China has warned it will take “resolute and reciprocal” countermeasures against other countries negotiating with the US if they make a deal at China’s expense during the trade war. China’s commerce ministry was responding to recent news reports that Donald Trump planned to pressure other countries to limit their trade with China in return for tariff exemptions. Beijing and the US are locked in an escalating trade war, running separately to the US’s efforts to rewrite trade deals with the rest of the world. “China firmly opposes any party reaching…
Category: The Guardian
China sends back new Boeing jet made more expensive by tariffs
A Boeing jet intended for a Chinese airline landed back at the planemaker’s US production hub on Sunday, a victim of the tit-for-tat bilateral tariffs launched by Donald Trump. The 737 MAX, which was meant for China’s Xiamen Airlines, landed at Seattle’s Boeing Field at 6.11pm, according to a Reuters witness. It was painted with Xiamen livery. The jet, which made refuelling stops in Guam and Hawaii on its 5,000-mile (8,000-km) return journey, was one of several 737 MAX jets – Boeing’s bestselling model – that had been waiting at…
Humanoid workers and surveillance buggies: ‘embodied AI’ is reshaping daily life in China
On a misty Saturday afternoon in Shenzhen’s Central Park, a gaggle of teenage girls are sheltering from the drizzle under a concrete canopy. With their bags of crisps piled high in front of them, they crowd around a couple of smartphones to sing along to Mandopop ballads. The sound of their laughter rings out across the surrounding lawn – until it is pierced by a mechanical buzzing sound. Someone has ordered dinner. A few metres away from the impromptu karaoke session is an “airdrop cabinet”, one of more than 40…
British Steel must now join the modern economy, not be a prisoner of the old | Will Hutton
The fate of incoming Labour business and industry secretaries seems to be to launch emergency rescue packages for industries that would otherwise face imminent closure. Witness Jonathan Reynolds at last Saturday’s extraordinary parliamentary recall arguing for the legal right to take over the running of British Steel from its Chinese owner, Jingye, in order to save up to 3,500 jobs and Britain’s strategic capacity to make steel. And witness Tony Benn, in 1974, offering a financial lifeline to 3,000 workers forming a cooperative to save motorcycle manufacture at the failed…
China pits humanoid robots against humans in half-marathon for first time
Twenty-one humanoid robots joined thousands of runners at the Yizhuang half-marathon in Beijing on Saturday, the first time these machines have raced alongside humans over a 21km course. The robots from Chinese manufacturers such as DroidVP and Noetix Robotics came in all shapes and sizes, some shorter than 1.2m, others as tall as 1.8m. One company boasted that its robot looked almost human, with feminine features and the ability to wink and smile. Some firms tested their robots for weeks before the race. Beijing officials have described the event as more…
Cutting business ties with China would be ‘foolish’, Reeves says amid reports of US pressure
Rachel Reeves has dismissed the idea of economically disengaging from China, amid concerns the US may put pressure on the UK to limit its deals with Beijing. The chancellor, who will discuss a trade deal with the US on a trip to Washington next week, said it would be “very foolish” for Britain to have less involvement with Xi Jinping’s administration. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that US officials would attempt to use trade deals and tariff discussions to economically isolate China. Keir Starmer spoke to Donald Trump…
Could Trump’s tariffs give a green light for corporate profiteering?
Over the past few years consumers have grown used to seeing prices rise at an exorbitant rate. The cost of everything – from used cars to utility bills and the humble loaf of bread – has rocketed in the worst inflation shock across advanced economies since the 1980s. While inflation has cooled in the past year, talk of fast-rising prices is back on the agenda from Donald Trump’s escalating trade war. Most economists agree the US imposing tariffs on imports from its largest trading partners will lead to higher prices…
Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv sanctions three Chinese companies accused of helping Russia
Ukraine imposed sanctions on three Chinese companies on Friday, claiming they were involved in the production of advanced Iskander missiles. The sanctions list, which also includes Russian companies, names Beijing Aviation & Aerospace Xianghui Technology, Rui Jin Machinery and Zhongfu Shenying Carbon Fiber Xining, all registered in China. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on X: “Today, we have expanded our Ukrainian sanctions against nearly a hundred more entities – natural and legal persons – most of whom are involved in the production of such missiles – Iskanders – like those…
China dismisses Zelenskyy’s claim it has supplied weapons to Russia
China’s foreign ministry has dismissed as “groundless” the accusation by Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the country had been supplying weapons to Russia. The comments, made at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Friday, came a day after the Ukrainian president said China was supplying weapons to Russia, including gunpowder and artillery, and that Chinese representatives were involved in weapons production on Russian territory. In response, the ministry’s spokesperson, Lin Jian, said China had never made lethal weapons available to any party in the Ukraine crisis. “China’s position on the Ukrainian…
US forges ahead with plans for steep port fees on China-built vessels
The Trump administration is forging ahead with plans to charge steep fees on Chinese-built ships for stopping at US ports in an effort to revive its shipbuilding industry, but scaled back the penalties after warnings about the impact on consumers. The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) significantly watered down original plans from February, under which vessels built in China would be charged $3.5m (£2.6m) each time they docked at a US port. The US and China are locked in a trade war. Those proposals prompted a backlash from…