Category World News

Taiwanese experts say Beijing is unlikely to make the first move and may even demand conditions before negotiating with the United States as Donald Trump raises the prospect of a trade deal.

Trump has stated that his 145 percent tariff on China will “significantly decrease,” but that a reduction would depend on Beijing’s next steps.

Trump’s most recent statement, “We’re going to have a fair deal with China,” was quoted on Wednesday, igniting hopes for a cooling-down in the conflict.

However, given the significant stakes in its conflict with the US, China “can’t afford to be the side that initiates the first action because it can’t be seen as a capitulation to the Trump administration’s pressure campaign,” according to William Yang, a senior analyst for Northeast Asia at the International Crisis Group.

In consequence, China will continue to hold its current position until the US government makes some admirable concessions that will allow Beijing to consider entering negotiations and claim victory.

According to Yang, Beijing might even interpret Trump’s more optimistic rhetoric as a sign that “digging in its heels” is working.

Trump said on Wednesday that his administration was “actively” negotiating with the Chinese side, but they have not yet officially announced the start of trade negotiations.

Trump’s comments were refuted on Thursday by China’s Ministry of Commerce, claiming there were no trade talks between the parties.

He Yadong, a spokesman for the ministry, stated at a press conference that “any claims about the progress of China-US economic and trade negotiations are unsupported and unsupported.”

China has stated that talks are “wide open,” but it has vowed to continue fighting with the US if necessary.

Beijing’s messaging, which has mostly been communicated through the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has been tightly controlled and consistent in contrast to Trump’s off-the-cuff remarks and vacillating statements regarding the possibility of lowering his tariffs.

Zhiwu Chen, a professor of finance at the University of Hong Kong’s Business School, told Al Jazeera, “I would say that, at least on the surface, China has the upper hand.”

According to Chen, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and President Trump have been signaling and acting in ways that further weaken their grip, Chen said.

According to Chen, “I think the statement really shows that he is anxious and panicking, while China has been quiet and muted,” in response to Trump’s assertion that he intends to lower his tariffs at some point.

In response to Trump’s trade speeches, China has imposed a 125 percent tariff on US exports, as well as announcing a number of other “countermeasures,” including restrictions on rare earth exports and restrictions on the number of Hollywood film releases in China.

Beijing’s cooperation on issues like controlling fentanyl exports could be halted if tensions keep rising.

In theory, it might cause harm to the US economy by dumping the country’s more than $ 760 billion in US government debt, which economists believe is unlikely given that it would have significant effects on the Chinese economy as well.

Beijing will want to hold preliminary meetings before any meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President, according to Tom Nunlist, associate director of tech and data policy at Trivium China. Trump prefers to negotiate face-to-face with world leaders.

Before the top leaders meet to confirm a deal, they will be looking to have it confirmed. Reaching out to Trump directly could seem like Xi is clinging to US pressure, Nunlist warned.

The US is generally viewed as the aggressor in this situation, and China has set its forceful tone to prevent further escalation, Nunlist said.

According to analysts, discussions would likely address a range of issues beyond just tariffs, especially now that Trump appears to have blinked in the standoff.

According to Dingli Shen, a Shanghai-based expert on international relations, “tech export controls and Taiwan” are potential concessions.

According to Marina Zhang, an associate professor at the University of Technology Sydney’s Australia-China Relations Institute, “standing grievances about how China is treated within the global system” may be on the table.

It includes issues relating to Taiwan, democracy and human rights, China’s political system, and its right to development in practice, Zhang told Al Jazeera.

Zhang claimed that US export controls on crucial technology might be in order as well as the potential blacklisting of Chinese tech companies like Huawei and SMIC.

China may also advocate for abolition of investment screening standards, particularly in delicate fields like semiconductors, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing. Another question that needs to be answered is “a de-escalation regarding Taiwan,” she said.

Beijing “would welcome less overt political signaling from Washington, such as restrictions on high-level official visits and arms sales,” Beijing said.

The wait might be worthwhile for Beijing if some of its longer-term objectives are met, according to Yang of the International Crisis Group.

At this point, China is engaged in more than just a trade negotiation. He said that the tariff standoff’s trajectory serves as a prelude to how US bilateral relations will develop over the next four years.

The Trump administration’s first step will be to lower the tariffs on imported Chinese goods, Beijing will want to see. The Chinese government’s willingness to engage in high-level trade negotiations with the Trump administration could depend on the level of potential tariff reduction.

