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China said Monday it will raise tariffs on $60 billion worth of US goods from June 1, in retaliation for the latest round of US tariff hikes and Washington’s plans to target almost all Chinese imports.

The announcement came after the latest round of US-China trade negotiations ended Friday without a deal, and after Washington increased tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese products.

US President Donald Trump had also ordered the start of a process to impose new duties on another $300 billion worth of Chinese items.

China’s rates will target a number of American imports with tariffs rising to as high as 25 percent, according to a statement by the Tariff Policy Commission of the State Council — China’s cabinet.

“China’s adjustment of tariff-adding measures is a response to US unilateralism and trade protectionism,” the statement said, adding that it hoped the US would work with China towards a “win-win agreement”.

Despite the retaliation, Beijing appeared to give time to find a resolution by setting the June 1 date.

The announcement sent Wall Street stocks plunging Monday, with losses on the tech-rich Nasdaq exceeding three percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and broad-based S&P 500 both were both down 2.5 percent toward 1800 GMT.

Most observers have warned a trade war between the world’s two largest economies could shatter global economic growth, and hurt demand for commodities like oil.

The Chinese response was announced soon after Trump warned Beijing not to retaliate.

“China should not retaliate-will only get worse!” the US president wrote in a series of tweets on trade.

But Beijing appeared to dig in.

“China will never surrender to external pressure,” foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular briefing on Monday.

In addition to tariff hikes, China could also use other measures to hit back at the United States, as it imports fewer US products — which limits its ability to match tariffs dollar-for-dollar.

“China may stop purchasing US agricultural products and energy, reduce Boeing orders and restrict US service trade with China,” Hu Xijin, editor of China’s state-run Global Times, tweeted.

“Many Chinese scholars are discussing the possibility of dumping US Treasuries and how to do it specifically.”

Beijing is the biggest holder of US debt, and Bloomberg News estimated last year that the Chinese state held around $1.2 trillion’s worth.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters on Monday he believed China would continue to buy US debt.

“I assume so. It’s a good investment,” he said, adding that no date had yet been set for a further round of negotiations to be held in Beijing.

Both sides have indicated that discussions will continue. Beijing’s top trade negotiator, Liu He, likewise said Friday the next round would start in the Chinese capital at an unspecified date.

“As for the trade war launched by the US side, China has long expressed that it is unwilling to fight, but it is not afraid to fight, and it has to fight when necessary,” China’s main broadcaster, the state-run CCTV, added.

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing later said it remained “confident” US-China trade talks would yield an agreement.

 Contact continues

In a previous round of tit-for-tat moves, the US imposed 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports in September.

Beijing announced shortly after that it was hitting more than 5,000 categories of US products with tariffs of five to 10 percent.

White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow told US media Sunday that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could meet next month on the sidelines of the G20 summit to hash out their differences on trade, although no new talks are scheduled.

“The two presidents maintain contact through various means,” the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said, without confirming a possible meeting between the two leaders.

Beijing has so far imposed tariffs on $110 billion worth of American goods in retaliation for the US duties.

Trump had already hit a further $50 billion in Chinese goods with tariffs of 25 percent last summer.

The US leader began the standoff last year because of complaints about unfair Chinese trade practices.

The United States is pressing China to change its policies on protections for intellectual property, as well as massive subsidies for state-owned firms, and to reduce the yawning trade deficit.

Since last year the US and China had exchanged tariffs on two-way trade worth hundreds of billions of dollars, gutting US agricultural exports to China and weighing on both countries’ manufacturing sectors.

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British Prime Minister Theresa May‘s Conservatives have slumped to fifth place in an opinion poll ahead of the May 23 European parliamentary election as pressure grows for her to set a date for her departure.

Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party was in the lead, up 4 %points, on 34% while May’s Conservative Party had just 10%, the YouGov poll for the Times newspaper showed.

The opposition Labour Party was down five points on 16%. Two parties which support staying in the EU, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens, were on 15% and 11% respectively.

The collapse in support for the Conservative Party is piling pressure on May to set a date for her departure. Senior

Conservatives want May to set out her departure plans this week.

Nearly three years since the United Kingdom voted 52% to 48%to leave the European Union, there is still no agreement among British politicians about when, how or even if the divorce should take place.

“There is a massive appetite for the Brexit Party right now because people want to live in a democratic country, Farage said. “We have been betrayed, not just by the Conservatives, Labour have done the same thing too.”

Britain was due to have left the European Union on March 29,though May has been unable to get her divorce deal approved by parliament so she has turned to the Labour Party, led by socialist Jeremy Corbyn, in a bid to court his support.

Asked if talks with Labour could lead to a possible Brexit consensus, Communities Secretary James Broken shire said:  I think these talks are very serious, yes, we wouldn’t have committed all of the time and effort on sides in relation to his.

“They have been constructive. I very much want to see them concluding positively because ultimately we need to carry a vote in parliament to see that we leave,” he told BBC radio.

The new deadline for leaving the EU is Oct. 31 though many Brexit supporters fear that the whole divorce could be derailed.

