Afp Business Asia

Serving craft beer, playing mahjong, stacking shelves and boxing, the dozens of humanoid robots at Shanghai’s World AI Conference (WAIC) this weekend were embodiments of China’s growing AI prowess and ambition.The annual event is primed at showcasing China’s progress in the ever-evolving field of artificial intelligence, with the government aiming to position the country as a world leader on both technology and regulation as it snaps at the United States’ heels.Opening the event on Saturday, Premier Li Qiang announced China would set up a new organisation for cooperation on AI governance, warning the benefits of development must be balanced with the risks.But in the cavernous expo next door, the mood was more giddy than concerned.”Demand is currently very strong, whether in terms of data, scenarios, model training, or artificial construction. The overall atmosphere in all these areas is very lively,” said Yang Yifan, R&D director at Transwarp, a Shanghai-based AI platform provider. This year’s WAIC is the first since a breakthrough moment for Chinese AI this January when startup DeepSeek unveiled an AI model that performed as well as top US systems for an apparent fraction of the cost.Organisers said the forum involved more than 800 companies, showcasing over 3,000 products — the undeniable crowd pleasers being the humanoid robots and their raft of slightly surreal party tricks. At one booth, a robot played drums, half a beat out of time, to Queen’s “We Will Rock You” while a man in safety goggles and a security vest hyped up a giggling crowd.Other droids, some dressed in working overalls or baseball caps, manned assembly lines, played curling with human opponents or sloppily served soft drinks from a dispenser.  While most of the machines on display were still a little jerky, the increasing sophistication year-on-year was clear to see. The Chinese government has poured support into robotics, an area in which some experts think China might already have the upper hand over the United States. At Hangzhou-based Unitree’s stall, its G1 android — around 130 centimetres (four feet) tall, with a two-hour battery life — kicked, pivoted and punched, keeping its balance with relative fluidity as it shadowboxed around a ring.Ahead of the conference’s opening, Unitree announced it would launch a full-size humanoid, the R1, for under $6,000. – ‘Digital humans’ -Most high-tech helpers don’t need hardware though. At the expo, AI companions — in the form of middle-aged businessmen, scantily clad women and ancient warriors — waved at people from screens, asking how their day was, while other stalls ran demos allowing visitors to create their own digital avatars.Tech giant Baidu on Saturday announced a new generation of technology for its “digital humans” — AI agents modelled on real people, which it says are “capable of thinking, making decisions, and collaborating”.The company recently ran a six-hour e-commerce broadcast hosted by the “digital human” of a well-known streamer and another avatar. The two agents beat the human streamer’s debut sales in some categories, Baidu said.Over ten thousand businesses are using the technology daily already, the department’s head Wu Chenxia told AFP. Asked about the impact on jobs — one of the major concerns raised around widespread AI adoption — Wu insisted that AI was a tool that should be used to improve quality and save time and effort, which still required human input.In China, the integration of AI into everyday life is beginning to pick up pace. At WAIC, Baidu also announced it had been granted a permit to operate fully driverless robotaxis in parts of the massive Pudong district, the service’s first foray into downtown Shanghai.For now, few visitors to the WAIC expo seemed worried about the potential ramifications of the back-flipping dog robots they were excitedly watching. “When it comes to China’s AI development, we have a comparatively good foundation of data and also a wealth of application scenarios,” said Transwarp’s Yang.   “There are many more opportunities for experimentation.”

New Zealand sheep farmers are fighting to stop the loss of pasture to fast-spreading pine plantations, which earn government subsidies to soak up carbon emissions.Concern over the scale of the farm-to-forest switch led the government to impose a moratorium in December on any new conversions not already in the pipeline.But farmers say forestry companies are flouting the clampdown.Last month, farmers launched a “Save our Sheep” campaign to reverse the loss of productive farmland.Sheep numbers have plummeted to around 23 million, down from a peak of around 70 million in the 1980s, according to official figures.Falling wool prices and rising milk and beef costs initially drove the decline, but the emissions trading since 2008 has added to the strain.The government is now investigating potential breaches of its moratorium by forestry companies, which have been buying up farmland as recently as June.Federated Farmers — a lobby group for rural communities — submitted to the government “a list of properties we believe have been sold for carbon forestry” since the halt, a spokesman said.The federation is concerned about the sale of more than 15,200 hectares (37,600 acres) of farmland, he told AFP.Dean Rabbidge, who runs a farm outside the Southland town of Wyndham, said some of the newly purchased farms had already been planted with pine trees.- ‘Criminal’ -“They’re just ploughing on ahead, effectively giving the middle finger to the government announcement,” Rabbidge told AFP.The moratorium had created a “gold rush”, he said.”It’s criminal what’s happening.”Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay said the government would change the law by October because it had become more profitable to plant pine forests than to farm sheep.”The law will include clarity on what qualifies as legitimate evidence of a pre-December investment and enable any specific cases to be properly assessed,” McClay said.”Anyone who has bought land since December 4, 2024, irrespective of whether they also had trees or not, will not be able to register this land into the emissions trading scheme.”Rural New Zealand once abounded with rolling pastures, rickety wire fences hemming in millions of sheep chewing on the green grass.But Rabbidge said those days were gone.”You won’t see anything now,” he said. “You’re just driving through long pine tree tunnels — shaded, wet, and damp.”New Zealand is one of the rare countries to allow 100 percent of carbon emissions to be offset by forestry.”We’re not anti planting trees,” sheep farmer Ben Fraser told AFP. “There are areas of land that should be retired, that aren’t necessarily productive.”But the trading scheme had driven an excessive loss of sheep pastures to forestry, he said.”That’s the issue here.”- ‘So short-sighted’ -Fraser, who farms near the North Island town of Ohakune, said he had seen an exodus of people from the district in recent years.”Since 2018, there’ve been 17 farms converted to forestry,” he said. “That’s about 18,000 hectares gone. So you’re looking at about 180,000 sheep gone out of the district, plus lambs.”The loss of sheep impacted the region.”If the farms thrive, then the towns thrive because people come in and spend their money,” he said.”You’ve got farm suppliers, your fertiliser guys, your supermarkets, your butchers, all of that stuff struggling.”The local schools now have less kids in them. The people who stayed are now isolated, surrounded by pine trees.”Rabbidge said the same was happening in Southland.”This whole thing is just so short-sighted,” Rabbidge said.”Businesses here are forecasting anywhere between a 10 and 15 percent revenue reduction for the next financial year, and that’s all on the back of properties that have sold or have been planted out in pine trees,” he said.- ‘Lamb on a plate’ -“Think of all the shearers, the contractors, the transporters, the farm supply stores, the workers, the community centres, the schools, rugby clubs. Everything is affected by this.”Government figures from 2023 show agriculture accounted for more than half of New Zealand’s total greenhouse gas emissions.But farmers argue they have been working hard to reduce emissions, down more than 30 percent since the 1990s.”I could put a leg of lamb on a plate in London with a lower emissions profile, transport included, than a British farmer,” Rabbidge said.”We just use our natural resources. We’re not housing animals indoors and carting feed in and manure out.”Everything’s done outside and done at low cost, low and moderate intensity.”

