Meeting aimed at de-escalating trade war after Chinese exports beat expectations despite slump in trade
Donald Trump has floated cutting tariffs on China from 145% to 80% before a weekend meeting as he looks to de-escalate the trade war.
Top US officials are expected to meet a high-level Chinese delegation this weekend in Switzerland in the first significant talks between the two nations since Trump provoked a trade war with stiff tariffs on imports.
Continue reading...Crowning of country’s first world champion set to give fresh boost to sport that has boomed in popularity in China
Chain smoking under the fluorescent lights of a cavernous billiards hall in Beijing, Brother Yuan can’t stop smiling. The previous day, along with 150 million other people across China, he had been at home watching the snooker world championships final. Now he’s with his fellow cue-heads, celebrating the win of China’s first snooker world champion, Zhao Xintong.
“He’s a great role model for young people in China,” Yuan, 55, says of the generation Z upstart who on Monday claimed snooker’s top prize. “He’s bringing the excitement back.”
Continue reading...South Korean skincare retailers want to capitalise on viral sales of beauty ranges by opening stores across the UK
Korean beauty products are moving from phone screens to UK high streets as social media drives sales of skincare with the help of eye-catching ingredients such as snail slime and salmon sperm.
Retailers are looking to capitalise on the TikTok and Instagram trend for skincare and makeup ranges from South Korea – known as K-beauty – by opening physical stores and launching brands in a push to get consumers to pick up products that havegone viral online.
Continue reading...Chinese leader calls Russian counterpart his ‘old friend’ on visit for Victory Day commemorations
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin exchanged warm words in the Kremlin on Thursday during a grand ceremony welcoming the Chinese leader for his 11th visit to Russia.
Xi said the Sino-Russian relationship was “confident, stable and resilient” in the new era and that China was willing to work with Russia to promote a multipolar world.
Continue reading...Lai Ching-te says ‘message of history is clear’ as Taiwan for first time officially commemorates end of second world war
Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, has compared his nation to the European countries heading for conflict with Nazi Germany in the 1930s, in a punchy speech commemorating the end of the second world war in Europe.
“Eighty years after the end of the European war, the message of history is clear. Today, 80 years later, we share the same values and face similar challenges as many of the democracies that participated in the European war,” Lai said to a group of foreign dignitaries gathered in Taipei.
Continue reading...Collector of Expo memorabilia had a ticket to the 1940 Grand International Exposition of Japan, which was postponed indefinitely due to the war
A man was admitted to the World Expo in Japan using a ticket to the 1940 Grand International Exposition of Japan, an event that was called off as war escalated, organisers said.
Tickets for the Grand International Exposition of Japan in Tokyo were released in 1938 but the event was postponed indefinitely as Japan became embroiled in the second world war.
Continue reading...Half-point cut to be made to banks’ reserve requirement ratio and 1tn yuan released into banking system
China will cut interest rates and inject some much-needed liquidity into the domestic economy, as the country steels itself for a bruising trade war with the US.
The People’s Bank of China said on Wednesday it would make a half-point cut to the banks’ reserve requirement ratio, its benchmark interest rate, and release 1tn yuan (£103.6bn) into the banking system.
Continue reading...South Korea passes annual tally for 2024 already, as Vietnam and Thailand continue to battle outbreaks
South Korea has recorded the highest number of measles cases in six years, adding to concerns that low vaccination rates combined with international travel are contributing to further outbreaks elsewhere in the region.
The country has confirmed 52 cases so far this year, exceeding the 49 recorded for the whole of 2024, the Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said this week. It is the highest figure since 2019, when 194 cases were recorded.
Continue reading...The draft bill is modelled on Australian laws and would force digital platforms to verify the age of users or face heavy fines
New Zealand’s prime minister has proposed banning children under 16 years old from using social media, in an effort to protect young people from harms such as exposure to violent content and cyberbullying.
Christopher Luxonsaid on Tuesday the draft law would force social media companies to verify users were at least 16 before allowing them to create an account, or face fines of up to NZ$2m ($1.2m).
Continue reading...Arrests are the first case of the city’s national security law being used to target the relatives of pro-democracy campaigners
Human rights groups have condemned the arrest of relatives of Anna Kwok, an exiled pro-democracy activist who is wanted by the Hong Kong police, in the first example of the city’s national security law being used to target the family members of an activist living overseas.
Kwok, 28, is the executive director of the Washington-based Hong Kong Democracy Council, and is one of 19 overseas activists wanted by the national security police, who are offering bounties of HK$1m (£97,000) for information leading to arrest.
