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Stocks rose on Monday as trade war fears were tempered by Donald Trump’s announcement of tariff exemptions for electronics, although the dollar weakened and safe-haven gold hit a fresh record amid fears the relief would be short-lived.After the wild gyrations witnessed last week, markets got off to a relatively stable start following Friday’s news that the White House would exempt smartphones, semiconductors, computers and other devices from painful “reciprocal” levies.The announcement provided a much-needed injection of optimism for investors who had been sent scurrying for the hills in the wake of the US president’s tariff flip-flops and tit-for-tat measures by China.All three main indexes on Wall Street finished solidly higher, helped by comments from a top Federal Reserve official that the central bank was prepared to step in to support financial markets.Asia followed suit, with tech firms helping push Hong Kong more than two percent higher, while Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Wellington, Jakarta and Manila were also well up.London, Paris and Frankfurt also saw big gains in the morning, while US futures were all sharply higher.”After a period of chaotic price action, chinks of light poke through the forest canopy providing a much-needed guide to the entities that price risk and liquidity for a living, which in turn, may see liquidity conditions improve and a relative calm return to markets,” said Chris Weston at Pepperstone. However, Trump looked to temper the remarks on Sunday, saying the exemptions had been misconstrued and writing on his Truth Social platform that “NOBODY is getting ‘off the hook’… especially not China which, by far, treats us the worst!”He said he would announce new tariffs on semiconductors “over the next week”.His commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, said earlier chip levies would likely be in place “in a month or two”.- ‘No winners’ -Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that protectionism “leads nowhere” and that a trade war would have “no winners”, days after Beijing hit US goods with 125 percent duties but also suggested it would not retaliate further in the future.Washington has ramped up tariffs on Chinese goods to 145 percent and excluded it from a 90-day pause of crippling levies the White House announced on Wednesday.Data on Monday showed Chinese exports soared more than 12 percent last month as businesses rushed to get ahead of the swingeing tariffs, with the United States remaining the largest single destination, accounting for $115.6 billion worth of goods.”But shipments are set to drop back over the coming months and quarters,” warned Julian Evans-Pritchard, head of China economics at Capital Economics.”It could be years before Chinese exports regain current levels.”As well as fuelling a panic on stock markets, the uncertainty caused by Trump’s trade policy has also hit the dollar amid concerns about the outlook for the world’s top economy.The greenback extended losses against its major peers on Monday, with the euro at a three-year high and the Swiss franc at its strongest in 10 years.Treasuries also remain under pressure amid worries that China and other nations might dump their vast holdings, which could call into question the US position as a rock-solid safe haven.And gold, a go-to asset of safety in times of turmoil, hit a new peak of $3,245.75 on Monday, helped by the weaker dollar.Concerns about the impact of the new measures saw Boston Fed chief Susan Collins tell the Financial Times that officials would “absolutely be prepared” to deploy its various tools to help stabilise the financial markets if the need arose.She said in a separate interview with Yahoo Finance: “The higher the tariffs are, the more the potential slowdown in growth as well as elevation and inflation that one would expect.”She added that she expected inflation to rise “well above” three percent this year but saw no “significant” economic downturn.- Key figures around 0810 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.2 percent at 33,982.36 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 2.4 percent at 21,417.40 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.8 percent at 3,262.81 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 1.9 percent at 8,114.12 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 142.90 yen from 143.49 yen on FridayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.1390 from $1.1359 Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3166 from $1.3088Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.52 pence from 86.80 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.4 percent at $61.75 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.4 percent at $65.00 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 1.6 percent at 40,212.71 (close)

Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned that protectionism “leads nowhere” and that a trade war would have “no winners”, state media said, as he arrived in Vietnam on Monday on the first leg of a Southeast Asia tour.Xi will visit Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia on his first overseas trip of the year as Beijing seeks to tighten regional trade ties and offset the impact of huge tariffs unleashed by his US counterpart Donald Trump.A line of well-wishers stood outside the Vietnamese capital’s airport waving Chinese flags as Xi arrived in Hanoi for the start of a tour that Beijing says “bears major importance” for the broader region.He said in a statement reported by China’s Xinhua news agency soon after his arrival that he looked forward to an “in-depth exchange of views with Vietnamese leaders on issues concerning ties between the two parties and countries that have a global impact”.Xi earlier urged the two countries to “resolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains, and open and cooperative international environment”. He also reiterated Beijing’s line that a “trade war and tariff war will produce no winner, and protectionism will lead nowhere” in an article published on Monday in Vietnam’s major state-run Nhan Dan newspaper.Beijing is trying to present itself as a stable alternative to an erratic Trump, who announced — and then mostly reversed — sweeping tariffs this month that sent global markets into a tailspin.Vietnam’s top leader To Lam said in an article posted on the government’s news portal on Monday that his country “is always ready to join hands with China to make cooperation between the two countries more substantive, profound, balanced and sustainable”.Approximately 40 cooperation documents are expected to be signed by both nations, Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son told state media.