Wall Street stock indices ended at fresh records Friday as US investors bet on additional trade deals following this week’s breakthrough with Japan.US President Donald Trump cautioned that striking a deal with the European Union to reduce import tariffs will be a challenge. Trump has set an August 1 deadline for an accord.”I would say that we have a 50/50 chance, maybe less than that, but a 50/50 chance of making a deal with the EU,” Trump told reporters at the White House Friday.But US investors have adopted an optimistic stance about further accords given Trump’s record of suspending or delaying the most onerous tariffs. The S&P 500 finished at a fifth straight record and the tech-rich Nasdaq at a third straight record, capping an upbeat week. Equity markets elsewhere were more subdued.London, after a strong run on positive corporate news, finished slightly lower as did Frankfurt, while Paris closed just ahead after Asia lost ground.”There is no unifying theme across financial markets this month — instead markets are moving to the beat of their own drums,” concluded Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.Sentiment had been lifted earlier in the week by the announcement of a Japan-US deal, as well as signals that the EU could be closing in on its own accord with Washington.The “momentum has not been kept up, and European stocks are weaker at the end of the week,” noted Brooks.The EU is still forging ahead with contingency plans in case talks fail, with member states approving a 93 billion-euro ($109 billion) package of retaliatory counter-tariffs.With few positive catalysts to drive buying, Asian markets turned lower heading into the weekend.Tokyo retreated after a two-day rally and Hong Kong declined following five days of gains. Shanghai was also down. The dollar gained against major currencies, a reversal of the trend throughout much of 2025. The dollar fell the most in the first six months of 2025 since 1973.Trump said Friday that a weaker dollar can boost exports and tourism. “It doesn’t sound good, but you make a hell of a lot more money with a weaker dollar, not a weak dollar, but a weaker dollar, than you do with a strong dollar,” he told reporters at the White House.In corporate news, German auto giant Volkswagen said US tariffs had cost it 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in the first half of the year as it reported falling profits.After an initial drop, shares in the carmaker rose four percent in Frankfurt. German sportswear maker Puma saw its shares tumble around 16 percent after slashing its sales forecast and warning of a full year loss.Intel dropped 8.5 percent after reporting a $2.9 billion loss as it announced further cost-cutting initiatives. The company said it has cut about 15 percent of its workforce.- Key figures at around 2030 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 44,901.92 (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 0.4 percent at 6,388.64 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 21,108.32 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 9,120.31 (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,834.58 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.3 percent at 24,217.50 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.9 percent at 41,456.23 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.1 percent at 25,388.35 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 3,593.66 (close)Dollar/yen: UP at 147.68 yen from 147.01 yen on ThursdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1738 from $1.1749Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3431 from $1.3510Euro/pound: UP at 87.40 pence from 86.97 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.3 percent at $65.16 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.1 percent at $68.44 per barrel

Stock markets marked time Friday as the latest trade-related rally lost steam as US President Donald Trump rated the chances of Washington striking a trade deal with the European Union at barely 50/50.Wall Street indices were marginally higher in morning trading as the S&P continued its recent hot streak as investors  digested a mixed batch of corporate earnings.London, after a strong run on positive corporate news, finished slightly lower as did Frankfurt, while Paris closed just ahead after Asia lost ground.Equities have enjoyed a strong run for much of July on expectations that governments around the world will reach agreements with the United States to dodge threatened tariffs before next Friday’s deadline.But Trump cautioned that in his view striking a deal with the European Union to reduce import tariffs will be a challenge.”I would say that we have a 50/50 chance, maybe less than that, but a 50/50 chance of making a deal with the EU,” Trump told reporters at the White House.In the meantime, “there is no unifying theme across financial markets this month — instead markets are moving to the beat of their own drums,” concluded Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.Tesla, which had lost eight percent Thursday on lower profits and a “rough” outlook from CEO Elon Musk, regained  almost five percent.Sentiment had been lifted earlier in the week by the announcement of a Japan-US deal, as well as signals that the EU could be closing in on its own accord with Washington.The “momentum has not been kept up, and European stocks are weaker at the end of the week,” noted Brooks.Trade optimism stayed cautiously upbeat overall, as Brussels and Washington tried to steer towards a deal that would halve Trump’s threatened 30 percent levy, with a European Commission spokesman saying he believed an agreement was “within reach”. However, “there has been no confirmation from the US side. Thus, sentiment towards European assets could be fragile as we lead up to that August 1 tariff deadline”, Brooks added.The EU is still forging ahead with contingency plans in case talks fail, with