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US President Donald Trump signed a deal on rare earth minerals Monday with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and said Washington’s key ally would get its coveted nuclear-powered attack submarines. The two leaders met at the White House to concentrate on a pair of areas — defense and critical minerals — in which Washington and Canberra are cooperating against what they view as an increasingly assertive China.Albanese said the rare earths deal would lead to $8.5 billion in critical minerals projects in Australia and take relations to the “next level.”The Australian premier has touted his country’s abundant critical minerals as a way to loosen China’s grip over global supplies of rare earths, which are vital for tech products.Government figures show Australia is among the world’s top five producers of lithium, cobalt and manganese — used in everything from semiconductors to defense hardware, electric cars and wind turbines.China is easily the world’s largest refiner of lithium and nickel, and has a near monopoly on the processing of other rare earth elements. Analysts have said Australia is unlikely to challenge this dominance — but does offer a reliable, albeit smaller pipeline that lessens the risk of relying on China. The Australian government said it and the US government would each invest more than $1 billion over the next six months, while the White House put the figure at $3 billion between the two countries.Albanese had also been pushing for progress on the stalled 2021 AUKUS submarine deal between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.Washington said earlier this year it was reviewing the deal for at least three Virginia-class nuclear attack subs signed under previous president Joe Biden, but Trump promised Australia would get them.”The submarines that we’re starting to build for Australia are really moving along,” Trump told reporters as he sat alongside Albanese in the cabinet room of the White House.”We’ve worked on this long and hard, and we’re starting that process right now. And it’s really moving along very rapidly, very well.”- ‘I don’t like you either’ -The AUKUS deal could cost Canberra up to US$235 billion over the next 30 years. It also includes the technology to build its own vessels in the future.Australia also had a major bust-up with France after it canceled a multi-billion-dollar deal to buy a fleet of diesel-powered submarines from Paris and go with the AUKUS program instead.The nuclear-powered vessels lie at the heart of Australia’s strategy of improving its long-range strike capabilities in the Pacific, particularly against China.But the Trump administration said in June it had put AUKUS under review to ensure it aligned with his “America First agenda,” saying it needed to ensure the United States had enough of the subs.Albanese meanwhile managed to ride out an awkward confrontation between Trump and Australia’s ambassador to Washington — former prime minister Kevin Rudd.Rudd deleted a series of critical social media posts about Trump following the Republican’s election victory last year.”I don’t like you either. I don’t. And I probably never will,” Trump said to Rudd when a reporter pointed out that the ex-premier was in the room and asked the US president whether he minded the comments.Australians have a mostly unfavorable view of the Trump administration, polling shows, though the country relies on the United States to balance China’s expanding military clout in the Pacific region.China loomed large over both of the key issues in the talks.Australia has touted itself as a key US ally against China’s territorial assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific region, from Taiwan to the South China Sea.On China, Australia announced plans for a strategic reserve of critical minerals to provide to “key partners” such as Washington to help relax Beijing’s chokehold.Trump this month accused China of pressuring trade partners with new rare export curbs and threatened 100-percent tariffs in response.

Timber imports by companies operating in the European Union can be traced to logging on Indonesia’s Borneo island, a new report published Tuesday showed, with NGOs calling for the bloc to stop delaying a ban on deforestation-linked products.The EU last month said it will seek a new one-year postponement of sweeping anti-deforestation rules known as the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), legislation that was cheered by green groups but assailed by trading partners, including the United States and Indonesia.The report, published by Earthsight and Auriga Nusantara, traced the biggest Indonesian buyers of deforested wood in Borneo, showing that they all ship to clients in Europe with a high risk that such imports come from forest clearance.”This report demonstrates why the EUDR is urgently needed in Europe’s timber sector: to ensure buyers can be confident in where their wood came from; to stop the flow of deforestation wood into Europe; and to end European complicity in the destruction of tropical forests,” the NGOs said.”It also serves as an urgent call to action for any company importing timber products from Indonesia to the EU: these firms must carefully examine their supply chains and eliminate risk that their imports may be tainted by deforestation wood.”European customers of Indonesian companies handling deforested wood were mainly Dutch, Belgian and German firms, which placed orders for more than 23,000 cubic metres of wood products, such as garden decking and finished plywood from Indonesia in 2024.Companies named in the report — Dekker Hout, International Plywood BV, Seiton BV, Kurz KG, Fepco International and Impan GmbH — did not respond to AFP comment requests.Indonesia has one of the world’s highest rates of deforestation linked to mining, farming and logging, and is accused of allowing firms to operate in Borneo with little oversight.Borneo island has one of the world’s largest tracts of rainforest and hosts orangutans, long-nosed monkeys, clouded leopards, pig-tailed macaques, flying fox bats and the smallest rhinos on the planet.Environmental groups reacted angrily to the prospect of postponing the EU bill, which was to ban imports of products driving deforestation from the end of 2025.But the European Commission said the logistical infrastructure for implementing the law — already once pushed back a year — was not yet ready.