Every morning, Pasijah, a 55-year-old housewife in Central Java province of Indonesia, hear the sound of the sea. It’s anything but idyllic if that sounds idyllic.

Rejosari Senik, a small village on Java’s northern coast, was once submerged in dry land, but now there is only one of her homes.

She and her family have no plans to leave, despite the fact that Pasijah’s neighbors have abandoned their homes, vegetable plots, and rice fields to the advancing sea over the past few years.

She said, “I do intend to stay here and keep my feelings for this house.”

When she ventures outside Pasijah’s home, which she has lived for 35 years, her feet are soaked in water.

The closest city, Demak, is further away at 19 kilometers (11.8 miles) and is only two kilometers (1.24 miles) away. The only boat travel option is there.

With 81, 000 kilometers of coastline, Indonesia, an archipel of thousands of islands, is especially vulnerable to rising sea levels and erosion.

According to Kadarsah, a climate change official at Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency, sea levels increased by an average of 4.25 millimeters (0.16 inches) annually between 1992 and 2024.

The rising sea levels, he said, and the disappearance of some small islands, are one of the indicators of climate change.

Kadarsah also cited the increased groundwater pumping that has made land subsidence along Java’s northern coast worse. The capital of Indonesia, which has around 10 million residents, is where the problem is most acute.

Megaprojects

A 700-kilometer (434-mile) sea wall that would run along the northern coast between Banten and East Java provinces has been a solution that Indonesian authorities have turned to megaprojects for.

Meanwhile, Pasijah and her family have retreated to nature.

Over the past 20 years, she has planted about 15 000 mangrove trees annually.

She paddles out each day in a boat made of blue plastic barrel to care for the bushes and plant new saplings while lowering herself into the deep blue water, which can reach as high as her chest.

Pasijah remarked, “The floodwaters come in waves, gradually, not all at once.” Mangrove trees were necessary after the waters started to rise, so I knew I needed to plant them to spread and shield the house from the winds and waves.

She and her family make a living off of the fish her sons’ sons caught in the nearby market. They assert that they will remain put until the tides are at their lowest point.

One of the deadliest strikes since Russia’s full-scale invasion began more than three years ago saw the death of at least eight people and injure dozens in a Russian missile attack on Kiev, which resulted in at least eight fatal injuries.

After air raid sirens rang out warning residents to seek shelters before the Russian missile attack, loud blasts rang over the city overnight on Thursday.

Despite the fact that Ukraine has suffered from Russian aerial attacks throughout the conflict, strikes against Kyiv, which has better air defenses than other cities, are less frequent.

Rescuers were tackling apartment block fires while working through the rubble of destroyed buildings at night.

According to the Ukrainian State Emergency Service, “Russia has launched a massive combined strike on Kyiv,” eight people died and dozens more were hurt, according to the country’s State Emergency Service on Telegram.

Six children were among the at least 42 hospitalized, according to the report.

Overnight, Russia carried out a significant attack on Kharkiv, which is located in the northeast of the country. At least seven missiles were fired at the city, according to Harkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov.

One of the most recent strikes struck a densely populated residential area, and there were two injuries there. Terekhov urged the city’s residents to “be careful” while “the inspection of the sites of enemy strikes is in progress.

Separately, the Ministry of Defense of Russia reported that 45 Ukrainian drones were shot down over Crimea, a peninsula that Moscow annexed in 2014, overnight.

efforts to end the conflict

Hours after President Donald Trump criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for rejecting Moscow’s request for a ceasefire, the attacks cast yet more doubt on US efforts to persuade them to agree to a ceasefire.

Zelenskyy’s request for a full and unconditional ceasefire has not yet been accepted by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who rejected a US-Ukrainian request last month.

As Russia launched its attack overnight, one of Zelenskyy’s top advisers, Andriy Yermak, said, “Putin shows only a desire to kill.” He continued, “The attacks on civilians must stop.”

Russia has launched a number of its most deadly aerial attacks on Ukraine in the past month, defying Trump’s demands to put an end to the bloodshed right away.

At least 35 people were killed on April 13 in a ballistic missile attack in Sumy’s center, and at least 19 were killed in an early April attack on Zelenskyy’s hometown of Kryvyi Rig.