member states approving a 93 billion-euro ($109 billion) package of retaliatory counter-tariffs.With few positive catalysts to drive buying, Asian markets turned lower heading into the weekend.Tokyo retreated after a two-day rally and Hong Kong declined following five days of gains. Shanghai was also down. While the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit new records Thursday, another round of strong jobs data suggested the US Federal Reserve might have to delay cutting borrowing costs.The dollar extended gains against its major peers. The US president once again pressed Fed chief Jerome Powell to slash interest rates during a visit to its headquarters on Thursday.In corporate news, German auto giant Volkswagen said US tariffs had cost it 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in the first half of the year as it reported falling profits.After an initial drop, shares in the carmaker rose four percent in Frankfurt. German sportswear maker Puma saw its shares tumble around 16 percent after slashing its sales forecast and warning of a full year loss.- Key figures at around 1555 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 44,764.12 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 6,378.79New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 21,106.04London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 9,119.32 (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,834.58 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.3 percent at 24,233.08 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.9 percent at 41,456.23 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.1 percent at 25,388.35 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 3,593.66 (close)Dollar/yen: UP at 147.77 yen from 146.94 yen on ThursdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1727 from $1.1756Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3426 from $1.3507Euro/pound: UP at 87.34 pence from 87.01 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.0 percent at $65.37 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.8 percent at $68.62 per barrel

Stock markets stalled Friday as the latest trade-related rally lost steam and US President Donald Trump rated the chances of Washington striking a trade deal with the European Union at barely 50/50.Wall Street indices stood barely in the green some 20 minutes into the session as investors also digested a mixed batch of corporate earnings, while major European indices were all down and Asia closed off.Equities have enjoyed a strong run for much of July on expectations that governments will reach agreements with the United States to dodge threatened tariffs before next Friday’s deadline.But Trump cautioned that in his view striking a deal with the European Union to reduce import tariffs will be a challenge.”I would say that we have a 50/50 chance, maybe less than that, but a 50/50 chance of making a deal with the EU,” Trump told reporters at the White House.Sentiment had been lifted earlier in the week by the announcement of a Japan-US deal, as well as signals that the EU could be closing in on its own accord with Washington.The “momentum has not been kept up, and European stocks are weaker at the end of the week,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB.Trade optimism stayed cautiously upbeat, as Brussels and Washington appeared close to a deal that would halve Trump’s threatened 30 percent levy, with a European Commission spokesman saying he believed an agreement was “within reach”. However, “there has been no confirmation from the US side… thus, sentiment towards European assets could be fragile as we lead up to that August 1 tariff deadline”, Brooks added.The EU is still forging ahead with contingency plans in case talks fail, with member states approving a 93 billion-euro ($109 billion) package of counter-tariffs.With few positive catalysts to drive buying, Asian markets turned lower heading into the weekend.Tokyo retreated after a two-day rally and Hong Kong declined following five days of gains. Shanghai was also down. While the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit new records Thursday, another round of strong jobs data suggested the US Federal Reserve might have to delay cutting borrowing costs.The dollar extended gains against its major peers as investors trimmed their rate forecasts.The US president once again pressed Fed chief Jerome Powell to slash interest rates during a visit to its headquarters on Thursday.In corporate news, German auto giant Volkswagen said US tariffs had cost it 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in the first half of the year as it reported falling profits.After an initial drop, shares in the carmaker were up more than four percent by mid-afternoon in Frankfurt. German sportswear maker Puma saw its shares tumble around 16 percent after slashing its sales forecast and warning of a full year loss.Meanwhile UK bank NatWest topped the gainers list on the FTSE 100, rising around three percent after reporting a rise in second-quarter net profit and lifting its full-year outlook.- Key figures at around 1355 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 44,745.67 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 0.1 percent at 6,371.35New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 21,079.16London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 9,101.11Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,796.52 Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.5 percent at 24,170.80Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.9 percent at 41,456.23 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.1 percent at 25,388.35 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 3,593.66 (close)Dollar/yen: UP at 147.80 yen from 146.94 yen on ThursdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1710 from $1.1756Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3422 from $1.3507Euro/pound: UP at 87.25 pence from 87.01 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $65.99 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $69.21 per barrel