- ‘Bamboo diplomacy’ -Vietnam was Southeast Asia’s biggest buyer of Chinese goods in 2024, with a bill of $161.9 billion, followed by Malaysia with Chinese imports worth $101.5 billion.Firming up ties with Southeast Asian neighbours could also help offset the impact from a closed United States, the largest single recipient of Chinese goods last year.Xi will be in Vietnam on Monday and Tuesday, his first trip there since December 2023.China and Vietnam, both ruled by communist parties, already share a “comprehensive strategic partnership”, Hanoi’s highest diplomatic status.Vietnam has long pursued a “bamboo diplomacy” approach — striving to stay on good terms with both China and the United States.The two countries have close economic ties, but Hanoi shares US concerns about Beijing’s increasing assertiveness in the contested South China Sea.China claims almost all of the South China Sea as its own but its claims are disputed by the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Brunei.The Chinese leader insisted in his article on Monday that Beijing and Hanoi could resolve those disputes through dialogue.”We should properly manage differences and safeguard peace and stability in our region,” Xi wrote.”With vision, we are fully capable of properly settling maritime issues through consultation and negotiation,” he said.Vietnam’s Lam said in his article on the government news portal that “joint efforts to control and satisfactorily resolve disagreements… is an important stabilizing factor in the current complex and unpredictable international and regional situation”.After Vietnam, Xi will visit Malaysia from Tuesday to Thursday.Malaysian Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said Xi’s visit was “part of the government’s efforts… to see better trade relations with various countries including China”.Xi will then travel on Thursday to Cambodia, one of China’s staunchest allies in Southeast Asia and where Beijing has extended its influence in recent years.burs-aph/pbt

China said Monday that exports soared more than 12 percent last month, beating expectations as businesses rushed to get ahead of swingeing tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on his so-called “Liberation Day”.Beijing and Washington have been locked in a fast-moving, high-stakes game of brinkmanship since Trump launched a global tariff assault that has particularly targeted Chinese imports.Tit-for-tat exchanges have seen US levies imposed on China rise to 145 percent, and Beijing setting a retaliatory 125 percent toll on US imports.Figures released by Beijing’s General Administration of Customs on Monday showed a 12.4 percent jump in overseas shipments, more than double the 4.6 percent predicted in a Bloomberg survey.Imports during the same period fell 4.3 percent, an improvement on the first two months of the year in a sign of rebounding domestic consumption.Beijing also said Monday that the United States remained the largest single overseas destination for Chinese goods from January to March, amounting to $115.6 billion.Last month, which saw a second round of US tariffs imposed on Chinese goods, the country’s exports to the United States increased by about nine percent year-on-year, Beijing said.China’s top leaders have set an ambitious annual growth target of around five percent, vowing to make domestic demand its main economic driver.But its fragile recovery faces fresh headwinds from Trump’s trade war.The US side appeared to dial down the pressure on Friday, listing tariff exemptions for smartphones, laptops, semiconductors and other electronic products of which China is a major source.- Frontloading -Analysts attributed the March surge to a rush to export ahead of Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” tariffs on all trade partners that sent global markets tumbling.”The strong export data reflect frontloading of trade before the US tariffs were announced,” Zhiwei Zhang, President and Chief Economist at Pinpoint Asset Management said in a note.”China’s exports will likely weaken in coming months as the US tariffs skyrocket,” he added.”The uncertainty of trade policies is extremely high,” Zhang said.Julian Evans-Pritchard, head of China economics at Capital Economics, said in a note that “in anticipation of even higher duties, demand from US importers continued to hold up fairly well” in March.”But shipments are set to drop back over the coming months and quarters,” he added.”It could be years before Chinese exports regain current levels.”And the world’s second-largest economy continues to struggle with sluggish consumption and a prolonged debt crisis in its property sector.Beijing last year announced a string of aggressive measures to reignite growth, including cutting interest rates, cancelling restrictions on homebuying, hiking the debt ceiling for local governments and bolstering support for financial markets.But after a blistering market rally last year fuelled by hopes for a long-awaited “bazooka stimulus”, optimism waned as authorities refrained from providing a specific figure for the bailout or fleshing out any of the pledges.

