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,…
Tag: US foreign policy
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.…
Trump says China will face 55% tariffs as he endorses trade deal
Donald Trump has endorsed the US-China trade deal struck in London that will ramp up supplies of rare earth minerals and magnets needed for the automotive industry, saying it will take total tariffs on Beijing to 55%. Acknowledging that his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, still needed to give his final approval on the terms agreed late on Tuesday night at Lancaster House, the US president disclosed the pact would also facilitate Chinese students’ access to US colleges. The 55% tariff total appears at first glance to be a hike from…
US-China trade talks: ‘framework’ deal amid dispute over rare earths
Officials from the US and China have agreed on a “framework” to move forward on trade after two days of talks in London stemming from their confrontation over tariffs. The US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, expressed optimism on Tuesday that concerns about critical or “rare earth” minerals and magnets “will be resolved” as the deal is implemented. Lutnick told reporters that the framework puts “meat on the bones” of a deal reached last month in Geneva to ease retaliatory tariffs. Its implementation had faltered over China’s curbs on critical mineral…
Donald Trump to meet Xi Jinping in China after ‘very good’ call on trade
Donald Trump said he had accepted an invitation to meet Xi Jinping in China after a phone conversation on trade was held between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies. In a post on Truth Social, the US president said the “very good” call lasted about 90 minutes and the conversation was “almost entirely focused on trade”. He wrote: “The call lasted approximately one and a half hours, and resulted in a very positive conclusion for both Countries. There should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of…
In Australia’s post-US future, we must find our own way with China | Hugh White
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 accuses Pete Hegseth of sowing division in Asia in speech ‘filled with provocations’
China’s government has accused Pete Hegseth of trying to “sow division” in the Asia Pacific region over his speech at a Singapore defence conference where he warned China was a potentially “imminent” threat. On Saturday Hegseth said China was “credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific”, and was rehearsing for “the real deal” of invading Taiwan. “There’s no reason to sugar coat it. The threat China poses is real, and it could be imminent,” the US defence secretary said in a…