US-China trade war's shift to export controls is music to Beijing's ears
Two days of talks in London between
the United States and China have underlined that tariffs are no longer necessarily the primary theatre of operation in the trade war. The action has now shifted to the far more difficult issue of export controls, primarily on
rare earth exports from China and
technology exports from the US. That's good news for China.
Advertisement
Although details are lacking, the London negotiations
resulted in a framework that purports to make at least some progress on the nettlesome export restrictions. The amorphous nature of export controls will provide ample room for obfuscation and backsliding.
The London meetings were precipitated by rising consternation on both sides over export restrictions that threatened the tentative trade truce
agreed last month in Geneva . China failed to loosen its grip on the export of rare earth materials needed for a wide range of advanced manufacturing, breeding nervousness in the US over the prospect of factory closures and
diminished defence capabilities
The US, for its part, has continued to ratchet up restrictions on China's
access to the technologies central to China's ambition to be a global AI leader. This intensifies China's apprehension over what it sees as US determination to block its rise.
The trade war will rumble on in spite of the framework agreed in London, and as it does, export restrictions will be an increasingly important pressure point each side will try to leverage. Although export controls can take various forms, including outright bans, a more common approach is to institute
a licensing system , which requires explicit approval for cross-border shipments of the product in question.
03:36
China restricts critical metal exports following Western semiconductor curbs in latest trade war
China restricts critical metal exports following Western semiconductor curbs in latest trade war
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
HKFP
2 hours ago
- HKFP
Taiwan pursues homegrown Chinese spies as Beijing intensifies espionage
Taiwan is vetting hundreds of thousands of military service members, public school teachers and civil servants in a bid to root out potential homegrown Chinese sympathisers, as Beijing intensifies espionage on the island. Alarm is growing in Taiwan over the extent of China's infiltration on the self-ruled island, which Beijing claims is part of its territory and has threatened to seize by force. Prosecutors last week charged four recently expelled members of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party — including a former staffer in President Lai Ching-te's office — for sharing state secrets with Beijing. While Taipei and Beijing have spied on each other for decades, analysts warn the threat to Taiwan is more serious given the risk of a Chinese attack. The main targets of Chinese infiltration have been retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology. Lai, an outspoken defender of Taiwan's sovereignty and loathed by Beijing, has branded China a 'foreign hostile force' and sought to raise public awareness about Chinese actions he says threaten national security. After a sharp rise in the number of people prosecuted for spying for China in recent years, the government is trying to identify people within its own departments, military and public schools with a possible allegiance to Beijing. Anyone on the public service payroll found with Chinese residence or other identification cards risks losing their Taiwanese household registration, effectively their citizenship. 'The reason we started to survey (for Chinese IDs) is because China uses this way to coerce Taiwanese people, to penetrate our system, especially the public service,' DPP lawmaker Wang Ting-yu told AFP. 'The threat is getting worse and worse and we have to deal with that.' 'Cleanse the population' In the first round held recently, 371,203 people, or nearly all of those surveyed, signed statements declaring they did not hold any Chinese ID documents prohibited by Taiwanese law. Two people admitted having Chinese ID cards and 75 having residence permits, which were annulled, Taiwan's top policy body on China, the Mainland Affairs Council, said. The second round of vetting is underway, but the government has said the general public will not be targeted. Concern over Taiwanese people holding Chinese ID documents flared after a YouTube video last year alleged there were tens of thousands of cases. A senior Taiwanese security official said recently China was issuing ID papers to a growing number of people from Taiwan, but it was 'difficult to estimate' how many or track down offenders without Beijing's cooperation. 'The idea is to define Taiwanese citizens as Chinese citizens under their legal framework,' the official said. Legal scholar Su Yen-tu said there were limits on the government's 'investigatory power' to find out who held Chinese ID cards in Taiwan. If Taiwanese people did not voluntarily disclose the information, 'there's not much the government can do,' said Su, a research professor at Academia Sinica. Collecting records was still 'potentially useful', Jamestown Foundation president Peter Mattis told AFP, particularly if someone under investigation in the future is found to have lied about their documents. Taiwan has also asked around 10,000 Chinese spouses and their China-born children for proof they have given up their Chinese household registration, a decades-old requirement under Taiwanese law. 