China said Monday that exports soared 12.4 percent year-on-year last month, beating expectations as Beijing navigated mounting trade headwinds sparked by US President Donald Trump.The figure was more than double the 4.6 percent predicted in a Bloomberg survey, though imports during the same period fell 4.3 percent, Beijing’s General Administration of Customs said.China’s top leaders last month set an ambitious annual growth target of around five percent, vowing to make domestic demand its main economic driver.But its fragile recovery faces fresh woes from Trump’s trade war, with huge tariffs kicking in for most Chinese goods this month.Beijing and Washington have been locked in a fast-moving, high-stakes game of brinkmanship since Trump launched a global tariff assault that particularly targeted Chinese imports.Tit-for-tat exchanges have seen US levies imposed on China rise to 145 percent, and Beijing setting a retaliatory 125 percent band on US imports.The US side appeared to dial down the pressure slightly on Friday, listing tariff exemptions for smartphones, laptops, semiconductors and other electronic products of which China is a major source.Beijing said Monday that the United States remained the largest single overseas destination for Chinese shipments in January-March, amounting to $115.6 billion.”The strong export data reflect frontloading of trade before the US tariffs were announced,” Zhiwei Zhang, President and Chief Economist at Pinpoint Asset Management said in a note.”China’s exports will likely weaken in coming months as the US tariffs skyrocketed,” he added.”The uncertainty of trade policies is extremely high.”And the world’s second-largest economy continues to struggle with sluggish consumption and a prolonged debt crisis in its property sector.Beijing announced a string of aggressive measures to reignite the economy last year, including cutting interest rates, cancelling restrictions on homebuying, hiking the debt ceiling for local governments and bolstering support for financial markets.But after a blistering market rally last year fuelled by hopes for a long-awaited “bazooka stimulus”, optimism waned as authorities refrained from providing a specific figure for the bailout or fleshing out any of the pledges.

Asian stocks rose Monday as trade war fears were tempered by Donald Trump’s announcement of tariff exemptions for electronics, though the dollar weakened and safe-haven gold hit a fresh record amid fears the relief would be short-lived.After the wild gyrations witnessed last week, markets got off to a relatively stable start following news Friday that the White House would exempt smartphones, semiconductors, computers and other devices from painful “reciprocal” levies.The announcement provided a much-needed injection of optimism for investors who had been sent scurrying for the hills in the wake of the US president’s tariff flip-flops and tit-for-tat measures by China.All three main indexes on Wall Street finished solidly higher, helped by comments from a top Federal Reserve official that the bank was prepared to step in to support financial markets.And Asia followed suit, with tech firms helping push Hong Kong more than two percent higher, while Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei and Manila all well up.”After a period of chaotic price action, chinks of light poke through the forest canopy providing a much-needed guide to the entities that price risk and liquidity for a living, which in turn, may see liquidity conditions improve and a relative calm return to markets,” said Chris Weston at Pepperstone. However, Trump looked to temper the remarks Sunday, saying the exemptions had been misconstrued and writing on his Truth Social platform that “NOBODY is getting ‘off the hook’… especially not China which, by far, treats us the worst!”He said he would announce new tariffs on semiconductors “over the next week”.His commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, earlier said chip levies would likely be in place “in a month or two”.Chinese President Xi Jinping said Monday that protectionism “leads nowhere” and that a trade war would have “no winners”, days after Beijing hit US goods with 125 percent duties, but suggested it would not retaliate further in the future.Washington has ramped up tariffs on Chinese goods to 145 percent and excluded it from a 90-day pause of crippling levies the White House announced on Wednesday.As well as fuelling a panic on stock markets, the uncertainty caused by Trump’s trade policy has also hit the dollar amid concerns about the outlook for the world’s top