BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping probably will not give President Donald Trump a round of golf during their first face-to-face meeting this week, but he may find it worthwhile to ensure his American counterpart does not feel like he is leaving empty-handed.
Some view the informal venue of the summit Thursday and Friday — Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida — as a sign that neither side anticipates important outcomes.
Trump, however, tweeted last week that he expects “a very difficult” meeting, and on Friday said: “We are going to get down to some very serious business,” referencing what he believes is China’s negative impact on the US economy, especially manufacturing jobs.
China, for its part, has remained largely sanguine about the event, with Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang telling reporters that “both sides look forward to a successful meeting so that a correct direction can be set for the growth of bilateral relations.”
Like many nations, China is still grappling with Trump’s mercurial nature after the relative transparency and predictability of the bilateral relationship under Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama.
Both during his campaign and after his victory, Trump complained repeatedly over China’s allegedly unfair trade practices, its perceived lack of assistance in reining in North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and its drive to cement control over the South China Sea.
Some analysts believe Xi might be willing to hand Trump a symbolic victory on trade to put a positive spin on the meeting.
“Xi probably cannot accommodate Trump on sovereignty and security issues, but he has a lot of leeway on economics,” said Robert Sutter, a China expert at George Washington University in Washington.
Yet even if Xi is able to offer Trump deliverables, he will still have to deal with “a restless US president valuing unpredictability and seeking advantage for his agenda going forward,” Sutter said.
Trump was seen as moving trade even more to the forefront when he signed a pair of executive orders Friday focused on reducing the trade deficit. Coupled together, the orders appeared to be a symbolic shot at China, which accounted for the vast bulk — $347 billion — of last year’s $502 billion trade deficit.
While aides insisted the timing was coincidental, the administration touted the moves as evidence of it taking an aggressive but analytical approach to closing a trade gap that is largely due to the influx of goods from China.
Still, Trump told the Financial Times newspaper that during his meeting with Xi, he doesn’t “want to talk about tariffs yet, perhaps the next time we meet.”
Having suffered a major blow with the failure of health care reform, Trump will be seeking to claim some kind of victory in his encounter with Xi, said June Teufel Dreyer, professor of political science at the University of Miami.
Trump’s comments on trade and other issues “portend some hard bargaining,” Dreyer said.
She added, however, that slowing economic growth in China could limit Xi’s options for negotiating on trade.
“So the stage is set for a battle royal,” Dreyer said.
Meanwhile, China continues to oppose the tough measures demanded of it to address former close ally North Korea, fearing a collapse of the Pyongyang regime would bring a crush of refugees and possibly US and South Korean troops on its border.
Trump told the Financial Times the US is prepared to act alone if China does not take a tougher stand against North Korea’s nuclear program.
“China has great influence over North Korea,” Trump said. “And China will either decide to help us with North Korea, or they will not. And if they do that will be very good for China, and if they don’t it will not be good for anyone.”
Add to the mix the issue of the South China Sea, where China has built and armed man-made islands despite the concerns of neighboring countries; and Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy that China claims as its own territory, and that some in Trump’s administration would like to build a stronger relationship with.
Despite such divisions, Beijing seems committed to establishing a positive relationship between the two leaders.
“It is fundamental for them to improve understanding between each other,” said Xiong Zhiyong, a professor at Peking University’s School of International Relations.
“Both sides have shown their willingness to cooperate and they are expected to make a commitment for cooperation.”
China, Xiong said, realizes that Trump “is a leader with a strong personality.”
So far, few details of the summit’s agenda have been released. China has said only that Trump and his wife, Melania, would host Xi and his wife, famed songstress Peng Liyuan, at a welcoming banquet.
As personalities, Xi and Trump are a study in contrasts. A lifelong Communist Party apparatchik and son of a former vice premier, Xi has built his career with a cautious approach, avoiding controversial reforms and rarely speaking out in ways that would distract from his core message. His nearly five years as head of the ruling party have been defined by a campaign to achieve the “Chinese dream” of increasing prosperity while tackling endemic corruption.
While Trump is an avid golfer, Xi has never been known to hit the links. In fact, his administration has actually pursued a crackdown on golf-course development, pushing instead for mass participation in soccer.
