China wants to import more fruit and other agricultural products from the Philippines, Chinese president Xi Jinping said during a meeting with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, China’s State Council said in an Aug. 29 press release, according to an unofficial translation. Xi told Duterte that China wants to “implement major cooperation projects” with the Philippines and “is willing to import more high-quality fruits and agricultural products,” the press release said.

China is studying its technology companies’ dependence on U.S. suppliers as it prepares for possible further escalations of the trade war, according to an Aug. 29 report in The Wall Street Journal. The moves also come as China reportedly plans to formally introduce its so-called unreliable entity list (see 1908220046). China has examined its companies’ reliance on foreign suppliers during the last few months, The Wall Street Journal report said, as part of its long-term goal “of weaning itself off dependence on U.S. technology.” By conducting the survey, Chinese officials are trying to ensure its important companies aren’t significantly damaged by any retaliatory measures against the U.S., the report said. China has reached out to several of the country’s “best-known smartphone makers,” the report said: Xiaomi Corp., Oppo and Vivo.

A Chinese tech company and a manufacturing company said the U.S.-China trade war is not damaging their business and instead said it is encouraging them to find other customers, including in Europe. Zhang Tianren, chairman of the board of directors for Tianneng Power International, and Lan Fenghui, president of Unitek Taxation Company, said during an Aug. 30 Ministry of Commerce press conference that they are not feeling the negative effects of U.S. tariffs. “Although there is a bit of hardship, it does not have much impact,” Zhang said, according to an unofficial translation of the transcript. Company names are via the unofficial translation as well.

China is expanding a pilot program for parallel auto imports to increase the country’s foreign car market, according to an Aug. 30 notice from China’s Ministry of Commerce and a report from Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency. The program for parallel auto imports -- whereby Chinese “independent auto dealers directly purchase vehicles from a foreign production base or auto dealer” -- will expand to give preferential treatment to certain ports that import more than “1,000 vehicles” annually, China said.

The Customs Department of Thailand will use TradeLens, a blockchain-based “shipment tracking and information sharing platform,” to improve customs procedures, according to an Aug. 29 report from the Bangkok Post. TradeLens, which is also used by Singapore, is an online trade platform that “enables efficient and accurate” tracking of cargo and information sharing, the report said. TradeLens will allow customs authorities to see shipping data when containers leave the port of origin, which will allow for more time to prepare for the shipments and speed up inspections, the report said. The blockchain technology may increase “trust among trading partners because the record of all transactions is shared within the network and permissioned parties can access the data in real time,” according to the report. TradeLens was developed by AP Moller-Maersk and IBM. Thailand Customs has been working on integrating TradeLens with IBM since October 2018, the report said. “The platform will be implemented at Laem Chabang port in Chon Buri first and later at Bangkok port,” according to the report.

South Korea said it has “deep regret” and strongly protests Japan’s decision to remove South Korea from its list of trusted trading partners, which officially took effect Aug. 28. In a statement, South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for “an immediate withdrawal” of the export restrictions, which it said were a “clear retaliatory trade measure.”

China’s Qingdao customs center officially began a "demonstration" to test its “intelligent gate,” which allows for faster clearance of cargo, China’s General Administration of Customs said in an Aug. 28 press release, according to an unofficial translation. The first test of the new system was on Aug. 22 with a container truck rolling through the gate of the customs facility and into an adjacent "logistics park." The gate “automatically” obtains vehicle information and container number from cargo entering through the gate and identifies the goods being transported, China said. China said the gates will reduce “logistics and transportation” costs for companies.

China will soon begin accepting a second round of applications for exemptions from its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, according to an Aug. 28 report from Xinhua, China’s state run news agency. The exemptions are for the tariffs on $60 billion in U.S. goods that China imposed Sept. 24, 2018. Companies can begin filing online applications for the exclusion process between Sept. 2 and Oct. 18, the report said. Xinhua said the China State Council’s Customs Tariff Commission will “offer temporary tariff exemptions or refunds of added duties” based on the applications. China also plans to launch an exclusion process for the most recent round of retaliatory tariffs on $75 billion worth of U.S. goods announced Aug. 23 (see 1908230004).

Indonesia and Mozambique signed a preferential trade agreement Aug. 27 that will cut tariffs on trade in some products between the two countries, according to a report from the Mozambique News Agency. Under the deal, Mozambique will lower tariffs on 217 tariff lines covering fishery products, fruits, palm oil, margarine, rubber, soap, paper products, and textile products, according to a report in the Indonesian news magazine Tempo. Indonesia will cut tariffs for Mozambique on 242 tariff lines covering products including cotton, tobacco and nuts, Reuters said.

Japan issued statements clarifying its position under its new export restrictions against South Korea, saying certain export conditions will be tightened but others will not be impacted. The measures, which took effect Aug. 28, place restrictions on chemicals -- and other goods -- used to make computer chips and other high-tech products (see 1908020023).