President Trump has already floated the first demand he will make in talks with China President Xi Jinping set for Thursday in South Korea. If Xi wants to avoid antagonizing the commander-in-chief who is flexing US muscle with new military deployments and trade threats, he’ll have a ready response. Trump said flatly this week that…
With the US threatening to leverage its software strengths ahead of fresh trade talks with China in response to its recent export controls on rare earths, analysts say Beijing is unlikely to make major concessions, though progress could be made on issues such as soybeans or fentanyl. Washington is reportedly considering imposing curbs on a…
In response to questions about the possibility of renewed negotiations between China and the US, President Trump identified rare earths, fentanyl, and soybeans as key concerns. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun reiterated that China’s stance on trade issues is clear: “Tariff wars and trade wars do not benefit either side. Both parties should resolve…
President Donald Trump listed rare earths, fentanyl and soybeans as the US’s top issues with China just before the two sides return to the negotiating table and as a fragile trade truce nears expiration. “I don’t want them to play the rare earth game with us,” Trump said on Air Force One on Sunday, as…
FOR TWO decades Roosevelt Roads, a sprawling American naval base in Puerto Rico, stood abandoned. Now the roar of fighter jets and whirring of helicopters have returned to fill the humid air. Over the past month air-force personnel have laboured to restore the airstrip’s control tower and decrepit infrastructure, while hulking cargo planes ferry in…
Last month, I joined a US think tank delegation to China, participating in a round table at a top university in Beijing. A remark by a leading professor of diplomacy struck me: “If China and the US can’t cooperate on health issues, they can’t cooperate on others.” His words underscore the dire state of bilateral…
Hong Kong stocks slid on Monday after a highly anticipated call on Friday between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping provided investors with little to whet their risk appetite. The Hang Seng Index lost 0.9 per cent to 26,302.67 as of 11am local time. The Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 1 per…
President Trump on Friday announced that three people, who he described as “male narcoterrorists,” were killed by a U.S. air strike while “trafficking illicit narcotics” in international waters around the Caribbean. The attack is the third reported by American authorities against drug traffickers in the area, which they say have killed a total of 17…
A Chinese company executive has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for trafficking in chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl, the US Justice Department said on Friday. Wang Qingzhou, 37, principal executive of Amarvel Biotech, a company based in Wuhan, and Chen Yiyi, 33, the firm’s marketing manager, were convicted in New York in February…
Venezuela’s foreign minister said Wednesday that China pledged support for Caracas’ efforts to preserve peace in the Caribbean, quoting Ambassador Lan Hu as saying Beijing stood “in solidarity” as Washington pressed ahead with military strikes on boats it claimed were carrying drugs. Foreign Minister Yván Gil met with Lan in Caracas and described the message…