economy.The greenback extended losses against its major peers Monday, with the euro at a three-year high and the Swiss franc at its strongest in 10 years.Treasuries also remain under pressure amid worries that China and other nations could dump their vast holdings which could call into question the US position as a rock-solid safe haven.And gold, a go-to asset of safety in times of turmoil, hit a new peak of $3,245.75 Monday, helped by the weaker dollar.Concerns about the impact of the measures saw Boston Fed chief Susan Collins tell the Financial Times that officials would “absolutely be prepared” to deploy its various tools to help stabilise the financial markets if the need arose.In a separate interview with Yahoo Finance, she said: “The higher the tariffs are, the more the potential slowdown in growth as well as elevation and inflation that one would expect.”She added that she expected inflation to rise “well above” three percent this year, but saw no “significant” economic downturn.- Key figures around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.6 percent at 34,115.52 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 2.4 percent at 21,416.93Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.8 percent at 3,263.91Dollar/yen: DOWN at 142.50 yen from 143.49 yen on FridayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.1396 from $1.1359 Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3118 from $1.3088Euro/pound: UP at 86.88 pence from 86.80 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $61.34 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $64.58 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 1.6 percent at 40,212.71 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 7,964.18 (close)

US President Donald Trump warned Sunday that no country would be “getting off the hook” on tariffs, as his administration suggested exemptions seen as favoring China would be short-lived.The world’s two largest economies have been locked in a fast-moving, high-stakes game of brinkmanship since Trump launched a global tariff assault that particularly targeted Chinese imports.Tit-for-tat exchanges have seen US levies imposed on China rise to 145 percent, and Beijing setting a retaliatory 125 percent band on US imports.The US side had appeared to dial down the pressure slightly on Friday, listing tariff exemptions for smartphones, laptops, semiconductors and other electronic products for which China is a major source.Trump and some of his top aides said Sunday that the exemptions had been misconstrued and would only be temporary as his team pursued fresh tariffs against many items on the list. “NOBODY is getting ‘off the hook’… especially not China which, by far, treats us the worst!” he posted on his Truth Social platform.Earlier, Beijing’s Commerce Ministry had said Friday’s move only “represents a small step” and insisted that the Trump administration should “completely cancel” the whole tariff strategy.Chinese President Xi Jinping warned Monday — as he kicked off a tour of Southeast Asia with a visit to manufacturing powerhouse Vietnam — that protectionism “will lead nowhere”.Writing in an article published in a Vietnamese newspaper, Xi urged the two countries to “resolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains, and open and cooperative international environment.”He also reiterated Beijing’s line that a “trade war and tariff war will produce no winner.”Asian stock markets rose Monday after Trump’s announcement of the tariff exemptions.- Short-lived relief? -Washington’s new exemptions will benefit US tech companies such as Nvidia and Dell as well as Apple, which makes iPhones and other premium products in China.The relief could, however, be short-lived with some of the exempted consumer electronics targeted for upcoming sector-specific tariffs on goods deemed key to US national defense networks.On Air Force One Sunday, Trump said tariffs on the semiconductors — which powers any major technology from e-vehicles and iPhones to missile systems — “will be in place in the not distant future.””Like we did with steel, like we did with automobiles, like we did with aluminum… we’ll be doing that with semiconductors, with chips and numerous other things,” he said. “We want to make our chips and semiconductors and other things in our country,” Trump reiterated, adding that he would do the same with “drugs and pharmaceuticals.”The US president said he would announce tariffs rates for semiconductors “over the next week,” while his commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, said they would likely be in place “in a month or two.”The US president sent financial markets into a tailspin earlier this month by announcing sweeping import taxes on dozens of trade partners, only to abruptly announce a 90-day pause for most of them.China was excluded from the reprieve.The White House says Trump remains optimistic about securing a deal with China, although administration officials have made it clear they expect Beijing to reach out first.Trump’s trade representative Jamieson Greer told CBS “Face the Nation” on Sunday that “we don’t have any plans” for talks between the US president and his Chinese counterpart Xi.