economy. eunice yoon is in beijing with thatst y. >> today's data showed that china's s manufacturitor shrank for a second month in a row. the purchasing manager's index ticked up to .5n january from 49.4 in december, better than the forecast of 49.3. however, anythin under 50 indicates a contraction. production and raw materials inventories both edged higher, bu new orders, an important gauge of future activity, ctclined. manuers reported that they cut more jobs. manufacturers are under pressure because of falling profits, decelerati factory inflation tnd uncertainty over tariffs. the lat data is a reminder for chinese negotiators in washington of why the need to end the tariffs boy the march deadline. businesses here re waiting to see if beijing will ramp up fiscal stimulus at the upcoming parliamentary session in march or earlier. for "nightly business report," i'm eunice yo in beijing. >>> dow component due paunuponts closely monitoring trade negotiations and the pace of economic activity in china. this after thepa c said it is forecasting a slowdown in ales due to tepid economic growth.

hamme out their differences to avoid an escalation of the tensions betwn the world's t largest economie eunice yoon has been covering the story for us all along and she's back tonight with . >> today was a key day for the trade talks. all the majoray s, treasury secretary steven mnuchin, trade representative robert lighthizer and china's vice premier were meeting for their first day of two-day discussions. the two sides are trying to hammer out the framework of an agreemt that wou act as a basis for a potential summit between president trump and president xi later, possibly as early as next monts ther a feeling that the final decisions would be made by the two leaders if they do meet. from what we know, l a is on the table, but the negotiators are still far apart on how to address stickier structural ises and enforce a deal once it's worked out. but the two sides might get some more time. bloomberg is citing sources saying that president trump is extension a 60-d to the march 1st deadline. separately, we got trade data out of china that gives us a ood look int the impact of the tariffs on the trade

that's just adding pressure toct se of the chinese economy that's already in the middle of a trade war. eunice yoon has more tonight. >> china's tariffs were meant to hit american pig farms, but not him. i would say tariffs are hurting people in the short term and might have consequences. >> to retalia against president trump's tariffs, the chinese raised duties on american pork last year to a total of 62%. but even the pig business is global. this farm in eastern chinas 100% american. the u.s. private equity fund along with an american hog farming company invested $100 million in the complex four years ago. last year, the farms sold 500,000 pigs. the chinese eat more pork thane anyone e in the world, as much as the rest of the world combined. have been in demand since an african swine flu epidemic hit the industry last summer. >> we're using automatic feeder systems. >> reporter: u.s. technology and standards helped himvoid the disease. >> the slaughterhouses will see our meat as safe a high quality, and so they will pay a slight premium over the market price. >> the epidemic also gave a t boos fa

economies. those meetings are taking place in beijingnd that's where we find eunice yoon tonight. t >> the trak are under way in beijingingut d level officials have arrived and setting the stage for bob light highser and steven minute unusual shin. the talks about last all week. we should have a better deal if a deal is in the cards by march 1st. the big question is, will the chinese make mceor cions on issues important to the u.s., subsidies for technology transfers. they haven't moved much. they don't want the outsideon pressure, csider industrial poli too important to be bought. if the u.s. squeezes china enough economically, beijing wi come to the table. we got some data which show the consumer isn't so confident here. sales are slowing pace. the sales are a gauge of the chinese consumer, china's equivalent to christmas shopping. and that could put pressure on the negotiators on the chinese side. for "nightly business re eunice in beijing. >> the trade talks i china, shutdown negotiations in washington and inflation data out later in the week. all could potentially be events f