China

BEIJING, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- China has never been a currency manipulator, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday, adding the United States' dropping its designation of China as a currency manipulator was in line with the facts and international consensus.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang made the remarks at a press briefing when answering a question regarding the United States on Monday removing the currency manipulator label it imposed on China last summer.

Beijing, Jan 14 (AFP/PTI) China's trade surplus with the United States narrowed last year as the world's two biggest economies exchanged punitive tariffs in a bruising trade war, official data showed Tuesday.

The figures were released just a day before the US and China are expected to sign a "phase one" agreement that marks a de-escalation in their two-year conflict.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s trade surplus with the United States for December stood at $23.18 billion, Reuters calculation based on Chinese customs data showed on Tuesday, narrowing slightly from the $24.6 billion surplus posted for November.

For the full year, China posted a $295.8 billion trade surplus with the United States, down from $323.33 billion in 2018, according to Reuters calculations.

Customs said China’s total trade with the United States fell 14.6% in 2019, with exports dropping 12.5% and imports slipping 20.9%.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s exports rose for the first time in five months in December and by more than expected, signaling a modest recovery in demand as Beijing and Washington agreed to defuse their prolonged trade war.

The world’s largest economies are set to sign a Phase 1 trade deal on Wednesday, marking a significant de-escalation but not an end to a dispute that has rattled financial markets and threatened to derail global economic growth.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong’s embattled leader Carrie Lam on Tuesday pledged HK$10 billion ($1.3 billion) in new relief measures to prop up an economy as it grapple with months of anti-government protests that have hurt business confidence in the city.

The proposed new spending brings the global financial hub’s total stimulus to HK$35 billion since this summer, when protests escalated and have since taken a heavy economic toll, especially in the tourism and retail sectors.

BEIJING (AP) — China’s global exports ended 2019 up 0.5% despite a tariff war with the United States as Beijing and Washington prepared to sign an interim trade deal.

Exports to the United States fell 12.5% compared with 2018 to $418.5 billion following President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes on Chinese goods, customs data showed Tuesday. December sales to the U.S. market contracted 14.5% from a year earlier to $34.4 billion despite the interim agreement and conciliatory comments by both sides.

BEIJING, Jan 13 (APP): The latest, powered-up version of the JF-17 fighter jet reportedly features technologies from China’s top-notch J-20 fighter jet and made its maiden flight in December, as the warplane co-developed by China and Pakistan saw major upgrades in electronic devices that will significantly increase its combat efficiency, experts said.

BEIJING (Reuters) - The Phase 1 trade deal to be signed this week by China and the United States “stops the bleeding” but does not end the trade war, a senior U.S. Chamber of Commerce official said on Monday, warning that significant challenges remain.

Myron Brilliant, the chamber’s Executive Vice President, told a media briefings in the Chinese capital that there is “clearly a sigh of relief from both sides” with the agreement, expected to be signed on Wednesday in Washington, and that the depth of the Phase 1 was more positive than initially thought.

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets rose Monday ahead of the signing of a U.S.-Chinese trade pact as investors shrugged off weaker-than-expected American jobs data.

Benchmarks in Shanghai, Hong Kong and South Korea advanced. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.

Investors showed little concern over Friday’s data showing American employers added fewer jobs than forecast in December. Concern over a potential U.S.-Iranian conflict faded.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong authorities barred the head of Human Rights Watch from entering the Chinese territory Sunday, the advocacy group said.

Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch’s executive director, had planned to launch the organization’s annual world report in Hong Kong this week. The report’s focus is China’s efforts to “deliberately undermine the international human rights system,” Roth said in video posted to his Twitter.