China is to send a senior negotiator to the US later this month to resume trade talks in what would be the first public meeting on the dispute in weeks as the trade conflict intensifies, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said yesterday.
Beijing and Washington have slapped tariffs on tens of billions of dollars of each other’s goods since they held their last high-level meeting in June, raising fears that the trade war could shake the global economy.
At the invitation of the US, a delegation led by Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen (王受文), the deputy representative on international trade negotiations, is to meet with a team led by US Department of the Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs David Malpass, the ministry said in a statement.
“The Chinese side reiterates that it opposes unilateralism and trade protectionism practices and does not accept any unilateral trade restriction measures,” the ministry said. “China welcomes dialogue and communication on the basis of reciprocity, equality and integrity.”
US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross in June held talks with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He (劉鶴) in Beijing. Liu had met with US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin in Washington a month earlier.
However, the discussions failed to reduce tensions as the US slapped tariffs on US$34 billion of Chinese goods early last month, triggering an immediate dollar-for-dollar retaliation from Beijing.
The two countries are expected to launch a new round of tit-for-tat tariffs on US$16 billion of goods from each country on Thursday next week.
Washington has also lined up an additional US$200 billion in Chinese imports and US President Donald Trump said he could raise tariffs on those products to 25 percent instead of the previously touted 10 percent.
China responded by this month threatening to impose new tariffs on US$60 billion of US goods.
The two sides might discuss what Beijing needs to do, such as increasing US imports, further opening its markets and making efforts to protect US intellectual property rights, Macquarie Group head of greater China economics Larry Hu (胡偉俊) said.
Depending on actions taken by China, the US might discuss what it can do to temporarily prevent an escalation of the trade war, Hu said.
“I think we are still at an ice-breaking stage, the two sides are testing each other’s bottom line,” he said, adding that it would be a lower-level meeting than the previous talks.
The yuan has declined over the past few weeks, helping Chinese exporters as it makes their products cheaper, but it could fuel tensions with Trump, who has accused Beijing of manipulating its currency.
Chinese officials have said that the tariffs have yet to affect the country’s economy, with its exports beating forecasts last mo.
The threatened tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese goods could have “some direct impact” on industrial production, employment, foreign trade and commodity prices, but “the overall impact is generally controllable,” Chinese National Development and Reform Commission spokesman Cong Liang (從亮) told reporters on Wednesday.
However, analysts said that China could feel the full effect of tariffs this month.
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
RIDING AI WAVE: : Most of its NT$15bn capital budget would be spent on packaging technologies used in AI and HPC chips and advanced testing technology, it said Chip testing and packaging service provider Powertech Technology Inc (PTI, 力成科技) plans to increase this year’s capital expenditure by 50 percent to expand capacity to meet growing demand for advanced memorychips used in artificial intelligence (AI) products. The company proposed to spend NT$15 billion (US$460.94 million) to expand advanced capacity and equipment, compared with a budget of NT$10 billion it planned three months ago. “We are seeing a recovery in market demand as well as new business opportunities. We will spend heavily on advanced packaging” equipment, Powertech chief executive officer Boris Hsieh (謝永達) told investors on Tuesday. “We will focus on ramping
INFLATION WATCH: A rate hike in March would help keep inflation at 2.16 percent this year, although a weak currency and higher electricity rates are an issue, S&P said Moody’s Ratings and S&P Global Ratings have reaffirmed Taiwan’s sovereign credit ratings at “As3” and “AA+” respectively with a stable outlook on the back of high income and wealth levels, a strong institutional framework and robust external positions. The affirmations came as Taiwan’s economy is gaining momentum after quarters of slowdown induced by stubborn global inflation and monetary tightening. Taiwan’s strong fiscal and external buffers have improved relative to peers as evidenced by recent shocks linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing US-China technology dispute, the two ratings firms said. “Taiwan stands as the epicenter of the global semiconductor supply chain, accounting