Stock markets mostly fell Friday as the latest trade-related rally lost momentum, with investors also digesting a mixed batch of corporate earnings.Equities have enjoyed a strong run for much of July on expectations that governments will reach agreements with the United States to pare Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs before next Friday’s deadline.Sentiment was lifted earlier in the week by the announcement of a Japan-US deal, as well as signals that the European Union could be nearing its own agreement with Washington.The “momentum has not been kept up, and European stocks are weaker at the end of the week,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB.London and Frankfurt stock markets both fell on Friday, while Paris edged up.Trade optimism stayed cautiously upbeat, as Brussels and Washington appear close to a deal that would halve Trump’s threatened 30 percent levy, with a European Commission spokesman saying he believed an agreement was “within reach”. However, “there has been no confirmation from the US side… thus, sentiment towards European assets could be fragile as we lead up to that August 1 tariff deadline,” Brooks added.The EU is still forging ahead with contingency plans in case talks fail, with member states approving a 93 billion-euro ($109 billion) package of counter-tariffs.With few positive catalysts to drive buying, Asian markets turned lower heading into the weekend.Tokyo retreated after a two-day rally and Hong Kong declined following five days of gains. Shanghai was also down. While the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit new records Thursday, another round of strong jobs data suggested the Federal Reserve might have to delay cutting borrowing costs.The dollar extended gains against its major peers as investors trimmed their rate forecasts.The US president once again pressed Fed chief Jerome Powell to slash interest rates during a visit to its headquarters on Thursday.In corporate news, German auto giant Volkswagen said US tariffs had cost it 1.3 billion euros in the first half of the year as it reported falling profit.After an initial drop, shares in the carmaker were up more than three percent by midday in Frankfurt. German sportswear maker Puma saw its shares tumble around 18 percent after slashing its sales forecast and warning of a full year loss.While UK bank NatWest topped the gainers list on the FTSE 100, rising two percent after reporting a rise in second-quarter net profit and lifting its full-year outlook.- Key figures at around 1055 GMT -London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 9,104.69 pointsParis – CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 7,824.21 Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.6 percent at 24,143.85Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.9 percent at 41,456.23 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.1 percent at 25,388.35 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 3,593.66 (close)New York – Dow: DOWN 0.7 percent at 44,693.91 (close)Dollar/yen: UP at 147.79 yen from 146.94 yen on ThursdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1732 from $1.1756Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3458 from $1.3507Euro/pound: UP at 87.16 pence from 87.01 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $66.21 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $68.52 per barrel

Stock markets fell Friday as their latest rally ran out of legs, with sentiment weighed by strong US jobs data that saw investors row back their expectations for interest rate cuts.With Japan’s trade deal with Washington out of the way for now, attention was also turning to European Union attempts to reach an agreement to pare Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs before next Friday’s deadline.Equities have enjoyed a strong run-up for much of July on expectations governments will hammer out pacts, pushing some markets past or close to record highs.However, while Wall Street hit new records Thursday — S&P 500 chalked up its 10th in 19 sessions — another round of strong jobs data suggested the Federal Reserve might have to wait longer than hoped to cut borrowing costs.The 217,000 initial claims for unemployment benefits in the week to July 19 was the lowest since mid-April and suggested the labour market remains tight.The figures followed forecast-topping non-farm payrolls in June and come as inflation shows signs of picking up as Trump’s tariffs begin to bite.Traders are now betting on 42 basis points of rate cuts by the end of the year, according to Bloomberg News. That’s down from more than 50 previously.Meanwhile, a manufacturing survey showed US business confidence deteriorated in July for the second successive month, with companies worried about tariffs and cuts to federal spending.Trump continued to press Fed chief Jerome Powell to slash interest rates during a visit to its headquarters on Thursday, where they bickered over its renovation cost.The president, who wants to oust Powell over his refusal to cut, took a fresh dig during the trip, telling reporters: “As good as we’re doing, we’d do better if we had lower interest rates.”Trump’s anger at the Fed and his calls for officials to lower rates has raised concerns about the independence of the central bank, which is expected to stand pat at its policy meeting next week.”While unlikely to yield anything concrete, the optics of a president storming the temple of monetary orthodoxy is enough to put Powell watchers on edge,” said SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes.”The risk isn’t immediate policy change — it’s longer-term erosion of independence, and the signal that Powell may not be sitting as comfortably as markets assume.”Trade hopes remain elevated — Brussels and Washington appear close to a deal that would halve Trump’s threatened 30 percent levy, with a European Commission spokesman saying he believed an agreement was “within reach”. The bloc, however, is still forging ahead with contingency plans in case talks fail, with member states approving a 93 billion-euro ($109 billion) package of counter-tariffs.With few positive catalysts to drive buying, Asian markets turned lower heading into the weekend.Tokyo retreated after putting on around five percent in the previous two days, while Hong Kong was also off following five days of gains.There were also losses in Shanghai, Sydney, Mumbai, Singapore and Manila. London, Paris and Frankfurt dropped in the morning.Seoul, Bangkok, Jakarta and Wellington edged up.The dollar extended gains against its peers as investors pared their rate forecasts.