RIYADH: China firmly opposes trade talks between the US and Taiwan, and says it will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests, the commerce ministry said on Thursday.
Taiwan and the US have said they will start trade talks under a new initiative.
“One China” policy is a prerequisite for Taiwan’s participation in economic cooperation with foreign countries, Shu Jueting, spokeswoman of the ministry, said at a regular press conference.
Stocks down
China and Hong Kong stocks fell on Thursday, hit by increasingly grim growth prospects for the world’s second-largest economy suffering from COVID-19 outbreaks, a property crisis, a record heat wave and limited room for monetary easing.
China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index dropped 0.9 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.5 percent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng benchmark fell 0.6 percent.
China’s July aluminum imports fall 38%
China’s aluminum imports in July slid 38.3 percent from a year earlier, government data showed on Thursday, as domestic production rose to a record and overseas supplies tightened.
The country brought in 192,581 tons of unwrought aluminum and products, including primary metal and unwrought, alloyed aluminum, last month, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.
The fall in imports was partly attributed to a rise in domestic supply this year.
China, the world’s biggest metals producer and consumer, made a record 3.43 million tons of aluminum in July as smelters did not have to contend with the power restrictions imposed last year.
Total imports in the first seven months were 1.27 million tons, down 28.1 percent from the same period a year ago.
Imports of bauxite, the main source of aluminum ore, were at 10.59 million tons last month, up 12.4 percent from June’s 9.42 million, and compared with 9.25 million in July a year earlier, according to the data.
Geely Automobile H1 profit slumps 35%
China’s Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd said on Thursday its first-half net profit fell 35 percent, as the country’s strict COVID-19 restrictions dented sales and disrupted production.
Hangzhou-based Geely, China’s highest-profile automaker globally due to the group’s investments in Volvo Cars and Mercedes-Benz, posted January-June profit of 1.55 billion yuan ($228.3 million), versus 2.38 billion yuan in the same period a year earlier.
China’s auto sector has been hit hard by government efforts to combat COVID-19, with many areas including the commercial hub of Shanghai under lockdowns of varying lengths.
(With input from Reuters)
