China says it has full confidence in ability to manage US trade issues

China says it has full confidence in ability to manage US trade issues
A staff member wipes a shelf at the American toy store FAO Schwarz before it opens business at a popular shopping mall in Beijing, Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP)
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Updated 09 May 2025
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China says it has full confidence in ability to manage US trade issues

China says it has full confidence in ability to manage US trade issues

MALIPO, China: China has full confidence in its ability to manage US trade issues, Vice Foreign Minister Hua Chunying said on Friday, a day before officials from both sides are set to meet in Switzerland to discuss the tariffs they have imposed on each other.
“We have no fear,” Hua told a small group of reporters at a middle school in a rural county in southwestern China, adding that the trade policy of the US administration cannot be sustained.
The weekend talks involving top US and Chinese economic and trade officials are widely seen as a first step toward resolving a trade war that has disrupted the global economy. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the US tariffs on Beijing of 145 percent would likely come down.
“We have full confidence,” Hua said during a Beijing-organized trip to Malipo county to showcase China’s efforts to build up rural economies.
“We do not want any kind of war with any country. But we have to face up to the reality. As you can see, people have full confidence in our capability to overcome all the difficulties.”
Trump’s tariffs on many of the United States’ trading partners, including China, are increasingly weighing on a world economy which for decades had benefited from predictable and relatively free trade.
Many economists are calling the Trump tariffs a “demand shock” to the world economy which, by making imports more expensive for American businesses and consumers, will sap activity elsewhere.
“What the United States is doing cannot be sustained,” Hua said. “Ordinary people in the US already feel suffering from the tariff war.”
The US administration will come back to “normal,” she said.

China can play hardball at looming trade talks with US, analysts say

A formidable set of cards that includes granting access to its vast market and an ability to withstand economic pain will allow Beijing to play hardball in upcoming trade talks with the United States in Geneva, analysts say.
Trade between the world’s two largest economies has nearly skidded to a halt since US President Donald Trump slapped China with various rounds of levies that began as retaliation for Beijing’s alleged role in a devastating fentanyl crisis.
With additional measures justified by Trump as efforts to rebalance the trade relationship and prevent the United States from being “ripped off,” tariffs on many Chinese products now reach as high as 145 percent — with cumulative duties on some goods soaring to a staggering 245 percent.
Beijing has responded with 125 percent tariffs on US imports, along with other measures targeting American firms.
But after weeks of tit-for-tat escalation that sent global markets into a tailspin, the two powers will meet this weekend for a chance to break the ice.
Washington has said it’s not expecting a “big trade deal” that could address Trump’s longstanding complaint about the major goods imbalance with the export powerhouse — but it is hoping the two sides can at least begin to de-escalate tensions.
Beijing has vowed to stick to its guns and insisted its demand that all US tariffs be lifted remains “unchanged.”
Analysts say, however, China is in no major rush to make a deal.
“Beijing can impose some pain on the United States,” Chong Ja Ian, associate professor of political science at National University of Singapore, told AFP.
China’s core strengths going into the talks are its huge domestic market, as well as “key technologies and control of a significant proportion of processed rare earth minerals,” Chong said.
Compared to its approach during Trump’s first term, Beijing’s response to his tariffs this time has been “more mature,” said Dylan Loh, an assistant professor at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.
“There’s no wild bluster,” he explained.
“I think they have learnt from their earlier responses and they know that they cannot be led by the nose,” he said.
Analysts say China has been able to take more of a hard-line posture to Trump’s tariffs this time, despite its struggling economy.
“It still has meaningful retaliatory tools and — just as important — staying power,” said Lizzi Lee from the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis.
China’s autocratic system, she said, allowed it “to absorb economic pain in ways democracies often cannot.”
Beijing has also concurrently launched a charm offensive aimed at tightening trade ties in Southeast Asia and Europe — positioning itself as a more stable and reliable partner in contrast to the mercurial Trump administration.
That move allowed Beijing to “build buffers” against trade war vicissitudes, Lee said.
“It won’t replace the US market overnight, but every incremental diversification reduces exposure and increases negotiating room,” she added.
That’s not to say China isn’t hurting.
Sales of Chinese goods to the US last year totalled more than $500 billion — 16.4 percent of the country’s exports, according to Beijing’s customs data.
But as the effects of the trade war sunk in, China’s factory activity shrank in April, with Beijing blaming a “sharp shift” in the global economy.
While not as colossal as China’s export levels, US shipments to the country last year were a considerable $143.5 billion, according to the US Trade Representative website.
“Even in the case that one of the two countries would clearly have ‘the upper hand’, it is still worse off economically than before the trade war started,” said Teeuwe Mevissen, senior China economist at Rabobank.
Beijing and Washington have “found out that it is not so easy to fully decouple.”
Policymakers this week unveiled measures to boost domestic consumption — a sign that leaders are “not panicking but feeling some pressure,” said Shehzad Qazi, managing director of China Beige Book.
Beijing will need to strap in for potentially long and drawn-out negotiations with Washington that could bring “much more volatility along the way,” said Qazi.
Analysts broadly agree that upcoming talks are a first step toward a de-escalation of tensions that could, a long way down the line, lead to a lifting of tariffs.
“A best-case scenario would be agreement around a process to enter future negotiations,” Ryan Hass, senior fellow at Brookings Institution, told AFP.
Beijing could insist on receiving the same 90-day waiver on tariffs that other countries had received, he suggested.
And China’s insistence that the Switzerland talks came at the request of Washington suggests it is the United States that is desperate for a deal, said Dan Wang, China Director at the Eurasia Group.
“The fact that it is happening is showing some concessions already on the US side.”


Volcanic eruption in Indonesia forces evacuations and flight cancelations

Volcanic eruption in Indonesia forces evacuations and flight cancelations
Updated 18 June 2025
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Volcanic eruption in Indonesia forces evacuations and flight cancelations

Volcanic eruption in Indonesia forces evacuations and flight cancelations

LEMBATA, Indonesia: Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki erupted with giant ash and smoke plumes again Wednesday after forcing evacuations of villages and flight cancelations, including to and from the resort island of Bali.
Several eruptions sent ash up to 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) into the sky Tuesday evening to Wednesday afternoon. An eruption Tuesday afternoon sent thick, gray clouds 10,000 meters (about 32,800 feet) into the sky that expanded into a mushroom-shaped ash cloud visible as much as 150 kilometers (nearly 93 miles) away.
The eruption alert was raised Tuesday to the highest level and the danger zone where people are recommended to leave was expanded to 8 kilometers (about 5 miles) from the crater.
Officers also evacuated from the Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki monitoring post 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) from the crater to avoid falling gravel released in the eruption. No casualties have been reported.
Ash and debris fell in a number of places outside the danger zone, including the villages of Boru, Hewa and Watobuku. Some residents from Nurabelen village in Ile Bura subdistrict fled to evacuation sites in Konga to avoid the impact of the eruption, the National Disaster Management Agency said in a statement.
“Some residents have also evacuated to Nileknoheng village, which is 12 kilometers (7.4 miles) from the crater,” said Abdul Muhari, the National Disaster Management Agency’s spokesperson.
Dozens of flights Wednesday were canceled, including those connecting Bali to cities in Australia, Malaysia, India and China, according to the website of Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport. Volcanic ash can pose a risk to plane engines.
Flights also were canceled to and from the international airport in Labuan Bajo another tourist destination in Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara province. The airport is still operating.
The cancelations and delays affected thousands of travelers. Australian carrier Jetstar, which flies daily between the tourist hotspot and several Australian cities, said the ash cloud was forecast to clear by late Wednesday and its services would be rescheduled.
Air New Zealand canceled one return trip to Auckland and would rebook customers on the next available service, the airline said in a statement Wednesday. Flights to New Delhi, Singapore and Pudong, China, were also canceled due to the volcano, according to information on the website for Denpasar airport in Bali.
The 1,584-meter (5,197-foot) Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki is a twin volcano with Mount Lewotobi Perempuan in the district of Flores Timur.
The volcano has had several eruptions, and its danger level and no-go zone have changed several times before being raised again to the highest level Tuesday.
An eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki in November killed nine people and injured dozens. It also erupted in March.
Indonesia is an archipelago of 270 million people with frequent seismic activity. It has 120 active volcanoes and sits along the “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.


