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rssChinese companies looking to buy U.S. farm products -Xinhua
Some Chinese companies are seeking new purchases of U.S. agricultural products, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said on Sunday, citing authorities, as Beijing and Washington look for ways to end a protracted trade war.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed at last month’s G-20 summit in Osaka to restart trade talks that stalled in May.
Trump said at the time he would not impose new tariffs and U.S. officials said China agreed to make agricultural purchases. But Trump said on July 11 that China was not living up to promises to buy U.S. farm goods.
Chinese businesses have made inquiries with U.S. exporters to buy crops and agricultural products and applied for the lifting of tariffs, Xinhua said, citing Chinese authorities. China’s Customs Tariff Commission will arrange for experts to appraise the Chinese companies’ tariff exclusion applications, Xinhua said.
“Relevant Chinese departments expressed hope that the United States would meet China halfway, and earnestly implement the United States’ relevant promises,” the news agency said, without elaborating.
The world’s two largest economies have been embroiled in a tariff battle since July 2018, as the United States presses China to address what it sees as decades of unfair and illegal trading practices. (more…)
Abe’s LDP and partner win majority in Japan upper house election
Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party and junior partner Komeito won a majority of the seats up for grabs in Sunday’s upper house election but the coalition and a conservative ally fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to move ahead with revising the constitution.
The victory gave a tailwind to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s plan to raise the consumption tax and allowing him to focus on trade talks with the U.S. as well as a widening dispute with South Korea.
As of 1:21 a.m. Monday, the ruling coalition had secured 69 seats of the 124 that were contested, according to a Nikkei estimate. That is enough to give the coalition a majority in the upper house. It holds 70 seats that were not up for grabs for a total of 139.