'It's a fight every day' The notices sparked criticism that the government was being heavyhanded, but Wang said stricter enforcement was needed because some 'new immigrants' from China had spied for Beijing and interfered in Taiwan's elections. 'I personally feel that it's a bit disturbing for the people,' said Li I-ching, a 23-year-old graduate student in Taipei, who was born in China to a Chinese mother and a Taiwanese father. Like many others, Li has to obtain evidence from China that she no longer holds permanent residence status. The Beijing-friendly main opposition Kuomintang party (KMT) has accused the government of conducting 'loyalty' tests. 'At a time when our country is facing so many difficulties… the government is only thinking about how to cleanse the population,' said KMT lawmaker Chen Yu-jen. The dispute between Taiwan and China dates back to 1949 when Chiang Kai-shek's nationalist forces lost the Chinese civil war to Mao Zedong's communist fighters and fled to the island. China has vowed to annex Taiwan and in recent years has ramped up its military pressure on the island. Taiwan says China also uses disinformation, cyberattacks and espionage to weaken its defences. 'It's a fight every day for the Taiwanese against this sort of stuff,' said Mark Harrison, a senior lecturer in Chinese studies at the University of Tasmania. 'I think their democracy has tremendous integrity, but it does have to be defended, and when you defend something, it certainly generates a lot of discourse, a lot of debate.'
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Thailand-Cambodia border clash tests China's neighbourhood diplomacy
A deadly border skirmish between Thailand and Cambodia late last month has put China's neighbourhood diplomacy to the test as Beijing seeks to maintain stability in a region crucial to its strategic interests. Analysts said China would probably monitor the Thailand-Cambodia border dispute closely while avoiding direct mediation. They added that Beijing might work with Asean to prevent future direct confrontations between troops along a 4.6 sq km (1.78-square-mile) stretch of disputed land. Thai and Cambodian officials met for the first time last weekend following an exchange of fire between troops that left one Cambodian soldier dead. But tensions remain high over the clash on May 28 in an area known as the Emerald Triangle – where Cambodia, Thailand and Laos meet. Both sides claim to have acted in self-defence and quickly withdrew their soldiers to prevent further confrontation. But the brief skirmish has shed light on deep-rooted border disputes in the Indochina peninsula, which lies alongside China and is considered a crucial trade gateway for Beijing to Southeast Asia and beyond. It was also the second armed conflict in China's neighbourhood within a month. In early May, nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan exchanged missile and air strikes in a four-day conflict. It followed a deadly attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22 that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based militant groups. While analysts agreed that the risk of a wider escalation between Cambodia and Thailand was low, they said the recent confrontation might cast a shadow over China's neighbourhood diplomacy – a priority for Beijing's foreign policy as it looks to foster closer regional ties to offset pressure from its rivalry with the United States. 'Both Cambodia and Thailand are friendly neighbours to China, and nothing concerning China's surroundings is a small matter,' said Qian Feng, a senior research fellow with Taihe Institute, a Beijing-based think tank.
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Trump complains about Nobel Peace Prize snub over Congo-Rwanda peace deal
The warring African nations said in a joint statement on Wednesday that they had initialled an agreement aimed at ending the conflict in eastern DRC – to be formally signed in the US capital next week. 'This is a Great Day for Africa and, quite frankly, a Great Day for the World!' Trump said in a Truth Social post confirming the breakthrough. But his triumphant tone darkened as he complained that he had been overlooked by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for his mediating role in conflicts between India and Pakistan, as well as Serbia and Kosovo. He also demanded credit for 'keeping peace' between Egypt and Ethiopia and brokering the Abraham Accords, a series of agreements aiming to normalise relations between Israel and several Arab nations. Trump campaigned for office as a 'peacemaker' who would use his negotiating skills to quickly end wars in Ukraine and Gaza, although both conflicts are still raging five months into his presidency.
