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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.”

Call it the China power paradox: while Beijing leads the world in renewable energy expansion, its coal projects are booming too.As the top emitter of greenhouse gases, China will largely determine whether the world avoids the worst effects of climate change.On the one hand, the picture looks positive. Gleaming solar farms now sprawl across Chinese deserts; China installed more renewables last year than all existing US capacity; and President Xi Jinping has made the country’s first emissions reduction pledges.Yet in the first half of this year, coal power capacity also grew, with new or revived proposals hitting a decade high.China accounted for 93 percent of new global coal construction in 2024, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clear Air (CREA) found.One reason is China’s “build before breaking” approach, said Muyi Yang, senior energy analyst at think tank Ember.Officials are wary of abandoning the old system before renewables are considered fully operational, Yang said.”Think of it like a child learning to walk,” he told AFP.”There will be stumbles — like supply interruptions, price spikes — and if you don’t manage those, you risk undermining public support.”Policymakers remain scarred by 2021–22 power shortages tied to pricing, demand, grid issues and extreme weather.While grid reform and storage would prevent a repeat, officials are hedging with new coal capacity, even if it sits idle, experts said.”There’s the basic bureaucratic impulse to make sure that you don’t get blamed,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, CREA co-founder and lead analyst.”They want to make absolutely sure that they don’t block one possible solution.”- Grid and transmission -There’s also an economic rationale, said David Fishman, a China power expert at Lantau Group, a consultancy.China’s electricity demand has increased faster than even record-breaking renewable installations.That may have shifted in 2025, when renewables finally met demand growth in the first half of the year. But slower demand played a role, and many firms see coal remaining profitable.Grid and transmission issues also make coal attractive.Large-scale renewables are often in energy-rich, sparsely populated regions far from consumers.Sending that power over long distances raises the cost and “incentivises build-out of local energy capacity,” Fishman told AFP.China is improving its infrastructure for long-distance power trading, “but it’s definitely not where it needs to be”, he added.Coal also benefits from being a “dispatchable resource” — easily ramped up or down — unlike solar and wind, which depend on weather.To increase renewables, “you have to make the coal plants operate more flexibly… and make space for variable renewables,” Myllyvirta said.China’s grid remains “very rigid”, and coal-fired power plants are “the beneficiaries”, he added.- ‘Instrumental’ economic driver -Other challenges loom. The end of feed-in tariffs means new renewable projects must compete on the open market.Fishman argues that “green power demand is insufficient to keep capacity expansion high”, though the government has policy levers to tip the balance, including requiring companies to use more renewables.China wants 3,600 gigawatts of wind and solar by 2035, but that may not meet future demand, risking further coal increases.Still, coal additions do not always equal coal emissions — China’s fleet currently runs at only 50 percent capacity.And the “clean energy” sector — including solar, wind, nuclear, hydropower, storage and EVs — is a major economic driver.CREA estimates it contributed a record 10 percent to China’s gross domestic product last year, and drove a quarter of growth.”It has become completely instrumental to meeting economic targets,” said Myllyvirta.”That’s the main reason I’m cautiously optimistic in spite of these challenges.”

