China vows steps to ease exporters' pain

CHINESE OFFICIALS VOWED to provide more support for exporters affected by US President Donald Trump's tariffs, showing greater urgency to shore up the crucial sector while denying having had any trade talks with Washington.

- BLOOMBERG

Policymakers in Beijing on Monday laid out policies to aid exporting companies, including plans to ensure troubled firms get the loans they need and boost domestic consumption to absorb the blow of US levies. Hours later, the Chinese Foreign Ministry again denied the world's two largest economies were discussing tariffs.

The separate briefings signal Beijing is in no rush to aggressively expand economic stimulus or jump into negotiations with the US, even as prohibitive levels of tariffs are forecast to halt bilateral trade and hurt a sector that contributed to nearly a third of the economy's growth last year.