1. ‘Elephants trampling on global trade’: EU sidelined by US-China showdown
Over two rounds of high-stakes talks on European soil, Europe has watched from the sidelines as the US and China tried to reach a truce that might stabilise the global trading system on which the continent is entirely reliant.
2. Chinese citizens in Iran, Israel need to prepare for attacks, embassies warn
The Chinese embassy in Israel warned its citizens on Friday morning to take safety precautions for potential attacks as Tehran considers a retaliation against Israeli strikes targeting its nuclear sites.
3. China’s top baijiu maker faces sobering reality as austerity trims profits

China’s premier liquor distiller Kweichow Moutai – a brand that had, over decades, become synonymous with sumptuous feasts – is heeding a renewed mandate for austerity from Beijing, distancing its products from the extravagant hard-drinking lifestyle with which it had been linked in the public consciousness.