- Key figures at around 0810 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.9 percent at 41,456.23 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.1 percent at 25,388.35 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 3,593.66 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 9,103.42Dollar/yen: UP at 147.40 yen from 146.94 yen on ThursdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1751 from $1.1756Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3469 from $1.3507Euro/pound: UP at 87.28 pence from 87.01 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.4 percent at $66.33 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.5 percent at $69.53 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.7 percent at 44,693.91 (close)

Chinese Premier Li Qiang dismissed EU fears over Beijing’s allegedly excessive subsidies to its industry, telling the bloc’s leaders “we can’t afford it” in markedly candid remarks during a tense summit.Speaking during a roundtable with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday, Li insisted that “China is by no means doing what some call a subsidies policy or fiscal subsidies”.”China is not as rich as Europe, and we can’t afford it,” he said.”We would not be stupid enough to use the fiscal funds accumulated through the government and the hard work of our people to sell our products to foreign consumers,” Li added.Von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa were in Beijing on Thursday for a summit dominated by tensions between the EU and China over trade and Russia’s war in Ukraine.Chief among the bloc’s concerns was its yawning trade deficit with China, which stood at around $360 billion last year.The EU has also raised fears that Beijing’s vast subsidies to its industry could help it undercut European competitors with a flood of cheap exports to the continent.Li, China’s number two official, rejected those claims in a roundtable with the EU’s leadership. “Some enterprises, especially manufacturing enterprises, feel more deeply that China’s manufacturing capabilities are too strong, and Chinese people are too hardworking,” the Chinese premier said.”Factories run 24 hours a day,” he said.”Some people think this will cause some new problems in the balance of supply and demand in world production,” the Chinese premier said, admitting: “We see this problem too.”Li also rejected claims the Chinese economy — plagued by sluggish growth for years now — was in dire straits.”Of course, there are difficulties and challenges, but it is difficult for us to say that China’s economy is in a downturn,” he said.”Our GDP growth rate is always above five percent,” he insisted.

Asian stocks fell Friday as their latest rally ran out of legs, with sentiment weighed by strong US jobs data that saw investors row back their expectations for interest rate cuts.With Japan’s trade deal with Washington out of the way for now, attention was also turning to European Union attempts to reach an agreement to pare down Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs before next Friday’s deadline.Equities have enjoyed a strong run-up for much of July on expectations governments will hammer out pacts, pushing some markets past or close to record highs.However, while Wall Street hit new records Thursday — S&P 500 chalked up its 10th in 19 sessions — another round of strong jobs data suggested the Federal Reserve might have to wait longer than hoped to cut borrowing costs.The 217,000 initial claims for unemployment benefits in the week to July 19 was the lowest since mid-April and suggested the labour market remains tight.The figures followed forecast-topping non-farm payrolls in June and come as inflation shows signs of picking up as Trump’s tariffs begin to bite.Traders are now betting on 42 basis points of rate cuts by the end of the year, according to Bloomberg News. That’s down from more than 50 previously.Meanwhile, a manufacturing survey showed US business confidence deteriorated in July for the second successive month, with companies worried about tariffs and cuts to federal spending.Trump continued to press Fed chief Jerome Powell to slash interest rates during a visit to its headquarters on Thursday, where they bickered over its renovation cost.The president, who wants to oust Powell over his refusal to cut, took a fresh dig during the trip, telling reporters: “As good as we’re doing, we’d do better if we had lower interest rates.”Trump’s anger at the Fed and his calls for officials to lower rates has raised concerns about the independence of the central bank.”While unlikely to yield anything concrete, the optics of a president storming the temple of monetary orthodoxy is enough to put Powell watchers on edge,” said SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes.”The risk isn’t immediate policy change — it’s longer-term erosion of independence, and the signal that Powell may not be sitting as comfortably as markets assume.”Trade hopes remain elevated, with Brussels and Washington appearing close to a deal that would halve Trump’s threatened 30 percent levy, with a European Commission spokesman saying he believed an agreement was “within reach”. The bloc, however, is still forging ahead with contingency plans in case talks fail, with member states approving a 93-billion-euro ($109-billion) package of counter-tariffs.With few positive catalysts to drive buying, Asian markets turned lower heading into the weekend.Tokyo dipped after putting on around five percent in the previous two days, while Hong Kong retreated following five days of gains.There were also losses in Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Manila and Jakarta. Seoul and Wellington edged up.The dollar extended gains against its peers as investors pared their rate forecasts.