CBN丨Asian stock markets rise on signs of progress in China-US trade talks

摘要：Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.Coming up on today’s programAsian stocks rose as China and the US made “substantial progress” on tra

Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.Coming up on today’s programAsian stocks rose as China and the US made “substantial progress” on trade talks;China and the US announce measures to ease tariff tensions.Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hoursAsian stock markets rose on Monday amid substantial progress in the high-stakes China-US trade talks in Geneva over the weekend.China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite gained 0.8 percent and the Shenzhen Component was up 1.7 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 3 percent, with the TECH index rallying 5.2 percent.Shares in Australia, Japan and South Korea advanced at the open, with the Topix index gaining for a 12th day for its longest winning streak since October 2017.China and the United States announced in a joint statement Monday a series of tariff modification measures aimed at easing trade tensions between the world's two largest economies, Xinhua reported.According to the statement, the US has committed to removing 91 percent of the additional tariffs imposed on Chinese goods under two executive orders issued in April. It will also adjust 34 percent of the reciprocal tariffs imposed under a separate executive order dated April 2, by suspending 24 percent for an initial period of 90 days, while maintaining the remaining 10 percent.In response, China will eliminate 91 percent of its counter-tariffs on US goods. For the 34 percent of counter-tariffs corresponding to the US measures, China will suspend 24 percent for 90 days and retain the remaining 10 percent. Additionally, the country will suspend or remove its non-tariff countermeasures against the US accordingly.In the joint statement, the two sides have committed to implement the actions by May 14 and emphasized the importance of building a sustainable, long-term and mutually beneficial economic partnership. They will establish a mechanism to continue discussions about economic and trade relations.Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said in Geneva on Sunday that the China-US high-level meeting on economic and trade affairs were in-depth, candid and constructive, according to Xinhua.The vice premier said substantive progress has been made and a series of major consensuses have been reached as China and the US have taken important step to resolve differences through equal dialogue and consultation, adding that both sides have also agreed to establish an economic and trade consultation mechanism.China's US dollar-denominated exports to the US declined 21 percent in April from a year earlier, compared with a 9.1 percent rise in March, according to data from the General Administration of Customs. China's exports excluding the US expanded 13 percent, including a 21 percent increase in exports to the ASEAN.GBA expressHong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu began a busy round of meetings with Qatari officials in Doha on Sunday at the head of a delegation of more than 50 Hong Kong and Chinese mainland officials and entrepreneurs looking to explore business opportunities and attract investment. In a social media post late on Saturday, Lee said he looks forward to creating new opportunities for Hong Kong enterprises, attracting Middle Eastern investment to the SAR and promoting the alignment of local industries, such as finance, with Middle Eastern markets. The Hong Kong delegation is in Qatar on the first stop of a six-day visit that will also take in Kuwait. It is Lee’s second trip to the Middle East since taking office.Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK), the government department responsible for foreign direct investment, will promote Hong Kong in Eastern Europe and the Middle East as the premier gateway for businesses to expand into the Chinese mainland and the Asia-Pacific region. Alpha Lau Hai-suen, director-general of Investment Promotion at InvestHK, will embark on a series of visits on Sunday to Türkiye, Hungary, and Egypt, some of the key economies along the Belt and Road to strengthen economic ties.Industry and company newsChina's passenger car sector recorded a surge in retail sales in April, growing by 14.5 percent year on year and reached about 1.76 million units, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) on Sunday. Since the beginning of 2025, total retail sales of passenger cars have reached about 6.87 million units, representing year-on-year growth of 7.9 percent. China's new-energy vehicle (NEV) exports also saw a notable jump in April. CPCA data showed that NEV passenger vehicle exports hit 189,000 units in April, up 44.2 percent year-on-year, accounting for 44.6 percent of total passenger vehicle exports - a 14-percentage-point increase from the same period last year.China’s auto production and sales reached 10.17 million and 10.06 million in the first four months of the year, up 13 percent and 11 percent, respectively, from a year earlier, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. NEV sales soared 46 percent to 4.3 million in the period.About 5,400 companies listed on China's Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing stock exchanges have reported first-quarter results, with more than 70 percent posting a profit. Chinese listed companies generated combined first-quarter profits of 1.49 trillion yuan, up 3.64 percent year-on-year, Xinhua reported over the weekend.CATL surged as much as 3.43 percent on the Shenzhen Exchange today as the Chinese EV battery maker said in a prospectus filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that it plans to raise over HKD31 billion in a share listing. The world′s largest electric vehicle battery producer is offering 117.9 million shares at a maximum price of HKD263 per share, with an option to increase the offering size.Asia-Pacific highlightsJapan won’t accept any initial trade agreement with the US that excludes auto tariffs, according to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Ishiba on Monday made his stance clear when asked in parliament about the possibility that Washington might urge Tokyo to strike a provisional agreement that doesn’t address US tariffs on car imports. In the same parliamentary session, top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said that Japan will continue to seek a reprieve from all the tariff measures imposed by the US.Cambodia has reported a 50.6 percent rise in the number of Chinese tourists in the first quarter of 2025, said a Cambodian Ministry of Tourism's report released on Friday. A total of 286,156 Chinese visitors traveled to the Southeast Asian country during the January-March period of this year, accounting for 15.6 percent of the total international tourist arrivals to Cambodia, the report said.

Saleem Mandviwalla, Chairman of Pakistan's Senate Finance Committee, stated in an exclusive interview with 21st Century Business Herald that Pakistan is ready to collaborate with China to advance the high-quality Belt and Road Initiative and upgrade the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The "upgraded" CPEC will focus on fundamental development, leveraging industrial cooperation and economic zone construction to maximize the effectiveness of past achievements and unlock Pakistan's economic potential. Witnessing the signing of a memorandum on molecular-assisted breeding between the two countries, Mandviwalla emphasized that this collaboration represents a systemic upgrade of Pakistan's agricultural system by helping the nation develop climate-resilient "future seeds," hugely boosting food production and farmers' incomes, as 43 percent of Pakistan's workforce is engaged in agriculture.