Continue reading...People Power party trail in polls in election called after President Yoon Suk Yeol was removed for trying to impose martial law
South Korea’s conservative People Power party has picked former labour minister Kim Moon-soo as its candidate for the 3 June presidential election, which was called after the removal of Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed attempt to impose martial law.
Kim will face the liberal Democratic party’s candidate, Lee Jae-myung, who has led each of the declared conservative candidates by large double-digit margins in polls.
Continue reading...Comments come a week after Trump claimed talks were already taking place
Beijing is “evaluating” an offer from the US to engage in trade negotiations, the Chinese government has said, a week after Donald Trump claimed talks were already under way.
China’s commerce ministry said on Friday: “The US has recently taken the initiative on many occasions to convey information to China through relevant parties, saying it hopes to talk with China.”
Continue reading...Goods worth less than $800 will be subject to 120% levy meaning prices on Chinese exports will probably increase
At one minute past midnight on Friday, eastern time, a US tariff exemption that has fuelled the rise of companies such as Shein and Temu, and stocked the wardrobes of millions of Americans with cheap fast fashion and other household goods, closed. As part of Donald Trump’s flurry of tariffs on China, the US is closing a loophole that allowed low-value goods to be shipped into the US without paying any import fees. The “de minimis” loophole, known by the Latin phrase for “of little importance”, was “a big scam going on against our country”, the US president said on Wednesday. “We put an end to it.”
Continue reading...Motorist held in Osaka on suspicion of attempted murder after seven children injured, according to local media
Police in the Japanese city of Osaka have arrested a man on suspicion of attempted murder after he drove his car into seven schoolchildren, according to local media.
The children were walking home from school when the suspect appeared to deliberately drive the car at them on a quiet residential street at about 1.30pm local time, the public broadcaster NHK reported.
Continue reading...Outage occurred between Maibara and Gifu-Hashima stations after the snake appeared to have climbed an electricity pole
Japan’s busiest bullet train line was brought to a halt on Wednesday after a metre-long snake wrapped itself around a power line, shorting the electricity supply and stranding hundreds of passengers.
Shinkansen trains running between Tokyo and Osaka were brought to a standstill by the snake, with news reports showing footage of people inside trains waiting for services to resume. Power did not appear to have been cut inside trains, with lights and air conditioning still functioning, according to passengers.
Continue reading...Temu and Shein among fast-fashion sites affected by drop in first three months of this year but sales in rise to EU
Exports to the US from Chinese online shops such as Temu and Shein have plunged in the face of Donald Trump’s trade war, as shipping from China to the EU has increased.
Official Chinese data showed its total e-commerce shipping to the US dropped 65% by volume in the first three months of the year, but rose by 28% in Europe.
Continue reading...Leaked documents indicate Harita, owner of key nickel mine in Indonesia, did not reveal water contamination
One of Indonesia’s largest nickel-mining companies, which supplies a mineral critical to the global electric car industry, did not tell the public that local drinking water was polluted, according to documents seen by the Guardian.
Indonesia has become the world’s biggest producer of nickel, used in the production of wind turbines, solar panels and electric vehicle batteries. But observers have voiced concerns that regulatory oversight in the country has failed to keep up with the rush to develop mines to satisfy booming global demand.
Continue reading...Index of activity drops to lowest reading since December 2023 as a result of ‘sharp changes’ in international trading
China’s factory activity slowed in April, with Beijing blaming “sharp changes” in the global economy as it fights a mounting trade war with the United States.
Punishing US tariffs that reached 145% on many Chinese products came into force in April, and Beijing responded with 125% duties on imports from the US. Chinese exports soared more than 12% last month as businesses rushed to get ahead of the punishing tariffs.
Continue reading...Thousands gather to see parade featuring marching troops and an air show of Russian-made fighter jets and helicopters
Thousands of Vietnamese people have celebrated the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war, in what the country’s communist leader said was a “victory of justice over tyranny”.
Celebrations culminated in a grand parade in Ho Chi Minh City with thousands of marching troops and an airshow featuring Russian-made fighter jets and helicopters, as Vietnamese waved red flags and sang patriotic songs.
Continue reading...Xuan Phuong, a war correspondent who is now 96, recalls her entry into the city after South Vietnam’s surrender
The day that Saigon fell, Xuan Phuong, a war correspondent, could only hear shouting and commotion. It was 30 April 1975, and helicopters were frantically lifting personnel and civilians from the US embassy.
Phuong, who had travelled down from the north, was initially held back by troops who said fighting was still continuing. When she was finally able to reach the centre of the city the following day, 1 May, she found chaos. Clothes and luggage were scattered and discarded along the streets. Buildings were being looted.
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