BEIJING: Residents of China&#39;s capital city expressed indifference and defiance Saturday when asked by AFP about the latest threat by US President Donald Trump to impose blistering new tariffs on the country. On Friday, Trump announced suddenly that the United States would slap additional 100 percent tariffs on all Chinese imports from November 1 &quot;or sooner&quot;, also calling into question an upcoming meeting with President Xi Jinping. Chinese authorities have yet to publicly respond to the threat, which Trump said was in retaliation for Beijing&#39;s new export control measures in the strategic rare-earth sector. The ministries of foreign affairs and commerce did not comment when asked about it by AFP on Saturday. &quot;I felt nothing when I first saw the news,&quot; said Liu Ming, a 48-year-old employee in a software company, outside a large Beijing shopping mall. &quot;Trump always has these childlike or capricious policies,&quot; said Liu. &quot;China isn&#39;t afraid of any US sanctions or policies aimed at limiting us. We have the confidence and ability to do better ourselves.&quot; Great commotionLike others interviewed by AFP on the streets of Beijing on Saturday, Liu sees Trump as fickle. &quot;From the perspective of a Chinese person, he is a bit unreliable,&quot; he said. &quot;He always goes from this policy to that policy, causing great commotion in the world. &quot;It is not stable.&quot; Irene Wang, an insurance worker in her thirties, echoed the sentiment. &quot;He says one thing today, but maybe after a nap he&#39;ll change his mind again,&quot; joked Wang. &quot;At his age (79), he should be a little more composed!&quot; She believes the sky-high tariffs Trump is threatening could backfire. &quot;For Americans, it could have an impact,&quot; she said, as tariffs on Chinese products could drive up prices in the United States. As for the potential impact on people living in China, Wang acknowledged she couldn&#39;t completely ignore the news. &quot;Honestly, it isn&#39;t the first time, so we will have to wait and see how things play out.&quot; Hoping for &#39;normalSome residents of the Chinese capital told AFP they expected only a moderate impact on their country&#39;s economy if the trade war with Washington escalates again. &quot;The import-export sector, especially those businesses, will inevitably be affected to some extent,&quot; said Jesicca Yu, 40. But &quot;for ordinary people in China, in the immediate future, I don&#39;t think much will change in their daily lives,&quot; she said. Yu also bemoaned the tense relationship between Beijing and Washington. &quot;The more peaceful things are, the more economic development can take place,&quot; she said. &quot;We hope things go back to normal.&quot; Lisa Liu, a colleague of Yu who is in her thirties, said she saw one good thing in Trump&#39;s unpredictable approach to governing. &quot;He gives us a lot to talk about at the dinner table,&quot; she said.

Americas

China

Residents of China's capital city expressed indifference and defiance Saturday when asked by AFP about the latest threat by US President Donald Trump to impose blistering new tariffs on the country

