Tough Talk in Response to Steel Import Cut: Eye on Chinese Media

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. President Donald Trump’s pledges to reduce imports of FOREIGN STEEL products "won’t alter the weak competitiveness of U.S. steelmakers," according to an editorial in the China Daily. Such moves will trigger retaliatory actions and lead to a "tit-for-tat" trade war, the nation’s English-language newspaper reported. THE CONTEXT: With Trump eager to show his China bashing wasn’t just campaign rhetoric, Xi Jinping may face an uphill battle trying to dissipate trade tensions within 100 days of his meeting with his U.S. counterpart.

In Other Reports:

• CASH TEST: China’s insurance regulator flashed the red alert on risks facing the industry over the weekend, Xinhua News Agency reported. Insurers must guard against liquidity risks with regular cash-flow tests, according to the report, citing a statement by China Insurance Regulatory Commission.
• DELEVERAGING PACE: "Don’t worry too much" about the deleveraging efforts, the People’s Daily reassured investors in a report. Moderately rising interbank interest rates hasn’t affected overall stability and policy makers should keep a reasonable pace of deleveraging, the Communist Party’s flagship newspaper said. 
• CANTON FAIR: Chinese manufacturers are receiving more overseas orders at the Canton Fair, reflecting recovering exports in the second half of 2017, the Economic Observer reported. Improving sentiment can be felt across sectors at the biannual gathering in Guangzhou, where tens of thousands of exhibitors and foreign buyers ink export deals.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Yinan Zhao in Beijing at yzhao300@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Malcolm Scott at mscott23@bloomberg.net, Reinie Booysen

With assistance from Yinan Zhao