1 hour ago US, China trade officials to meet in Malaysia amid escalating rare earths dispute

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Wednesday that he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent would travel to Malaysia later that day as scheduled to meet with Chinese officials over what he called Beijing’s “incredibly aggressive” measures to curb rare earth exports. The meeting is seen as a stepping stone to a sit-down in South Korea next week on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a time of...

Politics

2 h. ago Israel advances West Bank annexation bill during J.D. Vance visit

A bill applying Israeli law to the occupied West Bank, a move tantamount to annexation of land which Palestinians want for a state, won preliminary approval from Israel’s parliament on Wednesday. The vote was the first of four needed to pass the law, and it coincided with the visit of US Vice-President J.D. Vance to Israel, a month after President Donald Trump said that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party did not support the...

Politics

3 h. ago China pushes trilateral currency swap, new drone sighted: SCMP daily highlights

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China eyes currency swap with Japan and South Korea amid trade tensions: source China is in talks with Japan and South Korea – both US allies – about a possible trilateral currency swap to bolster the region’s financial safety net and deepen economic cooperation amid US President Donald Trump’s trade war, according to a source familiar with the issue. 2....

Events

8 h. ago Russia launches deadly barrage on Ukraine after Putin–Trump summit shelved

Russia launched multiple drone and missile strikes on Ukraine as the latest peace attempts by US President Donald Trump appeared to be floundering. The attack killed at least six civilians, including two children, with more than a dozen injured across the country in the early hours of Wednesday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on X. Zelensky said that 10 regions came under attack, including Kyiv, Odesa and Dnipro, adding that while the attack primarily targeted energy...

Politics

14 h. ago China's vice president calls for 'partnership' with US ahead of possible Xi

China's vice president calls for 'partnership' with US ahead of possible Xi-Trump meeting  TRT World

Politics

14 h. ago Doing ‘fantastic job’: Australian PM defends envoy Rudd amid Trump’s dislike

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese endorsed Australia’s ambassador in Washington as doing a “fantastic job”, describing comments by US President Donald Trump that he does not like Kevin Rudd as “lighthearted”. Australia’s main conservative opposition party has called for Rudd, a former Labor prime minister, to be sacked after Trump made the comments at a press briefing in Washington on Monday. Asked by an Australian reporter about Rudd’s past criticism of the president on social media, and told...

Politics

17 h. ago Trump says US Justice Department may owe him ‘a lot of money’ over probes

US President Donald Trump said he believed the Justice Department probably owes him compensation, following a report that he was seeking some US$230 million after he faced multiple federal investigations. “As far as all the litigation, everything that’s going on, yeah, they probably owe me a lot of money,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday at the White House. The New York Times reported earlier that Trump had initiated administrative claim processes alleging violations of his rights. The...

Politics

18 h. ago Trump says Ukraine talks with Putin off for now, doesn’t want ‘wasted meeting’

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his plan for a swift meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin was on hold because he doesn’t want it to be a “waste of time”. It was the latest twist in Trump’s stop-and-go effort to resolve the war in Ukraine. The decision to hold off on the meeting in Budapest, Hungary, which Trump had announced last week, was made following a call on Monday between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. “I don’t want to have...

Politics

18 h. ago Can Trump’s pragmatism override China hawks to keep ties from rupture?

China’s rocky trade relationship with the United States was on full display this month as US President Donald Trump threatened to impose additional tariffs on Chinese imports. Separately, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent denounced China’s move to expand curbs on rare earth exports, calling it “a sign of how weak their economy is”. He also described Li Chenggang, one of China’s trade negotiators, as “pretty unhinged and very aggressive”. Trade ties between the rival powers remain fraught, even...

Politics

19 h. ago Can Trump’s gut instinct win over Xi Jinping at Apec summit?

US President Donald Trump is expected to approach his coming summit with Xi Jinping by relying on personal chemistry and his “gut”, but his ability to charm the Chinese leader will be limited at best, analysts and former government officials in Washington said on Tuesday. The first meeting in six years between the heads of the world’s two largest economies is expected to take place shortly before the October 31-November 1 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in South Korea. Among the topics...

Politics

19 h. ago Can Donald Trump’s gut instinct win over Xi Jinping at Apec summit?

US President Donald Trump is expected to approach his coming summit with Xi Jinping by relying on personal chemistry and his “gut”, but his ability to charm the Chinese leader will be limited at best, analysts and former government officials in Washington said on Tuesday. The first meeting in six years between the heads of the world’s two largest economies is expected to take place shortly before the October 31-November 1 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in South Korea. Among the topics...

