Investing.com - Asian stocks were mixed amid renewed Sino-U.S. trade worries.
China’s Shanghai Composite was down 0.2% to 2,930.76 by 10:40 PM ET (02:40 GMT). The Shenzhen Component gained 0.3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.4%.
Worries on Sino-U.S. trade developments resurfaced today after U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that there is still a long way to go to reach a deal with China.
“We have a long way to go as far as tariffs where China is concerned, if we want. We have another $325 billion we can put a tariff on, if we want,” Trump said. “So, we’re talking to China about a deal, but I wish they didn’t break the deal that we had.”
Meanwhile, China’s Commerce Minister Zhong Shan said “the U.S. side has provoked economic and trade frictions” against Beijing and violated and principles of the WTO.
“It is typical of unilateralism and protectionism. ... We have to uphold our warrior spirit in firmly defending national and people’s interests in defending the multilateral trading system,” Zhong told the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party in China.
In other news, DouYu International Holdings, China’s largest live-streaming platform, made headlines today after the company sold $775 million in stock at its U.S. IPO.
Douyu is backed by the Hong Kong-listed social media and gaming giant Tencent Holdings.
Elsewhere, South Korea’s KOSPI fell 0.9%. The country’s Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said it will unveil plans in the short future to reduce its economy’s reliance on Japanese industries.
"The government is working on comprehensive plans to reduce the country's dependence on Japan's materials, components and equipment industries and will announce them soon," said Hong.
The news came after Japan imposed export restrictions on South Korea’s semiconductor industry earlier this month. On Tuesday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in warned Japan that any attempt to hinder his nation’s economic growth “will not succeed.”
“We will overcome this situation in whatever scenario,” Moon said. “South Korea has come this far by enduring even tougher challenges than this.”
Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded 0.4% lower.
Down under, Australia’s ASX 200 climbed 0.4%.