'China isn't afraid': Beijingers shrug off Trump tariff threat

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Friday that he&rsquo;s placing an additional 100% tax on Chinese imports starting on November 1 or sooner, potentially escalating tariff rates close to levels that in April fanned fears of a global recession.&nbsp;The president said on his social media site that he is imposing these new tariffs because of export controls placed on rare earth elements by China. The new tariffs built on an earlier post Friday on Truth Social in which Trump said that &ldquo;there seems to be no reason&rdquo; to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea.&nbsp;Trump said that &ldquo;starting November 1st, 2025 (or sooner, depending on any further actions or changes taken by China), the United States of America will impose a Tariff of 100% on China, over and above any Tariff that they are currently paying.&rdquo;&nbsp;The announcement came after financial markets closed on Friday and risked throwing the global economy into turmoil. Not only could the global trade war instigated by Trump be rekindled, but import taxes being heaped on top of the 30% already being levied on Chinese goods could, by the administration&#39;s past statements, cause trade to break down between the US and China in ways that could cause growth worldwide to slump.&nbsp;While Trump&#39;s wording was definitive, he is also famously known for backing down from threats. Some investors began engaging in what The Financial Times called the &ldquo;TACO&rdquo; trade, which stands for &ldquo;Trump Always Chickens Out.&rdquo;&nbsp;The prospect of tariffs this large could compound the president&#39;s own political worries inside the US, potentially pushing up inflation at a moment when the job market appears fragile and the drags from a government shutdown are starting to compound into layoffs of federal workers.&nbsp;The president also said that the US government would respond to China by putting its own export controls &ldquo;on any and all critical software&rdquo; from American firms.&nbsp;The United States and China have been jostling for advantage in trade talks, after the import taxes announced earlier this year triggered a trade war between the world&#39;s two largest economies. Both nations agreed to ratchet down tariffs after negotiations in Switzerland and the United Kingdom, yet tensions remain as China has continued to restrict America&#39;s access to the difficult-to-mine rare earths needed for a wide array of US technologies.&nbsp;Trump did not formally cancel the meeting with Xi, so much as indicating that it might not happen as part of a trip at the end of the month in Asia. The trip was scheduled to include a stop in Malaysia, which is hosting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit; a stop in Japan; and a visit to South Korea, where he was slated to meet with Xi ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.&nbsp;&ldquo;I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems to be no reason to do so,&rdquo; Trump posted.&nbsp;Trump&rsquo;s threat shattered a monthslong calm on Wall Street, and the S&amp;P 500 tumbled 2.7% on worries about the rising tensions between the world&rsquo;s largest economies. It was the market&#39;s worst day since April when the president last bandied about import taxes this high. Still, the stock market closed before the president spelled out the terms of his threat.&nbsp;China&#39;s new restrictionsOn Thursday, the Chinese government restricted access to the rare earths ahead of the scheduled Trump-Xi meeting. Beijing would require foreign companies to get special approval for shipping the metallic elements abroad. It also announced permitting requirements on exports of technologies used in the mining, smelting and recycling of rare earths, adding that any export requests for products used in military goods would be rejected.&nbsp;Trump said that China is &ldquo;becoming very hostile&rdquo; and that it&#39;s holding the world &ldquo;captive&rdquo; by restricting access to the metals and magnets used in electronics, computer chips, lasers, jet engines and other technologies.&nbsp;The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment.&nbsp;Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, said Beijing reacted to US sanctions of Chinese companies this week and the upcoming port fees targeting China-related vessels but said there&rsquo;s room for de-escalation to keep the leaders&#39; meeting alive. &ldquo;It is a disproportional reaction,&rdquo; Sun said. &ldquo;Beijing feels that de-escalation will have to be mutual as well. There is room for maneuver, especially on the implementation.