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AdvertisementUS-China trade warOpinionChina OpinionWenran JiangOpinion | Can China make its rare earth controls bite?If China backs down or fails to enforce its controls effectively, it will undermine this policy and cast doubt on other tools it wields
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPWenran JiangPublished: 5:30am, 23 Oct 2025The Chinese government’s recent announcement of more export controls on rare earth-related items marks a significant shift in global economic statecraft. The new measures, covering a spectrum of rare earth elements, other critical materials and relevant processing technologies, have been justified as measures to safeguard national security and fulfil non-proliferation obligations.AdvertisementThe controls aim to deny the use of the materials in foreign military systems, linking China’s mines directly to the heart of Western military technological superiority.This could be seen as a robust policy response to the challenges posed by the United States’ own..

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he did not want a “wasted meeting” with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, expressing his frustration with previous fruitless attempts at resolving the Ukraine war.Reacting to his Budapest summit with Putin being shelved, he said, “I don't want to have a wasted meeting. I don't want to have a waste of time, so I'll see what happens.”Just days ago, Trump had indicated he would meet Putin within two weeks while pressuring Ukraine to cede the eastern Donbas region in exchange for peace. However, the Kremlin reportedly continued to insist on all its demands despite a recent call with Trump, prompting the White House to announce that no immediate meeting was planned.The Kremlin confirmed there is no set date for a new Trump-Putin meeting, following earlier talks in Alaska in August that failed to produce a breakthrough on Ukraine.Trump has shown signs of frustration with Putin despite claiming a personal rapport, but his stance ..

A man from New York, who was pardoned by US President Donald Trump for his role in the January 6 Capitol attack, has been arrested for allegedly threatening to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, New York State Police said.34-year-old Christopher Moynihan was taken into custody on Saturday and charged with making terrorist like threats. He is the first pardoned Capitol rioter to face arrest over alleged political violence, reports ABC News. Investigators said Moynihan sent threatening text messages last week to an unidentified recipient. One message read, “Hakeem Jeffries makes a speech in a few days in NYC I cannot allow this terrorist to live.” Another said, “Even if I am hated he must be eliminated. I will kill him for the future.” The complaint said the messages “placed the recipient in reasonable fear of the imminent murder and assassination of Hakeem Jeffries by the defendant.”Moynihan appeared in the Town of Clinton Court and was sent to the Dutchess County Justice and T..

AdvertisementUkraine warWorldUnited States & CanadaTrump says Ukraine talks with Putin off for now, doesn’t want ‘wasted meeting’The US president’s comments are the latest twist in his stop-and-go effort to resolve the war
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPAssociated PressPublished: 6:28am, 22 Oct 2025US 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.
AdvertisementThe 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 a wasted meeting,” Trump said. “I don’t want to have a waste of time – so we’ll see what happens.”
Trump’s hesitancy is likely to come as a relief to European leaders, who ha..

AdvertisementUS-China relationsChinaDiplomacyHow ‘paramount leader’ Donald Trump could prove to be a guard rail in US-China tiesFor now, the US president has tamed the China hawks on his team while opting not to antagonise counterpart Xi Jinping, analysts say
Reading Time:6 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPDewey Simin BeijingPublished: 6:00am, 22 Oct 2025China’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.AdvertisementSeparately, 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 as Bessent held “frank” talks over video with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng on Saturday, with the pair set to hold fresh in-person neg..