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HK press says US-China talks are expected to last for only one day! No progress made.

South China Morning Post with the piece saying:

  • US and China make no progress on key trade issues in two days of deputy-level talks, sources say
  • The Chinese delegation refuses to talk about forced technology transfers, a core US grievance in the negotiations, a person with knowledge of the meetings says
  • High-level talks are expected to last for only one day, with Liu He and his team now planning to leave Washington on Thursday
Risk off on this news.
And yen, gold positive

Huawei has delayed sale of smartphones in Europe citing US ban on access to Google

A piece in the South China Morning Post  overnight:

  • Huawei will delay sales of its newly launched Mate 30 smartphone series in Europe
  • Citing the US trade ban that bars access to Google apps and services
  • Huawei will promote its own Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) ecosystem, in lieu of Google’s own system, to support users in China
Further less than optimistic reports in the SCMP on the trade war include comments from a trade adviser to Donald Trump:
  • “Does the president have options to escalate the trade war? Yes, the tariffs can be raised higher. These are low level tariffs that could go to 50 percent or 100 percent”
That’s Michael Pillsbury, an outside trade adviser to Trump, said in an interview cited by SCMP.
Earlier on this here
A piece in the South China Morning Post  overnight: 

View Full Article

 

Trump ready to escalate trade war if no deal, advisor says

SCMP report

Trump has so far only imposed ‘low level tariffs’ and is prepared to escalate them further if no deal is agreed, Michael Pillsburt told the SCMP.
This is an interesting tidbit as well:
“It was very close and then something mysterious happened. China reneged,” Pillsbury said. “The mystery is the hardliners [in Beijing]. They apparently were not aware of the 150-page deal. They somehow became aware of it in April. Some new players got involved in Beijing and next thing we know their reneging took place.”
The location of the comments is also telling; the US is sending a message to China.

Beijing expert says that China and US may be close to agreeing an interim trade deal

SCMP reports on the matter

US China

The report cites views and commentary from the chief economist for the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, Chen Wenling, who is a researcher affiliated with the Chinese government.

Saying that China and US are expected to reach an interim trade deal next month, with Beijing agreeing to buy more American products and the Trump administration postponing further tariff increases and easing restrictions on Huawei.
That said, Chen notes that is would be “very difficult” to reach a comprehensive trade deal and argues that China may not meet demands from the US on IP protection as part of any interim trade deal, should that happen.
The full report can be found here.
The headlines sound great and we have seen hints of a compromise as of late but there’s some hints of biasness in the reporting that must be pointed out.
In Chen’s view, it is not necessary for China to make any more concessions other than agricultural purchases because “it has now gained the upper hand in fighting the trade war with the US”. Adding that:

“Trump is likely to win the election, and it would a good news for China. He is completely clueless in fighting the trade war without any strategies or master plans, and he has bullied US allies.”

That’s not the sort of stuff that gives you confidence as to why they are moving towards a compromise as egos are clearly a key matter in this trade ordeal.

Tech Gained $1.7 Trillion in 2017

“Between the FAANG quintet and China’s rivaling BAT companies, gains in the world’s top technology shares are nearing a whopping $1.7 trillion in market value this year.
That’s more than Canada’s entire economy, and exceeds the worth of Germany’s biggest 30 companies put together. The eight tech giants — Facebook Inc., Amazon Inc., Apple Inc., Netflix Inc. and Google parent Alphabet Inc., as well as their Asian peers Baidu Inc., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. — have amassed as much money in 2017 as Pacific Investment Management Co., one of the world’s biggest fund managers, has done in about 46 years.” (emphasis added)

The chart nearby shows some comparison veresus, DAX, Pimco and Canada!
 
Monster Tech Gains 2017 YTD
click for ginormous graphic

11 Quotes That Illustrate The Strange, Relentless Genius Of Alibaba Founder Jack Ma

On not giving up: “Today is cruel. Tomorrow is crueler. And the day after tomorrow is beautiful.”
On past mistakes from “the dark days at Alibaba”: “If you don’t give up, you still have a chance. And, when you are small, you have to be very focused and rely on your brain, not your strength.”
On teamwork: “If we are a good team and known what we want to do, one of us can defeat ten of them.”
On having a larger mission: “It doesn’t matter if I failed. At least I passed the concept on to others. Even if I don’t succeed, someone will succeed.”
On perseverance: “We will make it because we are young and we will never, never give up.”
On work: “If we go to work at 8 a.m. and go home at 5 p.m., this is not a high-tech company and Alibaba will never be successful. If we have that kind of 8-to-5 spirit, then we should just go and do something else.”
On competition: “You should learn from your competitor, but never copy. Copy and you die.”
On Alibaba.com’s 2007 IPO: “Alibaba is not just a job. It’s a dream. It’s a cause. Let the Wall Street investors curse us if they want.”
On starting a company: “If you want to grow, find a good opportunity. Today, if you want to be a great company, think about what social problem you could solve.”
On the benefits of his technological ineptitude: “Intelligent people need a fool to lead them. When the team’s all a bunch of scientists, it is best to have a peasant lead the way. His way of thinking is different. It’s easier to win if you have people seeing things from different perspectives.”
On growth: “In carrying out e-commerce, the most important thing is to keep doing what you are doing right now with passion, to keep it up.”

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