https://www.scmp.com/rss/324171/feed Robert Delaney is the Post’s North America bureau chief. He spent 11 years in China as a language student and correspondent for Dow Jones Newswires and Bloomberg, and continued covering the country as a correspondent and an academic after leaving. His debut novel, The Wounded Muse, draws on actual events that played out in Beijing while he lived there. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Igor Patrick,Robert Delaney Igor Patrick,Robert Delaney Lawmakers from both parties are warning that Chinese criminal groups have helped build what officials call a “Silk Road of crime”, a global network that launders Latin American cartel profits and supplies the chemicals used to make fentanyl bound for the United States. At a Senate hearing on Tuesday, members of the Caucus on International Narcotics Control said Chinese money brokers and Latin American cartels have merged their operations into a system that blurs the line between trade and... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3335821/us-senators-warn-china-cartel-links-forming-global-silk-road-crime?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3335821/us-senators-warn-china-cartel-links-forming-global-silk-road-crime?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Dec 2025 23:21:36 +0000 Robert Delaney Robert Delaney The European Commission claimed on Saturday to have reached an agreement with China’s Ministry of Commerce to restart the flow of semiconductors that had been disrupted by a crisis surrounding the company Nexperia. EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said on social media that, effective immediately, exports of the company’s chips to the bloc for non-military uses would not be subject to Chinese licensing requirements. “My team and I have been in constant contact with the Chinese authorities, and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3332071/eu-claims-agreement-china-unblock-nexperia-chip-flow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3332071/eu-claims-agreement-china-unblock-nexperia-chip-flow?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Nov 2025 15:26:49 +0000 Robert Delaney,Khushboo Razdan Robert Delaney,Khushboo Razdan US President Donald Trump on Tuesday called China “economically hostile” for not buying American soybeans and threatened to halt imports of cooking oil and other products from the country in retaliation. “I believe that China purposefully not buying our soybeans and causing difficulty for our Soybean Farmers, is an Economically Hostile Act,” Trump posted on social media, the latest in a series of escalating moves since he threatened on Friday to slap an additional 100 per cent tariff on all... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3329036/trump-threatens-china-cooking-oil-embargo-soybean-spat-escalates?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3329036/trump-threatens-china-cooking-oil-embargo-soybean-spat-escalates?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Oct 2025 21:18:23 +0000 Khushboo Razdan,Robert Delaney Khushboo Razdan,Robert Delaney US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that his administration was moving to retake control of Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, claiming that such a move was necessary because of the facility’s proximity to nuclear weapons sites in China. Bagram, located 44 kilometres (27 miles) north of Kabul, was the largest US military base in Afghanistan and the central hub of the 20-year US-led campaign until American and Nato forces withdrew in 2021 under former US president Joe Biden. “We’re trying to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3326045/trump-says-us-moving-reclaim-key-afghan-air-base-links-it-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3326045/trump-says-us-moving-reclaim-key-afghan-air-base-links-it-china?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Sep 2025 17:25:40 +0000 Robert Delaney,Finbarr Bermingham Robert Delaney,Finbarr Bermingham US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he was brokering a meeting between Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and their Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to be followed by a trilateral meeting that would include the US leader. The declaration followed back-to-back meetings at the White House, including Trump’s in-person meeting with the Ukrainian president, in which he also dangled the possibility of US troops supporting Ukraine. He also met jointly with Zelensky, European... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3322287/speaking-white-house-trump-and-zelensky-say-trilateral-putin-may-follow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3322287/speaking-white-house-trump-and-zelensky-say-trilateral-putin-may-follow?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Aug 2025 18:13:00 +0000 Robert Delaney Robert Delaney US Vice-President J.D. Vance said on Sunday that President Donald Trump is “thinking” about slapping new tariffs on imports from China in response to the country’s purchases of Russian oil. Vance was asked in a Fox News interview whether Trump would move against Beijing as he did against New Delhi last week, when the president announced a punitive 25 per cent tariff on Indian imports over the South Asian country’s continued purchase of Russian oil despite his repeated warnings. “The president... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3321394/trump-may-impose-more-tariffs-china-punishment-beijing-buying-russian-oil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3321394/trump-may-impose-more-tariffs-china-punishment-beijing-buying-russian-oil?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Aug 2025 21:37:46 +0000 Robert Delaney Robert Delaney US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15 in Alaska, after signalling that he would support an agreement on Moscow’s war against Ukraine that would involve “some swapping of territories”. “The highly anticipated meeting between myself, as President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, will take place next Friday, August 15, 2025, in the Great State of Alaska,” Trump wrote on Truth Social,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3321289/trump-says-hell-meet-putin-alaska-august-15-ukraine-talks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3321289/trump-says-hell-meet-putin-alaska-august-15-ukraine-talks?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Aug 2025 22:15:49 +0000 Robert Delaney Robert Delaney We may be witnessing Donald Trump’s downfall. For most of the US president’s critics, the Jeffrey Epstein saga that has dominated the domestic news cycle for the past week or so seems like a gift that keeps on giving. Many of Trump’s supporters – who had lapped up the right-wing media ecosystem’s insistence that America’s “deep state” was hiding evidence of a paedophilia ring orchestrated by the billionaire financier – turned on their leader. They demanded a full accounting of Epstein’s alleged... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3318911/epstein-saga-may-be-downfall-donald-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3318911/epstein-saga-may-be-downfall-donald-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Jul 2025 12:36:40 +0000 Robert Delaney Robert Delaney US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Beijing is “making big steps” in efforts to control the flow of fentanyl, an issue that the American leader has used to justify tariffs that he has slapped on imports from China. “I think China has been helping out,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I mean, it’s been a terrible situation for many years with fentanyl, but since I came here, we’re talking to them, and they’re making big steps ... You know that they’re being penalised with... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3318500/trump-says-beijing-making-big-steps-controlling-fentanyl?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3318500/trump-says-beijing-making-big-steps-controlling-fentanyl?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Jul 2025 20:48:10 +0000 Robert Delaney,Bochen Han Robert Delaney,Bochen Han The US House of Representatives passed a massive tax-and-spending bill on Thursday that President Donald Trump has sought since returning to the White House, an initiative that fundamentally revamps government spending and jeopardises dozens of planned clean energy projects with ties to China. Passing 218 to 214, the sprawling One Big Beautiful Bill Act – which would lock in Trump’s priorities on border and defence financing, and make permanent tax cuts that Congress passed at Trump’s behest... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3316876/us-house-passes-trump-policy-bill-which-will-head-white-house-presidents-signature?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3316876/us-house-passes-trump-policy-bill-which-will-head-white-house-presidents-signature?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Jul 2025 18:32:50 +0000 Robert Delaney,Bochen Han,Zhao Ziwen,Andrew London Robert Delaney,Bochen Han,Zhao Ziwen,Andrew London A frustrated US President Donald Trump insisted on Tuesday that the ceasefire between Iran and Israel remains “in effect”, even as he rebuked both nations for violating it. His stern message, including a direct plea to Israel to “not drop those bombs” on Iran, came hours after an early Tuesday deadline meant to halt hostilities. “ISRAEL is not going to attack Iran. All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly ‘Plane Wave’ to Iran. Nobody will be hurt,” Trump wrote on Truth... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3315548/iran-attacks-us-military-base-qatar-after-vowing-response-strikes-nuclear-sites?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3315548/iran-attacks-us-military-base-qatar-after-vowing-response-strikes-nuclear-sites?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Jun 2025 17:20:42 +0000 Zhao Ziwen,Khushboo Razdan,Robert Delaney Zhao Ziwen,Khushboo Razdan,Robert Delaney US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that the US military carried out aerial strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites, following days of appeals by Israel for the American military to join its attacks on the Islamic republic, and vowed to launch more attacks if Tehran does not stand down. Trump delivered a late night televised address from the White House, calling the strikes a “spectacular military success”. Flanked by Vice-President J.D. Vance, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, and... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3315362/trump-announces-us-attack-iran-nuclear-sites?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3315362/trump-announces-us-attack-iran-nuclear-sites?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Jun 2025 00:03:17 +0000 Khushboo Razdan,Robert Delaney Khushboo Razdan,Robert Delaney US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he would make a decision about US military involvement in Iran within two weeks, offering a timeframe for a possible intervention into a conflict that flared last week and has so far remained limited to Israel and the Islamic Republic. “Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision on whether or not to go within the next two weeks,” Trump... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3315130/trump-says-he-will-decide-us-involvement-iran-within-2-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3315130/trump-says-he-will-decide-us-involvement-iran-within-2-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Jun 2025 17:46:52 +0000 Robert Delaney Robert Delaney US President Donald Trump on Monday said he would welcome the inclusion of China and Russia in the G7, putting him directly at odds with the bloc’s position on the two countries just as the Group of Seven summit got under way in Canada. The leaders from seven major advanced economies – Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US, along with the European Union – are convening in Kananaskis, Alberta, in the Canadian Rockies until Tuesday. Speaking alongside Canadian Prime Minister... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3314660/trump-wouldnt-mind-china-joining-g7-says-was-mistake-throw-russia-out-former-g8?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3314660/trump-wouldnt-mind-china-joining-g7-says-was-mistake-throw-russia-out-former-g8?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Jun 2025 17:15:02 +0000 Robert Delaney Robert Delaney There was nothing wrong with the idea that America might want a 250th anniversary celebration of the US Army. The celebration that US President Donald Trump finally got after pushing for it since his first term could have been billed as a front-running event connected to the country’s 250th birthday, since we are almost one year away from that significant date. And for those longing for a break from the blood sport that US politics has become, the event did not end up as Trumpian as might have... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3314560/despite-growing-anger-trump-marches-his-projections-power?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3314560/despite-growing-anger-trump-marches-his-projections-power?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Jun 2025 12:30:08 +0000 Robert Delaney Robert Delaney US President Donald Trump’s proclamation last week that he would bar Harvard University from enrolling new international students put the spotlight back on an unprecedented stand-off between the White House and America’s pre-eminent university. Trump’s move came less than a week after a federal court injunction blocked the US Department of Homeland Security’s termination of Harvard’s ability to host international students. It was also just hours after the administration threatened Columbia... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3314081/trumps-crackdown-international-students-affects-far-more-us-schools-harvard?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3314081/trumps-crackdown-international-students-affects-far-more-us-schools-harvard?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Jun 2025 20:14:44 +0000 Laura Zhou,Robert Delaney Laura Zhou,Robert Delaney US-China trade talks in London next week would signal positive development in ties but the negotiations would not be easy, observers said. Meanwhile, Chinese state media reaction to the expected talks was muted, with commentaries reminding the US to honour its pledges while asserting Beijing’s red lines. On Friday, a day after his much-anticipated phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Donald Trump announced that a new round of high-level bilateral meetings were due to take... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3313506/us-china-trade-talks-round-2-london-positive-step-rough-road-ahead-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3313506/us-china-trade-talks-round-2-london-positive-step-rough-road-ahead-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Jun 2025 12:42:30 +0000 Robert Delaney Robert Delaney US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that his top economic officials will meet with their Chinese counterparts next week to discuss trade, just days after he conducted a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and also reiterated that Beijing agreed to restart exports of critical minerals. “I am pleased to announce that Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Jamieson Greer, will be meeting... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3313454/trumps-top-economic-officials-meet-china-counterparts-london-next-week?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3313454/trumps-top-economic-officials-meet-china-counterparts-london-next-week?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Jun 2025 18:40:38 +0000 Robert Delaney,Khushboo Razdan Robert Delaney,Khushboo Razdan US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that the United States will start “aggressively” revoking visas issued to Chinese students, and will “enhance scrutiny” of applications from mainland China and Hong Kong. “Under President [Donald] Trump’s leadership, the US State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields,” he said... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3312197/us-start-aggressively-revoking-visas-chinese-students-marco-rubio-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3312197/us-start-aggressively-revoking-visas-chinese-students-marco-rubio-says?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 May 2025 23:20:56 +0000 Robert Delaney Robert Delaney Major economies are beginning to work around the United States as Washington breaks away from the global trading rules that it established, witnesses told lawmakers on Wednesday, in a hearing called to assess how to restructure the US government to align economic and foreign policy goals. Witnesses and lawmakers in the hearing organised by the House East Asia and Pacific subcommittee – chaired by Young Kim, a California Republican – generally agreed that a policy of closer economic engagement... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3310387/us-lawmakers-mull-state-department-shake-trade-partners-seek-new-alliances?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3310387/us-lawmakers-mull-state-department-shake-trade-partners-seek-new-alliances?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 May 2025 04:18:02 +0000 Mark Magnier,Robert Delaney,Khushboo Razdan Mark Magnier,Robert Delaney,Khushboo Razdan US President Donald Trump on Monday said he is likely to speak with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in the coming days, claiming a “total reset” in relations and asserting that the weekend talks would prove great for “unification and peace”. “The talks in Geneva were very friendly,” Trump said of the negotiations that took place in Switzerland on Saturday and Sunday. “The relationship is very, very good. I’ll speak to President Xi maybe at the end of the week.” The two sides agreed to sharply... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3310057/trump-says-he-may-speak-chinas-xi-jinping-week-following-tariff-agreement?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3310057/trump-says-he-may-speak-chinas-xi-jinping-week-following-tariff-agreement?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 May 2025 14:25:18 +0000 Robert Delaney Robert Delaney Many Americans who came of age in the 1980s will remember when Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys became the preferred family vehicles, quietly replacing US models. When quality, reliability and price were factored in, patriotism was the only remaining reason to keep an American-made car on the driveway. Two high-school friends and I each got well-worn hand-me-down cars when we started commuting to college. Dave got a Ford Fairmont estate car, which he called “the hearse”. Gary got a Buick Skylark... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3309961/how-trumps-erratic-tariffs-could-crash-his-us-car-production-goals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3309961/how-trumps-erratic-tariffs-could-crash-his-us-car-production-goals?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 May 2025 12:30:08 +0000 Robert Delaney,Zhuang Pinghui,Yuanyue Dang Robert Delaney,Zhuang Pinghui,Yuanyue Dang Beijing has warned Washington not to use dialogue as a tactic for coercion as senior US and Chinese officials prepare to for talks this weekend that will be the first face-to-face discussions since the start of the latest trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US trade representative Jamieson Greer will meet China’s top economic official, Vice-Premier He Lifeng, in Switzerland. The Chinese foreign ministry said on Wednesday morning that He... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3309333/top-us-china-officials-meet-switzerland-discuss-trade-washington-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3309333/top-us-china-officials-meet-switzerland-discuss-trade-washington-says?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 May 2025 22:39:36 +0000 Robert Delaney Robert Delaney The Liberal Party of Canada, led by Prime Minister Mark Carney, will hold onto power after the country’s federal election – a contest that was defined by voter hostility to US President Donald Trump’s trade war and his repeated suggestions that Canada should become America’s 51st state. In a victory speech in Ottawa late on Monday, Carney stressed the importance of Canadian unity in the face of the threats coming from Washington. “We will win this trade war,” Carney told cheering supporters,... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3308287/carneys-liberals-win-canada-election-according-cbc-projection?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3308287/carneys-liberals-win-canada-election-according-cbc-projection?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Apr 2025 02:31:44 +0000 US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a closed-door investor summit on Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s tariff war with China has led to an unsustainable, two-way “embargo” and that he expected the situation to de-escalate. Bessent also said in the session on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s spring meetings, hosted by JPMorgan Chase, that negotiations with Beijing had not started but that a deal was possible, according to an attendee. “No one thinks the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3307508/us-treasury-chief-says-tariff-war-china-unsustainable-and-he-expects-it-ease?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3307508/us-treasury-chief-says-tariff-war-china-unsustainable-and-he-expects-it-ease?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Apr 2025 17:22:15 +0000 As of Sunday evening US Eastern Time, when this piece was being drafted, US President Donald Trump suggested that he is indeed considering a new sectoral tariff regime on smartphones, computers and other electronics that our lives depend on. This was the latest development, not long after US Customs and Border Protection uploaded a bulletin past 10pm on Friday night, notifying anyone who might have been refreshing the agency’s site at that hour that those products would be exempt from Trump... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3306399/tariff-flip-flops-and-why-trumps-attack-china-misguided?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3306399/tariff-flip-flops-and-why-trumps-attack-china-misguided?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Apr 2025 12:30:07 +0000 US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in an interview on Sunday that smartphones, computers and some other electronics will be subject to a new tariff rate that is separate from others that US President Donald Trump has put on imports from China in recent weeks. Speaking in an interview with ABC’s This Week in which he was grilled about a tariff exemption on a wide range of electronics, including smartphones and equipment used to make semiconductors, Lutnick said these products will face... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3306361/us-says-exempted-electronic-products-come-under-separate-tariffs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3306361/us-says-exempted-electronic-products-come-under-separate-tariffs?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Apr 2025 14:01:58 +0000 US stocks tumbled on Thursday as the White House clarified that the tariff rate on Chinese imports has risen to 145 per cent, up from the 125 per cent figure that was communicated on Wednesday, and US President Donald Trump characterised the volatility as “transition difficulty”. The higher figure includes the 125 per cent rate that covers the so-called “reciprocal” duties announced by Trump as well as a 20 per cent rate imposed earlier this year over China’s involvement in fentanyl... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3306058/us-markets-slide-us-tariffs-imports-china-now-145?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3306058/us-markets-slide-us-tariffs-imports-china-now-145?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Apr 2025 16:20:05 +0000 Amid a global market meltdown, US President Donald Trump announced a further tariff hike on imports from China – to 125 per cent – on Wednesday, while placing a 90-day pause on punitive levies aimed at most other nations. Markets surged on the news, with the benchmark S&P 500 index rising almost 10 per cent following Trump’s early afternoon announcement, reversing a nearly 20 per cent drop over the course of four previous trading sessions. Speaking to reporters after the announcement, Trump said... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/economy-trade-business/article/3305900/trump-pauses-tariffs-most-nations-90-days-raises-taxes-chinese-imports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/economy-trade-business/article/3305900/trump-pauses-tariffs-most-nations-90-days-raises-taxes-chinese-imports?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Apr 2025 17:41:33 +0000 China’s government on Wednesday issued two warnings to its citizens about travel to the United States, noting a deterioration in bilateral relations as the two countries slap hefty tariffs on each other’s imports. “Due to the deterioration of Sino-US economic and trade relations and the domestic security situation in the United States, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism reminds Chinese tourists to fully assess the risks of travelling to the United States and travel with caution,” the ministry... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3305892/china-issues-two-warnings-about-us-travel-its-citizens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3305892/china-issues-two-warnings-about-us-travel-its-citizens?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Apr 2025 14:49:52 +0000 US lawmakers reintroduced a bill on Tuesday that could close Hong Kong’s representative offices in America if the White House determines that Beijing has undermined the city’s autonomy, an effort that failed in the previous congressional session. The bill would amend the US State Department’s annual review of Hong Kong’s semi-autonomous status to require the US president to explain to Congress why the three Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices (HKETOs) in the country should retain or lose... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3305739/us-lawmakers-reintroduce-bill-may-close-3-hong-kong-trade-offices-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3305739/us-lawmakers-reintroduce-bill-may-close-3-hong-kong-trade-offices-us?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Apr 2025 16:41:53 +0000 US President Donald Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Beijing said on Thursday that the US leader’s strategy for China would involve “some pain” and claimed that allies must do more to counter the Asian country. Speaking in a confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, David Perdue, a former Republican senator representing Georgia, also affirmed Washington’s commitment to a one-China policy. “We’re going to continue to honour the one-China policy, as stated in the Taiwan... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3305169/donald-trumps-pick-beijing-envoy-affirms-us-commitment-one-china-policy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3305169/donald-trumps-pick-beijing-envoy-affirms-us-commitment-one-china-policy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Apr 2025 02:01:53 +0000 The US imposed sanctions on Hong Kong’s departing police chief and five other officials on Monday, saying they had undermined the semi-autonomous city’s “protected rights and freedoms”, and warned of additional visa restrictions for Chinese officials blocking “reciprocal access” to Tibet. The sanctions against Hong Kong Police Commissioner Raymond Siu Chak-yee and other high-ranking officials announced on Monday will freeze any assets they have in the US and restrict any financial transactions... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3304645/us-sanctions-hong-kong-police-chief-five-others-freedoms-abuse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3304645/us-sanctions-hong-kong-police-chief-five-others-freedoms-abuse?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Mar 2025 21:07:16 +0000 A senior Democrat linked political fallout from US President Donald Trump’s top officials’ use of Signal to discuss war plans to national security threats from China, warning that an “erosion of trust” among America’s intelligence officials emboldens attempts by Beijing and Moscow to recruit them. Grilling five of the nation’s spy chiefs, including CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, on Tuesday in a previously scheduled Senate Intelligence Committee... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3303871/democrat-ties-signal-chat-controversy-china-warning-about-recruitment-fired-us-workers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3303871/democrat-ties-signal-chat-controversy-china-warning-about-recruitment-fired-us-workers?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Mar 2025 17:48:15 +0000 US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday agreed to a partial ceasefire in the Ukraine war during a phone call, stating that a “full ceasefire and permanent peace” would begin with a focus on “energy and infrastructure”, according to the White House. A White House read-out said further talks would include “technical negotiations on the implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea”. US envoy Steve Witkoff said talks were planned for Sunday in the Saudi... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3302905/trump-putin-talk-nearly-25-hours-ukraine-ceasefire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3302905/trump-putin-talk-nearly-25-hours-ukraine-ceasefire?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Mar 2025 17:28:01 +0000 Americans visiting Toronto are sometimes disappointed that their trip across an international border doesn’t feel like they’ve escaped to another country. Whether they’re navigating the crawl of traffic in the downtown core of Canada’s most populous city or its bland suburbs, the occasional maple leaf flag and French signage are often the only giveaways. That’s why United States President Donald Trump might have thought his aggressive brand of politics would naturally carry across the border,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3302627/how-allure-us-exceptionalism-fading-canada?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3302627/how-allure-us-exceptionalism-fading-canada?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Mar 2025 12:30:09 +0000 Minutes before US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he would double his tariffs on steel imported from Canada, the senior Democrat on a Congressional subcommittee blasted punitive duties that were already set to take effect as a threat to American military shipbuilding. Speaking at a House sea power and projection forces subcommittee hearing examining the state of US shipbuilding, Representative Joe Courtney of Connecticut said the tariffs already announced were “going to impact... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/economy-trade-business/article/3302000/trumps-doubling-tariffs-canadian-steel-draws-fire-us-house-democrat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/economy-trade-business/article/3302000/trumps-doubling-tariffs-canadian-steel-draws-fire-us-house-democrat?