GYEONGJU (dpa-AFX) – After meeting with US President Donald Trump, China’s state and party leader Xi Jinping warns of a break in supply chains. In order to drive economic growth, the stability of industrial and supply chains must be ensured, Xi said at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ summit in Gyeongju, South Korea. One must adhere to the principle of “lengthening the chains instead of breaking them,” he demanded.
“We should actively search for more areas of common interest and support open development of supply chains,” Xi said. It was the Chinese man’s first public statement after speaking to Trump on Thursday in South Korea.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who represented the United States at Apec because Trump had already left, discussed his country’s efforts to diversify supply chains in his speech. “From critical minerals and magnets to semiconductors and energy, the United States is investing with our trading partners to build resilient production networks that reduce dependence on vulnerable sectors,” he said at the closed-door opening event, according to his agency.
Partial agreement on controversial issues
China and the USA had agreed to withdraw some economic restrictions against the other side. China is again buying soybeans from the United States and is suspending its export controls on rare earths announced on October 9th.
The USA is reducing the tariffs it introduced against China for the opioid fentanyl to ten percent, but other surcharges remain in place. Washington is also withdrawing measures against companies that were suspected of using US-sanctioned Chinese companies to circumvent US export controls.
Observers viewed the agreement as an interim result in the trade conflict between the world’s two largest economies. The latest pause in the trade dispute will reduce fears of a return to embargo-level tariffs of 100 percent or more, which both sides threatened during the escalation phase in April, wrote analyst Gabriel Wildau of the consulting firm Teneo. The partial agreement also appears fragile because new tensions over trade or security could lead one or both sides to take new coercive measures./jon/DP/stk