China considering cancelling trade talks with US: media reports
Washington: China is considering to cancel the high-level trade talks with the US, multiple media reports have said, hours after President Donald Trump threatened to impose more punishing tariffs on USD 200 billion worth of Chinese products.
President Trump's remarks came on Sunday as the two countries locked in a longstanding trade war seemed near to striking a trade deal.
A high-level Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He was scheduled to be in Washington this week to resume talks aimed at resolving the trade war that has cast gloom over the world economy.
"China is considering cancelling trade talks that are to resume in Washington starting Wednesday," The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday quoting unnamed sources.
"There has been widespread expectations in recent days that an accord could be reached by Friday," it said.
Quoting an unnamed source, CNBC News said the Chinese Vice Premier will likely cancel the trip he had planned for himself and a 100-person delegation for the final round of talks.
The US officials had previously said that a deal could be reached by Friday.
But Trump's tweets surprised many and appear to reflect on the difficulties in the US-China trade negotiations that have been going on since December when the US president and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed to work on a trade deal within a time frame of 100 days.
"For 10 months, China has been paying tariffs to the USA of 25 per cent on 50 billion dollars of High Tech, and 10 per cent on 200 billion dollars of other goods," Trump said in a series of tweets on Sunday. These payments are partially responsible for America's great economic results, he said.
"The 10 per cent will go up to 25 per cent on Friday. 325 billions dollars of additional goods sent to us by China remain untaxed, but will be shortly, at a rate of 25 per cent," he said.
Trump said the tariffs paid to the US have had little impact on product cost, mostly borne by China. "The Trade Deal with China continues, but too slowly, as they attempt to renegotiate. No!" he tweeted.
The Wall Street Journal report said that Trump's tweet had taken Beijing by surprise.
"China shouldn't negotiate with a gun pointed to its head," an unnamed Chinese person was quoted as saying in the report.
A decision on whether to go ahead with the talks this week has not been made, the report said.
The Chinese officials have said Beijing would not bend to pressure tactics. By potentially scotching the trip, Beijing would be following up on its pledge to avoid negotiating under threat, it said.
Trump's latest move will raise duties on more than 5,000 products made by Chinese producers, ranging from chemicals to textiles and consumer goods.
The US president originally imposed a 10 per cent tariff on these goods in September that was due to rise in January, but postponed this as negotiations advanced.
In Argentina, Trump agreed not to increase the import tariffs on Chinese products till an agreement is reached in 100 days. The deadline ended in March, which was extended by Trump and he did not increase the import tariffs.
Last month, Trump said the US and China could wrap up trade talks within four weeks after making quick progress on the potentially "epic" deal.
"We will probably know over the next four weeks. It may take two weeks after that.... It's looking very good," Trump had said.
He said a deal would allow a summit between him and Chinese President Xi.
Since last year when Trump launched a trade war with China, the US and China have imposed slapped tariffs on USD 360 billion in two-way trade.
The US has imposed tariffs on USD 250 billion of Chinese goods, having accused the country of unfair trade practices.
Beijing hit back with duties on USD 110 billion of US goods, blaming the US for starting "the largest trade war in economic history".
Both the US and international firms have said they are being harmed by the trade war.
Fears about a further escalation caused a slump in world stock markets towards the end of last year.
The IMF has warned a full-blown trade war would weaken the global economy.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