China and the United States agreed Saturday to conduct another round of trade negotiations in the coming week, as the world’s two biggest economies seek to avoid another damaging tit-for-tat tariff battle.Beijing last week announced sweeping controls on the critical rare earths industry, prompting US President Donald Trump to threaten 100 percent tariffs on imports from China in retaliation.Trump had also threatened to cancel his expected meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in South Korea later this month on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.In the latest indication of efforts to resolve their dispute, Chinese state media reported that Vice Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had “candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges” during a Saturday morning call, and that both sides agreed to hold a new round of trade talks “as soon as possible”.On social media, Bessent described the call as “frank and detailed”, and said they would meet “in-person next week to continue our discussions”.Bessent had previously accused China of seeking to harm the rest of the world by tightening restrictions rare earths, which are critical to everything from smartphones to guided missiles.US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also participated in the call, according to the report by Chinese state news agency Xinhua.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.Trump told the outlet that the 100 percent tariff on goods from China was not sustainable.”It’s not sustainable, but that’s what the number is… They forced me to do that,” he said.- Coordinated response -The high-level video call came as Washington worked to rally Group of Seven finance ministers in response to the latest Chinese export controls.For now, the G7 ministers have agreed to coordinate a short-term response and diversify suppliers, the EU’s economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters in Washington.Speaking after the grouping met this week, Dombrovskis noted the vast majority of rare earth supplies come from China, meaning that diversification could take years.”We agreed, both bilaterally with the US and at the G7 level, to coordinate our approach,” he said on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s fall meetings.Countries would also exchange information on their contacts with Chinese counterparts as they work out short-term solutions, he added.German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told journalists he hopes that Trump and Xi’s meeting can help to resolve much of the US-China trade conflict.”We have made it clear within the G7 that we do not agree with China’s approach,” he added, referring to the group of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva also expressed hope Friday for an agreement between the countries to cool tensions.The US-China trade war reignited this year as Trump promised sweeping tariffs on imports soon after returning to office.At one point, US-China tariffs escalated to triple-digit levels, effectively halting some trade as businesses waited for a resolution.The two countries have since lowered their respective levies but their truce has remained shaky.burs-pfc/hol/mtp

China’s ruling Communist Party will on Monday kick off four days of key closed-door discussions, formulating core economic strategy for coming years as growth flags and trade headwinds mount.The gathering of the Central Committee — an elite body composed of around 200 members and 170 alternates — will be crucial in determining longstanding policy objectives in the world’s second-largest economy.Foreign media access to attending officials is highly restricted during the event, which typically opens and closes in Beijing’s grandiose Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square.The fourth such “plenum” to be held during the current committee’s 2022-2027 term, this session will focus on proposals for the 15th five-year plan on economic and social development, state media say.That plan, which covers the period from next year until 2030, will play a central role in the pursuit of President Xi Jinping’s core aims, including technological self-sufficiency and military and economic might.The plenum, chaired by Xi, is scheduled to conclude on Thursday, after which authorities are expected to release a lengthy document summarising major outcomes.The wide-ranging plan encompassing political, economic, social and environmental goals will then be approved in March by the legislature.This month’s meeting comes at an uncertain time for the Chinese economy, beset by sluggish domestic spending, a protracted crisis in the property sector and a turbulent trade war with the United States.”While plenums generally attract less attention than other political events, it is during those plenums that major policies are discussed and being decided upon,” wrote Teeuwe Mevissen, senior China economist at Rabobank, in a recent note.”Given the sheer size of China’s economy these decisions also impact the rest of the world,” he said.- Economy in focus -Typically, it is at the Communist Party’s fifth plenum that officials chart the next five-year economic blueprint.But after an unexplained nine-month delay to the third plenum until July 2024, that monumental task is now expected to fall on the upcoming conclave.Experts have in recent years argued that China must shift towards an economic model propelled more by domestic consumption as opposed to infrastructure investment and exports — long key drivers of growth.Household demand has been sluggish, however, with official data showing this month that consumer prices fell again in September after reaching a half-year low in August.Another prominent issue officials will likely be seeking to address at the plenum is industrial overcapacity, causing domestic gluts of cheap goods in certain sectors and exacerbating friction with trading partners.”We look for a more coordinated policy push that addresses overcapacity and strengthens downstream demand,” Sarah Tan, economist at Moody’s Analytics, told AFP.”The key test will be whether officials can move beyond rhetoric to deliver concrete measures that revive household spending and confidence,” she added.Just as Monday’s secretive proceedings kick off, authorities are also due to announce closely watched economic figures for the third quarter.An AFP survey of analysts forecasts the data to show overall growth during the July-September period of 4.8 percent — the slowest in a year.The fourth plenum will also be closely monitored by observers for any high-level personnel changes as Xi’s relentless crackdown on alleged corruption persists.Tang Renjian, China’s former agricultural minister who was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve last month, is expected to be formally dismissed by the Central Committee at the plenum, according to the Brookings Institution think tank.The official document released by authorities following the plenum’s conclusion on Thursday represents a high-profile messaging opportunity for leaders, Heron Lim, lecturer of economics at ESSEC Business School in Singapore, told AFP.”Beijing could use this opportunity to address both domestic and international audiences that China’s growth ambitions remain intact despite the geopolitical headwinds,” said Lim.

