Tag: China

Two of China’s EV Makers Announce a Deal as Auto Industry Moves Toward Consolidation

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Two leading electric carmakers in China said on Monday they would combine their battery charging subsidiaries, in the latest sign of consolidation in a severely crowded Chinese car industry. The deal will combine divisions of Nio and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, with Nio also acquiring 10 percent of a separate Geely business. The transaction comes just two weeks after another Chinese automaker, Guangzhou Automobile Group, announced plans for a complex tie-up with First Automotive Works, a large manufacturer. Last year, two of the Chinese car industry’s giants, Dongfeng Motor and…

Foie gras, live dolphins and toasters: China and US cut reciprocal tariffs on $30bn each of goods

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The US and China have released reciprocal lists of goods worth about $30bn each on which they plan to cut tariffs, ranging from consumer electronics and agricultural products to artificial flowers and live dolphins. The announcements are the latest tack away from the intense trade war between the world’s two largest economies that dominated much of last year, though major strategic products are not included and no timeline has yet been given for the reductions. The US list includes 77 categories of Chinese products including bed linen, garden umbrellas, toasters,…

Trump asked Xi Jinping if China would like to buy US weapons, American ambassador says

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Donald Trump offered to sell weapons to China while hosting its leader, Xi Jinping, last week, the US ambassador to China said on Sunday. David Perdue told Fox News on Sunday: “President Trump continues to say, hey, we sell arms to other people around the world. He actually asked President Xi, would he like to buy some at one point.” The extraordinary claim came during an interview about US policy on Taiwan, which has been waiting for months for Trump to approve a new arms sales ⁠package worth $14bn, after…

Two giant pandas set off to Atlanta zoo from China after Xi-Trump summit

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Two giant pandas departed Chengdu in south-western China early on Sunday for their new homes in Atlanta, Georgia, as part of an agreement between the Chinese and US governments. While in Washington DC for a three–day summit with Donald Trump, Chinese president Xi Jinping announced that the pandas would arrive in Atlanta in the coming days. The loan of the pandas to the Atlanta zoo was one of the few concrete outcomes to come out of Xi’s state visit with the US president, which saw expressions of goodwill between the…

France gave the Statue of Liberty. China sends pandas. What do diplomatic gifts mean – and how do you choose one?

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It was one of the most potent political gifts of modern times: the Statue of Liberty, a colossal neoclassical sculpture made in France and offered to the American people in the late 19th century.The size and symbolism of Liberty Enlightening the World (the statue’s original name) was intended as a mark of friendship to commemorate the centenary of the 1776 US declaration of independence. Delivered a decade late, it was also a reminder – perhaps a pointed one – of France’s critical role in helping the US break free from…

‘The weaker he gets, the more dangerous he gets’: Trump lashes out as his power wanes

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Donald Trump stood before the United Nations on Tuesday and threatened to “annihilate” Iran. Yet even as the most powerful man on the planet flexed his military muscles, he was powerless to keep the gravitational pull of domestic politics at bay. Heading into the UN building in New York, the US president was questioned by Kaitlan Collins, an anchor at CNN, which he had banned from the White House before a judge ruled against him. “I’m surprised that CNN is here covering me,” the 80-year-old snapped. “You should not be…

Specialist coaches and hours of practice a day: the making of China’s six-year-old Rubik’s Cube prodigy

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The mother of the six-year-old girl who broke the women’s world record for solving a Rubik’s Cube in an average time of just over four seconds said the accolade was a “dream come true” for her daughter, who trains for up to three hours a day for competitions. “She was overjoyed and felt that all her hard work had paid off,” Lin Yangxi told the Guardian of her daughter’s feat. Lian Yunzhi, known as Zhizhi, broke the women’s 3×3 average world record at a “speedcubing” event in Guangzhou hosted by…

Trump and Chinese president Xi end summit without major agreement on AI

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Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping wrapped up their Washington summit on Friday, facing criticism that they had squandered an opportunity to pause their countries’ artificial intelligence (AI) arms race. The three-day state visit emphasised pageantry and personal rapport rather than substantial agreements. The US president and Xi discussed the wars in Iran and Ukraine and the status of Taiwan. Their biggest policy announcement was a modest two-month extension of a trade truce. But despite the presence of top tech executives at a White House state dinner on Thursday…

The Guardian view on Trump and Xi: a show of friendship, but no real attempt to address the tensions | Editorial

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Within days, two high-profile Chinese visitors will arrive in the US – envoys of friendship, as Xi Jinping described them when he met Donald Trump at the White House this week. The giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, will be hosted at Atlanta zoo. Beijing dispatched the first panda pair to the US in 1972 following President Richard Nixon’s landmark visit to China. It uses the animals to indicate satisfaction or displeasure with other nations. But it also charges heftily for their lease: reportedly, around $1m a year per pair.…

OpenAI hack on Australian government reveals anxiety at heart of global artificial intelligence dilemma

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When the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, sat down for an interview in the heart of Silicon Valley at the weekend he had known for two days that his was the first government known to have been attacked by a rogue AI agent. He didn’t reveal the attack then, but he sounded a warning about the march of AI: “the risk is that AI develops in a way in which humans are no longer in control of what AI is producing.” But Albanese noted, too, that two countries – the…