Connect with us

World

Trump holds ‘very good’ phone call with China’s President Xi

Published

on

Donald Trump said he held a “very good” phone call with China’s President Xi Jinping, as the US-president elect prepares to return to the White House next week.

“I just spoke to Chairman Xi Jinping of China,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. “It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and starting immediately.”

Trump said the pair discussed trade, fentanyl, TikTok and other subjects, and that the call was “very good” for both countries.

“President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe!” he wrote.

In a readout from China’s Foreign Ministry, Xi said he and Trump “attach great importance to mutual interactions,” and “hope for a good start of the China-US relationship” during Trump’s second term.

The phone call, believed to be the first between the pair since Trump left office after his first term, comes during a tense moment in Washington-Beijing relations.

Swiftly after the call, the US Supreme Court ruled that a controversial ban on TikTok can take effect on Sunday, rejecting an appeal from the popular app that claimed the ban violated the First Amendment.

Earlier, China’s Foreign Ministry said that Xi would skip Trump’s inauguration on Monday. Instead, Vice President Han Zheng will attend the ceremony in Washington, DC, as Xi’s special representative.

Xi sent Trump a message of congratulations after his reelection in November, telling him that the US and China “stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation,” and said he hoped the two countries could find a way ‘to get along with each other.”

In an interview with NBC following his reelection, Trump said he got along “very well” with Xi during his time in office.

But Trump’s rhetoric has not always been so amicable. As a candidate, Trump pledged to slap 60% tariffs on all goods coming in from China. As president-elect, he has tempered his claims, threatening to raise tariffs on Chinese goods by an additional 10% until Beijing prevents the flow of illegal drugs to the US.

Trump’s cabinet picks also comprise several prominent China hawks, including Marco Rubio, tapped for secretary of state and currently sanctioned by Beijing, and Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News host tapped for defense secretary who has warned China is bent on defeating the US and achieving global domination.

A complicating factor, however, is Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of the electric vehicle giant Tesla, which makes more than half its cars in China. Musk is often invited to meet Chinese officials on his trips there.

Echoing some of Beijing’s talking points, Musk has previously said the two countries can maintain a “win-win” relationship, in a sharp break from Trump’s more zero-sum attitude.

Despite pointing to the prospects for cooperation, Xi told Trump that it is “natural for two big countries with different national conditions to have some disagreements,” singling out “the Taiwan question.”

Beijing has repeatedly stressed that it views Taiwan as a breakaway territory that must be “unified” with the mainland, and that it is willing to use force if necessary.

Trump was seen as a friend to Taiwan during his first term, but his rhetoric has since hardened. On the campaign trail, Trump claimed the self-ruling democracy should pay the US more for “protection” and that it had “stolen” America’s chip business.

(CNN)
(This story, originally published by CNN has not been edited by SLM staff)

World

Iran rules out new nuclear talks until attacks stop

Published

on

By

Iran has said it will not resume talks over its nuclear programme while under attack, hours after Israel’s defence minister warned of a “prolonged” conflict with the Islamic Republic.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met European diplomats in Geneva who urged him to revive diplomatic efforts with the US over his country’s nuclear programme.

His Israeli counterpart, Eyal Zamir, said in a video address that his country should be ready for a “prolonged campaign” and warned of “difficult days ahead”.

Fighting raged into the night with the Israeli military announcing a new wave of attacks against Iranian missile storage and launch infrastructure after Iran launched missiles towards central Israel.

Explosions were heard close to the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. Reports say a building was set on fire in central Israel by falling shrapnel.

Araghchi said Iran was ready to consider diplomacy only once Israel’s “aggression is stopped”.

Iran’s nuclear programme was peaceful, he insisted, and Israel’s attacks violated international law. Iran, he added, would continue to “exercise its legitimate right of self-defence”.

