Anxiety over Donald Trump’s plan to announce a barrage of tariffs on trading partners next week is gripping the global economy, and the markets.
China’s president, Xi Jinping, has gathered a group of top chief executives in Beijing today, where he urged them to protect industrial and supply chains, as the trade war with the US deepens.
The gathering includes AstraZeneca’s boss Pascal Soriot, Bill Winters of Standard Chartered, Bridgewater’s Ray Dalio and Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone, plus the CEOs of FedEx, Saudi Aramco, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, HSBC and Hitachi.
Xi told them: “We need to work together to maintain the stability of global industrial and supply chains, which is an important guarantee for the healthy development of the world economy."
About 40 executives joined the meeting, held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Reuters reports.
Xi told them that overseas firms play an important role in China’s economy: “Foreign enterprises contribute one-third of China’s imports and exports, one-quarter of industrial added value and one-seventh of tax revenue, creating more than 30m jobs."
And he took a swipe at the trade barriers imposed by other countries in recent years, saying:“In recent years, foreign investment in China has also been interfered with by geopolitical factors ... I often say that blowing out other people’s lights does not make you brighter.”
The meeting comes less than a week before Trump’s “Liberation Day”, when he is expected to announced a wide-ranging slate of reciprocal tariffs. That could disrupt global trade flows, and push up the cost of imports to the US.
Asia-Pacific stock markets have dropped today, with China’s CSI 300 down 0.44% and South Korea’s Kospi losing 2%.
Auto companies continued to be hit by the 25% tariffs announced by Trump on Wednesday, with Hyundai Motors falling another 3.5% today.
WH Smith has agreed to sell its UK high street chain to Modella Capital, in a deal that will result in the stores being rebranded as TGJones.
The deal will allow WH Smith to streamline its operations and create a retailer focused on global travel, via its outlets at railway stations and airports.
The deal values WH Smith’s 480 high-street stores at £76m, with their 5,000 staff transferring to Modella under the deal.
The agenda
• 12.30pm GMT: US PCE inflation report for February
• 2pm GMT: University of Michigan’s US consumer confidence report
We'll be tracking all the main events throughout the day … |
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