Day: June 1, 2025

China says US has ‘severely violated’ tariffs truce

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China says the US has “severely violated” their trade truce and that it will take strong measures to defend its interests. China’s Ministry of Commerce said Washington has “seriously undermined” the agreement reached during talks in Geneva last month, when both countries lowered tariffs on goods imported from each other. The spokesperson added that US actions have also severely violated the consensus reached during a phone call in January between China’s leader Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump. The comments come after Trump said on Friday that China had “totally…

China accuses US of ‘severely violating’ trade truce

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Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world China has accused the US of “seriously violating” the trade truce and vowed to take strong measures to defend its interests as tensions between the two powers reignite. China and the US agreed during talks in Geneva in early May to a deal that would temporarily reduce their tit-for-tat tariffs, which had soared as high as 145 per cent. President Donald Trump on Friday claimed that China had…

China adds aerial refuelling to pilot training in move to boost combat readiness

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China’s air force has introduced aerial refuelling to its pilot training programme as the People’s Liberation Army tries to step up combat readiness and long-range capabilities. Advertisement The move was highlighted in a report by state broadcaster CCTV on Friday that included footage from a PLA training video. It showed instructors from the PLA Air Force’s Shijiazhuang Flight Academy piloting two J-10 fighter jets in a refuelling drill, supported by a YU-20 tanker. The J-10 – seen as China’s answer to the American F-16 – has a two-seat variant for…

XPrize founder Diamandis projects hope for AI, biotech amid US-China tech war

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Peter Diamandis, the entrepreneur behind the XPrize Foundation, has long championed a future of technological promise, building a career on innovation competitions meant to solve grand challenges. But in a recent conversation in Hong Kong, a subtle shift in tone emerged as he addressed the current complexities of global scientific collaboration, clouded by geopolitical tensions and the looming threat of technological decoupling. Advertisement “One of the things that is important to realise is that human biology is conserved across 8 billion people, as is math and physics and chemistry,” he…

How US tech curbs pushed China to innovate, and where a ‘super AI’ could emerge

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Angela Zhang is a law professor at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. Zhang is an expert on technology regulation and antitrust in China, and her research focus has recently been on artificial intelligence oversight. This interview first appeared in SCMP Plus. For other interviews in the Open Questions series, click here. Advertisement How will the new US-China tariff war affect the Chinese technology sector and competition between the two countries on artificial intelligence? Tariffs can affect the Chinese tech sector in two main ways. First, there…

Why Germany’s leader called China’s over Ukraine – and why it matters

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In an era when diplomacy often postures as virtue signalling and foreign policy has grown allergic to nuance, Germany’s new Chancellor Friedrich Merz has executed a move of startling clarity and daring. He called President Xi Jinping, not to lecture him on human rights or wave the banner of Western liberalism but to propose a deal: help end the war in Ukraine. Advertisement Merz’s appeal, couched in the anodyne language of international cooperation, was anything but soft. He told Xi that Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine has a bearing…

Scientists accuse New Zealand and Ireland of trying to cover up livestock emissions

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Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Climate change myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Leading climate scientists have accused politicians in New Zealand and Ireland of using an “accounting trick” to back their sheep and cattle industries, warning their support for methane-emitting livestock could undermine global efforts to fight climate change. In an open letter shared with the Financial Times, 26 climate scientists from around the world warned that New Zealand’s proposed new methane targets risk setting a dangerous precedent. Scientists have separately raised…

British businessman accused of plotting to smuggle US military technology to China

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A British businessman has been indicted in the US with attempting to traffic sensitive American military technology to China and silence a critic of the Chinese president. John Miller, 63, was named by US authorities at the weekend after his arrest in Serbia, where he is facing extradition in connection with an FBI investigation. The Mail on Sunday reported that he was from Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Both he and a Chinese man, Cui Guanghai, are wanted in the US on charges relating to conspiracy to commit interstate stalking and conspiracy,…

In Australia’s post-US future, we must find our own way with China | Hugh White

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Thanks to US regional strategic primacy, Australia has been virtually immune from the threat of direct military attack since the defeat of Japan in 1945. Now that is changing. In future it will no longer be militarily impossible for China to attack Australia directly. And not just China: other major regional powers, especially India and eventually perhaps Indonesia, will have the potential to launch significant attacks on Australia. That does not mean we now face a serious threat of Chinese military attack. Today the only circumstance in which Australia could…

China is waking up from its property nightmare

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CHINA’S ECONOMY has been through a stress test in the past six months with the trade war shredding nerves. The tensions over tariffs are not over yet. On May 29th Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, said that ongoing talks had “stalled” and President Donald Trump complained that China “had totally violated” the preliminary agreement to reduce duties reached between the two sides in Geneva on May 12th. Yet even as the trade war staggers on, two things are proving reassuring for China. One is that so far the economy has…