“We are at real risk of sleepwalking into remaining in the EU,” Brexit Secretary Steven Barclay wrote in the Sun newspaper. “That is why I believe that it would be inexcusable for the Government to not use the coming months to continue to prepare for the real risk we leave the EU without a deal.”

He later wrote in Twitter that in a choice between a no deal exit or staying in the EU, he would vote to leave without agreement.

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The death toll from a May 6 tanker truck explosion near the international airport in Niger’s capital has risen to 76, state television reported late Sunday.

An earlier official report Tuesday gave 60 dead, including 55 who died at the time of the explosion a few hundred metres (yards) from the airport in Niamey.

Most of the victims were trying to collect spilt fuel flowing from the overturned truck when the blast occurred. About 40 people were injured.

Security official, Hamani Adamou Abdoul-Aziz, had earlier warned that the toll was likely to rise as several people had sustained severe, life-threatening burns.

The driver of the truck has told investigators that an electrical failure caused him to lose control of the vehicle and its brakes.

The truck overturned by the railway track as he was trying to stop it and people then rushed to collect petrol spilling from the vehicle.

According to witnesses, a motorcyclist who had filled his cans tried to restart his bike, which caused a spark that ignited the 50,000 litres (13,000 US gallons) of fuel.

The massive explosion on route RN1 near the airport left the burnt truck’s wreckage, motorbikes and debris scattered over the road.

Nearby houses were damaged by the fire.

Niger held three days of national mourning from Wednesday to Friday in memory of the victims.

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A cabinet equipped to implement business-friendly policies, that’s what big business expects from the incoming government.

South Africa – Africa most industrialised economy – has been failing to grow beyond 1% this year and to create jobs.

Experts say the biggest and urgent on the President’s to do list is to how he will turn the economy around.

Although the ANC’s fortunes have dipped significantly, a win signals stability to investors.

Organised business wants a commitment that the pedestrian economy will be prioritised.

Some economists have warned that some senior African National Congress (ANC) members will make it difficult for President Cyril Ramaphosa to boost investor and consumer confidence.

They also say the party members could be a stumbling block in government’s efforts to reduce the cost of living for South Africans.

Many voters are pinning their hopes on the new government to address the high level of inequality and create a conducive environment for employment.

Consumers are struggling to cope with an increase in Value Added Tax to 15% and the escalation of the cost of electricity, food and fuel.

Economist Azar Jammine explains what he sees as Ramaphosa’s challenges in his capacity as ANC president.

“Will he be allowed to do such things when he’s got a secretary-general like Ace Magashule who questions the validity of the statement that the ANC did relatively well in these elections, not because of Ramaphosa but because of many other facets, says Jammine.

CEO of Black Business Council Kgankie Matabane says deep economic transformation is paramount.

“The best one is to stabilise the SOEs, especially Eskom. Eskom is too big to fail. The economy is not creating jobs, unemployment is still at its highest; inequality is also still high. So He’s to attend to those macro issues. The focus should be deepening economic transformation.”

Business Unity South Africa’s Tanya  Cohen wants policy certainty in Africa’s largest industrial nation.

Some commentators have also bemoaned a bloated cabinet and its impact on the fiscus.

On Tuesday Stats SA will release the results of the Quarterly labour force survey for the first quarter of this year. These results look at how the labour market performed.

Analysts expect that because of load shedding during the period, more jobs may have been shed. And that’s a new problem on the President’s in-tray.

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China will never surrender to external pressure, the government said on Monday, though stopped short of announcing how Beijing will hit back after Washington renewed its threat to impose tariffs on all Chinese imports in an escalating trade dispute.

The trade war between the world’s top two economies jumped up a gear on Friday, with the United States hiking tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods after President Donald Trump said Beijing “broke the deal” by reneging on earlier commitments made during months of negotiations.

Trump also ordered US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to begin imposing tariffs on all remaining imports from China, a move that would affect about an additional $300 billion worth of goods.

Beijing has vowed to respond to the latest US tariffs, but has announced no details yet.

“As for the details, please continue to pay attention. Copying a US expression – wait and see,” foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing.

“We have said many times that adding tariffs won’t resolve any problem. China will never surrender to external pressure. We have the confidence and the ability to protect our lawful and legitimate rights,” Geng added, responding to a question on Trump’s threat of putting duties on all Chinese imports.

State media also kept up a steady drum beat of strongly-worded commentary on Monday, reiterating that China’s door to talks was always open, but vowing to defend the country’s interests and dignity.

“At no time will China forfeit the country’s respect, and no one should expect China to swallow bitter fruit that harms its core interests,” China’s top newspaper, the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, said in a commentary.

State television said in a separate commentary that the effect on the Chinese economy from the US tariffs was “totally controllable”.

“It’s no big deal. China is bound to turn crisis to opportunity and use this to test its abilities, to make the country even stronger.”

Ahead of talks last week, China wanted to delete commitments from a draft agreement that Chinese laws would be changed to enact new policies on issues from intellectual property protection to forced technology transfers. That move dealt negotiations to resolve the trade dispute a major setback.

