Raphael Stevens

A sign hangs above a Dollar General store in Chicago on Aug. 31, 2023.
Scott Olson | Getty Images

Dollar General shares tumbled Thursday after the discount retailer slashed its sales and profit guidance for the full year, suggesting its lower-income customers are struggling in this economy.
Shares of the retailer, which caters to more rural areas, tumbled 25% in premarket trading after the earnings report.

The company now expects fiscal 2024 same-store sales to be up 1.0% to 1.6%, lower than prior outlook for a 2% to 2.7% increase. Earnings per share for the year are expected to be in the range of just $5.50 to $6.20, versus the prior forecast of $6.80 to $7.55 per share.
“While we believe the softer sales trends are partially attributable to a core customer who feels financially constrained, we know the importance of controlling what we can control,” said CEO Todd Vasos in a statement.
Dollar General also reported disappointing numbers for the latest quarter. EPS of $1.70 per share came in below an LSEG estimate of $1.79 per share, while revenue of $10.21 billion was also lower than the analyst expectation of $10.37 billion.
Competitor Dollar Tree was falling in sympathy, off by more than 9% in premarket trading.

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U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan said he raised concerns about the country’s focus on economic security in meetings with Chinese officials.
Earlier Thursday, a statement from Chinese President Xi Jinping said he told Sullivan that Beijing hopes Washington will find “a right way” to get along.
Tensions between the world’s two largest economies have escalated in recent years spilling over from trade into finance and technology.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan shakes hands with China’s President Xi Jinping (R) during their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on August 29, 2024. 
Trevor Hunnicutt | Afp | Getty Images

BEIJING — U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan said he raised concerns about the country’s focus on economic security in meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other officials this week.
Just as the U.S. has cited national security concerns for its own restrictions on Chinese tech imports, China has increasingly emphasized the need to protect its economic security.

Foreign businesses in China have complained of vague data rules and preferential treatment for local players, as well as subsidies that allow Chinese businesses to sell at far lower prices.
Sullivan told reporters Thursday that he had discussed the impact such issues have on Western businesses and supply chains.
“We had a vigorous give and take on the issue, obviously didn’t come to agreement,” Sullivan told reporters during a press conference at the end of the trip.
Sullivan, advisor to the outgoing Biden administration, said his trip to China was part of an effort to manage the bilateral relationship ahead of the inauguration of a new U.S. president in January.

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan attends a press conference at the U.S. embassy in Beijing, China August 29, 2024. 
Tingshu Wang | Reuters

It comes just over a month after U.S. President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed his Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democrat nominee.

Sullivan said he told Chinese officials how Harris has been a “central member” of Biden’s foreign policy team, and is known to China’s top leaders, including having had a meeting with Xi.
The security advisor said Harris “shares” Biden’s view for responsibly managing competition so that it doesn’t veer into confrontation, and that high-level communication is the way to manage that.

Xi-Biden meeting?

Sullivan arrived in Beijing Tuesday for two days of meetings in his first trip to China as national security advisor. He is scheduled to depart China later Thursday.
Sullivan met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi, and Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Military Commission on his visit.
Biden and Xi are planning to speak by phone in “coming weeks,” the White House said Wednesday, and Sullivan indicated to reporters that the leaders would likely meet in person later this year on the sidelines of a multilateral conference.
Earlier Thursday, a statement from Xi said he told Sullivan that Beijing hopes Washington will find “a right way” to get along.

Zhang Youxia, Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission holds a meeting with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, at the Bayi building in Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. 
Ng Han Guan | Via Reuters

“While great changes have taken place in the two countries and in China-U.S. relations, China’s commitment to the goal of a stable, healthy and sustainable China-U.S. relationship remains unchanged,” Xi said, according to an English-language release shared by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Tensions between the world’s two largest economies have escalated in recent years, spilling over from trade into finance and technology.
The Chinese leader said Thursday that he hopes the U.S. would view China’s economic growth “in a positive” light and “work with China to find a right way for two major countries to get along with each others,” according to Beijing. China surpassed Japan in 2010 to become the world’s second-largest economy, behind the United States.

The last official trip to China by a U.S. president’s national security advisor was in 2016, when Susan Rice traveled to Beijing under the Obama administration.
While the outcome of November’s U.S. presidential election remains unclear, being tough on Beijing is a rare issue that both U.S. political parties agree on.
Harris’ current national security advisor, Phil Gordon, said in May at a Council on Foreign Relations event that the “China challenge” is much greater than Taiwan, and requires ensuring that Beijing “doesn’t have the advanced technology, intelligence and military capabilities that can challenge us.” More

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U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to speak over the phone in “coming weeks,” the White House said Wednesday.
The announcement came amid U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan’s trip to Beijing this week to meet with Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat.
The last official trip to China by a U.S. president’s national security advisor was in 2016, when Susan Rice traveled to Beijing under the Obama administration.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) shakes hands with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan at Yanqi Lake in Beijing on August 27, 2024. 
Ng Han Guan | Afp | Getty Images

BEIJING — U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to speak over the phone in “coming weeks,” the White House said Wednesday.
The announcement came amid U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan’s trip to Beijing this week to meet with Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat.

Both sides said their military leaders would also hold a call in the near future.
Chin added that plans for the second round of U.S.-China talks on artificial intelligence are underway. The White House noted John Podesta, senior advisor to the president for international climate policy, would soon travel to China, without specifying a date.
In official readouts of Sullivan’s trip, the two nations maintained their positions on tech restrictions, Taiwan, the South China Sea and Ukraine.

Biden is not running for reelection in November after this summer, ceding the nomination to his vice president, Kamala Harris. The White House statement did not name the presidents, instead it noted plans for a “leader-level call.”
The Chinese side’s statement used its typical language of “two heads of state,” and said both sides were discussing “a new round of interaction,” according to a CNBC translation of the Chinese.

Biden and Xi held a nearly two-hour phone call in early April, after the two leaders had met in November 2023 on the sidelines of a summit in Woodside, California.
High-level communication between the world’s two largest economies hasn’t been easy in recent years amid heightened tensions and Covid-19 restrictions.
Then-U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan in August 2022 and a high-profile “balloon incident” in February 2023 had further strained their relationship, suspending some planned talks.

First U.S. security advisor visit since 2016

Sullivan arrived in Beijing Tuesday, wrapped up two days of meetings with Wang on Wednesday and is set to depart Thursday. This is his first trip to China as national security advisor, despite multiple meetings with Wang in recent years.
The last official trip to China by a U.S. president’s national security advisor was in 2016, when Susan Rice traveled to Beijing under the Obama administration.
While the outcome of November’s presidential election remains unclear, being tough on Beijing is a rare issue that both U.S. political parties agree on.
Harris’ current national security advisor, Phil Gordon, said in May at a Council on Foreign Relations event that the “China challenge” is much greater than Taiwan, and requires ensuring that Beijing “doesn’t have the advanced technology, intelligence and military capabilities that can challenge us.” More