Russia and China Say US Missile Test Could Revive Arms Race
Emma Graham-Harrison
The Guardian, Aug 20

“China and Russia have accused the United States of stoking a new arms race by testing a cruise missile, just weeks after Washington withdrew from a cold-war era missile control treaty that would have barred the test launch. The ground-launched missile, a conventionally-configured version of the nuclear-capable Tomahawk cruise missile, hit its target after over 500 kilometers of flight during Monday’s test, the Pentagon said in a statement.”

“Beijing also attacked the U.S. for provocative behaviour, warning that the missile test could lead to ‘another round of the arms race’, and have a ‘serious negative impact’ on international and regional security. ‘We counsel the U.S. side to abandon their outdated concepts of a cold war mentality and zero sum games, and exercise restraint in developing weapons,’ Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a news briefing.”

Trump Administration Delays Ban on Huawei Working With U.S. Firms
Katy Stech Ferek and Drew FitzGerald
The Wall Street Journal, Aug 19

“Chinese telecom company gets 90-day extension that has allowed it to do some business within U.S.”

China’s Central Bank is Cutting Interest Rates by Stealth
Laura He
CNN, Aug 19

“Central banks around the world are cutting interest rates to head off recession. China is now joining them, but in a roundabout way. On Saturday, the People’s Bank of China launched a long-awaited reform to the way it manages money in the world’s second biggest economy to support growth and employment. Its aim is to make it cheaper and easier for companies to borrow. The central bank is gradually replacing its existing fixed benchmark lending rate, with a new Loan Prime Rate, starting Tuesday. The idea is that the new fluctuating LPR will better reflect changes in market rates … The PBOC hasn’t said when the existing benchmark lending rate will be finally scrapped, but it reiterated on Saturday that it wants to merge its system of fixed and floating rates.”

Trump ‘Not Ready’ for China Trade Deal, Dismisses Recession Fears
Howard Schneider
Reuters, Aug 18

“U.S. President Donald Trump and top White House officials dismissed concerns that economic growth may be faltering, saying on Sunday they saw little risk of recession despite a volatile week on global bond markets, and insisting their trade war with China was doing no damage to the United States.”

Huawei Technicians Helped African Governments Spy on Political Opponents
Joe Parkinson, Nicholas Bariyo and Josh Chin
The Wall Street Journal, Aug 15

“Employees embedded with cybersecurity forces in Uganda and Zambia intercepted encrypted communications and used cell data to track opponents, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation.”

U.S. to Delay Some China Tariffs Until Stores Stock Up for Holiday Shoppers
Ana Swanson
The New York Times, Aug 13

“President Trump on Tuesday unexpectedly put off new tariffs on many Chinese goods, including cellphones, laptop computers and toys, until after the start of the Christmas shopping season, acknowledging the effect that his protracted trade war with Beijing could have on Americans.”

U.S. Adviser Bolton to Urge Tougher UK Stance on Iran and China
Steve Holland
Reuters, Aug 12

“John Bolton, U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, arrived in London on Sunday for talks at which he is expected to urge Britain to toughen its stance on Iran and Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei.”

Google’s Decision to work with China, not U.S., ‘Unprecedented’: Peter Thiel
Matthew Kazin
FOX Business, Aug 11

“PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel said on Sunday that his calls for the U.S. government to investigate Google are in an effort to see if there is any ‘foreign infiltration’ at the tech giant. Thiel, a conservative who is an outlier among his peers in Silicon Valley, originally called for a federal investigation in mid-July at the National Conservatism Conference in Washington, D.C., accusing Google of working with China but not the U.S. government. The billionaire, who also sits on the board at Facebook, said Sunday that regardless of whether an American firm works with a civilian company in China, all technology is passed along to the communist nation’s military.”

“In particular, Thiel said he is most concerned about Google’s sharing of its artificial intelligence called ‘DeepMind,’ what he deems the tech firm’s ‘crown jewel.’ DeepMind was founded in 2010 and purchased by Google four years later. The search giant opened its AI research lab in China, the same year that the nation amended its constitution to include a mandate that requires all research done inside the country to be shared with its armed forces.”

