US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross is to visit China early next month for another round of talks amid ongoing trade frictions between the world’s two largest economies.
Ross is to visit China from June 2 to June 4, Xinhua news agency reported yesterday, adding that Chinese Vice Premier Liu He (劉鶴), China’s chief negotiator in the trade dispute, had spoken with Ross over the phone.
The trade dispute took on added complexity this week when US President Donald Trump announced a national security investigation into imports of cars and trucks, a probe that could lead to tariffs against China, as well as key US allies, such as Canada, Mexico, Japan and Germany.
Photo: Bloomberg
US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin on Monday told CNBC that Ross is aiming to negotiate “a framework” that could then turn into “binding agreements ... between companies.”
In the last round of talks in Washington last week, China agreed to ramp up purchases of US agriculture and energy products, and the two sides worked toward a possible reprieve for ZTE Corp (中興通訊) from a US ban on US companies supplying the Chinese maker of telecoms equipment.
The developments and constructive comments from both sides eased fears that the US and China could plunge into a trade war, but US President Donald Trump this week said that any deal would need “a different structure,” fueling uncertainty over the negotiations.
Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives voted to punish ZTE as part of an annual defense policy bill, as Congress pressures Trump not to weaken sanctions on the company accused of violating trade-sanction agreements and posing a threat to US national security.
The defense measure on Thursday passed on a 351-66 vote. It would ban government agencies from using technology made by ZTE and prohibit the US Department of Defense from renewing contracts with vendors that work with the Chinese company.
The measure would also bar government use of Chinese-made video surveillance equipment.
Furthermore, the measure would apply to several other Chinese companies, including Hytera Communications Corp (海能達通信), Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co (杭州海康威視數字技術) and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co (浙江大華技術).
The legislation illustrates growing congressional opposition to Trump’s reconsideration of penalties against ZTE as a favor to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), after the company estimated losses of at least US$3.1 billion from a US technology ban.
A draft Senate defense bill, which was to be released on Thursday, would contain language restricting Trump’s ability to lift sanctions on ZTE, a Senate Republican aide said.
The language, part of a foreign investment provision inserted into the bill, would require Trump to certify that lifting the sanctions does not harm national security.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
purpose: Tesla’s CEO sought to meet senior Chinese officials to discuss the rollout of its ‘full self-driving’ software in China and approval to transfer data they had collected Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing yesterday on an unannounced visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of "full self-driving" (FSD) software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Chinese state media reported that he met Premier Li Qiang (李強) in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla's development in China could be regarded as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation. Musk confirmed his meeting with the premier yesterday with a post on social media platform X. "Honored to meet with Premier Li
Dutch brewing company Heineken NV on Friday announced an investment of NT$13.5 billion (US$414.62 million) over the next five years in Taiwan. The first multinational brewing company to operate in Taiwan, Heineken made the statement at a ceremony held at its brewery in Pingtung County. It also outlined its efforts to make the brewery “net zero” by 2030. Heineken has been in the Taiwanese market for 20 years, Heineken Taiwan managing director Jeff Wu (吳建甫) said. With strong support from local consumers, the Dutch brewery decided to transition from sales to manufacturing in the country, Wu said. Heineken assumed majority ownership and management rights
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI