Month: May 2025

Washington’s visa crackdown on Chinese students with ties to the Communist Party closely mirrors restrictions imposed during US President Donald Trump’s first administration, which at the time prompted Beijing to accuse the US of “regime change”. Advertisement However, this time, Beijing’s response has been notably restrained, with China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday denouncing the move as “discriminatory” and lodging diplomatic protests. Despite Beijing’s unease over discussions about party connections, observers suggested China’s measured approach stemmed from its focus on crucial trade negotiations with the Trump administration, and a…

Washington’s technology-export restrictions targeting Chinese plane makers this week will delay China’s jet engine indigenisation process in the near term, but any setback will only harden resolve in Beijing for tech self-reliance to test and launch a home-grown engine, analysts said on Friday. Advertisement United States officials have reportedly suspended some sales of technologies linked to jet engines that could be built for Chinese state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China’s (Comac) civilian aircraft. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs pushed back at the US engine controls on Friday, with spokesman Lin…

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. US appeal court allows Donald Trump’s tariffs to stay in effect A US federal appeal court has temporarily halted a lower-court ruling against President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” reciprocal tariffs, as well as a separate set of fentanyl-related levies on China, Mexico and Canada, the latest in a string of twists that leave the state of global trade hanging in the balance. 2. China…

China on Friday appeared to move closer to lifting its ban on Japanese seafood imports, with the foreign ministry pledging to “study” Tokyo’s request on the matter. Advertisement The move is another sign that Beijing is trying to reset ties with its East Asian neighbour amid growing US trade uncertainty, according to an expert on China-Japan relations. The Chinese foreign ministry comment came in response to a media query about Japan’s claim that the two sides had agreed on technical conditions for the resumption of such shipments. “Relevant authorities will…

US President Donald Trump accused China on Friday of having “totally violated” a 90-day trade truce reached just weeks ago in Geneva, casting doubt on whether the agreement still holds and throwing the future of bilateral trade talks into question. Advertisement The deal, announced on May 12, had lowered US tariffs on Chinese imports from 145 per cent to 30 per cent, and Chinese tariffs on US goods from 125 per cent to 10 per cent. The Trump administration recently hailed the “asymmetric” agreement as a significant victory for the…

US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats, with some reaching what he considers to be “a ridiculous high” level before being drastically lowered or suspended, have given rise to an acronymic market trend that Trump lashed out at a reporter for mentioning: Taco trades. Advertisement But despite Trump’s back-and-forth tariff whiplash that has roiled markets and left many investors scrambling to keep up, many still believe “there is no alternative”. So, when it comes to putting their money in US assets, it’s in “Tina” they trust. What is a Taco trade,…