Stock markets rose Monday after conciliatory comments from US President Donald Trump eased worries about China-US trade tensions.Major US indices jumped more than one percent, boosted also by gains in large tech names led by Apple.Tokyo stocks surged more than three percent to a record after Japan’s ruling party said it was set to sign a new coalition deal.The deal, signed on Monday, paves the way for Sanae Takaichi to become prime minister and raises hopes for an end to the country’s political turmoil.Most stock markets started the week on the front foot as traders “responded to an apparent softening in rhetoric concerning the reigniting of the trade war between the US and China,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation. Shares of Apple surged nearly four percent following a report by research firm Counterpoint that showed the tech giant’s latest iPhone outselling the prior generation item by a large amount.Meanwhile, a global outage hit Amazon’s cloud services for several hours on Monday, affecting online services for the US tech giant and numerous other companies and organizations.But that didn’t hit Amazon’s share price, which rose 1.6 percent.In Europe, Frankfurt’s stock market rose 1.8 percent. Even Paris pushed higher from early losses that were fueled by BNP Paribas, whose share price tumbled more than seven percent after a US court late last week found it liable for atrocities committed in Sudan.French bonds declined after S&P Global cut the country’s credit rating, citing risks that the government would fail to significantly reduce its deficit next year.The Paris stock exchange got a lift from Gucci-owner Kering, which rose 4.8 percent after it announced the $4.6-billion sale of its beauty products division to L’Oreal.Hong Kong advanced more than two percent and Shanghai was also well up at close as data showed China’s economy grew in line with expectations in the third quarter, though at its slowest pace in a year.The data was released just hours before the start of a closely watched four-day meeting in Beijing with top Communist Party officials focused on long-term economic planning.Trump has softened his rhetoric on China after threatening deep tariffs earlier in the month. The US president expressed optimism ahead of a meeting with counterpart Xi Jinping later this month at as Asia-Pacific summit in South Korea.Trump said his priority was reaching a “fair” trade deal with China. He declined to answer a question on whether he would sacrifice US support for Taiwan as part of an agreement with Xi.”I want to be good to China. I love my relationship with President Xi. We have a great relationship,” Trump said.Trump also expressed doubt that China would invade Taiwan, saying “I think we’ll be just fine with China. China doesn’t want to do that,” as he met Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.Among individual companies, Cleveland Cliffs soared 21.5 percent as the US steel company touted its advantages with customers in light of US trade tariffs on imported steel. The company is also exploring its properties for potential rare earth development.- Key figures at around 2020 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 1.1 percent at 46,706.58 (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 1.1 percent at 6,735.13 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.4 percent at 22,990.54 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 9,403.57 (close)  Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.4 percent at 8,206.07 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.8 percent at 24,258.80 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 3.4 percent at 49,185.50 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 2.4 percent at 25,858.83 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 3,863.89 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1641 from $1.1655 on FridayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3409 from $1.3427Dollar/yen: UP at 150.73 yen from 150.61 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.82 percent from 86.80 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at $57.52 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.5 percent at $62.01 per barrelburs-jmb/sla

US President Donald Trump said Australia would get coveted nuclear-powered attack submarines and signed a deal on rare earth minerals with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House on Monday.The promise to Australia, which promotes itself as a key US ally against China, came after the Trump administration said earlier this year it was reviewing a deal for the subs signed under previous president Joe Biden.”The submarines that we’re starting to build for Australia are really moving along,” Trump told reporters as he sat alongside Albanese in the cabinet room of the White House.”We’ve worked on this long and hard, and we’re starting that process right now. And it’s really moving along very rapidly, very well.”The two leaders also signed a deal on critical minerals and rare earths, which are vital for the technology that runs the global economy. Albanese has touted Australia’s abundant critical minerals as a way to loosen China’s grip over global supplies.The Australian premier meanwhile managed to ride out an awkward confrontation between Trump and Australia’s ambassador to Washington — former prime minister Kevin Rudd.Rudd deleted a series of critical social media posts about Trump following the Republican’s election victory last year.”I don’t like you either. I don’t. And I probably never will,” Trump said to Rudd when a reporter pointed out that the ex-PM was in the room and asked the US president whether he minded the comments.Australians have a mostly unfavorable view of the Trump administration, polling shows, though the country relies on the United States to balance China’s expanding military clout in the Pacific region.