese leadership led by President Xi Jinping has stationed the People's Armed Police Force, a paramilitary force, in Shenzhen across the mainland border with armored vehicles seen gathering in recent days at a stadium. Lora Smith JERUSALEM, August 16 -- Israel said on Thursday that it will bar two Democratic US congresswomen from entering the country ahead of a planned visit over their support for a Palestinian-led boycott movement. This decision was announced shortly after US President Donald Trump tweeted that it would "show great weakness" to allow them in. The move to bar Representatives Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota from visiting appeared to be unprecedented. It marked a deep foray by Israel into America's bitterly polarised politics and a sharp escalation of Israel's campaign against the international boycott movement. The two newly-elected Muslim members of Congress are outspoken critics of Israel's treatment of the Palestinians and have repeatedly sparred with Trump over a range of issues. Tlaib's family immigrated to the United States from the West Bank, where she still has close relatives. They had planned to visit Jerusalem and the West Bank on a tour organised by a Palestinian organisation aimed at highlighting the plight of the Palestinians. It was not immediately clear if they had planned to meet with Israeli officials, and spokespeople for the two congresswomen did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is "open to critics and criticism," except for those who advocate boycotts against it. "Congresswomen Tlaib and Omar are leading activists in promoting the legislation of boycotts against Israel in the American Congress," Netanyahu charged. He said their itinerary "revealed that they planned a visit whose sole objective is to strengthen the boycott against us and deny Israel's legitimacy". Shortly before the decision was announced, Trump had tweeted that "it would show great weakness" if Israel allowed them to visit. "They hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds." He went on to call the two congresswomen "a disgrace". The US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, endorsed the decision after it was made, saying Israel "has every right to protect its borders" against promoters of boycotts "in the same manner as it would bar entrants with more conventional weapons". Trump's decision to urge a foreign country to deny entry to elected US officials was a striking departure from the long-held practice of politicians from both parties of leaving their disputes at the water's edge. Democratic lawmakers in the US Congress denounced Israel's decision. Top ranking Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York said it was a sign of weakness instead of strength and "will only hurt the US-Israeli relationship and support for Israel in America". A close freshman colleague of the two lawmakers, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, said Israel's move is "bigoted, short sighted and cruel". Linda Kim SEOUL, August 15 -- South Korean President Moon Jae In called on Thursday for a dialogue with Japan amid frayed bilateral relations over wartime history and trade policy, saying Seoul will "join hands" if Tokyo chooses the path of talks. "Better late than never. If Japan chooses the path of dialogue and cooperation, we will gladly join hands," Moon said as he spoke at a ceremony in Cheonan, south of the capital Seoul, to mark the end of Japanese colonial rule 74 years ago. Moon also made a conciliatory gesture to Tokyo, saying Seoul has "not dwelt on the past" and expressed "hope that Japan will play a leading role together in facilitating peace and prosperity in East Asia while it contemplates a past that brought misfortune to its neighboring countries." His speech came as ties between the two Asian neighbors sank to the lowest point in recent years after South Korean court decisions last year that ordered Japanese companies to compensate plaintiffs who claim to have been conscripted as laborers during World War II. The compensation issue, which Tokyo claims to have already been settled by a 1965 bilateral accord, has recently escalated into tit-for-tat tightening of export controls. Moon said his country aims to become an economic powerhouse despite Japan's tightened export controls. "In the face of Japan's unwarranted export restrictions, we will continue our determined march toward a responsible economic powerhouse," he said. The president emphasized that the normal flow of trade could be disrupted if a country uses its comparative advantage in a sector, referring to Japan's move that requires manufacturers of semiconductor-related materials to seek approval each time before shipping to Seoul. "If any country weaponizes a sector where it has a comparative advantage, the peaceful free trade order will inevitably suffer damage. A country that achieved growth first must not kick the ladder away while others are following in its footsteps," he said. He explained that his government would channel efforts into improving competitiveness of domestic materials, parts and equipment industries, while enhancing cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises and conglomerates to build "an economy that will never be shaken." South Korea calls Japan's recent tightening of export controls "an economic