- China looks elsewhere -China has sought to present itself as a stable alternative to an erratic Washington, courting countries spooked by the global economic storm.Besides Vietnam, Xi will also visit Malaysia and Cambodia, seeking to tighten regional trade ties and with plans to meet his three Southeast Asian counterparts.The fallout from Trump’s tariffs — and subsequent whiplash policy reversals — has sent particular shockwaves through the US economy, with investors dumping government bonds, the dollar tumbling and consumer confidence plunging.Adding to the pressure on Trump, Wall Street billionaires — including a number of his own supporters — have openly criticized the tariff strategy as damaging and counterproductive.The White House insists the aggressive policy is bearing fruit, saying dozens of countries have already opened trade negotiations to secure a deal before the 90-day pause ends.”We’re working around the clock, day and night, sharing paper, receiving offers and giving feedback to these countries,” Greer told CBS.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned Monday that protectionism “leads nowhere” and that a trade war would have “no winners”, state media said, as he was due to kick off a tour of Southeast Asia with a visit to Vietnam.Xi’s first overseas trip of the year will see him visit Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia as Beijing seeks to tighten regional trade ties and offset the impact of huge tariffs unleashed by his US counterpart Donald Trump.He will meet his three Southeast Asian counterparts on a tour that “bears major importance” for the broader region, Beijing has said.Writing in an article published Monday in Vietnam’s major Nhan Dan newspaper, Xi urged the two countries to “resolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains, and open and cooperative international environment,” Beijing’s Xinhua News Agency said.He also reiterated Beijing’s line that a “trade war and tariff war will produce no winner, and protectionism will lead nowhere”, the agency added.Beijing is trying to present itself as a stable alternative to an erratic Trump, who announced — and then mostly reversed — sweeping tariffs this month that sent global markets into a tailspin.- ‘Bamboo diplomacy’ -Vietnam was Southeast Asia’s biggest buyer of Chinese goods, with a bill of $161.9 billion, followed by Malaysia, which imported $101.5 billion worth in 2024.And firming up ties with Southeast Asian neighbours could also help offset the impact from a closed United States, the largest single recipient of Chinese goods last year.Xi will be in Vietnam on Monday and Tuesday, his first trip there since December 2023Vietnam and China, both ruled by communist parties, already share a “comprehensive strategic partnership”, Hanoi’s highest diplomatic status.Vietnam has long pursued a “bamboo diplomacy” approach — striving to stay on good terms with both China and the United States.The two countries have close economic ties, but Hanoi shares US concerns about Beijing’s increasing assertiveness in the contested South China Sea.China claims almost all of the South China Sea as its own, but this is disputed by the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Brunei.The Chinese leader in his Monday article insisted Beijing and Hanoi could resolve those disputes through dialogue.”We should properly manage differences and safeguard peace and stability in our region,” Xi wrote, according to Xinhua.”With vision, we are fully capable of properly settling maritime issues through consultation and negotiation,” he said.After Vietnam, Xi will visit Malaysia from Tuesday to Thursday.Malaysian Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said Xi’s visit was “part of the government’s efforts… to see better trade relations with various countries including China”.Xi will then travel on Thursday to Cambodia, one of China’s staunchest allies in Southeast Asia and where Beijing has extended its influence in recent years.