&rdquo;&nbsp;The US president said the move on rare earths was &ldquo;especially inappropriate&rdquo; given the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza so that the remaining hostages from Hamas&#39; October 7, 2023, attack can be released. He raised the possibility without evidence that China was trying to steal the moment from him for his role in the ceasefire, saying on social media, &ldquo;I wonder if that timing was coincidental?&rdquo;&nbsp;There is already a backlog of export license applications from Beijing&rsquo;s previous round of export controls on rare earth elements, and the latest announcements &ldquo;add further complexity to the global supply chain of rare earth elements,&rdquo; the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said in a statement.&nbsp;Gracelin Baskaran, director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC, said China signaled it is open to negotiations, but it also holds leverage because to dominates the market for rare earths with 70% of the mining and 93% of the production of permanent magnets made from them that are crucial to high-tech products and the military.&nbsp;&ldquo;These restrictions undermine our ability to develop our industrial base at a time when we need to. And then second, it&rsquo;s a powerful negotiating tool,&rdquo; she said. And these restrictions can hurt efforts to strengthen the US military in the midst of global tensions because rare earths are needed.&nbsp;Trump&#39;s trade warThe outbreak of a tariff-fueled trade war between the US and China initially caused the world economy to shudder over the possibility of global commerce collapsing. Trump imposed tariffs totaling 145% on Chinese goods, with China responding with import taxes of 125% on American products.&nbsp;The taxes were so high as to effectively be a blockade on trade between the countries. That led to negotiations that reduced the tariff charged by the US government to 30% and the rate imposed by China to 10% so that further talks could take place. The relief those lower rates provided could now disappear with the new import taxes Trump threatened, likely raising the stakes not only of whether Trump and Xi meet but also of how any disputes are resolved.&nbsp;Differences continue over America&#39;s access to rare earths from China, US restrictions on China&#39;s ability to import advanced computer chips, sales of American-grown soybeans and a series of tit-for-tat port fees being levied by both countries starting on Tuesday.&nbsp;Nebraska Republican Rep. Don Bacon said &ldquo;China has not been a fair-trade partner for years,&rdquo; but the Trump administration should have anticipated China&rsquo;s restrictions on rare earths and refusal to buy American soybeans in response to the tariffs.&nbsp;How analysts see moves by US and ChinaWendy Cutler, senior vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, said Trump&rsquo;s post shows the fragility of the d&eacute;tente between the two countries and it&rsquo;s unclear whether the two sides are willing to de-escalate to save the bilateral meeting.&nbsp;Cole McFaul, a research fellow at Georgetown University&#39;s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, said that Trump appeared in his post to be readying for talks on the possibility that China had overplayed its hand. By contrast, China sees itself as having come out ahead when the two countries have engaged in talks.&nbsp;&ldquo;From Beijing&rsquo;s point of view, they&rsquo;re in a moment where they&rsquo;re feeling a lot of confidence about their ability to handle the Trump administration,&rdquo; McFaul said. &ldquo;Their impression is they&rsquo;ve come to the negotiating table and extracted key concessions.&rdquo;&nbsp;Craig Singleton, senior director of the China program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a think tank, said Trump&#39;s post could &ldquo;mark the beginning of the end of the tariff truce&rdquo; that had lowered the tax rates charged by both countries.&nbsp;It&#39;s still unclear how Trump intends to follow through on his threats and how China plans to respond.&nbsp;&ldquo;But the risk is clear: Mutually assured disruption between the two sides is no longer a metaphor,&rdquo; Singleton said. &ldquo;Both sides are reaching for their economic weapons at the same time, and neither seems willing to back down.&rdquo;

