MNI China Press Digest Mar 30: US Tariff, Carbon, Digital Econ

The following lists highlights from Chinese press reports on Tuesday:

• The U.S. will make it harder to engage in talks with China if it keeps existing punitive tariffs, said Global Times. The comments came in an editorial in response to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai suggestion to keep the tariffs as leverage in potential talks. Dropping the tariffs could create a favorable atmosphere to address issues, the government-run newspaper said. The two sides should urgently improve trade relations, something that still tie the two together while political and security issues further divide them, the editorial said.
• China's steel industry will reduce carbon emissions by 30% from the peak in 2030, or 420 million tons a year, as a part of the country's stated overall plan to reach peak carbon emissions by 2030 and net-zero by 2060, the Economic Information Daily said. China accounts for more than 60% of the global emissions by steelmaking, the newspaper said citing Li Xinchuang, an official at Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute. China plans to restructure the steel industry and reduce the production of small and medium-sized rebars, it said citing researcher Yin Ruiyu at the China National Engineering Research Institute.
• China may generate over CNY60 trillion through cloud-based computing, big data, blockchain and other digital industries through 2025 under its five-year development plan, reaching about 10% of total GDP, the Economic Information Daily said citing Yu Xiaohui, President of the China information and Communication Research Institute. China should better integrate the digital economy with the real economy, promote digitization of manufacturing and facilitate businesses' transformation, the Daily reported citing Sun Ke, an official at China Academy of Information and Communications Technology