In Truth Social post, US president also suggests members consider imposing tariffs of 50% to 100% on China Donald Trump has said he is ready to impose sanctions on Moscow, but on the condition that all Nato allies agree to completely halt purchases of Russian oil and implement their own sanctions. He also suggested members of the transatlantic alliance consider imposing tariffs of 50% to 100% on China for its purchases of Russian petroleum as a way to help end the war. Continue reading… The Guardian
Tag: US foreign policy
The axis of upheaval: inside the 12 September Guardian Weekly
Xi Jinping had been waiting for the right moment to serve notice of China’s growing might and influence to the rest of the world, and the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war provided the Mao-suited Chinese leader with the perfect opportunity. Last week’s bombastic (or should that be bomb-tastic?) military parade in Beijing – in the presence of Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un and a host of other global strongmen – was intended as a show of force and stability to contrast sharply with the chaotic unpredictability…
Taiwan has ‘right to remain free’, US senator says in visit criticised by China
A visit to Taiwan by two US senators has drawn criticism from China, which claims the island as its own and objects to any contact between officials of the two sides. The chair of the Senate armed services committee, Roger Wicker, and the Nebraska senator Deb Fischer arrived in Taipei on Friday for a series of high-level meetings with senior Taiwanese leaders. They plan to discuss US-Taiwan relations, regional security and trade and investment, according to the American Institute in Taiwan, Washington’s de facto embassy in lieu of formal diplomatic…
India’s Modi to meet Xi and Putin on first China trip in seven years as US tariffs bite
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi will land in China this weekend for his first visit in seven years – a trip that puts him in the company of Chinese president Xi Jinping and Russian president Vladimir Putin just as India’s ties with Washington have soured. Modi’s visit to Tianjin for a regional security summit comes days after the US doubled tariffs on Indian exports to 50%, citing New Delhi’s refusal to stop buying Russian oil. The row has upended years of deepening cooperation between India and the US, built on…
India and China hail warming ties amid Trump-induced geopolitical shake-up
India’s prime minister and China’s foreign minister have hailed “steady” progress in their countries’ fractious relationship, agreeing to resume trade and other ties, as well as work towards resolving the long-running Himalayan border dispute, amid a global geopolitical shake-up instigated by Donald Trump’s tariff regime. According to statements from China’s foreign ministry, the two sides agreed to resume direct flights – reiterating a pledge made in January – as well as issuing visas to journalists and facilitating business and cultural exchanges. On social media, India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, noted…
Trump sparks concern after suggesting he might allow sales of Nvidia’s advanced AI chips in China
Donald Trump has suggested he might allow Nvidia to sell chips in China that are more technology advanced than currently permitted, despite deep-seated fears in Washington that Beijing could harness US artificial intelligence capabilities to supercharge its military. In a briefing on Monday, the president suggested he could “make a deal” for Nvidia to sell a downgraded version of its flagship Blackwell chip in China. The move could open the door to China securing more advanced computing power from the US, even as the two countries battle for technology supremacy,…
Taiwan president scraps Latin America trip amid reports the US opposed stopover in New York
Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te will delay an expected trip to his country’s remaining allies in Latin America, amid conflicting accounts of the reason for the postponement. Lai was expected to travel to the Americas next month, as his government seeks to shore up support in a region where many countries have cut diplomatic ties in favour of relations with China, which claims Taiwan as its territory. Amid reports that the Trump administration had opposed a proposed stopover by the president in New York, his government said Lai had no overseas…
US state department told to terminate nearly all its overseas pro-democracy programs
The US state department has been advised to terminate grants to nearly all remaining programs awarded under the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), which would effectively end the department’s role in funding pro-democracy programming in some of the world’s most hostile totalitarian nations. The review could affect nearly $1.3bn in grants, three state department officials told the Guardian, citing briefings on the results of a Foreign Assistance Review produced by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Of 391 active grants, only two were not recommended to…
Malfunctions, overreactions and a steep learning curve: wargaming a Chinese attack on Taiwan
A series of war games in Taiwan has highlighted significant vulnerabilities in how the island and its supporters would respond to a Chinese annexation attempt, as well as growing questions over how much reliance can be placed on the volatile Trump administration. Last week former senior military and government officials from the US, Japan, and Taiwan convened in Taipei for a tabletop exercise, led by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science Foundation. The event was described as the first civilian-led military simulation held in Taiwan, testing responses to…
Trump trade deal shows how vital China’s rare-earth metals are to US defense firms
The draft trade agreement with China announced by Donald Trump on Wednesday would ease concerns from top US military suppliers about rare-earth metals and magnets that, if cut off permanently, could hobble production of everything from smart bombs to fighter jets to submarines and other weapons in the US arsenal. While the deal has not yet been finalised, it may reassure major defense companies such as Lockheed Martin, the largest US user of samarium – a rare-earth metal used in military-grade magnets – whose supply is entirely controlled by China.…