Still, outwardly cordial relations with US presidents are also a longstanding Chinese tradition, in recognition of the importance of the relationship. Xi had taken pains to appear at ease in the company of Obama, avoiding the rancor that characterized the relationship between the American leader and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
That approach has been borne out in pronouncements by Chinese officials and state media that have been moderate in tone.
Responding to Trump’s tweet about the trade deficit, the Foreign Ministry’s Zheng portrayed the issue as one in which the two countries had an equal stake.
“China will continue to work with the US to think creatively and keeping pushing for greater balance in China-US trade,” Zheng said.
At its nub, the summit is more about establishing a working relationship than making progress on any particular issue, said Su Hao, a professor of diplomacy at China Foreign Affairs University.
“The most important thing is that the top leaders are able to have direct communications on the most important major issues and candidly exchange views,” Su said.
Trump-Xi meeting watched for clues of future relationship
Trump-Xi meeting watched for clues of future relationship
China says it respects America’s choice, congratulates Trump
- Official newspaper calls for pragmatic approach to bilateral differences
- Trump’s win could revive trade war issues from his first presidency
BEIJING/HONG KONG: China expressed respect for the US election result and congratulated Donald Trump on his victory, and an official newspaper called for a “pragmatic” approach to bilateral differences as US tariff threats loomed.
Trump, a Republican who has promised to implement stiff tariffs, recaptured the White House with a sweeping victory over Democrat Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s election. He will take office in January.
“We respect the choice of the American people and congratulate Mr. Trump on his election as president,” a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement late on Wednesday.
China-US relations have been fraught for years, notably around trade and security including Taiwan and the South China Sea.
Trump’s win could revive issues from his 2017-2021 first presidency, when he started a trade war with the world’s second-largest economy and imposed tariffs.
Chinese state-run newspaper China Daily in an editorial on Wednesday portrayed Trump’s second presidency as a potential “new beginning in China-US relations if the chance that has been offered is not wasted.”
The Biden administration did not dismantle Trump’s trade policies and continued to target China’s state-driven industrial practices.
In September, it locked in steep tariff hikes on Chinese imports, including a 100 percent duty on electric vehicles, 50 percent on solar cells and 25 percent on steel, aluminum, EV batteries and key minerals, in a bid to protect strategic American industries. The next US administration can strengthen dialogue and communication with China to handle differences, China Daily said. But a threat by Trump to impose 60 percent tariffs on US imports of Chinese goods poses major growth risks for China.
Not only are the threatened tariffs much higher than the 7.5 percent-25 percent levied on China during Trump’s first term, the Chinese economy is also in a much more vulnerable position as it faces a steep property downturn, burdensome local government debt and weak domestic demand.
US policies and “misconceptions” toward China have posed significant challenges for relations, China Daily said.
“A pragmatic approach to bilateral relations is essential in navigating the complexities of global challenges.”
The proper handling of China-US relations, which the newspaper called the world’s most important bilateral relationship, “not only serves the common interests of both countries but also will inject greater certainty and stability into the world.”
Record drought in Amazon impacts 420,000 children: UNICEF
RIO DE JANEIRO: More than 420,000 children in the Amazon basin are being badly affected by a drought parching much of South America that is impacting water supplies and river transport, UNICEF said Wednesday.
The record-breaking drought is taking a toll on Indigenous and other communities in Brazil, Colombia and Peru reliant on boat connections, the UN agency said.
“We are witnessing the devastation of an essential ecosystem that families rely on, leaving many children without access to adequate food, water, health care and schools,” UNICEF chief Catherine Russell said in a statement.
The resulting food insecurity increased the risk of child malnutrition, the agency said, while less access to drinking water could spur a rise in infectious diseases.
In Brazil’s Amazon region alone, more than 1,700 schools and more than 760 medical clinics had to close or became inaccessible because of low river levels.
In Colombia’s Amazon, lack of drinking water and food forced 130 schools to suspend classes. In Peru, more than 50 clinics were inaccessible.
UNICEF said it needs $10 million in coming months to help the stricken communities in those three countries, including by providing water and sending out health brigades.
Weather observation agencies such as NASA’s Earth Observatory and the EU’s Copernicus service say the drought across the Amazon basin since the latter half of last year was caused by the 2023-2024 El Nino climate phenomenon in the Pacific.
Brazilian experts said the climate crisis was also to blame.
