Trump and Xi are locked in a standoff over direct trade negotiations

“He’s insisting on one-on-one talks with China’s leader, Xi Jinping — and this has stifled other diplomatic efforts to halt the worsening trade war between the two global powers.

The president won’t authorize White House delegates to engage with Chinese officials in Beijing about a detente, according to two former senior State Department officials and an industry official, who were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive ongoing discussions. The Senate has yet to confirm an ambassador to China; Trump has not appointed anyone else to lead talks with Beijing; and the White House isn’t reaching out to the Chinese embassy to begin discussions.

The absence of any substantial outreach has frozen meaningful communications between the two countries and threatened the likelihood of a near-term solution.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/19/trump-xi-china-trade-negotiations-00299645

China’s Halt of Critical Minerals

China is the only main supplier of rare earths. Rare earths are key to military and industrial technologies. The Trump administration seems unprepared for China’s predictable move to ban rare earth minerals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcR50vC6nGE

Tariff carve-outs underscore weak US position in China trade war: ‘This is going to get really ugly’

“The White House says it has the upper hand in its trade war with China. Its actions suggest otherwise.

Top administration officials spent the weekend trying to defend a carve-out of consumer electronics from the astronomical 145 percent tariffs it levied on China last week. The carve-out was neither an exemption nor a policy rollback, the White House argued, because those electronics are still subject to a separate 20 percent tariff on China and some electronic components could face sector-specific tariffs in the future.

But to some White House allies, the exceptions are indicative of the relatively weak position the administration is in as it wages a trade war with China, which has spent years making preparations for an escalation with the U.S. on trade. The carve-outs also reveal the conundrum facing the administration: The U.S. is imposing new tariffs on Chinese goods in an attempt to move manufacturing back to the U.S., but those tariffs are particularly painful for U.S. manufacturers because they are currently so dependent on Chinese parts.

So far, the U.S. has demonstrated that it is more willing to bend than China is in this burgeoning fight.

“Xi Jinping will not back down,” said one former Trump administration official, who like others in this story was granted anonymity to share their candid assessment of the U.S.-China relationship, adding that “the CCP will lose confidence in him” if he does, using the acronym for the ruling Chinese Communist Party.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/14/trump-china-tariff-carve-outs-weak-position-00008887

USAID-Funded Pandemic Research Failed To Spot COVID or Ensure Chinese Transparency

USAID-Funded Pandemic Research Failed To Spot COVID or Ensure Chinese Transparency

https://reason.com/2025/02/06/usaid-funded-pandemic-research-failed-to-spot-covid-or-ensure-chinese-transparency/

TikTok deal put on hold after China objects over tariffs, sources say

“A deal to spin off the U.S. assets of TikTok was put on hold after China indicated it would not approve the deal following President Donald Trump’s tariffs announcement this week, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Trump on Friday extended by 75 days a deadline for ByteDance to sell U.S. assets of the popular short video app to a non-Chinese buyer, or face a ban that was supposed to have taken effect in January under a 2024 law.”

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-tiktok-sale-deadline-looms-141008550.html

What we can learn about China’s J-36 (from America’s FB-22)

The F-22 could have been far more capable, but the U.S., thinking threats to its air superiority were over, canceled the upgrades to save money. Now, U.S. air superiority is threatened by China.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRIooaaPlOA