The Australian frigate HMAS Toowoomba sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Friday and Saturday, monitored closely by the People’s Liberation Army, which remained on alert throughout the transit, according to a mainland Chinese media report. The Global Times, a nationalist newspaper affiliated with the Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily, reported the vessel’s passage on Saturday, citing a Chi...
The Australian frigate HMAS Toowoomba sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Friday and Saturday, monitored closely by the People’s Liberation Army, which remained on alert throughout the transit, according to a mainland Chinese media report. The Global Times, a nationalist newspaper affiliated with the Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily, reported the vessel’s passage on Saturday, citing a Chinese military source. Taiwan’s Liberty News reported that the frigate was spotted on Friday in the...
US envoy Steve Witkoff said on Saturday that President Donald Trump is questioning why Iran has not “capitulated” in the face of Washington’s military build-up aimed at pressuring them into a nuclear deal. The United States and Iran this week resumed Oman-mediated talks in Geneva aimed at averting the possibility of military action, after Washington sent two aircraft carriers, jets and weaponry to...
US envoy Steve Witkoff said on Saturday that President Donald Trump is questioning why Iran has not “capitulated” in the face of Washington’s military build-up aimed at pressuring them into a nuclear deal. The United States and Iran this week resumed Oman-mediated talks in Geneva aimed at averting the possibility of military action, after Washington sent two aircraft carriers, jets and weaponry to the region to back its warnings. In a Fox News interview with Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara, Witkoff...
Chinese President Xi Jinping is heading to the negotiating table with Donald Trump with a boost in bargaining power, after the US leader lost his ability to quickly raise tariffs for nearly any reason. Weeks before Trump lands in Beijing on March 31, the first trip by an American president since his last visit in 2017, the Supreme Court invalidated his broad emergency tariffs — a key point of leve...
Chinese President Xi Jinping is heading to the negotiating table with Donald Trump with a boost in bargaining power, after the US leader lost his ability to quickly raise tariffs for nearly any reason. Weeks before Trump lands in Beijing on March 31, the first trip by an American president since his last visit in 2017, the Supreme Court invalidated his broad emergency tariffs — a key point of leverage over China. That’s eliminated Trump’s second-term levies on China and left Beijing facing the same 15% global fee applied to US allies, a rate that comes with a 150-day expiry date. The removal of tariff threats, which last year escalated up to 145%, will make it harder for Trump to press Xi for larger purchases of soybeans, Boeing Co. aircraft and energy. It also leaves him without a key weapon to strike back if Chinese negotiators make fresh demands in return for allowing a steady flow of rare earth metals that are vital to US manufacturing. “Ultimately, this Supreme Court ruling puts China in a much stronger bargaining position,” said Wu Xinbo, director at Fudan University’s Center for American Studies, citing the example of China’s commitment to buy some 25 million tons of soybeans, which was predicated on previous tariff negotiations. “If those tariffs are now deemed illegal, the ‘soybean card’ is back in China’s hand.” Read More: Trump Charts New Path After Top Court Blocks Tariff Hammer Xi’s team will also likely push harder for access to advanced semiconductors, the removal of trade restrictions on Chinese companies and reduced US support for self-ruled Taiwan, where Beijing’s focus is on arms sales and stronger language around opposing the island’s independence, added Wu, who previously advised the Foreign Ministry in Beijing. The Chinese Communist Party considers democratic Taiwan its own territory despite never having ruled it. While Trump’s setback is a win for Xi, Chinese officials like others around the world have been cautious in their reaction. The Fore...