- Key figures at around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.6 percent at 41,570.24 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.7 percent at 25,487.95Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,597.77Dollar/yen: UP at 147.40 yen from 146.94 yen on ThursdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1742 from $1.1756Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3498 from $1.3507Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.99 pence from 87.01 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $66.43 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.6 percent at $69.61 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.7 percent at 44,693.91 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.9 percent at 9,138.37 (close)

Stock markets mostly bumped upwards Thursday as hopes grew that the European Union could strike a trade deal with the United States, while Tesla shares nosedived on poor earnings results.Investors have profited in recent weeks from wagers that governments will eventually hammer out pacts with Donald Trump ahead of the US president’s looming August 1 deadline to avoid steeper levies.”Buyers are in control and there remains a lot of optimism about future trade deals,” said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments.”For now the market is choosing to look at the bullish side of the coin,” he said. “Not the bearish side and not the neutral side.”On Wall Street, both the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq edged higher to close at fresh records, while the Dow retreated. Google parent Alphabet climbed 0.9 percent after reporting a whopping $28.2 billion in second-quarter profits as it touted its artificial intelligence offerings. But Tesla fell 8.2 percent as CEO Elon Musk warned investors of a rough patch for earnings after the electric car maker reported a 16 percent drop in quarterly profits.A survey of US manufacturers released Thursday showed business confidence in the world’s top economy also deteriorated in July for the second month running.”Companies cite ongoing concerns over the impact of government policies, notably in terms of both tariffs and cuts to federal spending,” said Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.9 percent at the close, lifted by a stream of robust earnings, including from consumer goods group Reckitt, mobile phone giant Vodafone and Lloyds bank. Paris fell, dragged down by a drop in luxury stocks and disappointing profits from fossil fuel giant TotalEnergies.Yet most other European stocks markets including Frankfurt rose, as the European Union and Washington appeared close to a deal that would halve a threatened 30-percent levy on EU goods to 15 percent.A European Commission spokesman said Thursday that he believed a trade deal with the US is “within reach.” According to multiple diplomats, the deal could waive tariffs on aircraft, lumber, pharmaceutical products and agricultural goods.The bloc, however, is still forging ahead with contingency plans in case talks fail, with member states approving a 93-billion-euro ($109-billion) package of counter-tariffs on US goods.Meanwhile, the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged, as widely expected.It warned that the economic environment remained “exceptionally uncertain, especially because of trade disputes” as higher US tariffs hang in the balance.The euro dipped a touch following Thursday’s rate decision, but it did perk up after ECB President Christine Lagarde said the central bank was monitoring the dollar-euro exchange rate but had no target. The euro has surged almost 14 percent against the dollar since the start of the year, boosted by investors dumping US assets in the face of Trump’s erratic policymaking and attacks on the US Federal Reserve.The euro’s appreciation helps contain inflation but could harm European exports and thus slow already sluggish economic growth.In Asia, stocks advanced with Tokyo adding more than one percent, building on a more than three percent surge Wednesday on the back of the Japan-US trade deal.Hong Kong and Shanghai also rose.- Key figures at around 2050 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.7 percent at 44,693.91 (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 0.1 percent at 6,363.35 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 21,057.96 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.9 percent at 9,138.37 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,818.28 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.2 percent at 24,295.93 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.6 percent at 41,826.34 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 percent at 25,667.18 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 3,605.73 (close)Dollar/yen: UP at 146.94 yen from 146.51 yen on WednesdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1756 from $1.1771Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3507 from $1.3582Euro/pound: UP at 87.01 pence from 86.68 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 1.2 percent at $66.03 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 1.0 percent at $69.18 per barrelburs-jmb/sla