Politics

23 h. ago Europe, Ukraine prepare plan to end war, proposing peace board headed by Trump

European nations are working with Ukraine on a 12-point proposal to end Russia’s war along current battle lines, pushing back against Vladimir Putin’s renewed demands to the US for Kyiv to surrender territory in return for a peace deal. A peace board chaired by US President Donald Trump would oversee implementation of the proposed plan, according to people familiar with the matter. Once Russia follows Ukraine in agreeing to a ceasefire and both sides commit to halting territorial advances, the...

Politics

28 h. ago Why Trump’s ‘best for business’ diplomacy will fail with Russia or China

“All I’ve done all my life is deals,” US President Donald Trump told the Gaza peace summit, going on to say “maybe this is going to be the greatest deal of them all”. Trump has cultivated his image on being the greatest deal-maker, a legacy central to his identity as a business tycoon and now fundamental to his reputation as a world leader. The ceasefire in Gaza has been framed as a crowning achievement in this repertoire. “Together we’ve achieved what everyone said was impossible, but at long...

Politics

30 h. ago Trump isn’t serious about deterring Beijing from attacking Taiwan: poll

Most people in Taiwan do not see US President Donald Trump as serious about deterring Beijing from a possible attack on the self-ruled island, according to a recent poll released on Tuesday. Asked whether Trump was willing to prevent mainland China from “invading Taiwan by force”, 44.8 per cent of the 1,070 respondents said no, while 34.3 per cent said yes in the poll conducted by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation between October 13 and 15. And on a question as to whether the US leader was...

Politics

32 h. ago Can Scott Bessent see China’s trade counterstrike with clear eyes?

After a video call last Saturday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng are expected to meet in Malaysia this week to hopefully ease tensions before US President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping potentially meet on the sidelines of this year’s Apec summit. The meeting was in doubt when Trump threatened to impose an additional 100 per cent tariff on China, despite later relenting that it might not be sustainable. Washington blamed Beijing for the escalation,...

Events

34 h. ago Air strikes and insults: Trump’s feud with Colombia threatens key alliance

For decades, Colombia and the United States have been devoted allies, sharing military intelligence, a robust trade relationship and a multibillion-dollar fight against drug trafficking. Now that is all at risk as the US ramps up deadly air strikes off Colombia’s coast and the leaders of both nations trade scathing verbal attacks. US President Donald Trump called Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla fighter and Colombia’s first leftist president, an “illegal drug dealer”. Petro called Trump “rude”...

Events

40 h. ago US appeal court lets Trump send National Guard troops to Portland

A divided US appeal court ruled on Monday that US President Donald Trump can send National Guard troops into Portland, Oregon, despite objections by the leaders of the city and state, giving the Republican president an important legal victory as he dispatches military forces to a growing number of Democratic-led locales. A three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Justice Department’s request to put on hold a judge’s order that had blocked the deployment while a legal...

Politics

43 h. ago Demolition begins on East Wing of the White House to build Trump’s new ballroom

The White House on Monday started tearing down part of the East Wing, the traditional base of operations for the first lady, to build US President Donald Trump’s ballroom. The Washington Post shared dramatic photos of the demolition work on its website showing a backhoe tearing through the East Wing, with windows and other building parts in tatters on the ground. Some reporters watched from a park near the Treasury Department, which is next door to the East Wing. The clearing of trees and other...

Politics

43 h. ago Trump begins White House demolition to prepare for new US$250 million ballroom

Demolition crews were tearing down part of the White House’s storied East Wing on Monday to begin building US President Donald Trump’s ballroom, a project he had said would not interfere with the existing landmark. Large construction equipment was seen picking apart the facade of the building, a part of the White House complex that has housed the first lady’s offices, a theatre and a visitor’s entrance that welcomes foreign dignitaries. The ballroom project is expected to cost upwards of US$250...

Politics

43 h. ago Demolition begins at White House for Trump’s US$250 million ballroom

Demolition crews were tearing down part of the White House’s storied East Wing on Monday to begin building US President Donald Trump’s ballroom, a project he had said would not interfere with the existing landmark. Large construction equipment was seen picking apart the facade of the building, a part of the White House complex that has housed the first lady’s offices, a theatre, and a visitor’s entrance that welcomes foreign dignitaries. The ballroom project is expected to cost upwards of US$250...

Politics