Trump has not formally cancel the meeting with Xi; trip was scheduled to include a stop in Malaysia.



Trump threatens tech export limits, new 100% tariff on Chinese imports starting Nov. 1 or sooner

Beijing: China&#39;s commerce ministry announced new controls on the export of rare-earth technologies and items on Thursday, adding to regulations on a critical industry that has been a key source of tension between Beijing and Washington. China is the world&#39;s leading producer of the minerals used to make magnets crucial to the auto, electronics and defence industries. It has required licences for certain exports of the materials since April, hitting global manufacturing sectors. Rare earths have been a major sticking point in recent trade negotiations between China and the United States, with Washington accusing Beijing of slow-walking export licence approvals. The new controls -- which kick in immediately -- mean exporters must obtain permission for technologies used for rare-earth mining and smelting, among other processing steps, a Chinese commerce ministry statement said. They will also apply to technologies used in the &quot;assembly, adjusting, maintenance, repair and upgrading of production lines&quot;, it said. The commerce ministry said separately that restrictions would be placed on foreign entities that export related items outside China. The controls will require such exporters to obtain a permit before making certain shipments, the statement said, adding that applications to overseas military users would not be approved. &quot;For some time, some overseas organisations and individuals have directly or after processing transferred or provided controlled rare-earth items originating in China... for direct or indirect use in sensitive areas such as military operations,&quot; a ministry spokesperson said in a statement. The practice has caused &quot;significant damage or potential threats to China&#39;s national security and interests (and) adversely impacted international peace and stability&quot;. The European Commission said on Thursday it was &quot;concerned&quot; by China&#39;s announcement of the new controls. &quot;The&nbsp;commission expects China to act as a reliable partner and to ensure stable,&nbsp;predictable&nbsp;access&nbsp;to&nbsp;critical&nbsp;raw materials,&quot; EU trade spokesman Olof Gill told reporters. Global disruption&nbsp;The restrictions imposed by Beijing this year have caused significant disruption in worldwide industries, with some companies facing halts to production as supply of the key minerals dwindles. European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said after a tense summit in Beijing in July that leaders had agreed to an improved mechanism for Chinese exports of rare earths to the bloc. However, a business lobby warned last month that European firms still faced challenges in securing access to the materials. The European Union and the United States are both trying to boost their own production of rare earths and better recycle what they use to reduce dependence on Beijing. The United States Geological Survey estimated In a 2024 assessment that there were 110 million tonnes of deposits worldwide, including 44 million in China. A further 22 million tonnes are estimated in Brazil and 21 million in Vietnam, while Russia has 10 million and India seven million tonnes. Beijing has&nbsp;for decades made the most of its reserves by investing massively in refining operations, often without the strict environmental oversight required in Western countries. China has also filed a huge number of patents on rare earth production, an obstacle to companies elsewhere hoping to launch large-scale processing. As a result, many firms find it cheaper to ship their ore to China for refining, further reinforcing the world&#39;s reliance.&nbsp;&nbsp;

China imposed new export controls on rare-earth technologies, intensifying tensions with Washington. The European Commission voiced concern over the move, urging Beijing to act as a reliable and responsible trade partner

China bolsters export controls on rare-earth industry

BEIJING: About 900 hikers, guides and other staff who were stranded by a weekend snowstorm on the Chinese side of Mount Everest have reached safety, state media said late Tuesday. A severe storm struck the area Saturday night, cutting off access to where the hikers were staying in tents at an altitude of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet). In all, 580 hikers and more than 300 guides, yak herders, and other workers were stranded. About 350 hikers were able to descend by noon Monday, and the rest had arrived by Tuesday, state media said, citing the local government. Some hikers reportedly had hypothermia, and the official Xinhua News Agency said about a dozen of them were escorted to a meeting point by teams with food, medicine, heating, and oxygen supplies. The scenic area at Mount Everest in China&#39;s Tibet region has been temporarily closed. The 8,850-meter (29,000-foot) peak, the world&#39;s highest, straddles the border with Nepal. The storm struck during a weeklong holiday that ends Wednesday. Many Chinese travel at home and abroad during the holiday, which marks the anniversary of the founding of the People&#39;s Republic of China on October 1, 1949. In Nepal, a South Korean climber died in a weekend storm near the summit of Mera Peak, a 6,476-meter (21,250-foot) Himalayan mountain south of Everest. Early-season snowstorms hit at least two other areas in western China over the weekend, killing one person and stranding motorists on an icy and snowy highway near a scenic hiking spot. More than 200 people were evacuated from a remote and rugged valley in the Qilian Mountains in Qinghai province. One person died of hypothermia and altitude sickness. The area is undeveloped, and authorities later warned people against entering without permission, citing the rugged terrain, unpredictable weather, and an average altitude of more than 4,000 meters (13,000 feet). In northwest China&#39;s Xinjiang region, the Kanas scenic area was closed after a snowstorm on Sunday that stranded motorists on a nearby highway. The road had been cleared by Monday, according to state media.

Climate

About 900 hikers and guides stranded by a snowstorm on Mount Everest’s Chinese side have been rescued, some suffering from hypothermia. The scenic area is closed due to other storms across western China, which have caused fatalities and travel disruptions.