On Wednesday, the Ukrainian leader demanded an “immediate, full, and unconditional ceasefire.”

As Zelenskyy’s top officials met with US and European officials in London, Zelenskyy declared on social media that “topping the killings is the number one task.”

Hours prior to the attack, Trump had criticized Zelenskyy for being “harder” to negotiate with and said a peace deal was “very close” and “closed with Moscow.”

Trump claimed that the president of Ukraine’s refusal to accept US demands for a ceasefire will only serve to “prolong the “killing field”

“I believe there is a deal with Russia,” she said. Trump reaffirmed to reporters that a deal must be reached with Zelenskyy. I anticipated dealing with Zelenskyy to be simpler. It has been more difficult so far.

Zein Basravi, a reporter from Kyiv, reported that the Ukrainians he spoke to after the attack on Thursday “are incredibly frustrated.”

Many people in this room don’t even want to hear the question, according to Trump when questioned about his seven-point peace plan. Trump should keep quiet, he said.

The United States purchases goods worth more than it purchases from the 27 member nations of the European Union (EU).

US President Donald Trump wants to close the $ 236 billion trade deficit.

The US imposed a 20% tariff on imported goods from the EU on April 2 in an effort to close the trade gap and boost domestic production.

Steel, aluminum, and cars are also subject to a 25% US tariff.

Retaliatory tariffs on $ 23. 8 billion worth of US goods were a response to the EU’s decision, according to EU officials who described the US tariffs as “unjustified and damaging”.

What goods are sold in the US to the EU?

The US and EU traded close to $1 trillion in 2024, making it the US’s largest trading partner.

According to the US International Trade Commission, the US primarily exports pharmaceuticals, machinery, and aircraft to the EU.

In 2024, the US sold $370.2bn worth of goods to the EU. Among the main exports are:

• Mineral fuels make up 21.3 percent of all exports, or $78.9 billion.
• Pharmaceutical products (39.4 billion dollars) make up 10.6% of exports.
• $ 36. 6 billion in exports, or 9.9%, for nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery, and mechanical appliances.
• $35.1 billion in exports, or 9.5 percent, of aircraft, spacecraft, and parts.
• Equipment for optical, photographic, and cinematographic purposes (33.8% of exports total) accounts for.

What does the US purchase from the EU?

The US primarily purchases non-railway vehicles, including cars, mechanical appliances, and pharmaceuticals from the EU.

The US purchased goods from the EU for $605.8 billion in 2024. Among the main imports are:

• Pharmaceutical products make up 21% of all imports, accounting for 127.8 billion.
• Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery, and mechanical goods account for 14.8% of imports, making up 89.8 billion.
• Cars and other non-railway vehicles make up 10% of imports ($60.33 billion).
• 39.3 billion dollars of imports are electrical equipment, or 6.5%.
• 36.9 billion dollars of total imports are made up of optical, photographic, and cinematographic equipment.

Which US states send goods to the EU most frequently?

Indiana, a state in the middle of Indiana, purchases the majority of all other states from the EU, according to the US International Trade Administration. It bought $49.3bn worth of goods in 2024.

North Carolina purchased $ 39.6 billion in imports from the EU, followed by New Jersey, which imported $ 40.90 billion.

In 2024, Texas exported goods to the EU for an estimated $ 81.5 billion worth of goods. Louisiana has sales of $ 20.8%, followed by California, which is in second place, with $ 20.8%.

Which states import and export the most goods into and out of the EU, according to the table below.

Which US states offer the EU the most products?

15 states have reported this category as their top export, with aerospace-related goods and parts accounting for the majority of US exports to the EU. Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Georgia, Georgia, Georgia, Georgia, Georgia, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Washington are all included.

Complete aircraft and parts make up aerospace products, with the US notably exporting Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jets and Boeing commercial aircraft to the EU.

What does each US state get most of the EU’s goods?

The top 11 US states, including Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Wisconsin, are primarily importers of pharmaceuticals and medicines.

Eight states’ top imports include Alabama, California, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Texas, while motor vehicle and component imports come in second place.

The US accounts for 22 percent of the EU’s vehicle export market in 2024, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA). In comparison, the US accounts for the second-largest market for new EU vehicle exports after the UK.

The Detroit Three automakers, which include General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler), will have an average cost of $4, 911 per vehicle for imported vehicle parts, which is higher than the average cost of the industry of $4, 239 per vehicle.