- Rare earths -Australia’s government had been hoping for Trump’s blessing of the 2021 agreement for at least three of the silent, Virginia-class submarines within 15 years.The AUKUS submarine deal between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States could cost Australia up to US$235 billion over the next 30 years, according to Canberra.But the Trump administration said in June it had put AUKUS under review to ensure it aligned with his “America First agenda.”Some domestic critics had said the United States did not produce enough Virginia-class submarines to supply Australia as well as its own navy.The nuclear-powered vessels lie at the heart of Australia’s strategy of improving its long-range strike capabilities in the Pacific.Australia had a major bust-up with France after it tore canceled a multibillion-dollar deal to buy a fleet of diesel-powered submarines from Paris and go with the AUKUS program instead.In the run-up to the White House talks, Australia also sold itself to Washington as a future source of critical minerals including rare earths — of which China is by far the world’s largest supplier.Australia sits on deposits of lithium, cobalt and manganese as well as rare earth metals used in technologies from semiconductors to defense hardware, electric cars and wind turbines.Albanese announced plans in April for a strategic reserve of critical minerals to provide to “key partners” such as the United States.The reserve is designed to help relax China’s chokehold on global critical minerals production, which it has been accused of leveraging to pressure trade partners.Trump this month threatened 100-percent tariffs on China in response to its latest rare earths export curbs. But Trump insisted on Monday that he now predicted a good trade deal with China at talks in South Korea with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Stock markets climbed Monday after conciliatory comments from US President Donald Trump at the weekend eased worries about China-US trade tensions.Tokyo stocks surged more than three percent to a record after Japan’s ruling party said it was set to sign a new coalition deal.The deal, signed on Monday, paves the way for Sanae Takaichi to become prime minister and raises hopes for an end to the country’s political turmoil.Most stock markets started the week on the front foot as traders “responded to an apparent softening in rhetoric concerning the reigniting of the trade war between the US and China”, said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation. Wall Street’s main indices opened higher, with the Nasdaq Composite rising 0.7 percent.A global outage hit Amazon’s cloud services for several hours on Monday, affecting online services for the US tech giant and numerous other companies and organisations.Amazon’s share price, which had been down in pre-market trading, recovered to gain 0.5 percent at the opening bell.In Europe, Frankfurt’s stock market rose more than one percent in afternoon trading. Even Paris pushed higher from early losses that were fuelled by BNP Paribas, whose share price tumbled more than seven percent after a US court late last week found it liable for atrocities committed in Sudan.Shares in BNP’s French rivals Credit Agricole and Societe Generale both recovered to stand 0.3 percent lower.    French bonds declined after S&P Global cut the country’s credit rating, citing risks that the government would fail to significantly reduce its deficit next year.The Paris stock exchange got a lift from Gucci-owner Kering, which rose 4.5 percent after it announced the $4.6-billion sale of its beauty products division to L’Oreal.Hong Kong advanced more than two percent and Shanghai was also well up at close as data showed China’s economy grew in line with expectations in the third quarter, though at its slowest pace in a year.The data was released just hours before the start of a closely watched four-day meeting in Beijing with top Communist Party officials focused on long-term economic planning.Sentiment was boosted as Washington and Beijing agreed on Saturday to hold another round of trade negotiations in the coming week to avoid another damaging tit-for-tat tariff battle. Trump, who recently threatened 100-percent tariffs in response to Chinese rare-earth export controls, told Fox Business last week that the higher tariffs were “not sustainable”.”Catalysed by Trump’s remark… markets appear priced for a positive or at least less-bad outcome,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.”The market’s base case now seems to be that China will offer concessions on its rare-earth export controls, paving the way for the US to extend the current 30 percent ‘tariff truce’ by another 90 days beyond its 10 November deadline.”Traders also took heart from a bounceback for US regional bank stocks Friday, which had been pummelled Thursday following disclosures from two mid-sized players of expected losses tied to problem loans.- Key figures at around 1330 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 46,392.91 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 0.5 percent at 6,700.15New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 22,844.82London – FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 9,394.65  Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 8,189.11Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.6 percent at 24,214.44Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 3.4 percent at 49,185.50 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 2.4 percent at 25,858.83 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 3,863.89 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1652 from $1.1670 on FridayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3421 from $1.3433Dollar/yen: UP at 150.67 yen from 150.50 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.85 percent from 86.88 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.5 percent at $56.27 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.5 percent at $60.37 per barrelburs-rl/jxb

China’s economy grew at its slowest pace in a year last quarter, official data showed Monday, as high-ranking leaders kicked off a closely watched meeting in Beijing focused on long-term policy planning.The data was released just hours before state media announced the start of the four-day conclave, where top brass from the ruling Communist Party are expected to discuss strategies to address sluggish household spending and persisting woes in the vast property sector.It also comes ahead of in-person discussions later this month between top Chinese and US trade officials — as well as a potential meeting between presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.Trump earlier this month threatened blistering 100 percent tariffs on Chinese goods from November 1, in response to Beijing’s sweeping export controls in the strategic rare earths sector.Gross domestic product in the July-September quarter expanded 4.8 percent year-on-year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, down from 5.2 percent in the previous three months.The figure was on par with an AFP forecast based on a survey of analysts.It also represented the slowest growth since the same quarter last year, when GDP expanded 4.6 percent.As trade pressure builds, experts say China must adjust to a growth model driven more by domestic household spending than exports and manufacturing.Such a transition is likely to be on the table at this week’s “fourth plenum” political gathering in Beijing.Chinese state media and officials have been taciturn about specific policy proposals included in the country’s 15th five-year plan — the main subject of this week’s meeting.But Xinhua said early Monday that the new plan, which covers the period from next year to 2030, will involve efforts to “strengthen the foundation of people’s livelihoods”, including by “investing in people”.The report ahead of the plenum also made several references to “new quality productive forces” — a term Beijing uses to describe key technologies it hopes to achieve self-sufficiency in to ensure long-term growth.- Consumer slump -Domestic spending has lagged in recent years, having failed to fully recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.Alin, a 40-year-old administrative assistant at an insurance company, told AFP in Beijing on Monday that she felt “current consumer subsidies are not quite enough” to get the economy humming again.”It’s more of a global issue,” she added, noting concerns including job security, education-related expenses and real estate prices.New residential property prices fell year-on-year in September in 61 out of 70 cities surveyed, NBS data showed Monday, a sign of persisting homebuyer wariness.Fixed-asset investment in the first three quarters saw a slight decline of 0.5 percent year-on-year, largely because of a sharp contraction in real estate investment.That decline is “rare and alarming”, Zhiwei Zhang of Pinpoint Asset Management wrote. Despite noting recent stimulus measures “should help to mitigate the downward pressure on investment” in the fourth quarter, he said “the risk to GDP growth in Q4 is likely on the downside”.In a further sign of weakness, the NBS said retail sales growth slid to three percent year-on-year in September, in line with estimates in a Bloomberg survey, but down from August and the slowest rate since November.”This slowdown reflects the waning impact of the consumer goods trade-in scheme, which had boosted sales of certain products earlier in the year,” wrote Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics.”China’s growth is becoming increasingly dependent on exports, which are offsetting a slowdown in domestic demand,” he wrote.”This pattern of development is not sustainable,” he added.In one bright spot, industrial production rose 6.5 percent last month, the data showed, outperforming the five percent forecast in a Bloomberg survey.Beijing and Washington agreed over the weekend to conduct a fresh round of trade talks this week.Fears of a full-on trade war have been eased after Trump told Fox News that 100 percent levies on all Chinese goods were “not sustainable”.

