Uncertainty over the outcome of US-China trade talks cast a pall over Asian markets yesterday as both sides were silent over what might lie ahead.
Most Asian markets opened lower after the talks wrapped up the day before without clear indications of whether progress was made on resolving a dispute over Chinese technology policies that has the world’s two biggest economies embroiled in a trade dispute.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce issued a statement saying the two sides had “detailed exchanges” and would “maintain close contact,” but gave no details.
A statement from the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) did not characterize the tone of the talks or say what would happen next.
It said US negotiators would await “guidance on the next steps” after reporting back to Washington.
So far, the US side has described the exchanges in a positive light.
The US statement said that the negotiations dealt with the need for any agreement with China to be “subject to ongoing verification and effective enforcement.”
The USTR also said the negotiations “focused on China’s pledge to purchase a substantial amount of agricultural, energy, manufactured goods, and other products and services from the United States.”
US stocks surged on Wednesday on optimism that the mid-level talks in Beijing would be followed up with discussions between higher-ranking US and Chinese officials.
Investors were encouraged that talks planned for two days were extended to three.
However, the enthusiasm was wearing thin yesterday, when Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.2 percent, while Shanghai Composite Index closed down 0.4 percent and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo dropped 1.3 percent.
Washington wants Beijing to change its plans to use government support to make Chinese companies world leaders in robotics and advanced technologies.
Chinese officials have suggested that Beijing might alter its industrial plans, but reject pressure to abandon what they consider a path to prosperity and global influence.
Neither side has given any indication that its basic position has changed.
Chinese exports to the US have held up, despite tariff increases of up to 25 percent on US$250 billion of Chinese imports, partly due to exporters rushing to fill orders before more increases hit.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained