Briefings - 347. page

Japan Nikkei Asian Review reported that, in order to bypass the tariffs, China made goods were found to have been shipped to Taiwan, Vietnam, or Mexico before they were sold to the U.S. In the first quarter of 2019, China’s exports to the U.S. dropped $15.2 billion or 12 percent. At the same time, goods sold by China to Taiwan, Vietnam, or Mexico increased significantly.

Nikkei Asian Review analyzed the data from the U.S. International Trade Commission and the International Trade Centre. It looked at the flow of goods in the U.S., China, and the rest of the world, especially the five categories that had the largest export declines from China to the U.S. These included machinery and parts, electronic equipment, furniture, toys, and automotive equipment and parts. It found that in the first quarter of 2019, China’s exports to the US in these five categories dropped US$12.2 billion or 16 percent. However the number of goods that China sold to developing countries and that then went from developing countries to the U.S. increased substantially, especially from Taiwan, Vietnam, and Mexico. The article reported that some companies in China shut down or reduced direct exports to the U.S. but they then sent raw materials and parts to other Asian countries or Mexico for final assembly or repackaging so they would have a different country of origin. Then they sold (these goods) to the U.S. The increased cases have concerned some Asian countries. In September last year, the Vietnamese authorities confiscated products that were actually “Made in China” but were labeled as “Made in Vietnam” which had a U.S. destination. On May 31, Trump announced an increase in tariffs on all imported goods from Mexico, partly due to the significant increase in the volume of goods that Mexico sold to the U.S.

Nikkei Asian Review concluded that Beijing may eventually lose the trade war due to changes in its production lines, personnel and supply chain. In April, China’s total exports fell by 3 percent. It is very difficult to make up for the decrease by increasing exports to countries in Asia and other regions.

Source: Aboluowang, June 2, 2019
https://www.aboluowang.com/2019/0602/1297168.html

Duowei, a Chinese news media that the Chinese government set up in North America, reported that, “China, in the face of the unreasonable demands that the United States has made on China in trade negotiations, emphasized its  ‘core interests’ and showed that it has the will never to yield to the United States. At the same time, China has accelerated the pace of its building a counter-U.S. front with neighboring countries.”

The report said, “China’s state media Xinhua News Agency published a commentary on May 25, stating that ‘the U.S.’ dissatisfaction with China’s economic structure violates China’s core interests.’ The Chinese government has always used the term ‘core interests’ to emphasize territorial sovereignty on issues such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau. ‘Core interests’ first appeared in the economic field after the Chinese government released the ‘China’s Peaceful Development’ white paper in September 2011. It has since received much attention.”

“South Korea’s East Asia Daily reported on May 28 that, in response to their common enemy, Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The report said that the leaders of China and Russia met at the ‘Belt and Road’ International Cooperation Summit held in Beijing on April 26 and will meet again in June. This time China is a country that the United States has also sanctioned. Therefore, at the summit, Xi Jinping will listen to Putin’s advice on the Sino-U.S. trade war response plan .”

“At the same time, China is advancing the summit between Xi Jinping and Modi. It is reported that China will discuss the plan for separate talks between the Chinese and Indian leaders at the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to be held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in June. The China-India summit plans to issue a joint statement supporting free trade based on the World Trade Organization (WTO), which will become a symbolic move by China and India to respond to the ‘America First’ policy that U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed. In addition, Xi Jinping also plans to upgrade Iran to a full member state at this SCO summit. Earlier, Iran has been attending the SCO meeting as an observer. This is not only a warning to the United States, but it is expected to further enhance the SCO’s international status. Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post commented that, in the face of the United States’ unrelenting attacks, China began to unite with neighboring countries to explore ways to deal with the United States.”

Source: Duowei News, May 28, 2019
http://news.dwnews.com/global/news/2019-05-28/60135401.html

On May 29, 2019, Huanqiu published an editorial on how the U.S. Wall Street is trying to kick out Chinese companies. “As the U.S. trade war with China widens, the call to drive Chinese companies out of Wall Street is rising considerably in the United States. Extremists, who advocate depriving Chinese companies of their right to be listed in the U. S. stock exchanges, claim that Chinese companies have raised tens of billions of dollars from the U.S. stock market over the years and that it is another pipeline, in addition to the trade surplus, for China to take advantage of the United States. They are eager to push Washington to cut off the pipeline and decouple China and the United States in the financial market.”

If that happens, the State media reasoned, it would merely reduce the financing sources available to Chinese companies, but it would have a much greater impact on the U.S. investors wishing to benefit from Chinese economic growth.

To the extent the United States shuts out Chinese companies from its financial market, Huanqiu believed, “There will be many capital markets in the world that welcome China’s promising companies. The United States has closed down one road through which China opens up to the outside world and cut off its financing links with the world’s largest developing market. It would be an interesting question whether that causes more harm to China or to the United States.”

Finally, the State media concluded, “In our view, the arrogance of some Americans towards China has become abnormal; they increasingly live in all kinds of fantasies and (act on) impulse. They really seem to believe that the lifeline of China’s prosperity today is in the United States and that no matter how tall the big tree of China grows, most of its roots are deeply embedded in the United States. They imagine that as long as they cut those roots, China’s modernization will be struggling and eventually collapse. The arrogant American elite should go recalculate it.”

Source: Huanqiu, May 29. 2019
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2019-05/14960143.html?agt=15422