Equity markets rose Monday after conciliatory comments from Donald Trump at the weekend eased worries about China-US trade tensions, while Tokyo stocks surged to a record on news of a deal to end political turmoil in Japan.Investors also took heart from data showing China’s economy grew on par with expectations in the third quarter, with the gains building on the positive mood from Wall Street, where all three main indexes bounced back from Thursday’s losses.Sentiment took a hit last week from a fresh flare-up in the trade standoff between Washington and Beijing when the US president threatened to hammer China with 100 percent tariffs in response to its latest controls on rare earth exports.That led to another round of tit-for-tat measures and Trump warning that a meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping planned for next week might not go ahead.However, tempers appeared to have cooled, with the two sides agreeing Saturday to hold more trade talks.Chinese state media said Vice Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had “candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges” during a call, and that both sides agreed to a new round of negotiations “as soon as possible”.Hours before the call, Fox News released excerpts of an interview with Trump in which he said he would meet Xi at the APEC summit after all, and added that the 100 percent tariff was “not sustainable”.Markets across Asia rose on the softer tone, with Hong Kong up more than two percent and Shanghai also well up as data showed China’s economy grew in line with expectations in the third quarter, though at its slowest pace in a year.The data was released just hours before the start of a closely watched four-day meeting in Beijing with top Communist Party officials focused on long-term economic planning.Sydney, Seoul, Wellington, Taipei, Mumbai and Bangkok also rallied with London, Paris and Frankfurt.”Catalysed by Trump’s remark… markets appear priced for a positive or at least less-bad outcome,” said Chris Weston at Pepperstone.”The market’s base case now seems to be that China will offer concessions on its rare-earth export controls, paving the way for the US to extend the current 30 percent ‘tariff truce’ by another 90 days beyond its 10 November deadline.”Tokyo led the gains, surging more than three percent to a new peak, as Japan’s ruling party said it was set to sign a new coalition deal on Monday, paving the way for Sanae Takaichi to become the country’s first woman prime minister.Stocks were sent into a spin last week when her bid to become premier was derailed after her party’s coalition partner withdrew its support.”We can probably say this is a government that wants to boost supply-side investment and is therefore good for equities, yields higher, yen weaker,” said Neil Wilson at Saxo Markets. Traders also took heart from a bounce-back for US regional bank stocks Friday, which had been pummelled Thursday following disclosures from two mid-sized players of expected losses tied to problem loans.The recovery Friday in those banks — Salt Lake City-based Zions Bancorp and Phoenix-based Western Alliance Bancorporation — and other lenders suggested investors were less fearful of systemic problems.- Key figures at around 0810 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 3.4 percent at 49,185.50 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 2.4 percent at 25,858.83 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 3,863.89 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 9,403.62 Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1663 from $1.1670 on FridayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3416 from $1.3433Dollar/yen: UP at 150.75 yen from 150.50 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.93 percent from 86.88 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $57.12 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.7 percent at $60.87 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 46,190.61 (close)

China’s economic growth slipped below five percent in the third quarter of 2025, official data showed Monday, the slowest pace in a year in the face of trade headwinds and a stubborn domestic consumer slump.The data was released just hours before state news agency Xinhua announced the start of a closely watched four-day meeting in Beijing with top Communist Party officials focused on long-term economic planning.It also comes ahead of in-person discussions later this month between top Chinese and US trade officials — as well as a potential meeting between presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.Trump earlier this month threatened blistering 100 percent tariffs on Chinese goods from November 1, in response to Beijing’s sweeping export controls in the strategic rare earths sector.Gross domestic product in the July-September quarter expanded 4.8 percent year-on-year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, down from 5.2 percent in the previous three months.The figure was on par with an AFP forecast based on a survey of analysts.It also represented the slowest growth since the same quarter last year, when GDP expanded 4.6 percent.As trade pressure builds, experts say China must adjust to a growth model driven more by domestic household spending than exports and manufacturing.Fixed-asset investment in the first three quarters saw a slight decline of 0.5 percent year-on-year, the data showed, largely because of a sharp contraction in real estate investment.That decline is “rare and alarming”, Zhiwei Zhang of Pinpoint Asset Management wrote in a note.Zhang noted that recent stimulus measures “should help to mitigate the downward pressure on investment” in the fourth quarter.”Nonetheless, the risk to GDP growth in Q4 is likely on the downside,” he added.- Consumer slump -Domestic spending has lagged in recent years, having failed to fully recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.In a further sign of weakness, the NBS said retail sales growth slid to three percent year-on-year in September, in line with estimates in a Bloomberg survey, but down from August and the slowest rate since November.”This slowdown reflects the waning impact of the consumer goods trade-in scheme, which had boosted sales of certain products earlier in the year,” wrote Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics.”China’s growth is becoming increasingly dependent on exports, which are offsetting a slowdown in domestic demand,” he wrote.”This pattern of development is not sustainable,” he added.Alin, a 40-year-old administrative assistant at an insurance company, told AFP in Beijing on Monday that she felt “current consumer subsidies are not quite enough” to get the economy humming again.”It’s more of a global issue,” she added, noting concerns including job security, real estate prices and education-related expenses.Another challenge facing economic planners is a protracted debt crisis in China’s vast real estate sector, long a key driver of activity.New residential property prices fell year-on-year in September in 61 out of 70 cities surveyed, NBS data showed Monday, a sign of persisting homebuyer wariness.In one bright spot, industrial production rose 6.5 percent last month, the data showed, outperforming the five percent forecast in a Bloomberg survey.”The national economy withstood pressure and continued to maintain steady progress,” the NBS said in a statement about the first three quarters of the year.Beijing and Washington agreed over the weekend to conduct a fresh round of trade talks this week as leaders attempt to walk back from the brink of another damaging tit-for-tat tariff battle.Fears of a full-on trade war were also eased after Trump told Fox News that 100 percent levies on all Chinese goods were “not sustainable”.Eyes are fixed on potential outcomes from the Communist Party meeting, which is due to conclude in Beijing on Thursday.

Asian markets rose Monday after conciliatory comments from Donald Trump at the weekend ease worries about China-US trade tensions, while Tokyo stocks surged to a record on news of a deal to end political turmoil in Japan.Investors also took heart from data showing China’s economy grew more than expected in the third quarter, with the gains building on the positive mood from Wall Street, where all three main indexes bounced back from Thursday’s losses.Sentiment took a hit last week from a fresh flare-up in the trade standoff between Washington and Beijing when the US president threatened to hammer China with 100 percent tariffs in response to its latest controls on rare earth exports.That led to another round of tit-for-tat measures and Trump warning that a meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping planned for next week might not go ahead.However, tempers appeared to have cooled at the weekend, with the two sides agreeing Saturday to hold more trade talks.Chinese state media said Vice Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had held “candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges” during a call, and that both sides agreed to hold a new round of negotiations “as soon as possible”.Hours before the call, Fox News released excerpts of an interview with Trump in which he said he would meet Xi at the APEC summit after all, and added that the 100 percent tariff was “not sustainable”.Markets across Asia rose on the softer tone, with Hong Kong up more than two percent and Shanghai also well up as data showed China’s economy grew in line with expectations in the third quarter, though at its slowest pace in a year.Seoul, Wellington, Taipei and Manila also rallied.”Catalysed by Trump’s remark… markets appear priced for a positive or at least less-bad outcome,” said Chris Weston at Pepperstone.”The market’s base case now seems to be that China will offer concessions on its rare-earth export controls, paving the way for the US to extend the current 30 percent ‘tariff truce’ by another 90 days beyond its 10 November deadline.”Tokyo led the gains, surging almost three percent to a new peak, as Japan’s ruling party said it was set to sign a new coalition deal on Monday, paving the way for Sanae Takaichi to become the country’s first woman prime minister.Stocks were sent into a spin last week when her bid to become premier — having won her party’s leadership earlier in the month — was derailed after its alliance partner withdrew its support.Traders also took heart from a bounceback for US regional bank stocks Friday, which had been pummelled Thursday following disclosures from two mid-sized players of expected losses tied to problem loans.The recovery Friday in those banks — Salt Lake City-based Zions Bancorp and Phoenix-based Western Alliance Bancorporation — and other lenders suggested investors were less fearful of systemic problems.