Trade war cuts into China's high-tech production

BEIJING -- Washington's tariffs landed a blow on China's industrial production in August, with figures released Friday showing a slide in output growth for targeted high-tech items like robots and integrated circuits.

As recently as May, China's industrial robot production was rising by over 30% on the year. But since June -- the month before the products were targeted for additional 25% tariffs -- growth has been stuck in the single digits, including 9% for August. Integrated circuits likewise became targets in August, and their output grew just 5.8% that month, half the July figure. Production of automobiles began shrinking in July, and the decline widened to 4.4% in August.