Hundreds of hikers rescued from Everest after severe snowstorm

Reuters/AP

MELBOURNE: Australia has signed a new defence agreement with Papua New Guinea, its first in more than 70 years, as Canberra seeks to block China from expanding its security presence in the Pacific. Under the Pukpuk defence treaty, which is the first signed by Papua New Guinea, Australia, and its northern neighbour, they are obliged to come to each other&rsquo;s aid if attacked. &quot;This is a historic agreement,&quot; Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the press in Canberra. &ldquo;By continuing to build our security relationships in the region, we safeguard our own security.&rdquo; The treaty allows as many as 10,000 Papua New Guineans to serve with the Australian Defence Force, under dual arrangements. Australia was Papua New Guinea&#39;s colonial master until the developing island nation became independent in 1975. Australia, with its population of 28 million, and Papua New Guinea, with an estimated population of roughly 10 million, are the most populous nations in the South Pacific. The United States and Australia have both strengthened their military ties with Papua New Guinea in recent years, which is viewed as a strategically important partner in countering China&rsquo;s growing influence in the Pacific. Albanese said both nations have agreed &quot;not to undertake any activities or enter into any agreements that would compromise the implementation of this Treaty.&quot; &quot;This Treaty was not conceived out of geopolitics or any other reason. But out of geography, history, and the enduring reality of our shared neighbourhood,&quot; Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape told the press. The Papua New Guinea cabinet approved the Pukpuk treaty, which translates to &quot;crocodile,&quot; last week. &quot;We still retain our relationship with China and other nations,&quot; Marape added.

 Anthony Albanese, left, and James Marape

Australasia

Australia and Papua New Guinea signed the historic Pukpuk defence treaty, pledging mutual defence support and closer military cooperation, allowing 10,000 PNG troops to serve with Australia, while reaffirming Papua New Guinea’s ties with China.

Australia, Papua New Guinea sign historic defence treaty

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Sixty-one percent of Pakistanis express strong support for China, highlighting the enduring bilateral relationship, according to a Gallup &amp; Gilani survey released Friday. The survey sampled 1,062 men and women from urban and rural areas across all four provinces between August 2 and August 21. When asked about China, 61 percent described it as &ldquo;good,&rdquo; while 19 percent described it as &ldquo;bad.&rdquo; Since establishing diplomatic relations in 1951, Pakistan and China have maintained an &ldquo;all-weather&rdquo; partnership grounded in mutual trust, political cooperation, and economic collaboration. Over the years, this partnership has grown beyond diplomacy to encompass trade, investment, education, and technological exchanges. The strong public sentiment toward China, as revealed in the survey, underscores the long-standing resilience of these ties. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $65 billion flagship project under China&rsquo;s Belt and Road Initiative, remains central to strengthening economic investments, trade, and energy cooperation between the two nations. Experts say that public support for China in Pakistan is also influenced by shared geopolitical interests, consistent diplomatic engagement, and cooperation in regional security matters.&nbsp; The survey&rsquo;s findings indicate that the Pakistan-China relationship is not only driven by government-level agreements but also enjoys grassroots support among citizens, reflecting a strong cultural and social connection between the two nations.

Foreign Affairs

Sixty-one percent of Pakistanis express strong support for China, highlighting the enduring bilateral relationship, according to a Gallup & Gilani survey