- Key figures at around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.9 percent at 48,970.40 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 2.2 percent at 25,797.98Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 3,860.79Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1665 from $1.1670 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3436 from $1.3433Dollar/yen: UP at 150.97 yen from 150.50 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.82 percent from 86.88 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $57.24 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.5 percent at $61.02 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 46,190.61 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.9 percent at 9,354.57 (close)

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets with President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday, touting his country’s abundant critical minerals as a way to loosen China’s grip over global supplies.At the same time, Albanese is hoping to secure Trump’s backing for a 2021 pact to arm Australia with silent, nuclear-powered attack submarines.Australians have a mostly unfavourable view of the Trump administration, polling shows, though the country relies on the United States to balance China’s expanding military clout in the Pacific region.In the run-up to the White House talks, Australia is selling itself to Washington as a future source of critical minerals including rare earths — of which China is by far the world’s largest supplier.Australia sits on deposits of lithium, cobalt and manganese as well as rare earth metals used in technologies from semiconductors to defence hardware, electric cars and wind turbines.Albanese, who said he looked forward to a “positive and constructive” meeting with Trump, announced plans in April for a strategic reserve of critical minerals to provide to “key partners” such as the United States.The reserve is designed to help relax China’s chokehold on global critical minerals production, which it has been accused of leveraging to pressure trade partners.Trump this month threatened 100-percent tariffs on China in response to its latest rare earths export curbs, though he later eased his stance with a social media post saying: “It will all be fine.”- China the ‘focal point’ -Australia’s economy minister, Treasurer Jim Chalmers, said his country had “a lot to offer the world” in critical minerals.”We will engage with our partners to make sure that we can be a very reliable supplier to meet the critical minerals needs of this country, here in the US, and other markets around the world,” Chalmers told a news conference in Washington on Friday.But the treasurer has also taken a swipe at impediments to global trade, raising concerns over the economic impact of US tariffs, including a 10-percent levy on Australian goods, and the US-China trade spat.On defence, Australia’s government will be hoping for Trump’s blessing of the 2021 agreement to equip its navy with at least three US Virginia-class submarines within 15 years, and the technology to build its own vessels in the future.The AUKUS submarine deal between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States could cost Australia up to US$235 billion over the next 30 years, according to Canberra.The nuclear-powered vessels lie at the heart of Australia’s strategy of improving its long-range strike capabilities in the Pacific.But the Trump administration said in June it had put AUKUS under review to ensure it aligned with his “America First agenda”, with some critics saying the United States did not produce enough Virginia-class submarines to supply Australia as well as its own navy.Australia’s government says it has received no indications that Washington will withdraw support for AUKUS, which is expected to be raised in the White House talks.”AUKUS should be given the green light and once again confirmed as the foundation of Australia’s security and vital to the United States’ interest in competing with a rising Beijing-led authoritarian axis,” predicted Justin Bassi, executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a think tank partly funded by Australia’s Department of Defence.”China will likely be the focal point of discussions even if it is rarely mentioned publicly: AUKUS, critical minerals, cyber and critical technologies are frontline agenda topics, and all are about China.”