retaliation" as Tokyo views that Seoul has failed to deal with months-long disputes over wartime labor. As for inter-Korean relations, Moon also highlighted his government's efforts to help keep a dialogue going between North Korea and the United States. "In spite of a series of worrying actions taken by North Korea recently, the momentum for dialogue remains unshaken," he said, adding that Seoul is committed to denuclearization and bringing about peace on the Korean Peninsula during his term as president. North Korea has recently fired a series of short-range ballistic missiles, which it claims to be "new-type tactical guided missiles," as a warning against South Korea-U.S. joint military drills that started on Aug. 5 and run through late this month. U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed displeasure at the military exercise in a letter to him and that the two leaders would have another meeting. With ongoing provocative actions by Pyongyang, Moon may be well aware of people's concerns over forming a "peace economy" with North Korea as he suggested. Moon reiterated that his government's intention is not to give unilateral aid to North Korea, but to promote mutual benefits. "Both Koreas will be able to reduce not only huge defense expenditures but also the invisible cost of the division, the so-called 'Korea Discount,'" said Moon. Linda Kim HONG KONG, August 14 -- US intelligence has confirmed that China is moving troops to the border with Hong Kong, US President Donald Trump said Tuesday, appealing for calm amid intensifying pro-democracy protests in the semi-autonomous financial hub. Trump relayed the intelligence report in a tweet as protesters paralyzed Hong Kong airport for a second day in defiance of the city’s leaders. “Our Intelligence has informed us that the Chinese Government is moving troops to the Border with Hong Kong. Everyone should ‘be calm and safe!” Trump said in a tweet. Chinese state and social media had earlier aired video of security forces gathering across the border from the enclave, which has been rocked by unrest for ten weeks. The Global Times and the People’s Daily ran a minute-long video compiling clips of armored personnel carriers and troop carriers purportedly driving to Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong. The People's Armed Police have been assembling in Shenzhen, a city bordering Hong Kong, in advance of apparent large-scale exercises, videos have shown. Numerous armored personnel carriers (APC), trucks and other vehicles of the Armed Police were seen on expressways heading in the direction of Shenzhen over the weekend and assembling there, the videos indicate. The tasks and missions of the Armed Police include participating in dealing with rebellions, riots, serious violent and illegal incidents, terrorist attacks and other social security incidents, according to the Law of the People's Republic of China on the People's Armed Police. Unlike the police which are under the Ministry of Public Security, the People's Armed Police is under the leadership of the Central Military Commission. On August 6, Shenzhen police also conducted a massive drill featuring 12,000 police officers, armored vehicles, helicopters and amphibious vehicles. Lora Smith NEW YORK, August 13 -- Accused sex child trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was discovered Saturday inside his New York City prison cell with a bedsheet wrapped around his neck that was tied to his bunk bed.“ The convicted pedophile, who was 6 feet tall, apparently killed himself by kneeling toward the floor and strangling himself with the makeshift noose, a law enforcement source said Monday,” according to the New York Post. Law enforcement received a call at 6:39 a.m. local time that Epstein was in cardiac arrest and was later pronounced dead at NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital. Epstein was facing charges of sex trafficking that stemmed from activities over a period of three years in the early 2000s. He served a 13-month prison sentence in Florida in 2008 after he was charged with similar offenses, and was forced to register as a sex offender. His attorneys unsuccessfully lobbied for bail and house arrest on the new charges, but a federal New York judge declared him a flight risk and a danger to the community. New York City’s chief medical examiner Dr. Barbara Sampson said the autopsy on Epstein was performed on Sunday and stated she would release the determination upon “further information.” Federal authorities, including Attorney General William Barr, have expressed dismay at Epstein’s death in federal custody and pledged to investigate. “I was appalled and indeed the whole department was, and frankly angry, to learn of the Metropolitan Correctional Center’s failure to adequately secure this prison,” Barr said in New Orleans Monday. “We are now learning of serious irregularities at this facility that are deeply concerning and demand a thorough investigation. The FBI and office of the inspector general are doing just that. We will get to the bottom of what happened and there will be accountability,” he added. The nation’s chief legal officer also issued a warning to those who may have conspired with Epstein, stating that they “should not rest easy.” “Let me assure you this case will continue on against anyone who was complicit with Epstein. Any co-conspirators should not rest easy. The victims deserve justice and they will get it,” he said. The Associated Press reported Sunday that the Metropolitan Correctional Center’s Special Housing Unit was experiencing staff shortages the time of Epstein’s death with only one guard working a fifth-straight day of overtime and another guard working mandatory overtime. Epstein was put on the prison’s suicide watch after he was discovered on July 23rd with neck bruises, according to several reports. He was said to be taken off the watch list days later. Cameron Lindsay, a former warden who worked at three federal prisons, said he is stunned by Epstein’s removal from the list. “For them to pull him off suicide watch is shocking. For someone this high-profile, with these allegations and this many victims, who has had a suicide attempt in the last few weeks, you can take absolutely no chances. You leave him on suicide watch until he’s out of there,” Lindsay told NBC. “It’s too early to say what I think should happen, but if this did occur as we believe that it did, some staff are going to have some hard questions to answer.” Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, has pledged to continue the case against Epstein despite his death. “To those brave young women who have already come forward and to the many others who have yet to do so, let me reiterate that we remain committed to standing for you, and our investigation of the conduct charged in the Indictment — which included a conspiracy count — remains ongoing,” Berman said. Lora Smith He had been placed on suicide watch last month but then taken off within a week, according to a person familiar with the matter. White House officials did not immediately return a request for a comment on why Mr Trump was spreading the conspiracy theory. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment on the president's retweet. A Clinton spokesman responded on Twitter: "Ridiculous, and of course not true - and Donald Trump knows it. Has he triggered the 25th Amendment yet?" On Saturday, Senator Marco Rubio warned against embracing conspiracy theories. While scrutiny of Epstein's apparent suicide is warranted, Mr Rubio said, he added that "the immediate rush to spread conspiracy theories about someone on the 'other side' of partisan divide having him killed illustrates why our society is so vulnerable to foreign disinformation & influence efforts".Still, Mr Trump's retweet will surely help fuel the conspiracy theories that have quickly spread online since the news of Epstein's death broke on Saturday. And the president - who is on vacation at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey - is no stranger to using his considerable public platform to promote conspiracy theories, particularly those that target his political opponents.
For years, Mr Trump promoted the myth that former president Barack Obama was born in Kenya rather than in the United States. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Mr Trump spread a conspiracy theory that Mr Rafael Cruz, the father of Senator Ted Cruz, was somehow connected to the assassination of president John F. Kennedy. Mr Trump has claimed without evidence that Mr Obama wiretapped Trump Tower in New York, and once entertained an unsubstantiated theory that former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in his sleep in February 2016, may have been murdered. Lora Smith NEW YORK, August 10 -- Jeffrey Epstein, the financier indicted on sex trafficking charges last month, committed suicide at a Manhattan jail, officials said on Saturday. Epstein hung himself and his body was found this morning at Metropolitan Correctional Centre in Manhattan at 7.30am. New York federal prosecutors last month charged Epstein, 66, with sex trafficking of girls as young as 14, and details of his behaviour have been emerging for years. A cache of previously sealed legal documents, released on Friday by a federal appeals court, provided new, disturbing details about what was going on inside Epstein’s homes and how his associates recruited young women and girls, including from a Florida high school. The documents – among the most expansive sets of materials publicly disclosed in the 13 years since Epstein was first charged with sex crimes – include depositions, police incident reports, photographs, receipts, flight logs and even a memoir written by a woman who says she was a sex-trafficking victim of Epstein and his acquaintances. The documents were filed as part of a defamation lawsuit in federal court that Ms Virginia Giuffre brought in 2015 against Ms Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime companion and confidant. Ms Giuffre and Ms Maxwell settled the lawsuit shortly before the trial was to begin in 2017. The Miami Herald and other media outlets petitioned the court to have the lawsuit documents unsealed. The request was initially denied, but an appeals court ordered them released last month, just days before Epstein was arrested on sex-trafficking charges. He had pleaded not guilty. Epstein, a financier with opulent homes, a private jet and access to elite circles, had been dogged for decades by accusations that he had paid dozens of girls for sexual acts in Florida. He previously avoided federal criminal charges in 2008 after prosecutors brokered a widely criticised deal that allowed him to plea to solicitation of prostitution from a minor and serve 13 months in jail. Linda Kim SEOUL, August 10 -- North Korea has fired two unidentified projectiles into the sea off eastern coast on Saturday, Yonhap news agency reported citing South Korea's military. South Korea's defense ministry said it is closely following the developments. No further details are available at this point. On August 6, North Korea launched new guided missiles under the supervision of leader Kim Jong-un. The two missiles flew around 450 km and struck targets in the Sea of Japan. After test launches, Kim Jong-un said that this was "a warning over joint military drills" held by South Korea and the United States. On August 5, the United States and South Korea started joint military drills. According to preliminary reports, the military exercise will last until August 20. "This is a serious issue for the international community," Japanese Senior Vice Defense Minister Kenji Harada told reporters after the launches. North Korea's missile launch would constitute a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning the country from using ballistic technology. South Korean military officials and the defense minister held an emergency meeting after the latest launches and took them to be another warning against a South Korea-U.S. joint military drill that started from Monday and runs through late this month. The North's official Korean Central News Agency said Wednesday that its launches a day earlier were a "warning" to the United States and South Korea over their ongoing joint military exercises. U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he received a "beautiful" letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in which he said he does not like conducting the short-range ballistic missile tests North Korea has been doing in recent weeks but justified the move as a response to the U.S.-South Korea drills. The U.S. president said on Aug. 1 he was not worried about the missiles being tested by the North, calling them "very standard," short-range devices. "Short-range missiles, we never made an agreement on that. I have no problem. We'll see what happens," Trump told reporters after North Korea carried out a series of missile launches. South Korean and U.S authorities are currently working on identifying the exact type of the projectiles, said the JCS, while warning that additional launches are highly likely as North Korea is now conducting summer military drills. The Japanese government said Saturday that it has not confirmed any ballistic missiles flying into Japan's exclusive economic zone and that the projectiles posed no immediate security threat. Even so, "we will strengthen our air and missile defense capabilities," Harada said. Lora Smith WASHINGTON, August 9 -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he has received a "beautiful" letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and mentioned the possibility of another meeting with Kim. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said he received the three-page letter Thursday. "I think we'll have another meeting," Trump said, without referring to when such a meeting could take place. In a June 30 meeting at the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjeom, Trump and Kim agreed to restart working-level denuclearization negotiations within weeks. But such talks have yet to take place. Instead, Pyongyang has conducted a series of short-range ballistic missile tests. On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed hope that the two sides will resume stalled denuclearization talks "in the coming weeks." Linda Kim DONGGUAN, August 9 -- Chinese telecom giant Huawei unveiled its own operating system on Friday, as it faces the threat of losing access to Android systems and US sanctions. Richard Yu, the head of Huawei's consumer business, told a press conference in the southern city of Dongguan that the new system, called HarmonyOS, would "bring more harmony to the world". The highly-anticipated software is considered crucial for the tech group’s survival as it confronts a looming White House ban on US companies selling technology products to Huawei which could remove its access to Google’s Android operating system. Yu said the new system was a “future oriented OS” to be “more smooth and secure”, which he said was “completely different from Android and iOS”. Huawei said the first version of the operating system would launch later this year in its smart screen products. Over the next three years it will be developed across a range of smart devices including wearable technology. In May the company was swept into the trade war between Beijing and Washington which has seen punitive tariffs slapped on billions of dollars of two-way trade. Huawei – considered the world leader in super-fast fifth-generation or 5G equipment – has been blacklisted by US President Donald Trump amid suspicions it provides a backdoor for Chinese intelligence services, something the firm denies. Beijing on Thursday said US rules banning Huawei and other Chinese companies from government contracts amounted to “abuse of state power”. Linda Kim PYONGYANG, August 7 -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has declared that the latest series of missile launches by Pyongyang send "adequate warning" over the South Korea-US military drills. The country's state news media reported on Wednesday that Kim made the statement as he inspected on Tuesday the launch of a new type of tactical guided missiles - the fourth test in 12 days. KCNA said Kim had watched the launches, which verified the "war capacity" of the new armament.North Korea says US 'hell-bent' on sanctions despite seeking dialogue. With the launches carried out satisfactorily, "Kim Jong Un noted that the said military action would be an occasion to send an adequate warning to the joint military drill now under way by the US and South Korean authorities," KCNA said. The drills are taking place despite Pyongyang's warnings that the exercises would jeopardise nuclear negotiations between the US and North Korea. In Tokyo on Wednesday, US Defence Secretary Mark Esper met with his Japanese counterpart, Takeshi Iwaya, to discuss the latest developments in North Korea, as well as tensions in the South China Sea. Esper visited Australia and New Zealand before arriving in Japan. He will travel to Mongolia and South Korea during the latter part of his Asia trip. On Tuesday, Pyongyang fired two projectiles that "are assumed to be short-range ballistic missiles" into the sea, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said earlier. US President Donald Trump last week downplayed North Korea's launches calling them "very standard", while adding that Kim would not want to "disappoint" him. Trump and Kim held an historic summit in Singapore last year, where North Korea made a vague pledge on denuclearisation. Linda Lim BEIJING, July 30 -- Almost three months after their trade talks broke down in acrimony, Chinese and American negotiators will meet again in Shanghai this week amid tempered expectations for breakthroughs in their year-long trade war. Two days of talks are scheduled to restart on Tuesday (July 30) after a truce reached by Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan, last month. Deep tensions remain, though, and recent days have brought mixed signals from both sides, with neither showing an urge to compromise. China has purchased millions of tonnes of soybeans from the United States, and Chinese companies will continue to seek American agricultural products including soybean, cotton, pork, sorghum, wheat, corn and dairy, state media Xinhua News Agency said on Sunday. The People's Daily newspaper said in a commentary on Monday that the move is a "concrete", "goodwill" step to implement the consensus reached by Mr Xi and Mr Trump in Japan, and called on the US to reciprocate and meet China halfway. Nevertheless, Beijing has also called the US the "black hand" behind anti-government protests in Hong Kong and said last Friday that an investigation into FedEx Corp's claims that it mistakenly rerouted Huawei Technologies packages to the US found additional legal violations. Mr Trump has spoken with tech executives about the ban on selling products to Huawei and potentially easing that prohibition while other US officials played down the possibility of a quick trade deal. At stake is the health of the global economy, which is being weighed down by uncertainty for markets and companies. The International Monetary Fund last week further reduced its estimates for global growth and warned that damage was to some extent "self-inflicted" by prolonged uncertainty caused by the trade war, escalating tensions over technology and Brexit. "There is still a huge gap between the two sides on key sticking points," said Mr Robin Xing, chief China economist at Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong. "So far, there is still no clear path towards a comprehensive deal." China is holding to its three key demands: The immediate removal of all existing tariffs, a balanced agreement, and realistic targets for additional Chinese purchases of American products. No achievements would be made if the US sticks to its existing stance during the Shanghai talks, Taoran Notes, a blog run by the state-owned Economic Daily newspaper, said last Friday. The US should remove all additional tariffs first if it wants to reach a deal, and equality and respect between the two sides are the only way to reach agreement, it said. China is not afraid of US threats to impose tariffs on an additional US$300 billion of Chinese goods, it said. Among the US's demands are structural reforms to China's economy, greater protection of intellectual property rights and a more balanced trading relationship. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said last Tuesday that Mr Trump's objective was to get "a proper deal". Leading the delegation from Washington, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin "will put forth the view we'd like to go back to where we were last May, where we did not have an agreement but we seemed to be about 90 per cent of the way there", White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told reporters last Friday. The prospects for an agreement are hampered by tensions over geopolitical issues including Hong Kong, North Korea, Taiwan and the South China Sea. Huawei remains a key point of contention, with China last week urging the US to block a proposed Bill that would stop the Chinese telecoms giant from accessing US patents. |
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