61% of Pakistanis express strong support for China: Survey

Reuters

BEIJING: Artificial superintelligence may be available by 2030, but its capabilities are only likely to surpass humans in some aspects, the head of one of China&#39;s hottest AI startups said on Tuesday. The AI industry is abuzz with speculation about when the technology will overtake human intelligence. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman predicted last week that ASI could arrive by the end of the decade, while SoftBank Group 9984.T CEO Masayoshi Son speculated last year it could exist by 2035. Zhang Peng, the CEO of Zhipu AI, said on Tuesday that the concept was too vague to pin down to a specific timeline. Surpass in part, fall short in many&quot;People reach different conclusions when discussing this issue,&quot; he said, as the company released its latest large language model, GLM-4.6. &quot;I think achieving or exceeding human intelligence levels by 2030 might mean surpassing humans in one or several aspects, but likely still falling far short in many areas.&quot; Founded in 2019 as a Tsinghua University spinoff, Zhipu AI has emerged as a frontrunner in China&#39;s AI race and filed documents in April indicating plans to list on mainland Chinese markets. In June, it was singled out by OpenAI as a fast-rising rival and characterised as an extension of Beijing&#39;s efforts to push Chinese-developed AI abroad. Zhang said the company was &quot;flattered&quot; but its overseas expansion was &quot;normal business&quot;. Zhang said overseas revenue had begun gaining traction, but acknowledged the company would not compete directly with US models in consumer subscriptions yet. However, he said Zhipu AI was competing with companies like OpenAI in serving enterprise clients. The company recently launched a coding subscription plan targeting developers as part of efforts to expand direct-to-consumer revenue streams. While many AI firms have found it difficult to convince Chinese consumers to pay for AI services, unlike in the United States, Zhang said he believed that could change in a few years, due to growing acceptance of the value of AI and falling prices. He said the GLM-4.6 model was an upgraded version of GLM-4.5 released in July and had enhanced capabilities in coding, reasoning, writing and agent applications.&nbsp;

Artificial Intelligence

Zhipu AI CEO Zhang Peng says artificial superintelligence may surpass humans in some areas by 2030, but progress will vary across fields. The company’s new GLM-4.6 model enhances coding, reasoning, and writing capabilities.

China's Zhipu AI says full artificial superintelligence unlikely by 2030

HONG KONG:&nbsp;Shares in China&rsquo;s Zijin Gold International surged more than 60 percent on its debut in Hong Kong on Tuesday after raising more than $3 billion in one of the world&rsquo;s biggest initial public offerings this year. The strong opening comes as gold prices continue to hit record highs amid demand for the safe-haven asset, driven by broader market volatility and expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts. The prospect of a U.S. government shutdown has also added momentum for the precious metal, which climbed to a peak of $3,867.89 on Tuesday. Analysts said it could soon hit $4,000, having gained almost 50 percent since the start of the year. Zijin Gold, a unit of Zijin Mining, China&rsquo;s largest miner, rose as much as 67 percent to HK$120, valuing it at about HK$300 billion ($38.6 billion). The company is among the world&rsquo;s fastest-growing gold producers, with stakes in eight mines across Central Asia, South America, Oceania and Africa. It said it has extensive experience in global mergers and acquisitions involving mine assets. &ldquo;We have strong cost management capability, with several of our mines turning profitable shortly after our acquisitions,&rdquo; the firm said. Proceeds from the IPO will be used to settle the acquisition of a gold mine in Kazakhstan and to upgrade and construct existing mines over the next five years, according to its prospectus. Global demand for gold is expected to grow on increased interest from central banks seeking value preservation and risk diversification, consultancy Frost &amp; Sullivan said. It added that prices would also be supported by declining mine quality and rising extraction costs. Hong Kong&rsquo;s Financial Secretary Paul Chan said Sunday that initial public offerings had raised nearly HK$150 billion so far this year, ranking first globally. Accountancy firm Deloitte said last week that it forecasts Hong Kong will see more than 80 IPOs in 2025, raising up to HK$280 billion.

Chen Jinghe, Chairman of Zijin Mining, attends the listing ceremony of its subsidiary Zijin Gold International alongside board members and management at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, in Hong Kong, China, September 30, 2025. REUTERS/Kane Wu

Business

Shares in China’s Zijin Gold International surged more than 60 percent on its debut in Hong Kong on Tuesday after raising more than $3 billion in one of the world’s biggest initial public offerings this year.

