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US-China trade war

US-China trade war
Breaking news and analysis on the US-China trade war, its history and timeline, and the impact on the global economy.
Illustration: Craig Stephens
Diplomacy

Opinion | Xi-Trump summit affirms China’s role as world’s indispensable broker

In hosting his US and Russian counterparts within a week, President Xi Jinping shows that China’s vision rests on pre-eminence over hegemony.

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2026 Xi-Trump summit

Trump’s China trip spurs bipartisan shift in Washington on Beijing

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China-Russia relations

China and Russia hold trade expo as Putin and Trump visits draw global attention

Rare earths

Australia to force investors with China ties to divest from rare earths company

The company will force divestment from two individuals and four companies due to Chinese affiliation.

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Northern Minerals is developing a heavy rare earths project in Western Australia, at a time when the sector has become increasingly strategic for its uses in green energy and defence. Photo: Handout
2026 Xi-Trump summit

Xi-Trump summit outcomes

US President Donald Trump touted his ‘successful’ meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping last week. While the leaders projected optimism, differences in their summaries of what was agreed hinted at tensions over the Iran war, trade and Taiwan.

2026 Xi-Trump summit

China, US agree to establish trade, investment councils after Xi-Trump summit

The world’s two biggest economies also agree to roll back tariffs, deepen investment and establish a new board to manage disputes.

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2026 Xi-Trump summit

Bought the farm? Details still fuzzy on scope of US-China agriculture deal

China granted five-year export licenses to 77 US beef facilities, while renewing expired licenses of 425 other plants for another five years.

Imported soybeans from Brazil are seen in a cargo vessel at a port in Yantai, in China’s eastern Shandong province. Photo: AFP
2026 Xi-Trump summit

Trump leaves China after much pomp and pageantry, but little to show for it

US president’s much-anticipated summit with Xi Jinping in Beijing resulted in more fanfare than concrete policy change, analysts say.

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2026 Xi-Trump summit

Trump and his CEOs want China’s business – but has Asia moved on?

The US delegation went to Beijing looking for deals, but a ‘super cycle’ of capital expenditures across Asia is already fuelling enormous growth.

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US-China tech war

Trump, Xi weigh AI ‘guardrails’ as Nvidia chip exports hang in the balance

Meeting in Beijing, the presidents weighed safety protocols for the rapidly emerging technology, and H200 chip shipments were a ‘sovereign decision’ for ‌China.

Billionaire Elon Musk gestures after attending a welcome ceremony for US President Donald Trump with President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday. Photo: Reuters
2026 Xi-Trump summit

China’s Xi Jinping to pay first state visit to US in more than a decade

According to the US president, leaders could meet three more times this year, though experts doubt this will fix major issues.

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While expectations are not high that China and the US will reach major deals to resolve their differences, there is hope that the leaders meeting repeatedly could reduce the risk of miscalculation. Photo: Reuters via AP
US-China relations

As I see it | Beijing had already won before the Trump-Xi summit even started

There’s a lesson for the US president in Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in the early 19th century.

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2026 Xi-Trump summit

Trump, touting deal, says China to buy 200 Boeing jets with promise for more

After leaving Beijing, the US president announced a pledge to buy at least 200 jets, and up to 750 under certain conditions.

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Banking & finance

Stephen Miran, Trump’s economic guru, is leaving the Fed. What happens now?

Miran quit his job as a Trump economic adviser to join the US Federal Reserve board, where he became known as a vocal dove.

Stephen Miran became one of the US Federal Reserve’s most vocal doves during his short tenure on the central bank’s board of governors. Photo: AP
China manufacturing

After Trump visit, China’s top party journal doubles down on manufacturing push

The real economy must remain the bedrock of future growth, according to latest Qiushi article.

Welding robots at an industrial park of Sany, China’s leading heavy equipment manufacturer, in Changsha, central China’s Hunan province, on May 12. Photo: Xinhua
2026 Xi-Trump summit

Putin follows Trump to China, Xi hosts US president, Baidu earnings

This week: Putin set to visit China after Trump, China agrees to buy Boeing planes, US restates Taiwan position and April exports weather Strait of Hormuz shutdown. Next week: Baidu and Nvidia report earnings, April retail sales may accelerate, Europe-China space mission makes second take-off attempt, and more.

2026 Xi-Trump summit

Xi Jinping meets foreign leaders: tracker, May 2026

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit China right after the Trump-Xi summit.

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2026 Xi-Trump summit

After Xi-Trump, China tech stocks retreat as market weighs ‘fantastic’ deals

Mainland benchmarks slip as investors lock in profits following Beijing summit, while analysts say the lack of specific deal terms suggests a deterioration ‘freeze’.

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US President Donald Trump shakes hands with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during his state visit to Beijing on May 14, 2026. Photo: Pool via Reuters
US-China relations

Editorial | Xi-Trump summit in Beijing heralds start of constructive, stable relations

Through the meticulously planned welcome ceremony and Xi Jinping’s remarks, Beijing has emphasised the importance of stable bilateral ties to the world.

Semiconductors

The US-China trade war is entering a worrying new phase

The US and China are racing to roll out competing sanctions, rules and regulations, leaving firms trapped in a legal Catch-22.

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China-Latin America relations

China restores US beef trade amid Trump-Xi summit, alarming Brazilian exporters

Beijing’s renewal of import licences for US beef plants comes as Brazil nears its annual quota cap and scrambles for alternative markets.

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People shop for beef at a supermarket in Fuzhou, Fujian province. China has renewed import licences for hundreds of US beef plants. Photo: China News Service/VCG via Getty Images
2026 Xi-Trump summit

Xi and Trump set sights on stability for China and the US – with a note of caution

A day of positive messaging and personal rapport includes an invitation to visit the White House in September.

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Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump visit the Temple of Heaven in Beijing on Thursday. Photo: via Reuters
US-China relations

Is China set to benefit from new US Fed chair Kevin Warsh’s policy vision?

The appointment follows White House pressure on the central bank to lower interest rates – a move analysts warn could have unintended consequences.

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2026 Xi-Trump summit

Macroscope | Trump-Xi summit puts US vulnerabilities on display

China weaponising rare earths turned the tables on Trump, showing how unprepared Western governments and firms were for a full trade war.

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Electric & new energy vehicles

Xi-Trump summit: Ford-CATL plant shows how global carmakers need China

Collaboration with Chinese suppliers ‘the only way international carmakers can compete with Chinese carmakers’, Morgan Stanley analyst says.

A view of the Ford BlueOval Battery Park under construction in Marshall, Michigan. Photo: Universal Images Group via Getty Images
2026 Xi-Trump summit

Boeing nears ‘large’ China orders as Trump and Xi forge new trade board: Bessent

Washington and Beijing will discuss the board to manage commercial ties, and there is a plan to ‘pregame’ investments to avoid national security blocks.

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President Xi Jinping shakes hands with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as US President Donald Trump looks on during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday. Photo: AFP
Donald Trump

Video | Xi and Trump tour Temple of Heaven during Beijing summit

The centuries-old temple has a symbolic connection with Chinese history.

2026 Xi-Trump summit

Xi-Trump summit casts optimistic light on lingering tensions

The presidents of China and the United States focused on cooperation and potential trade, rather than tougher issues, as they opened the first day of talks in Beijing.

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