Asian Markets Edge Up; Chinese Vice-Premier to Visit Washington on Tuesday

Investing.com - Asian equities traded slightly higher in morning trade on Tuesday. Trade-related news continued to be the main focus as Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He is set to visit Washington this week for a new round of negotiations with the U.S.

China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.2% by 9:30 PM ET (02:30 GMT), while the Shenzhen Component was trading near flat. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged up 0.2%.

Liu will meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the Commerce Ministry said in a short statement on Tuesday.

The new round of talks followed a round of negotiations that ended last week in Beijing without a deal, although U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping both reported progress in trade talks last week, raising hopes of an agreement before a March 1 deadline for tariff hikes.

The talks this week are aimed at "achieving needed structural changes in China that affect trade between the United States and China." The two sides will also discuss China's pledge to purchase a substantial amount of goods and services from the U.S., the White House said in a statement.

While global stock markets advanced on the recent trade headlines, traders remained cautious on reports that China's government accused the U.S of "fabricating an excuse for suppressing the legitimate development" of Chinese enterprises.

The spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, Geng Shuang, said the U.S. is using "political means" to interfere in economic activity, which he deemed "hypocritical, immoral and unfair bullying."

Since last year, the Trump administration has been putting pressure on allies to shun networks supplied by Huawei Technologies, threatening the company's access to markets for next-generation wireless gear.

Elsewhere, Australia’s ASX 200 rose 0.4%. Shares of health supplements company Blackmores dived more than 22% after the company issued a weaker-than-expected outlook for the second half of its fiscal year.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged up 0.1%, while South Korea’s KOSPI was little changed at 2210.4.

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