The nine countries that have nuclear weapons or are believed to have them

The nine countries that have nuclear weapons or are believed to have them
Updated 18 June 2025
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The nine countries that have nuclear weapons or are believed to have them

The nine countries that have nuclear weapons or are believed to have them
  • Five original nuclear weapons states are United States, Russia, China, France and UK
  • Israel, which hasn’t signed the NPT, has never acknowledged having nuclear weapons

Nine countries currently either say they have nuclear weapons or are believed to possess them.

The first to have nuclear arms were the five original nuclear weapons states — the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom.

All five are signatories to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which commits countries that don’t have nuclear arms not to build or obtain them, and those that do to “pursue negotiations in good faith” aimed at nuclear disarmament.

Rivals India and Pakistan, which haven’t signed the NPT, have built up their nuclear arsenals over the years. India was the first to conduct a nuclear test in 1974, followed by another in 1998.

Pakistan followed with its own nuclear tests just a few weeks later.

Israel, which also hasn’t signed the NPT, has never acknowledged having nuclear weapons but is widely believed to have them.

North Korea joined the NPT in 1985 but announced its withdrawal from the treaty in 2003, citing what it called US aggression. Since 2006, it has conducted a string of nuclear tests.

Iran long has insisted its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only and US intelligence agencies have assessed that Tehran is not actively pursuing the bomb now. But it has in recent years been enriching uranium to up to 60 percent purity — near weapons-grade levels of 90 percent.

In an annual assessment released this week, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimated that the nine countries had the following stockpiles of military nuclear warheads as of January:

Russia: 4,309
United States: 3,700
China: 600
France: 290
United Kingdom: 225
India: 180
Pakistan: 170
Israel: 90
North Korea: 50


Australian mushroom murder suspect not on trial for lying: Defense

Australian mushroom murder suspect not on trial for lying: Defense
Updated 18 June 2025
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Australian mushroom murder suspect not on trial for lying: Defense

Australian mushroom murder suspect not on trial for lying: Defense
  • Erin Patterson is charged with murdering her estranged husband’s parents and aunt in July 2023 by spiking their lunch with death cap mushrooms
  • She is also accused of attempting to murder a fourth guest – her husband’s uncle – who survived the lunch after a long stay in hospital

SYDNEY: An Australian woman accused of killing three lunch guests with deadly mushrooms should not be judged guilty just because she lied after the meal, her defense lawyer said Wednesday.

Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with murdering her estranged husband’s parents and aunt in July 2023 by spiking their beef Wellington lunch with death cap mushrooms.

She is also accused of attempting to murder a fourth guest – her husband’s uncle – who survived the lunch after a long stay in hospital.

Patterson has steadfastly maintained her innocence during a seven-week-long trial that has made headlines from New York to New Delhi.

As the trial came to its closing stages on Wednesday, defense lawyer Colin Mandy sought to explain Patterson’s behavior in the days following the deadly feast.

Patterson told police investigating the deaths that she did not own a food dehydrator, which was allegedly used to prepare the death cap mushrooms.

Security footage showed Patterson dumping a dehydrator at a nearby rubbish facility, and forensic tests found trace amounts of death cap mushrooms on the appliance.

“No one knows what they would have done in a similar situation,” Mandy told the trial.

“She is not on trial for being a liar.”

