Tag: USA

In Meeting With Xi, Biden Will Seek Restoration of Military Communication 

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washington —  Reestablishing communication between militaries of the two superpowers will be high on President Joe Biden’s agenda Wednesday during a highly anticipated meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in the San Francisco Bay area, a senior administration official says. The leaders will be meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that the U.S. is hosting. The Biden-Xi summit will be the first face-to-face meeting between the two presidents since they met last year in Bali, Indonesia. It’s a positive sign for the rocky U.S.-China relationship…

Kerry: US and China Have ‘Some Agreement’ on Climate Issues

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U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said talks this week with his Chinese counterpart resulted in “some agreement” on climate issues that leave him optimistic about the U.N. climate summit scheduled for later this month in Dubai. Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore, Kerry said Friday that he met for four days this week with Chinese climate envoy Xie Zhenhua in California. He described their talks as “productive” and, without providing details, said they had reached “some agreement on reducing emissions and the direction we have to go.”…

US Treasury Secretary to Meet Chinese Vice Premier, in What Analysts See as Act of Diplomacy 

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U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen kicks off two days of talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng Thursday as the U.S. looks to manage tensions with Beijing and keep dialogue open on a range of issues from climate change to trade and defense. Following Yellen’s meetings on Thursday and Friday, presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping are expected to meet next week on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, forum in San Francisco. Analysts say Yellen’s meeting with He is the latest attempt to ensure that China…

China Takes Back Washington’s Pandas Amid Frosty Diplomacy 

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The trio of giant pandas in the Smithsonian National Zoo are heading back to China on Wednesday, leaving only a handful of giant pandas in North America amid tense diplomatic relations between the U.S. and China. Now age 25 and 26 respectively, the pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian came to the U.S. in 2000 and have been a mainstay in the Washington zoo ever since. FILE – Female giant panda Mei Xiang rests in her enclosure at the National Zoo in Washington, Aug. 24, 2016. In 2020, they had…

China Makes Largest US Soy Purchases in Months: Traders

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CHICAGO —  China booked its largest single-day U.S. soybean purchases in at least three months on Tuesday, traders said, offering a glimmer of hope for the most valuable U.S. farm export after overseas sales of the 2023 harvest had fallen well behind the normal pace. Chinese importers bought around 10 cargoes of soybeans, or about 600,000 metric tons, for shipment from Gulf Coast and Pacific Northwest export terminals between December and March, trade sources said. The sales would be a relief to U.S. farmers, who have seen Brazil dominate the…

US Viewed as Isolated in Diplomatic Fallout of Gaza War

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As Israel’s relentless bombing campaign over Gaza extends into its second month, several countries have recalled their diplomats from Tel Aviv over accusations of egregious war crimes. “A genocide under the watch of the international community cannot be tolerated,” Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, minister in the presidency of South Africa, told reporters on Monday. Turkey, Chad, Jordan, Bolivia, Chile, Bahrain, Honduras, Colombia and South Africa have recalled their diplomats from Israel in protest of the high number of deaths and the amount of destruction resulting from the Israeli bombardment. The bombings have…

African Businesses Navigate Trade With US and China

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African leaders are pushing for renewal of a preferential U.S. trade policy, set to expire in 2025, that allows them duty-free access to the U.S. market. Kate Bartlett spoke with U.S. trade representative Katherine Tai about U.S.-China competition at the annual summit of the African Growth and Opportunity Act in Johannesburg and visited a factory that does business with both countries. Camera — Zaheer Cassim. Voice of America

High-Level US-China Trade Discussions Set for this Week

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Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng for talks Thursday and Friday meant to continue a cautious rapprochement on trade between the world’s two largest economies. The meeting, which will take place in San Francisco, comes ahead of an anticipated meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. For much of this year, U.S. officials have been working to improve trade and other relations between China and the United States. Yellen and other senior…