Recent exemptions to sweeping US import tariffs may be short-lived, top officials said Sunday, with Donald Trump warning that no one was “getting off the hook,” and China urging the US to simply abandon its aggressive trade levies policy altogether.The world’s two largest economies have been locked in a fast-moving, high-stakes game of brinkmanship since US President Trump launched a global tariff assault that particularly targeted Chinese imports.Tit-for-tat exchanges have seen US levies imposed on China rise to 145 percent, and Beijing setting a retaliatory 125 percent band on US imports.The US side had appeared to dial down the pressure slightly on Friday, listing tariff exemptions for smartphones, laptops, semiconductors and other electronic products for which China is a major source.But Trump asserted Sunday that there was “no Tariff ‘exception'” on those products, saying they remained subject to a 20 percent rate in “a different Tariff ‘bucket.'”In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “Nobody is getting off the hook,” adding: “We will not be held hostage by other Countries, especially hostile trading Nations like China.”Earlier, Beijing’s Commerce Ministry had said Friday’s move only “represents a small step” and insisted that the Trump administration should “completely cancel” the whole tariff strategy.The new exemptions will benefit US tech companies like Nvidia and Dell as well as Apple, which makes iPhones and other premium products in China.- Short-lived relief? -The relief could, however, be short-lived with some of the exempted consumer electronics targeted for upcoming sector-specific tariffs on goods deemed key to US national defense networks.Trump has said he will give “very specific” details on Monday, and his commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, said semiconductor tariffs would likely be in place “in a month or two.”He said pharmaceutical products would “also be outside the reciprocal tariffs,” using an administration term for tariffs aimed at bringing all US trade imbalances to zero.The US president sent financial markets into a tailspin earlier this month by announcing sweeping import taxes on dozens of trade partners, only to abruptly announce a 90-day pause for most of them.China was excluded from the reprieve.The White House says Trump remains optimistic about securing a deal with China, although administration officials have made it clear they expect Beijing to reach out first.Trump’s trade representative Jamieson Greer told CBS “Face the Nation” on Sunday that “we don’t have any plans” for talks between the US president and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.- China looks elsewhere -China has sought to present itself as a stable alternative to an erratic Washington, courting countries spooked by the global economic storm.Xi on Monday kicks off a five-day Southeast Asia tour for talks with the leaders of Vietnam, a manufacturing powerhouse, as well as Malaysia and Cambodia.The fallout from Trump’s tariffs — and subsequent whiplash policy reversals — has sent particular shockwaves through the US economy, with investors dumping government bonds, the dollar tumbling and consumer confidence plunging.Adding to the pressure on Trump, Wall Street billionaires — including a number of his own supporters — have openly criticized the tariff strategy as damaging and counterproductive.The White House insists the aggressive policy is bearing fruit, saying dozens of countries have already opened trade negotiations to secure a deal before the 90-day pause ends.”We’re working around the clock, day and night, sharing paper, receiving offers and giving feedback to these countries,” Greer told CBS.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will kick off a five-day, three-nation Southeast Asia tour on Monday as Beijing seeks to tighten regional trade ties and offset the impact of huge tariffs unleashed by his US counterpart Donald Trump.Xi will visit Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia in his first overseas trip of the year, China’s foreign ministry said.He will meet his three Southeast Asian counterparts on a tour that “bears major importance” for the broader region, ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.Beijing is trying to present itself as a stable alternative to an erratic Trump, who announced — and then mostly reversed — sweeping tariffs this month that sent global markets into a tailspin.Trump’s tariffs “inflict serious harm on developing countries”, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao told World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in a call on Friday.The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was the biggest recipient of Chinese exports last year, data from China’s customs authority shows, importing $586.5 billion in Chinese goods.Vietnam was the biggest ASEAN buyer with a bill of $161.9 billion, followed by Malaysia, which imported $101.5 billion in Chinese goods in 2024.The manufacturing powerhouse rushed to seek a delay on the 46 percent tariff Trump initially imposed before the US leader granted most countries a 90-day pause.Trump, however, also hiked a blanket China tariff to 145 percent.Despite temporary reprieves — which now include an exemption for consumer electronics — Trump’s tariffs “instilled major anxiety” in developing Asian nations, said Huong Le Thu, deputy director of the International Crisis Group’s Asia Program.”The tariffs, if really implemented beyond China, will leave economies no choice but drifting away further from the US,” she said.- ‘Bamboo diplomacy’ -Xi will be in Vietnam on Monday and Tuesday, his first trip there since December 2023.Vietnam has long pursued a “bamboo diplomacy” approach, striving to stay on good terms with both China and the United States.It shares US concerns about Beijing’s increasing assertiveness in the contested South China Sea but it also has close economic ties with China.Xi will then visit Malaysia from Tuesday to Thursday.Malaysian Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said Xi’s visit was “part of the government’s efforts… to see better trade relations with various countries including China”.Xi will then travel on Thursday to Cambodia, one of China’s staunchest allies in Southeast Asia and where Beijing has extended its influence in recent years.”The Cambodian-Chinese ties have not changed… and we will continue to make it robust,” Prime Minister Hun Manet said at the recent inauguration of a Chinese-funded road.He said Xi’s visit would confirm their close relationship and called China “a key partner” in the development of Cambodian infrastructure.Firming up ties with Southeast Asian neighbours could also help offset the impact from a closed United States, the largest single recipient of Chinese goods last year.Beijing “wants to use this time to show it’s the opposite to the coercive and self-interested US,” the ICG’s Le Thu said.”China has been a dominant and resident power centre in the region, and there will only be stronger pull,” she said.burs-mya/pbt

Indonesian palm oil companies are seeking new markets in Europe, Africa and the Middle East as they try to protect themselves from the impact of Donald Trump’s trade war, a top industry executive told AFP.Indonesia is the world’s biggest producer of the edible oil — used in making foods such as cakes, chocolate, and margarine as well as cosmetics, soap and shampoo — and accounts for more than half the global supply.But the 32 percent tariffs imposed on the country make it one of Asia’s hardest hit by the US president’s sweeping measures that have sent shockwaves around the world.Palm oil is one of Indonesia’s biggest exports to the United States, and while Trump has announced a 90-day pause on implementing the levies, producers say the uncertainty is forcing them to look elsewhere to earn their keep.”It actually gives time for us to negotiate… so products can still enter there. I think this is very good,” said Eddy Martono, chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) on Thursday.However, he warned that market diversification “must still be done” to avoid the impact of the tariffs if they come into force later in the year, adding that firms would look to Africa — specifically top importer Egypt — the Middle East, Central Asia and Eastern Europe.”We should not just depend on traditional markets. We will continue to do it. We have to do that,” he said.Exports of palm oil products to the United States have steadily grown in recent years, with Indonesia shipping 2.5 million tons in 2023, compared with 1.5 million tons in 2020, according to GAPKI data.Eddy called on Jakarta to keep its dominance in that market through talks, particularly as rival palm oil producer Malaysia was hit with lower tariffs.”Indonesian palm oil market share in the United States is 89 percent, very high. This is what we must maintain,” he said.According to Indonesian government data, the United States was the fourth-largest importer of palm oil in 2023, behind China, India and Pakistan. – Smallholder pain -But Eddy remained confident the US would still need Indonesian palm oil if no deal was sealed when the 90 days are up.”It is still a necessity for the food industry. I believe our exports to the US will slightly decline or at least stagnate,” he said. “Those who are harmed first are consumers in America because their main food industry products need palm oil.”Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said at an economic meeting Tuesday that she would lower a crude palm oil export tax, alleviating some of the pain. While Eddy welcomed the move, saying it would make Indonesia’s palm oil exports more competitive, for the country’s 2.5 million palm oil smallholder farmers, the threatened tariffs were worrying.Mansuetus Darto, the national council chairman of the Palm Oil Farmers Union (SPKS) said the measures would have had a far-reaching impact if a deal wasn’t struck.”The raw material of the palm oil will pile up and then farmers cannot harvest anymore because of overcapacity in existing plants,” he said before the pause was announced. President Prabowo Subianto opted for a path of negotiation with Washington instead of retaliation and will send a high-level delegation later this month.While Trump took aim at Indonesia’s billion-dollar trade surplus with the United States, Prabowo said his threatened levies may have done Indonesia a favour by “forcing” it to be more efficient.Chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto also said Jakarta would buy more products such as liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas to close the gap with the world’s biggest economy.That has given hope to the industry that a deal with Trump can be done, otherwise they will be forced to turn elsewhere.”There is still time,” said Mansuetus after the pause was announced. “The government should prepare to negotiate as best as possible with the US government.”