China has demanded the Trump administration to reverse its decision to sanction Chinese tech firms and warned the communist regime will "resolutely safeguard" its interests in the two countries' escalating economic debacle.
The demand is to scrap a decision to add 28 Chinese companies to a US trade blacklist over allegations of China's involvement in rights abuses against Muslims, but Beijing did not disclose any further details about any reported trade retaliatory actions.
Chinese commerce ministers lashed back at sanctions on sales of American technology to a group of Chinese firms as a form of meddling in the country's internal affairs. In reaction, White House officials say those Chinese companies provide technology used in subduing Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.
According to China's commerce ministry statement, it strongly urges the US to immediately stop making irresponsible comments on the issue of Xinjiang. "Stop interfering with our internal affairs," the statement read, adding that the US must also remove the Chinese companies included in its Entity List. "China will take the necessary countermeasures to resolutely safeguard the country's interests."
Despite the rising animosity, the Chinese officials on Tuesday announced a trade delegation will push on with a scheduled visit to the US this week to iron out kinks in the two countries' trade differences.
Meanwhile, at the trading floors on Wall Street, a hard selling in the stock market was noted early today on the heels of these ongoing allegations, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average and other major indexes falling sharply from their key technical levels.
The NASDAQ was down 1.8 percent, the S&P 500 slipped 1.5 percent and the Dow Jones Industrials fell 1.1 percent. Small caps monitored by the Russell 2000 Index dropped 1.5 percent as initial figures showed a larger volume on NASDAQ and NYSE.
All three key indexes plunged way off their 50-day moving average trajectories during pre-market sessions, retreating from a key test of support. They settled at or near new weekly trade lows.
Shares made a gap down in the opening minutes of trade on Tuesday in the midst of concerns on the outcome of the China-US top-level negotiations. Major stocks pared some losses after Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell suggested they are amenable to additional rate reductions. However, the market, in general, seemed poised to go sharply lower after the US implemented visa restrictions on Chinese diplomats for the alleged rights violations in Xinjiang.
