cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/29106759

https://archive.ph/mmOq9

China appointed a new international trade representative at the Ministry of Commerce (Mofcom) on Wednesday amid an unprecedented trade war with the United States.

Li Chenggang will replace 59-year-old Wang Shouwen, who participated in negotiations over the 2020 trade deal between the world’s two largest economies, according to a government statement.

Li, 58, has decades of experience handling international negotiations at Mofcom, and also served as China’s ambassador to the Geneva-based World Trade Organization (WTO) from 2021. He holds a bachelor’s degree in law from Peking University and a master’s degree in the economics of law from the University of Hamburg in Germany.

Though it is unclear why Li has been appointed, analysts said it could be a sign that Beijing is looking to make a breakthrough in negotiations with the US over a potential deal to end the trade war.

“Probably his experience in Geneva means that he has established linkages with key stake holders – their governments including the US.”

Last Friday, Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao spoke with WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala about the US’ tariff policies and efforts to maintain the WTO’s role in the global trading system.

Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University in Beijing and a former Chinese diplomat, said Li’s knowledge of the WTO would be important in his new role.

During his time at the WTO, Li was vocal in conveying Beijing’s opposition to Trump’s tariff policies.

“The world faces a series of tariff shocks,” Li warned in February during a meeting of the global trade body’s General Council. “The US is unilaterally and arbitrarily, blatantly violating WTO rules. China firmly opposes such measures.”

China began appointing international trade negotiation representatives holding a ministerial-level rank in 2010, as the country aimed to better protect its interests and agree more trade deals.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/7545891

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/7545890

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/7545889

Donald Trump's trade war went nuclear, hitting China with 145% tariffs, aimed at economic decoupling. This is already backfiring on the US economy, which is heavily reliant on Chinese imports. The volatility also fueled a crisis in the bond market, with Treasury yields rising. Ben Norton explains.

April 9 (Reuters) - China's central bank will not allow sharp yuan declines and has asked major state-owned banks to reduce U.S. dollar purchases, people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.

The directive from authorities comes as the yuan faces heavy downward pressure following massive U.S. tariffs on Chinese exports and retaliatory moves by Beijing.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) sent the window guidance, which is its informal style for managing policy around markets, to state banks this week, asking them to withhold U.S. dollar purchases for their proprietary accounts, three sources said.

The country's big state banks were seen selling dollars and buying yuan aggressively to slow the pace of yuan declines in the onshore spot market on Wednesday, two separate sources said.