Wall Street stocks bounced back Friday following conciliatory signals from Washington towards Beijing on trade while worries about regional banks receded.US President Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox Business that he will hold talks with China’s Xi Jinping during the upcoming APEC summit in South Korea, a week after he threatened to call off the meeting.Trump, who last week threatened large tariffs in response to Chinese rare-earth export controls, said in the interview that the higher tariffs were “not sustainable.”Investors also took a more sanguine view of regional banks after the sector was pummeled Thursday following disclosures from two mid-sized players of expected losses tied to problem loans.But on Friday, those banks — Salt Lake City-based Zions Bancorp and Phoenix-based Western Alliance Bancorporation — both rallied, along with other peer companies, suggesting investors, are less fearful of systemic problems.”It was all set to be another frantic Friday for markets as a US regional bank crisis appeared on the horizon, but comments from President Trump have once again lifted equities off their lows,” said Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at trading platform IG.Investors have been nervously watching the US banking sector since parts company First Brands and subprime lender Tricolor filed for bankruptcy in September, with the former owing billions to lenders. Those fears deepened this week after Zions disclosed a $50-million charge tied to commercial loans from its California arm, while Western Alliance said a borrower failed to deliver the promised collateral.A sell-off on Thursday “may be overdone,” said David Morrison, analyst at investment platform Trade Nation.”Then again, a few analysts have been warning about a lack of transparency across private credit and private equity for a while now. So, there’s certainly a risk of more bad news to come,” he added.Europe’s main indices fell, with bank shares taking a hit.Deutsche Bank shares slumped six percent, while French bank Societe Generale shed nearly five percent and Britain’s Barclays dropped 5.7 percent.Hong Kong and Shanghai dropped more than two percent, and Tokyo also closed lower.Adding to unease, lawmakers in Washington are still no closer to ending a government shutdown that has delayed the release of key economic data used by the Federal Reserve to decide on policy.Still, expectations the Fed will cut interest rates at least once more this year has given traders some support.- Key figures at around 2010 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 46,190.61 (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 0.5 percent at 6,664.01 (close) New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 22,679.97 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.9 percent at 9,354.57 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,174.20 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 1.8 percent at 23,830.99 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.4 percent at 47,582.15 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.5 percent at 25,247.10 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 2.0 percent at 3,839.76 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1670 from $1.1687 on ThursdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3433 from $1.3434Dollar/yen: UP at 150.50 yen from 150.43 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.88 percent from 86.99 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percent at $57.54 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.4 percent at $60.34 per barrelburs-jmb/sla

An international vote to approve cutting maritime emissions was delayed by a year Friday in a victory for the United States, which opposes the carbon-cutting plan.The London-based International Maritime Organization (IMO), a United Nations body that governs shipping, voted in April for a global pricing system to help curb greenhouse gases.But a vote Friday on whether to formally approve the deal was delayed until next year after US President Donald Trump threatened sanctions against countries backing the plan.Increased divisions, notably between oil-producing nations and non-oil producers, emerged this week at meetings leading up to Friday’s vote.Delegates instead voted on a hastily arranged resolution to postpone proceedings, which passed by 57 votes to 49.Trump had said Thursday that the proposed global carbon tax on shipping was a “scam”, after the United States withdrew from IMO negotiations in April.A Russian delegate described the proceedings as “chaos” as he addressed the plenary Friday after talks had lasted into the early hours.Russia had joined major oil producers Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in voting against the carbon-reduction measure in April, saying it would harm the economy and food security.IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez, representing 176 member states, said Friday that he hoped there would be no repeat of how the week’s discussions had gone.”It doesn’t help your organisation, it doesn’t help yourself,” he told delegates. A European Union source told AFP that “many countries have changed their minds under pressure from the United States.A spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres called it “a missed opportunity for member states to place the shipping sector on a clear, credible path towards net zero emissions”.The International Chamber of Shipping, representing more than 80 percent of the world’s fleet, also expressed disappointment.”Industry needs clarity to be able to make the investments needed to decarbonise the maritime sector,” its Secretary General Thomas Kazakos said in a statement.- Trump ‘outraged’ -Since returning to power in January, Trump has reversed Washington’s course on climate change and encouraged fossil fuel use by deregulation.”I am outraged that the International Maritime Organization is voting in London this week to pass a global Carbon Tax,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Thursday. “The United States will NOT stand for this Global Green New Scam Tax on Shipping,” he added, telling countries to vote against it.Washington threatened to impose sanctions, visa restrictions and port levies on those supporting the Net Zero Framework (NZF), the first global carbon-pricing system.Major oil-producer Saudi Arabia also called for Friday’s vote to be postponed.”We agree with the United States that it’s important that these conversations are brought to light,” a Saudi representative said.Ahead of this week’s London gathering, a majority 63 IMO members that in April voted for the plan had been expected to maintain their support and to be joined by others to formally approve the NZF.Argentina, which in April abstained from the vote, now opposes the deal. Leading up to Friday’s decision, China, the EU, Brazil, Britain and several other members of the IMO reaffirmed their support.The NZF requires ships to progressively reduce carbon emissions from 2028 or face financial penalties.Shipping accounts for nearly three percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the IMO.The plan would charge ships for emissions exceeding a certain threshold, with proceeds used to reward low-emission vessels and support countries vulnerable to climate change.If the global emissions pricing system were adopted, it would become difficult to evade, even for the United States.IMO conventions allow signatories to inspect foreign ships during stopovers and even detain non-compliant vessels.burs-pml/js/rlp

