China yesterday increased tariffs on billions worth of US goods as it prepares to unveil a blacklist of “unreliable” foreign companies that analysts say aims to punish US and other foreign firms cutting off supplies to telecoms giant Huawei Technologies Co (華為).
Beijing’s move hits US$60 billion worth of US goods with new punitive tariffs ranging from 5 to 25 percent, and comes in retaliation for Washington raising punitive tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese goods to 25 percent.
China said it would lay out its position on trade talks with the US in a white paper and hold a news conference on the issue today.
The document is to be released at 10am, after which Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen (王受文) is to take questions from reporters.
Washington and Beijing resumed their trade battle last month when talks in the US ended without a deal, with US negotiators accusing Chinese negotiators of reneging on previous commitments.
The countries have exchanged tariffs on US$360 billion in two-way trade so far.
The tit-for-tat tariff dispute has been upstaged in the past few weeks by Washington’s move to blacklist Huawei over national security concerns, threatening the firm’s global ambitions.
The US Department of Commerce placed Huawei on an “entity list” on grounds of national security on May 16, a move that curbs its access to US-made components it needs for its equipment.
A 90-day reprieve was later issued.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce on Friday said it would release its own list of “unreliable entities” that break their commercial contracts and stop supplying Chinese firms.
“For China’s countermeasures, what we say, we do,” anchor Kang Hui (康輝) said on Chinese state-broadcaster CCTV’s primetime news show that aired across multiple Chinese stations.
“Talk and our door is open. Fight, and we will fight to the end,” Kang said.
The ministry said it would roll out the detailed measures against companies on the list shortly, noting foreign firms that break contracts, cut off supplies or take other discriminatory measures against Chinese firms would be included.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique