China says US lifted some export curbs, warns against ‘blackmail'
'Currently, both teams are working quickly to implement the results outlined in the London framework', China's commerce ministry said in a statement, referring to the June meetings.
Beijing is now 'reviewing applications for export licences of controlled items that meet the requirements', it said.
'The US side is also taking corresponding actions and has lifted a series of restrictive measures against China, the details of which have been communicated to the Chinese side,' it added.
The world's two top economies agreed to an outline of a deal to walk back from the brink of staggering tariffs at last month's meetings in London, with concessions including Beijing's resumption of key rare earth exports.
Washington has also recently lifted rules for certain exports to China, including by removing licence requirements for shipping ethane to the country, according to a Bloomberg report this week.
China's commerce ministry statement added that 'the London framework was hard-won' — and warned that 'blackmail and coercion will lead nowhere'.
'We hope the United States will… continue to work in the same direction as China (and) further correct its erroneous practices.'
Prior to the London talks, Beijing and Washington had agreed to temporarily lower steep tit-for-tat tariffs on each other's products.
But US officials later accused Beijing of violating the pact and slow-walking its approvals of export licences for rare earths — the global production of which is dominated by China.
President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States was 'getting along well with China'.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
36 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
What the Vietnam war can teach us about Trump's Asia policy
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the end of 'America's war' in Vietnam from 1965 to 1975. The US entered the war in the closing years of an era when it was prepared to fight communist expansion wherever it occurred, a policy initially signalled by the Truman Doctrine. The Vietnam war was a catastrophe in terms of its huge human toll and economic cost, and many Americans viewed it as a tragic folly. However, it proved to be a protective shield against the spread of communism in Southeast Asia . Without direct US military intervention in Vietnam in 1965, the Southeast Asia that we know today may not have existed. Despite the US' setbacks in Vietnam, it has remained a vital component of the Asia-Pacific power balance. However, now the policies of Donald Trump 's administration – to reshape the global trade order and US security posture – have generated uncertainties about the adjustments to come, including the roles of its allies and partners. The domino theory, fashionable in US policy circles in the 1950s and early 1960s in its extreme form, assumed that if Vietnam fell to the communists, the rest of Southeast Asia would follow suit. In the US, the theory had its leftist and progressive critics and establishment figures, who thought it was too simplistic. Huey helicopters carrying US troops land near Plei Ho Drong, Vietnam, in August 1965. Photo: AP Non-communist Southeast Asian governments were also deeply concerned about the potential spread of communism from Vietnam.
RTHK
4 hours ago
- RTHK
France praises China over thaw in brandy trade row
France praises China over thaw in brandy trade row Beijing said 34 European brandy makers, including several French cognac producers, had signed an accord to avoid tariffs. Photo: AFP France on Friday praised China's steps to settle a trade dispute over European brandy imports but warned that "major issues" remained unresolved. The signs of a thaw in the row over the alcohol came as Foreign Minister Wang Yi met French President Emmanuel Macron and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. In recent months China and the European Union have butted heads over Beijing's generous subsidies for its domestic industries. Beijing launched an investigation last year into EU brandy, months after the bloc undertook a probe into Chinese electric vehicle (EV) subsidies. In the latest salvo, China will from Saturday require European brandy exporters to raise prices or risk anti-dumping taxes of up to 34.9 percent. Beijing said 34 European brandy makers, including several French cognac producers, had signed an accord to avoid tariffs as long as they stick to an agreed minimum price. France's cognac makers' association BNIC, which includes key producers Hennessy, Remy Cointreau and Martell, confirmed that some companies had agreed to price increases in China to avoid anti-dumping taxes. Macron and Barrot praised China's steps to resolve the dispute but stressed they would discuss the outstanding differences with Wang. "This is a positive step towards resolving this dispute, which was threatening our exports," Macron said on X. "I will continue to raise these issues with the Chinese authorities this afternoon." In a statement to AFP, Barrot said: "Several major issues remain unresolved, in particular the exclusion of certain players from the scope of the exemptions." "We remain fully committed to reaching a definitive solution based on the conditions that existed prior to the investigation," he said. Wang has held fraught meetings in several European countries this week. After meeting Macron and Barrot, Wang told a press conference: "The two sides had in-depth, active and sincere exchanges on Sino-French and European relations." No mention was made of the brandy dispute. Almost all EU brandy is cognac produced in France, whose exports to China are worth 1.4 billion euros (US$1.6 billion) per year. French liquor giant Jas Hennessy said it would face levies of 34.9 percent if it did not stick to the deal. Remy Martin will be hit with 34.3 percent and Martell 27.7 percent. (AFP)
RTHK
4 hours ago
- RTHK
Trump signs his mega tax and spending bill into law
Trump signs his mega tax and spending bill into law US President Donald Trump holds a gavel after signing the "Big Beautiful Bill Act" at the White House in Washington, DC. Photo: AFP US President Donald Trump signed into law a massive package of tax and spending cuts at the White House on Friday, staging an outdoor ceremony on the Fourth of July holiday that took on the air of a Trump political rally. With military jets flying overhead and hundreds of supporters in attendance, Trump signed the bill one day after the Republican-controlled House of Representatives narrowly approved the signature legislation of the president's second term. The bill, which will fund Trump's immigration crackdown, make his 2017 tax cuts permanent, and is expected to knock millions of Americans off health insurance, was passed with a 218-214 vote after an emotional debate on the House floor. "I've never seen people so happy in our country because of that, because so many different groups of people are being taken care of: the military, civilians of all types, jobs of all types," Trump said at the ceremony, thanking House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune for leading the bill through the two houses of Congress. "So you have the biggest tax cut, the biggest spending cut, the largest border security investment in American history," Trump said. Trump scheduled the ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House for the July 4 Independence Day holiday, replete with a flyover by stealth bombers and fighter jets like those that took part in the recent US strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran. Hundreds of Trump supporters attended, including White House aides, members of Congress, and military families. After a speech that included boastful claims about the ascendance of America on his watch, Trump signed the bill, posed for pictures with Republican congressional leaders and members of his cabinet, and waded through the crowd of happy supporters. The bill's passage amounts to a big win for Trump and his Republican allies, who have argued it will boost economic growth, while largely dismissing a nonpartisan analysis predicting it will add more than US$3 trillion to the nation's US$36.2 trillion debt. While some lawmakers in Trump's party expressed concerns over the bill's price tag and its hit to healthcare programs, in the end just two of the House's 220 Republicans voted against it, joining all 212 Democrats in opposition. The tense standoff over the bill included a record-long floor speech by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who spoke for eight hours and 46 minutes, blasting the bill as a giveaway to the wealthy that would strip low-income Americans of federally-backed health insurance and food aid benefits. Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin predicted the law would cost Republicans votes in congressional elections in 2026. "Today, Donald Trump sealed the fate of the Republican Party, cementing them as the party for billionaires and special interests - not working families," Martin said in a statement. "This legislation will hang around the necks of the GOP for years to come. This was a full betrayal of the American people. Today, we are putting Republicans on notice: you will lose your majority." (Reuters)