U.S. Oil is Likely to be China’s Next Target as Trade War Rages, Energy Analysts Warn
Sam Meredith
CNBC, Aug 9

“China is expected to dramatically reduce its intake of U.S. crude imports over the coming weeks, energy analysts have warned, following the latest flare-up in trade war tensions between the world’s two largest economies. The tit-for-tat tariff dispute between the U.S. and China has already sent oil prices plunging, in large part because of worries about a severe global economic slowdown and potentially even a U.S. recession. Wednesday’s session saw crude drop at one stage to a seven-month low.”

Trump Administration to Ban Huawei from Doing Business with US Government
Megan Henney
FOX Business, Aug 7

“The Office of Management and Budget is set to issue an interim rule this week that will lay out the steps to ensure that government agencies aren’t buying products from Huawei and several other Chinese companies. The rule, which will go into effect Aug.13, applies to Huawei, ZTE and all of their subsidiaries. By next August, the ban will extend to any government contractor doing business with Huawei. A Huawei spokesperson told FOX Business the news was ‘not unexpected,’ but that the firm will continue to challenge the constitutionality of it in federal court.”

“‘The [National Defense Administration Act] and its implementing provisions will do nothing to ensure the protection of U.S. telecom networks and systems and rather is a trade barrier based on country-of-origin, invoking punitive action without any evidence of wrongdoing,’ Huawei said in a statement. ‘Ultimately, it will be rural citizens across the U.S. that will be most negatively impacted as the networks they use for digital connectivity rely on Huawei.’”

Morgan Stanley: A Global Recession Could Arrive by Early 2020 if the US-China Trade War Continues
Ben Winck
Business Insider, Aug 5

“An escalation of US tariffs could spark a global recession in just nine months time, according to Morgan Stanley’s chief economist. A report from the bank highlighted year-over-year trade contraction brought on by weak export data, a slowdown in domestic demand, and renewed trade stress. Continued retaliation between the US and China could be the last nail in the coffin for the world’s economy, chief economist Chetan Ahya said in the report.”

Treasury Designates China as a Currency Manipulator
Doug Palmer and Ben White
Politico, Aug 5

“The United States took the rare step on Monday of formally labeling China a currency manipulator, as trade relations between the two countries continued to spiral downward after Donald Trump’s decision last week to impose additional tariffs on Chinese goods.”

“‘In recent days, China as taken concrete steps to devalue its currency, while maintaining substantial foreign exchange reserves despite active use of such tools in the past,’ the Treasury Department said in a statement that followed the People’s Bank of China’s decision to let its currency, the renminbi, fall to the lowest level in more than a decade. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin made the determination acting ‘under the auspices of President Trump,’ the department said. Mnuchin will now ‘engage the unfair competitive advantage created by China’s latest actions,’ it added.”

Dow Plunges 760 Points in Worst Day of 2019 as Trade War Intensifies
Fred Imbert
CNBC Aug 4

“Stocks fell sharply Monday as a trade war between the world’s largest economies intensified with China retaliating against President Donald Trump’s latest move. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 767.27 points, or 2.9%, to close at 25,717.74 and dropped as much as 961.63 points at one point. The S&P 500 dropped nearly 3% to 2,844.74. The Nasdaq Composite lagged, falling 3.5% to 7,726.04. It was the worst percentage drop for all three indexes this year. The S&P 500 is now more than 6% below its record hit only last month … Investors rushed to traditional safe havens like Treasurys and gold on Monday amid the uncertainty. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield fell to 1.74% and reached its lowest level since November 2016. Gold futures for December delivery gained 1.3% to settle at $1,475.50 per ounce.”

Pentagon Chief in Favor of Deploying U.S. Missiles to Asia
Thomas Gibbons-Neff
The New York Times, Aug 3

“The American defense secretary, Mark T. Esper, said Saturday that he was in favor of deploying ground based missiles to Asia, a day after the United States formally pulled out of a Cold War-era arms treaty that directly limited such weapons.”

Tariff Fight Costs China Spot as Top U.S. Trading Partner
Paul Kiernan and Anthony Debarros
The Wall Street Journal, Aug 2

“Escalating tariff disputes between Washington and Beijing cost China its position as the U.S.’ top trading partner in the first half of the year, as exports and imports between the two largest economies fell sharply.”

Trump: U.S. Will Hit $300 Billion Worth of Chinese Goods with 10% Tariff
Makini Brice and Susan Heavey
Reuters, Aug 1

“U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would impose an additional 10% tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports starting Sept. 1, as talks aimed at easing tensions between the world’s two largest economies continues.”