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Mar 2025 19:58:48 +0000 A Hong Kong company’s decision to sell its global port stakes highlights the dilemma countries and firms will face in pursuit of Chinese and US investment, according to analysts. They added that as the United States under President Donald Trump sought to exclude China from agreements around the world, Beijing’s global ambitions, particularly its Belt and Road Initiative, were expected to confront resistance and even a rollback. CK Hutchison Holdings announced on Tuesday that it had agreed to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3301196/brace-more-us-pressure-chinese-investment-after-panama-ports-sale-analysts-warn?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3301196/brace-more-us-pressure-chinese-investment-after-panama-ports-sale-analysts-warn?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Mar 2025 12:00:47 +0000 CK Hutchison Holdings announced on Tuesday that it had agreed to sell control of a unit operating ports near the Panama Canal after US President Donald Trump said he wanted the US to regain control of the critical trade route. A consortium including BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment Ltd reached a preliminary deal to acquire units that hold 80 per cent of the Hutchison Ports group, worth US$23 billion (HK$179 billion), CK Hutchison said in a joint announcement with... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3301062/ck-hutchison-holdings-sell-unit-operating-near-panama-canal-under-trump-pressure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3301062/ck-hutchison-holdings-sell-unit-operating-near-panama-canal-under-trump-pressure?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Mar 2025 16:10:59 +0000 The European Union’s trade chief held “intense” talks with his counterparts in US President Donald Trump’s administration, voicing hope on Thursday that a transatlantic trade war could be averted and despite the Oval Office’s searing criticism of the bloc. Maros Sefcovic met with newly confirmed US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the director of the US National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, and the president’s nominee for US Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, in a four-hour meeting in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3299519/eu-trade-chief-hopeful-about-averting-us-tariffs-after-intense-talks-trumps-team?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3299519/eu-trade-chief-hopeful-about-averting-us-tariffs-after-intense-talks-trumps-team?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:38 +0000 US President Donald Trump announced plans for customised reciprocal tariffs on all imports on Thursday, citing unfair duties imposed by other countries on American goods and marking a further move towards a global trade war. The new levies would take effect after a six-month assessment by the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) – with input from the Office of the US Trade Representative, Commerce Department and other agencies – after which time the OMB would give Trump its... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3298603/trump-unveils-reciprocal-blanket-tariffs-all-major-us-trading-partners?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3298603/trump-unveils-reciprocal-blanket-tariffs-all-major-us-trading-partners?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Feb 2025 19:05:34 +0000 US Senate Republicans and Democrats agreed on Wednesday that the US needs a closer relationship with Greenland to keep the autonomous Danish territory from falling under the influence of China and Russia. They clashed, however, over President Donald Trump’s stated intention to purchase the island and his refusal to rule out military force to gain control. Witnesses appearing before the Senate Commerce Committee warned that the US was badly outnumbered by Beijing and Moscow in terms of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3298443/us-should-strengthen-strategic-ties-greenland-senators-hear?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3298443/us-should-strengthen-strategic-ties-greenland-senators-hear?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:17:00 +0000 Starkly divergent views of the US under Donald Trump and Xi Jinping’s China came into focus in Washington on Tuesday, when a lawmaker said Beijing was part of an “axis of evil” and a Chinese academic suggested Trump was trying to carve up the world to the detriment of America’s allies. Delivering a keynote address at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, US congressman Rob Wittman, vice-chair of the influential House Armed Services Committee, said the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3298296/china-axis-evil-us-lawmaker-reveals-stark-vision-countries-under-trump-and-xi?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3298296/china-axis-evil-us-lawmaker-reveals-stark-vision-countries-under-trump-and-xi?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Feb 2025 23:24:22 +0000 US House Democrats on Tuesday used a hearing on Chinese port investments in Latin America to blast billionaire Elon Musk and warn of potential national security risks from Republican plans to shut down the US Agency for International Development. Convened by a House subcommittee on transportation and maritime security, the hearing focused on how China’s presence in ports in Panama, Peru and Brazil could affect Washington’s interests in the region. US congressman Carlos Gimenez of Florida said... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3298293/elon-musk-chinas-top-puppet-poses-us-national-security-risks-house-democrats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3298293/elon-musk-chinas-top-puppet-poses-us-national-security-risks-house-democrats?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Feb 2025 21:10:16 +0000 US President Donald Trump on Monday introduced 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports into the United States, on top of existing metals duties, in the latest of a series of moves aimed at forcibly cutting trade deficits with other countries. “Today I’m simplifying our tariffs on steel and aluminium … This is the beginning of making America rich again,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Monday, as he signed dual executive orders that will go into effect on March 4. “No exceptions,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3298138/trump-signs-executive-orders-slapping-25-tariffs-steel-and-aluminium-imports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3298138/trump-signs-executive-orders-slapping-25-tariffs-steel-and-aluminium-imports?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Feb 2025 23:19:31 +0000 US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday delaying tariffs on lower-value packages from China that enjoy the exemptions until the US Commerce Department can confirm that procedures and systems are in place to process packages and collect tariff revenue. The “de minimis” exemption that allowed packages worth less than US$800 to enter the United States duty-free was removed as part of an executive order signed by Trump on February 1, which raised tariffs on Chinese imports by... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3297864/trump-signs-order-delaying-tariffs-de-minimis-imports-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3297864/trump-signs-order-delaying-tariffs-de-minimis-imports-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Feb 2025 18:12:04 +0000 China’s ability to launch DeepSeek’s popular chatbot came under scrutiny before a US government advisory panel on Thursday, with one witness stressing the role that American technology played and another cautioning that the country’s ability to “iterate” other breakthroughs in the industry could overcome this factor. Testimony before the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) also came with a warning about China’s ability to dominate the “potentially world-changing technology... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3297698/chinas-ability-launch-deepseeks-popular-chatbot-draws-us-government-panels-scrutiny?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3297698/chinas-ability-launch-deepseeks-popular-chatbot-draws-us-government-panels-scrutiny?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Feb 2025 23:40:15 +0000 US President Donald Trump dismissed the implications of retaliatory measures that Beijing enacted against the United States following Washington’s imposition of 10 per cent tariffs on imports from China, stating he is “in no rush” to talk to the country’s president, Xi Jinping. “That’s fine. It’s fine,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday who asked about Beijing’s tit-for-tat response to the tariffs that took effect on Tuesday. “We’re going to do very well against China and against everybody else.... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3297372/donald-trump-downplays-chinas-retaliatory-tariffs-and-no-rush-talk-xi-jinping?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3297372/donald-trump-downplays-chinas-retaliatory-tariffs-and-no-rush-talk-xi-jinping?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Feb 2025 21:27:47 +0000 A full-scale North American trade war was averted, temporarily, on Monday. Hours after Mexico announced that US President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs on its exports would be delayed for a month, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the new trade levies on his country had also been temporarily suspended following a phone call with the US leader. As was the case with Mexico, the 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian goods, set to take effect on Tuesday, will instead be paused for 30... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3297223/mexicos-president-says-tariffs-us-paused-month?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3297223/mexicos-president-says-tariffs-us-paused-month?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Feb 2025 16:00:43 +0000 Two weeks into US President Donald Trump’s administration and many people are already exhausted by the US leader’s zone-flooding approach. His government keeps everyone off-kilter, unable to process one destabilising move, such as his attempt to freeze federal grant spending, before it is off to the next. Following through on escalating threats to start what The Wall Street Journal called “the dumbest trade war in history” – and violating his own deal with Canada and Mexico, the United... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3297134/rubio-pivoting-china-hawk-pragmatist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3297134/rubio-pivoting-china-hawk-pragmatist?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Feb 2025 12:30:08 +0000