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday that he would likely meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng next week to prepare for the upcoming high-stakes talks between the presidents of the world’s two biggest economies.Bessent’s high-level meeting comes as trade tensions flare between Washington and Beijing over China’s announcement of tighter export controls on the critical rare earths industry.Washington has been working to rally allies to respond to Beijing’s new curbs, with the Group of Seven finance ministers agreeing this week to coordinate their next moves.The rare earth controls had sparked a fiery response from US President Donald Trump, who threatened to impose an additional 100-percent tariff on imports from China and to cancel expected talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in South Korea.But Trump said in an excerpt of an interview with Fox News, released Friday, that he would meet Xi after all at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.Bessent told reporters at the White House on Friday that he believed “things have de-escalated” between both countries.He added that he would speak to China’s He later on Friday before both of them “meet in Malaysia, probably a week from tomorrow, to prepare for the two presidents to meet.”Bessent previously accused China of seeking to hurt the world economy with its new rare earth controls.International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva also expressed hope Friday for an agreement between the countries to cool tensions.- Coordinated response -For now, G7 finance ministers have agreed to coordinate their short-term response to China’s export rules, and diversify suppliers, the EU’s economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters in Washington.Speaking after the grouping met this week, Dombrovskis noted the vast majority of rare earth supplies come from China, meaning that diversification could take years.”We agreed, both bilaterally with the US and at the G7 level, to coordinate our approach,” he said on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s fall meetings.Countries would also exchange information on their contacts with Chinese counterparts as they work out short-term solutions, he added.German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told journalists he hopes Trump and Xi’s meeting can help to resolve much of the US-China trade conflict.”We have made it clear within the G7 that we do not agree with China’s approach,” he added, referring to the group of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.Trade tensions between the United States and China have reignited this year as Trump slapped sweeping tariffs on US imports and both countries engaged in tit-for-tat retaliation.At one point, tariffs on both sides escalated to triple-digit levels, effectively halting some trade as businesses waited for a resolution.The two countries have since lowered their respective tariff levels but their truce remains shaky.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to speak Friday with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, an official from President Donald Trump’s administration told AFP — as Washington works to rally allies to respond to Beijing’s rare earth curbs.The high-level economic talks come as trade tensions flare between the world’s two biggest economies following Beijing’s announcement of tighter export controls on the critical rare earths industry.This sparked a fiery response from Trump, who threatened to impose an additional 100-percent tariff on imports from China and to cancel expected talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in South Korea.But Trump said in an excerpt of an interview with Fox News, released Friday, that he would meet Xi after all at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.A senior Trump administration official told AFP that Bessent would speak to He by phone on Friday about ongoing trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing, ahead of the APEC gathering.The official did not provide further details.Bessent has accused China of seeking to hurt the world economy after Beijing announced its new export controls. – Coordinated response -For now, Group of Seven finance ministers have agreed to coordinate their short-term response to China’s export controls, and diversify suppliers, the EU’s economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters in Washington.Speaking after G7 leaders met this week, Dombrovskis noted the vast majority of rare earth supplies come from China, meaning that diversification would take years.”We agreed, both bilaterally with the US and at the G7 level, to coordinate our approach,” he said on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s fall meetings.He added that countries would also exchange information on their contacts with Chinese counterparts as they work out short-term solutions.German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told journalists he hopes Trump and Xi’s meeting can help to resolve much of the US-China trade conflict.”We have made it clear within the G7 that we do not agree with China’s approach,” he added, referring to the group of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.Trade tensions between the United States and China have reignited this year as Trump slapped sweeping tariffs on US imports and both countries engaged in tit-for-tat retaliation.At one point, tariffs on both sides escalated to triple-digit levels, effectively halting some trade as businesses waited for a resolution.The two countries have since lowered their respective tariff levels but their truce remains shaky.