“I make it crystal clear that Iran’s defence capabilities are non-negotiable,” he said.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN accused Iran of having a “genocidal agenda” and posing an ongoing threat, adding that Israel would not stop targeting nuclear facilities until they were “dismantled”.

US President Donald Trump said Iran had a “maximum” of two weeks to avoid possible American air strikes, suggesting that he could take a decision before the 14-day deadline he set on Thursday.

“I’m giving them a period of time, and I would say two weeks would be the maximum,” Trump told reporters.

The aim, he said, was to “see whether or not people come to their senses”.

The US president was also dismissive of the talks between Araghchi and foreign ministers from the UK, France, Germany and the EU.

“Iran doesn’t want to speak to Europe,” Trump said. “They want to speak to us. Europe is not going to be able to help in this.”

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that the US had provided a “short window of time” to resolve the crisis in the Middle East which was “perilous and deadly serious”.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the ministers had invited the Iranian minister to “consider negotiations with all sides, including the United States, without awaiting the cessation of strikes”.

Barrot added that there could be “no definitive solution through military means to the Iran nuclear problem” and warned that it was “dangerous to want to impose a regime change” in Iran.

Israel was also hit by a new round of Iranian strikes on Friday with the Israeli military reporting an attack of 20 missiles targeting Haifa.

One Israeli woman died of a heart attack, bringing the Israeli death toll since the conflict began to 25.

The Israel Defense Forces said they had attacked ballistic missile storage and launch sites in western Iran.

Over the past week, Israeli air strikes have destroyed Iranian military facilities and weapons, and killed senior military commanders and nuclear scientists.

Iran’s health ministry said on Sunday that at least 224 people had been killed, while a human rights group put the unofficial death toll at 639 on Thursday.

Iran has launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel in response to the air strikes.

(BBC News)

Continue Reading

World

Foreign Ministers of UK, France, Germany & Iran to meet

Published

on

By

UK, French and German foreign ministers will hold talks with their Iranian counterpart in Geneva today as part of efforts to end the Israel-Iran conflict.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy is travelling to Geneva for a meeting with his French and German counterparts, as well as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas is also expected to attend.

If they go ahead, the talks will be the first between Iranian and Western leaders since Israel began its strikes a week ago, and are expected to focus on bringing Iran to the negotiating table.

Meanwhile, the White House says that Donald Trump will decide in the next two weeks whether the US will get directly involved in the conflict.

In a White House press briefing, press secretary Karoline Leavitt delivers a message directly from US President Donald Trump.

Leavitt says amid reports of whether the US will be directly involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran, Trump says: “Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.”

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) says it carried out dozens of strikes overnight, targeting several sites in Tehran with more than 60 Israeli fighter jets.

Around 120 munitions were used to carry out the strikes, which targeted military missile production sites and a nuclear research centre, which Israel’s military says was involved in Iran’s nuclear weapons development.

Overnight, the IDF also said that Iran carried out strikes on Israel, with reports of hits in the south of the country.

Iran has not commented on these strikes.

(BBC News)

Continue Reading

News

China-South Asia Expo kicks off in Kunming

Published

on

By

The 9th China-South Asia Expo opened yesterday (June 19) in Kunming, the capital of southwest China’s Yunnan Province.
The five-day event is a key platform for economic and trade exchanges between China and South Asia. Exhibitors from over 50 countries are expected to participate, including full representation from all South Asian nations.

This year, Sri Lanka has been designated as the Guest of Honor Country at the Expo.

Notably, China-Sri Lanka bilateral trade reached a record high of USD 5.36 billion in 2024, representing a 13.4% year-on-year increase. This makes Sri Lanka China’s fastest-growing trade partner in South Asia.

The Sri Lankan pavilion was officially declared open by Sri Lanka’s Minister of Trade and Commerce – Wasantha Samarasinghe and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment – Arun Hemachandra, who jointly led the country’s high-level delegation to the prestigious regional event.

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Sri Lanka Mirror. All Rights Reserved