Tang argued that the most important contribution to income from associates and joint ventures was the DHL-Sinotrans businesses. He added that the increase in income from associates "offset weaker earnings from [Sinotrans] freight forwarding and logistics businesses. We believe this reflects the sustained good performance for DHL-Sinotrans, which has its focus on the China-Europe market, sheltering it from the exposure to the weakened U.S.-China trade activities.