Chinese investors keep their cool as trade tensions roil US and EU markets

China's stock markets showed less volatility than overseas bourses amid continuing headwinds from US-initiated global trade and geopolitical tensions.

US President Donald Trump said the US would impose a tariff of 50 percent on EU imports and a 25 percent tariff on iPhones sold in the US that are manufactured overseas. Some investors are viewing the latest threats as negotiating tactics, both in EU-US trade talks and in efforts to get Apple to move manufacturing out of China and India. The Dow Jones, S&P and Nasdaq indexes in the US all lost more than 2 percent this week.

"The single most reliable economic fact of the Trump presidency is that when he raises tariffs, markets tank; when he backs off, they rise," New York-based hedge fund manager Spencer Hakimian wrote on X, which drew many responses.

China condemned the Trump administration's decision this week to revoke visas for foreign students at Harvard. Chinese students comprise the largest population of foreign visa holders on the campus, estimated at more than 2,000. Investors were also rattled by US renewed attempts to ban Chinese chips and a new European Union new rule imposing a 2-euro flat tax on delivery of low-value parcels, most of which come from China.

"The trade war initiated by the US indeed has ripple effects, making investors insecure and uncertain," said Zhang Yuhao, an analyst with Fullgoal Fund. "The market performance is based on expectations, and what investors can expect now is the unexpected."

Still, Chinese markets have taken all the trade cross-winds in their stride, bolstered by the government rolling out more economic stimulus measures. On Tuesday, China announced a 0.1 percentage point cut in both one-year and five-year prime loan rates, the first reduction since last October.

The Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.57 percent this week, while the Shenzhen Component Index lost 0.46 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 1.1 percent in the week. The Nikkei index in Japan lost 1.6 percent this week amid poor economic data and continuing uncertainty about the future of car exports to the US in ongoing trade talks.

Amid all the global headwinds, gold and bitcoin prices rose again. Gold rose almost 2 percent on Friday, and bitcoin hit a record high this week.