Month: August 2026

France will from Tuesday impose a fee on ultra-fast fashion items that will eventually reach almost €20 (US$2.32) per garment, as the government targets major Asian e-commerce platforms including Shein. The levy follows legislation passed by the French parliament in June to regulate “ultra-fast fashion” companies, known for selling large volumes of lower-quality clothing at rock-bottom prices. It is part of a push to rein in Asian e-commerce giants including Shein, Temu and AliExpress, which have exploded in popularity in France in recent years. “The harmful effects of ultra-fast fashion…

US President Donald Trump has already announced the date: September 24. That is when, Trump says, Chinese President Xi Jinping will come to the White House for a visit following the “America first” leader’s own three-day trip to Beijing in May. But there is a diplomatic wrinkle. The Trump administration has publicly put the date on the calendar. Beijing has not formally announced Xi’s Washington visit. Traders are already pricing the odds of the visit. As of August 27, Polymarket contracts on whether Trump would meet Xi in September and…

We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering Latin American relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Chinese executive filmed taking cash on Colombia metro project Photo: Handout Colombian prosecutors are investigating allegations that executives of a Chinese state-owned contractor building the Bogota metro demanded cash from a local subcontractor in exchange for releasing payments owed for work on the project, according to a report. Read the full story here. 2. Brazil…

We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering US-China relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Harvard, MIT among 30 US universities ordered to audit China research ties Photo: AP Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Johns Hopkins University were among 30 American institutions ordered to audit their foreign research relationships, according to US officials, as higher education representatives accused the Pentagon of implying wrongdoing without publicly presenting evidence. Read…

Late August marks the annual influx of international students to US campuses, but for many Chinese students, visa processing delays and diplomatic tensions have turned scheduled departures into open-ended delays. They say stringent visa scrutiny and expanding background checks have left them in limbo, delaying their timely arrival in the US and forcing them to defer enrolment. Under a provision of US immigration law known as “administrative processing” or visa checks, applicants may be asked to submit supplementary documents and undergo additional security reviews before their visas can be approved.…

In its latest swipe at Tokyo’s military build-up, China singled out Japan’s plans to arm its submarine drones with long-range missiles and test hypersonic weapons in Australia. Analysts say those moves could threaten People’s Liberation Army amphibious groups and surface combatants within the “first island chain” – potentially affecting the PLA Navy’s ability to operate in the event of a Taiwan conflict. The strategically important first island chain stretches from Japan to Taiwan, the Philippines and Borneo. China’s defence ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang highlighted the two initiatives on Thursday, saying…

Chinese President Xi Jinping is returning to Egypt after a decade as Beijing deepens its economic, military and diplomatic ties with Cairo and seeks to work more closely with Egypt on crises across the Middle East and Africa. China’s foreign ministry last week described relations with Egypt as being “at their best in history” and said Xi’s visit would build on past cooperation while setting the direction for future ties. The visit coincides with the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations. It will be Xi’s first visit to Egypt since January…