Mandy said there was nothing unusual about Patterson’s knowledge of death cap mushrooms.

She developed an interest in foraging for mushrooms during the pandemic lockdown in 2020, Mandy said, teaching herself which varieties were safe to eat.

It made “perfect sense” that Patterson would have become “aware of death cap mushrooms” during this period, Mandy said.

Patterson “loved” mushrooms, he added, because they were healthy and full of flavor.

This interest explained why Patterson visited a website listing locations of death cap mushrooms near where she lived, Mandy said.

Patterson originally invited her estranged husband Simon to join the family lunch at her secluded home in the farming village of Leongatha in Victoria state.

But he turned down the invitation on the eve of the meal, saying he felt uncomfortable going, the court heard earlier.

The pair were long estranged but still legally married.

Simon Patterson’s parents Don and Gail, and his aunt Heather Wilkinson, attended the lunch.

All three were dead within days. Heather Wilkinson’s husband Ian fell gravely ill but eventually recovered.


India grants license to Musk’s Starlink

India grants license to Musk’s Starlink
Updated 18 June 2025
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India grants license to Musk’s Starlink

India grants license to Musk’s Starlink
  • The launch of Starlink has sparked fierce debate in India over issues ranging from predatory pricing to spectrum allocation
  • Elon Musk has butted heads with Jio Platforms owner Mukesh Ambani over how the satellite spectrum should be awarded

NEW DELHI: New Delhi had granted a license to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite Internet service, opening India’s “next frontier of connectivity,” according to the country’s communications minister.

The launch of Starlink, which provides high-speed Internet access to remote locations using low Earth orbit satellites, has sparked fierce debate in India over issues ranging from predatory pricing to spectrum allocation.

Communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said he held a “productive meeting” with Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of Starlink owner SpaceX.

Shotwell “appreciated the license granted to Starlink, calling it a great start to the journey,” the minister said late Tuesday on Musk-owned social media platform X.

It follows two of India’s biggest telecom service providers – Jio Platforms and its rival Bharti Airtel – in March announcing deals with SpaceX to offer Starlink Internet to their customers.

SpaceX owner Musk has butted heads with Asia’s richest man and Jio Platforms owner Mukesh Ambani over how the satellite spectrum should be awarded.

While Musk’s business interests in India are currently limited to X, the tech mogul’s electric vehicle maker Tesla is preparing its entry into the country.


India regulator says no ‘major safety concerns’ on Air India’s Boeing 787 fleet

India regulator says no ‘major safety concerns’ on Air India’s Boeing 787 fleet
Updated 18 June 2025
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India regulator says no ‘major safety concerns’ on Air India’s Boeing 787 fleet

India regulator says no ‘major safety concerns’ on Air India’s Boeing 787 fleet
  • 24 of Air India’s 33 Boeing 787 aircraft had completed an ‘enhanced safety inspection’ it had ordered the airline to carry out
  • The regulator raised concerns about recent maintenance-related issues reported by the airline

India’s aviation safety watchdog said on Tuesday surveillance conducted on Air India’s Boeing 787 fleet did not reveal any major safety concerns, days after one of its jets crashed, killing at least 271 people.

“The aircraft and associated maintenance systems were found to be compliant with existing safety standards,” the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said in a statement. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London with 242 people on board crashed seconds after take-off in Ahmedabad on Thursday hitting nearby buildings. All but one passenger on board was killed, along with about 30 people on the ground.

The DGCA also said 24 of Air India’s 33 Boeing 787 aircraft had completed an “enhanced safety inspection” it had ordered the airline to carry out.

The regulator, in a meeting with senior officials of Air India, raised concerns about recent maintenance-related issues reported by the airline.

It advised the carrier to “strictly adhere to regulations,” strengthen coordination across its businesses and ensure availability of adequate spares to mitigate passenger delays, it added.

The DGCA had met senior officials of Air India and Air India Express to review their operations amid increasing flight volumes.