The insufficient rain and shrinking of the vital rainforest’s rivers exacerbated forest fires, disrupted hydroelectric power generation and dried out crops in parts of Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.
Thousands ordered to evacuate as powerful wind-fed wildfire burns homes in Southern California
Northwest of Los Angeles, the Mountain Fire exploded in size and prompted evacuation orders for more than 10,000 people as it threatened 3,500 structures in suburban communities, ranches and agricultural areas around Camarillo, according to a statement from Gov. Gavin Newsom. He said he has requested federal assistance for the area east of the Pacific coast city of Ventura.
The blaze was burning in a region that has seen some of California’s most destructive fires over the years. A thick plume of smoke rose hundreds of feet into the sky Wednesday, blanketing whole neighborhoods and limiting visibility for firefighters and evacuees. The fire grew from less than half of a square mile to 16 square miles (62 square kilometers) in little more than five hours.
Ventura County Fire Captain Trevor Johnson described crews racing with their engines to homes threatened by the flames to save lives.
“This is as intense as it gets. The hair on the back of the firefighters’ neck I’m sure was standing up,” he said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
At one spot, flames licked the burning remains of a home. Its roof was reduced to only a few charred shingles.
Two people suffered apparent smoke inhalation and were taken to hospitals, fire officials said. No firefighters reported significant injuries.
The erratic winds and limited visibility grounded fixed-wing aircraft, and gusts topped 61 mph (98 kph), said weather service meteorologist Bryan Lewis. Water-dropping helicopters were still flying.
First responders pleaded with residents to evacuate. Deputies made contact with 14,000 people to urge them to leave as embers spread up to 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) away and sparked new flames.
“This fire is moving dangerously fast,” Ventura County Fire Chief Dustin Gardner said.
Aerial footage from local television networks showed dozens of homes in flames across several neighborhoods as embers were whipped from home to home. Other footage captured horses trotting alongside evacuating vehicles.
Jade Katz, who said she is disabled and does not drive, waited for a friend to pick her up near her Camarillo Heights home with a suitcase full of medication and Bella, her Great Dane service dog. But the friend couldn’t reach her, so first responders sent a squad car to escort her to safety as she watched the neighborhood burn.
Officials said they were using all resources, including water-dropping helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft dropping fire retardant, but it was still burning out of control Wednesday afternoon. Andrew Dowd, a Ventura County fire spokesperson, said he did not have details of how many structures had been damaged.
Gus Garcia, who owns a ranch south of the fire, said he’s waiting to see whether conditions will change to decide if he should evacuate his horses and cattle. Around 12:30 p.m., his animals were still safe and he was trying to stay out of the way as others got their livestock out.
His ranch is surrounded by others with horses and alpaca, and Garcia said his neighbors in the canyon did not seem panicked.
“The horse community, they prepare for this because it’s always a possibility up here,” he said.
Meanwhile to the south, Los Angeles County Fire Department crews scrambled to contain a wildfire near Malibu’s Broad Beach as authorities briefly shut down the Pacific Coast Highway as flames burned near multimillion-dollar properties. Residents were urged to shelter in place while aircraft dropped water on the 50-acre (20-hectare) Broad Fire. It was 15 percent contained around 12:30 p.m. with forward progress stopped. Fire officials said two structures burned.
The National Weather Service office for the Los Angeles area amended its red flag warning for increased fire danger with a rare “particularly dangerous situation” label, and officials in several counties urged residents to be on watch for fast-spreading blazes, power outages and downed trees amid the latest round of notorious Santa Ana winds.
With predicted gusts between 50 mph (80 kph) and 100 mph (160 kph) and humidity levels as low as 8 percent, parts of Southern California could experience conditions ripe for “extreme and life-threatening” fire behavior into Thursday, the weather service said.
Forecasters also issued red flag warnings until Thursday from California’s central coast through the San Francisco Bay Area and into counties to the north, where strong winds were also expected.
Utilities in California began powering down equipment during high winds and extreme fire danger after a series of massive and deadly wildfires in recent years were sparked by electrical lines and other infrastructure. On Wednesday, more than 65,000 customers in Southern California were without power preventatively, and upwards of 20,000 in Northern California.
Wednesday’s fires were burning in the same areas of other recent destructive fires, including the 2018 Woolsey Fire, which killed three people and destroyed 1,600 homes near Los Angeles, and the the 2017 Thomas Fire, which destroyed more than a thousand homes and other structures in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Southern California Edison has paid tens of millions of dollars to settle claims after its equipment was blamed for both blazes.
Control of the US House hangs in the balance with enormous implications for Trump’s agenda
- A few individual seats, or even a single one, will determine the outcome and Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the House “remains very much in play”
- If House Speaker Mike Johnson’s slim four-seat majority were to shrink any further, governing could come to a standstill
WASHINGTON: The US House majority hung in the balance Wednesday, teetering between Republican control that would usher in a new era of unified GOP governance in Washington or a flip to Democrats as a last line of resistance to a Trump second-term White House agenda.
A few individual seats, or even a single one, will determine the outcome. Final tallies will take a while, likely pushing the decision into next week — or beyond.
After Republicans swept into the majority in the US Senate by picking up seats in West Virginia, Ohio and Montana, House Speaker Mike Johnson predicted his chamber would fall in line next.
“Republicans are poised to have unified government in the White House, Senate and House,” Johnson said Wednesday.
President-elect Donald Trump, who won the Electoral College and the popular vote against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, has consolidated growing power around his MAGA movement, backing newcomers to Washington and setting the stage for his own return to the White House.
Johnson said Republicans in Congress are preparing an “ambitious” 100-day agenda with Trump, who he has said is “thinking big” about his legacy.
Tax cuts, securing the southern border and taking a ”blowtorch” to federal regulations are at the top of the agenda if the GOP sweeps the White House and Congress. Trump himself has promised mass deportations and retribution against his perceived enemies. And Republicans want to push federal agencies out of Washington and to restaff the government workforce with the help of outside think tanks, Johnson has said, to bring the federal government “to heel.”
But Johnson, after just a year on the job, has had difficulty governing the House, and the new Congress would be no different. Hard-liners led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Rep. Matt Gaetz and others have often confronted and upended their own GOP leadership in what has been one of the most chaotic sessions in modern times.
If Johnson’s slim four-seat majority were to shrink any further, governing could come to a standstill.
Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the House “remains very much in play.”
With Democrats having defeated two House Republicans in Jeffries’ home state of New York, he said the path to the majority now runs through pickup opportunities in Arizona, Oregon, Iowa and California that are still too early to call.
“We must count every vote,” Jeffries said.
The House contests remained a tit-for-tat fight to the finish, with no dominant pathway to the majority for either party. Rarely, if ever have the two chambers of Congress flipped in opposite directions.
Each side is gaining and losing a few seats, including through the redistricting process, which is the routine redrawing of House seat boundary lines. The process reset seats in North Carolina, Louisiana and Alabama.
Much of the outcome hinges on the West, particularly in California, where a handful of House seats are being fiercely contested, and mail-in ballots arriving a week after the election will still be counted. Hard-fought races around the “blue dot” in Omaha, Nebraska and in far-flung Alaska are among those being watched.
Trump, speaking early Wednesday at his election night party in Florida, said the results delivered an “unprecedented and powerful mandate” for Republicans.
He called the Senate rout “incredible,” and he praised Johnson, saying he’s “doing a terrific job.”
From the US Capitol, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, privately a harsh Trump critic, called it a “hell of a good day.”
Senate Republicans marched across the map alongside Trump, flipping the three Democratic-held seats and holding their own against Democratic challengers who failed to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas and Sen. Rick Scott in Florida.
In West Virginia, Jim Justice, the state’s wealthy governor, flipped the seat held by retiring Sen. Joe Manchin. Republicans toppled Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio with GOP luxury car dealer and blockchain entrepreneur Bernie Moreno. And Republican Tim Sheehy defeated Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in Montana.
Democrats avoided a total wipeout by salvaging seats in the “blue wall” states. Rep. Elissa Slotkin won an open Senate seat in Michigan, and Sen. Tammy Baldwin was reelected in Wisconsin. Pennsylvania’s race between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger Dave McCormick was still undecided.
In other developments, Democrats made history by sending two Black women, Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, to the Senate. Just three Black women, including Harris, have served in the Senate, but never two at the same time.
