Trump signs executive memo targeting China on trade

Dow component Nike, which will report its latest results after the markets close Thursday, sold $1.2 billion of sneakers and athletic apparel in China in its last quarter.

At current rates China will overtake the United States to become the biggest source of worldwide patent applications in the Wipo system within three years, Wipo said. It was the blue-chip average’s fifth-worst daily point drop in history and worst point drop since February 8, when it fell more than 1,000 points.

The dollar dipped to 104.85 yen as investors shifted into the Japanese currency, which is viewed as a “safe haven” from risk. Those tariffs are set to take effect Friday.

“No one will emerge a victor from a trade war”, said Li, the No. 2 Chinese leader, at an annual news conference held during the meeting of China’s ceremonial legislature. “There is no victor”, China’s Premier Li Keqiang said at a news conference in Beijing in anticipation of the Trump administration’s tariff action.

While Chinese media consumers have grown increasingly apolitical with the ever-expanding range of options, from foreign television shows to video games and online shopping, Xi has been steadily increasing the role of the party in the lives of many through new or newly invigorated branch committees in schools, offices and factories.

The analysts said any Chinese response will be product-specific and more restrained.

U.S. pork exports could be another “easy target”, amid a boost in China’s sow herd, according to Vertical Group, a New York-based investment bank. -China Business Council, which represents American companies that do business with China.

The administration does not think that China’s commitments have been fulfilled.

The administration has been forced to walk back some of its steel and aluminum measures, granting exemptions to Canada and Mexico and entering talks with the European Union and others to discuss potential exemptions.

Chinese purchases of those goods past year totaled $3 billion, the ministry said.

Donald Trump thinks the trade deficit is against America’s national security interest, killing jobs in United States and hurting its economy.

In a possible sign of what is to come, Best Buy Co Inc, the largest USA consumer electronics retailer, has made a decision to stop buying smartphones from Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Oil futures rallied. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 95 cents to $65.27 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

China should prepare for military action over Taiwan following passage of the US’ Taiwan Travel Act, an editorial in China’s Global Times said yesterday. The coffee giant now gets about 14% of its sales from China – and sales are growing at a faster pace there than they are in the United States and other developed markets.

The Commerce Ministry said the higher US tariffs “seriously undermine” the global trading system.

“If the system can not be established in a modern, efficient and very flexible way, it will be very hard for many organizations to work in step”, he said. It appealed for dialogue “to avoid damage to overall Chinese-U.S. cooperation”.

Trade wars are bad for the global economy, as they cause prices that consumers and businesses pay for goods and services to rise.

United States officials widely agree that China has stolen USA technology and trade secrets. Technology and industrial companies, basic materials makers and health care companies also fell sharply. -China Business Council said the group wanted to know what action the USA administration wants China to take to improve protection for intellectual property, and over forced technology transfer. The USTR said Trump had ordered it to pursue a World Trade Organization case against Beijing’s “discriminatory technology licensing”.

The administration said it would announce in the next 15 days which products would be subject to tariffs.

The association’s executive president, actor-producer Eric Tsang said Hong Kong industry practitioners had trouble dealing with mainland business culture and its poorly drawn-up regulations.

Investors have anxious about rising trade tensions after the administration announced tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. He promised Beijing will “open even wider” to imports and investment.

The new body’s chief responsibilities include “implementing the party’s propaganda guidelines and policies”, Xinhua said.

Industrial and technology companies slumped.