China's Zijin Gold soars more than 60% in Hong Kong debut

HONG KONG: China&#39;s factory activity shrank for a sixth straight month in September, the longest slump since 2019, an official report said Tuesday. The official manufacturing purchasing managers index, or PMI, improved to 49.8 from 49.4 in August. But it remained below the 50-cutoff level between contraction and expansion on a scale of 0 to 100. A private sector PMI survey by the credit research and rating startup RatingDog was more upbeat, with September&rsquo;s overall PMI rising to 51.2 from 50.5 in August. The mixed manufacturing measures reflect persisting sluggish domestic demand and uncertainties over trade tensions with the United States. More detailed data measuring new orders and production saw month-on-month improvements. &ldquo;The September PMI reads from China offered a picture that looked less like a coherent growth engine, and more like a car with one cylinder firing while another misfires,&rdquo; Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary. Companies are under pressure from price cutting amid rough competition, he said. &ldquo;Factories are moving more goods, but they&rsquo;re being forced to do it at thinner margins, like street vendors selling more bowls of noodles at half price just to keep the crowd coming,&rdquo; Innes said. The latest data show China&rsquo;s economy is gaining momentum, with output accelerating slightly, said National Bureau of Statistics chief statistician Huo Lihui. China&rsquo;s official manufacturing PMIs first slipped back into contraction in April as trade friction with US President Donald Trump&rsquo;s administration heated up after he took office. The two sides are still slowly working their way toward a broad trade agreement after exchanging threats of sky-high tariffs on each other&rsquo;s exports. A pause in steep US tariff hikes on China has been extended until November, while a Sept. 19 phone call between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping offered glimmers of hope for improving relations. A truce hinges largely on a widely anticipated US proposal for transferring ownership of TikTok to a US company from its Chinese owner ByteDance. That would also require Beijing&rsquo;s approval. A face-to-face meeting between Trump and Xi is set for the end of October in South Korea on the sidelines of an annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.China&#39;s economy has remained in the doldrums, bogged down by a prolonged slump in the property sector, elevated unemployment and weak household spending. Some economists are hoping that a rate cut by China&rsquo;s central bank by the end of the year could help encourage more spending and investment. This month, the People&rsquo;s Bank of China left its key lending rates unchanged following the US Federal Reserve&rsquo;s rate cut for the first time this year.

FILE - A worker takes a rest at a factory making steel bike rims for export to U.S., in Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang province, on Friday, April 11, 2025. 

Asia

China's factory activity shrank for a sixth straight month in September, the longest slump since 2019, an official report said Tuesday.

China factory activity contracts for sixth month amid trade tensions

LONDON: A 47-year-old Chinese woman on Monday told a UK court that she played a leading role in a multibillion pound fraudulent Bitcoin scheme. Chinese businesswoman Zhimin Qian, alias Yadi Zhang, pleaded guilty at London&#39;s Southwark Crown Court following what is believed to be the single largest cryptocurrency seizure in the world, now worth about &pound;5.5 billion. She admitted acquiring and possessing criminal property, namely cryptocurrency. &quot;Between 2014&ndash;2017, Zhang orchestrated a large-scale fraud in China through defrauding over 128,000 victims and went on to store the illegally obtained funds in Bitcoin assets,&quot; London&#39;s Met Police said in a statement. &quot;She then fled China using false documents and entered the UK, where in September 2018 she attempted to launder the proceeds via purchasing property,&quot; it added. Will Lyne, the Met&#39;s Head of Economic and Cybercrime Command, said the case was &quot;one of the largest... in UK history and among the highest-value cryptocurrency cases globally&quot;. Last year, as part of the same seven-year investigation an accomplice, Jian Wen, was also jailed for six years and eight months for her role in the criminal operation. Met investigators proved Jian had been involved in facilitating the movement of a cryptocurrency wallet, which contained 150 Bitcoin. At the relevant time this was valued at &pound;1.7 million. Zhimin Qian&#39;s case was adjourned until Tuesday after her guilty plea on what would have been the first day of her trial.

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