All told, Senate Republicans have the potential to achieve their most robust majority in years — a testament to McConnell, who made a career charting a path to power, this time aligned with Trump whom he has privately called “despicable” in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
During a news conference Wednesday, McConnell declined to answer questions about his past stark criticism of Trump and said he viewed the election results as a referendum on the Biden administration.
He told reporters at the Capitol that a Senate under Republican control would “control the guardrails” and prevent changes in Senate rules that would end the filibuster.
“People were just not happy with this administration and the Democratic nominee was a part of it,” McConnell said.
What’s still unclear is who will lead the new Republican Senate, as McConnell prepares to step down from the post.
South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Republican, and Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who previously held that post, are the front-runners to replace McConnell in a secret-ballot election scheduled for when senators arrive in Washington next week.
Germany heads for early elections as Scholz coalition collapses
- Scholz said he would seek a vote of confidence by January 15 so that MPs “can decide whether to clear the way for early elections” earlier than scheduled
- The Social Democrat leader spoke after firing his rebellious Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the Free Democrats in a dramatic night session of what was a three-party coalition
BERLIN: Germany entered a major political crisis on Wednesday with the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling coalition likely paving the way for early elections next year.
The turmoil hits Europe’s biggest economy as it grapples with a sustained downturn and as Berlin worries about the impact Donald Trump’s return to the White House will have on trade and security ties.
Scholz said he would seek a vote of confidence by January 15 so that MPs “can decide whether to clear the way for early elections” which could be held by late March — six months earlier than scheduled.
The Social Democrat leader spoke after firing his rebellious Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the Free Democrats in a dramatic night session of what was a three-party coalition, declaring there was no longer any “basis of trust” with Lindner.
The embattled chancellor also said he would seek talks with the conservative Christian Democratic Union’s leader Friedrich Merz with the offer to “work together constructively on issues that are crucial for our country.”
Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck signalled that his Greens party, the third alliance partner, would stay on in a minority government and “continue to fulfil our obligations.”
The Greens’ Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the political chaos in Berlin at such a globally volatile time meant that “this is not a good day for Germany and not a good day for Europe.”
Disparate parties
Scholz fired Lindner during a crunch meeting of senior figures from all three ideologically disparate parties, which have rowed for months over economic and budget issues.
Lindner had proposed sweeping reforms to jumpstart the troubled German economy that the other two parties opposed.
He had long flirted with bolting the unhappy coalition and repeatedly warned of “an autumn of decisions” as difficult budget talks loomed.
Scholz, after sacking Linder — who took three other FDP cabinet ministers with him — bitterly attacked the minister for his “petty political tactics” and accused him of a level of egoism that is “completely incomprehensible.”
Scholz cited the re-election of Trump, Germany’s economic woes and the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East as reasons for why Europe’s top economy now needs political certainty.
“We now need clarity on how we can soundly finance our security and defense in the coming years without jeopardizing the cohesion of the country,” he said. “With a view to the election in America, this is perhaps more urgent than ever.”
With the German economy expected to shrink for the second year in a row, Lindner has demanded corporate tax cuts, eased climate regulations and a reduction of social benefits.
Many of those ideas are anathema to Scholz’s SPD, Germany’s traditional workers’ party and the left-leaning Greens.
The bitter dispute has seen Scholz, Lindner and Habeck present contradictory economic plans and hold rival meetings with business leaders, deepening the sense of dysfunction and weakening Scholz’s authority.
Scholz said he had offered Lindner a plan with steps to bring down energy costs and boost investment for companies, secure auto industry jobs and keep up support for Ukraine.
But Linder — a fiscal hawk and strong opponent of raising new debt — had shown “no willingness” to accept it, Scholz said, adding that “I no longer want to subject our country to such behavior.”
Scholz and his mutinous coalition partners have drawn withering fire from Merz, who has long demanded early elections in which polls suggest he would be the frontrunner.
“We cannot afford to argue for another year,” CDU lawmaker Norbert Roettgen said after Trump’s victory. “Germany is important in Europe, and if the government can’t live up to that, then it must make way now.”
Late Wednesday, the head of the CDU’s Bavarian sister party CSU, Markus Soeder, demanded an immediate vote of confidence, warning that “there must be no tactical delays.”
Alice Weidel of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, now polling in second place, made the same demand, calling the end of the coalition a long-overdue “liberation for our country.”