An international vote to formally approve cutting maritime emissions was delayed by a year Friday, in a victory for the United States which opposes the carbon-cutting plan.The London-based International Maritime Organization (IMO), which is the shipping body of the United Nations, voted in April for a global pricing system to help curb greenhouse gases.But a vote on whether to formally approve the deal was cancelled on Friday until next year after US President Donald Trump threatened sanctions against countries backing the plan.Increased divisions, notably between oil producing nations and non-oil producers, emerged this week at meetings leading up to Friday’s planned follow-up vote to approve the scheme.Delegates instead voted on a hastily-arranged resolution to postpone proceedings, which passed by 57 votes to 49.Trump on Thursday said the proposed global carbon tax on shipping was a “scam” after the United States withdrew from IMO negotiations in April.A Russian delegate described proceedings as “chaos” as he addressed the plenary Friday after talks had lasted until the early hours.Russia joined major oil producers Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in voting against the carbon-reduction measure in April, arguing it would harm the economy and food security.IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez, representing 176 member states, pleaded Friday that he hoped there would be no repeat of how the week’s discussions had gone.”It doesn’t help your organisation, it doesn’t help yourself,” he told delegates. – Trump ‘outraged’ -Since returning to power in January, Trump has reversed Washington’s course on climate change and encouraged fossil fuel use by deregulation.”I am outraged that the International Maritime Organization is voting in London this week to pass a global Carbon Tax,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Thursday. “The United States will NOT stand for this Global Green New Scam Tax on Shipping,” he added, urging countries to vote against it.Washington threatened to impose sanctions, visa restrictions and port levies on those supporting the Net Zero Framework (NZF), the first global carbon-pricing system.Liberia and Saudi Arabia called for Friday’s vote to be postponed.”We agree with the United States that it’s important that these conversations are brought to light,” a Saudi representative said.Ahead of this week’s London gathering, a majority 63 IMO members that in April voted for the plan had been expected to maintain their support and to be joined by others to formally approve the NZF.Argentina, which in April abstained from the vote, now opposes the deal. Leading up to Friday’s decision — China, the European Union, Brazil, Britain and several other members of the IMO — reaffirmed their support.The NZF requires ships to progressively reduce carbon emissions from 2028, or face financial penalties.Shipping accounts for nearly three percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the IMO, while the CO2 pricing plan should encourage the sector to use less polluting fuels.The Philippines, which provides the most seafarers of any country, and Caribbean islands focused on the cruise industry, would be particularly impacted by visa restrictions and sanctions.The plan would charge ships for emissions exceeding a certain threshold, with proceeds used to reward low-emission vessels and support countries vulnerable to climate change.Pacific Island states, which abstained in the initial vote over concerns the proposal was not ambitious enough, had been expected to support it this time around.If the global emissions pricing system was adopted, it would become difficult to evade, even for the United States.IMO conventions allow signatories to inspect foreign ships during stopovers and even detain non-compliant vessels.burs-pml/bcp/ode/jkb/giv