Everything You Need to Know About China's Economy on Thursday (April 3)
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HOWDY! This is TIAN from Hebei Province in Northeast China, welcoming you to Thursday’s edition of Everything You Need to Know About China’s Economy — coming to you after a four-hour drive for the Qingming holiday starting Friday.
DRIVING THE DAY, U.S. President Donald Trump signed executive order on the so-called "reciprocal tariffs" and “added a 34 percent tariff on imports from China.”
Your Watchers have prepared this newsletter covering China's official responses to Trump's announcement, along with the ripple effects of the “reciprocal tariffs.”
A SPOKESPERSON FOR THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE said on Thursday that China firmly opposes the U.S. "reciprocal tariffs" and will resolutely adopt countermeasures to safeguard its rights and interests.
"Reciprocity” approach disregards the balance of interests achieved through many years of multilateral trade negotiations and ignores the fact that the United States has long benefited from international trade, the spokesperson said.
The United States determined the so-called "reciprocal tariffs" based on subjective and unilateral evaluation, which does not comply with international trade rules, severely damages the legitimate rights and interests of relevant parties, and is a typical practice of unilateral bullying, the spokesperson said, adding that many trading partners have expressed strong dissatisfaction with and clear opposition to the U.S. move.
China urges the United States to immediately cancel its unilateral tariff measures and properly resolve differences with its trading partners through equal dialogue, the spokesperson said.
MEANWHILE, He Yadong, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, said Thursday at a news conference that China is willing to talk with the United States on important economic and trade issues and resolve each other's concerns through equal dialogue and consultations.
When asked about the meeting plans between Chinese and U.S. economic and trade teams, He said that on March 26, He Lifeng, Chinese vice premier and Chinese lead person for China-U.S. economic and trade affairs, held video talks with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at the request of the U.S. side.
Economic and trade departments of both China and the United States have maintained communication, the spokesperson added.
ALSO ON THURSDAY, China and the EU have agreed to promptly resume their negotiations on a price commitment plan regarding the anti-subsidy probe into Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), China's Ministry of Commerce said.
The resumption of talks is part of efforts to foster a stable environment for investment and industrial collaboration between Chinese and EU enterprises, said the ministry.
IN ADDITION, China issued its first-ever overseas RMB-denominated sovereign green bond in London on April 2 London Time, China's Ministry of Finance said on Thursday.
The deal totals 6 billion yuan (about 833.33 million U.S. dollars), including 3 billion yuan for a three-year term with an interest rate of 1.88 percent, and 3 billion yuan for a five-year term at an interest rate of 1.93 percent. Both rates are lower than the yields on comparable treasury bonds in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region secondary market.
Notably, the London offering spurred strong demand from international investors -- drawing a diverse range of participants across various regions. Total subscriptions hit 41.58 billion yuan, 6.9 times the issuance value.
IN TODAY'S FINANCIAL MARKET,
Chinese stocks closed lower on Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.24 percent to 3,342.01 points.
The Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.4 percent lower at 10,365.73 points
The combined turnover of these two indices stood at about 1.14 trillion yuan (about 158.6 billion U.S. dollars), up from 974.5 billion yuan the previous trading day.
Shares related to tourism and retail sectors emerged as top gainers, while those in consumer electronics and AI glasses suffered big losses.
The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, lost 1.86 percent to close at 2,065.4 points Thursday.
Chinese yuan weakens to 7.1889 against USD Thursday
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, weakened 96 pips to 7.1889 against the U.S. dollar Thursday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.
In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.
China's benchmark interbank gold prices lower Thursday
According to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System, the benchmark price for gold that is 99.95 percent pure or above stood at 732.75 yuan per gram, 2.02 yuan lower than the previous trading day.
The price for gold that is 99.99 percent pure or above was down 3.34 yuan from the previous trading day to 732.50 yuan.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closes 1.52 pct lower
Hong Kong's stock market ended lower on Thursday with the benchmark Hang Seng Index down 1.52 percent to close at 22,849.81 points.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index slid 1.31 percent to end at 8,420.14 points, and the Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 2.09 percent to 5,313.26 points.
AT THE END OF TODAY'S SHARING, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR DAILY FUTURES:
No.1 soybean futures closed higher on Thursday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE).
The most active No.1 soybean contract for May 2025 delivery gained 40 yuan (about 5.56 U.S. dollars) to close at 3,979 yuan per tonne.
On Thursday, the total trading volume of six listed No.1 soybean futures contracts on the exchange was 262,165 lots, with a turnover of about 10.41 billion yuan.
Iron ore futures closed lower on Thursday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange.
The most active iron ore contract for May 2025 delivery dipped 2.5 yuan (about 35 U.S. cents) to close at 788.5 yuan per tonne.
On Thursday, the total trading volume of 12 listed iron ore futures contracts on the exchange was 499,443 lots, with a turnover of about 38.36 billion yuan.
About the Newsletter:
Ran by TIAN Dongdong, this newsletter features daily and trustworthy content on China's economy. Having worked in Brussels, London, Cairo, and Tripoli for Chinese media as correspondent for several years, TIAN is now based in Beijing.