Trump has since defended the tariff hike and said he was in “absolutely no rush” to finalize a deal.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Sunday that there was a “strong possibility” Trump will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at a G20 summit in Japan in late June.

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French special forces have freed two French hostages, an American and a South Korean in northern Burkina Faso in an overnight raid in which two soldiers died, authorities announced Friday.

The operation was ordered to free the French tourists, identified as Patrick Picque and Laurent Lassimouillas, who disappeared while on holiday in the remote Pendjari National Park in neighbouring Benin on May 1.

The identity of the American and South Korean hostages was not immediately known, but they were both said to be women in a statement form the French presidency.

The location of the raid indicated that the French tourists had been kidnapped in Benin and taken over the nearby border into Burkina Faso, where Islamist terror groups have stepped up attacks in recent months.

President Emmanuel Macron “wants to congratulate the French armed forces for the liberation of the hostages, and includes everyone who worked alongside them,” the statement from the presidency said.

“He bows with emotion and solemnity before the sacrifice of our two soldiers who gave their lives to save those of our citizens,” the statement added.

In a separate statement, Defence Minister Florence Parly thanked authorities in Benin and Burkina Faso for their help with the “complex operation”, as well as the United States for its “precious support”.

Four kidnappers were killed in the raid, the French army said, adding that the American military had provided intelligence.

Former colonial ruler France has 4,500 troops deployed in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad in a mission codenamed Barkhane to help local forces in their battle with jihadist groups.

American special forces and drones are also known to operate in the violence-wracked Sahel region, which France fears could become further destabilised as jihadist groups are pushed out of north Africa, Iraq and Syria.

Burkina Faso has suffered from increasingly frequent and deadly attacks attributed to a number of jihadist groups, including the Ansarul Islam group, the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM) and Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.

Relief and sadness

The French tourists, a jewellery seller and a piano teacher and orchestra conductor based in the Paris region aged 51 and 46, went missing with their wildlife guide on the last leg of their holiday in usually peaceful Benin.

The Pendjari wildlife reserve, which is famed for its elephants and lions, lies close to the porous border with Burkina Faso.

The badly disfigured body of their guide was found shortly after they disappeared, as well as their abandoned four-wheel Toyota truck.

The two men are expected to travel back to France this weekend, probably on Saturday.

“We’ll travel up to Paris to welcome them off the plane,” Jean-Claude Picque, the father of hostage Patrick Picque, told AFP from his home in northern France.

“They told us that hostage-takings can be very long, but in the end it worked out ok, but not for the soldiers,” he said.

The two dead soldiers were named as Cedric de Pierrepont and Alain Bertoncello, decorated naval special forces members born in 1986 and 1991 respectively.

They were part of the “Task Force Sabre” unit which is based in Burkina Faso.

A total of 24 French soldiers from the Barkhane force have died in the region since 2013 when France intervened in Mali to drive back jihadist groups who had taken control of the north of the country.

The last death was announced on April 2 when a military doctor was killed in Mali when his armoured vehicle hit an improvised explosive device during an operation near the border with Burkina Faso.

Macron has repeatedly called on France’s allies to help fund and train a new regional African military force called the G5 Sahel, which experts continue to see as under-equipped and still heavily dependent on French firepower.

South Korea’s ambassador in Paris was unable to comment on the identity of the freed Korean national.

“We do not have detailed information, but we are in close contact with French authorities. I can’t say anything now,” Jongmoon Choi told AFP by telephone.

The US embassy in Paris declined to comment.

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North Korean missile launches over the past week have not affected Donald Trump’s relationship with Kim Jong Un, the US president said on Friday, in a change of course after initially expressing his dissatisfaction.

Pyongyang fired two short-range missiles on Thursday following an earlier drill the previous Saturday, the first in 18 months.

The North had not launched any missiles since November 2017, shortly before once reclusive Kim embarked on diplomatic overtures.

“I don’t consider that a breach of trust at all. And, you know, at some point I may. But at this point no,” Trump said in an interview with Politico.

“These were short-range missiles and very standard stuff. Very standard.”

Twenty-four hours earlier, however, Trump showed his irritation and impatience on an issue where he hopes to succeed while all his predecessors – Republicans and Democrats – have failed.

“Nobody’s happy about it,” he told reporters, in reaction to the launches.

“We’ll see what happens,” Trump added. “I know they want to negotiate, they are talking about negotiating. But I don’t think they are ready to negotiate.”

Will the US president at some point lose faith in Kim? He has met twice with the North Korean leader and claimed that the two have a special friendship and even “love.”

“I mean it’s possible that at some point I will, but right now not at all,” he told Politico.

The first face-to-face historic meeting between the two men in June 2018 in Singapore produced only a vague statement about denuclearisation, allowing both sides to make very different interpretations of it.

February’s second summit, in Hanoi, broke up without a deal after they failed to agree on what Pyongyang would be willing to give up in exchange for sanctions relief.

Since then, Kim has accused Washington of acting in “bad faith” and given it until the end of the year to change its approach.

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