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Wall Street stocks shrugged off early weakness Tuesday and joined European bourses in rising on continued hopes the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month.The prospect for further interest rate easing helped offset lingering worries about whether artificial intelligence equities are overvalued while a trove of mixed US economic reports included some worrying signs that analysts said likely strengthened the Fed’s case for cutting rates.The market is rallying as “the chances of a December cut (…) have moved higher,” said Angelo Kourkafas, adding that softness in some of the reports “helps reinforce the fact that the Fed will be moving” towards a rate cut.All three US indices advanced, led by the blue-chip Dow index, which climbed 1.4 percent.Earlier, London, Paris and Frankfurt all pushed higher.US data releases pointed to slower than expected growth of retail sales in September, while producer prices increased in line with expectations.The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index dropped to its lowest level in seven months, with shoppers expressing greater worry about labor market conditions and the outlook for household incomes.”The economy can’t afford to lose the consumer, particularly ahead of the all-important holiday season,” said Bret Kenwell, at the eToro trading platform. “It’s something to watch moving forward.”Traders now see about a 90 percent chance of a rate reduction, against around 35 percent only last week.Most large US tech companies advanced Tuesday. An exception was Nvidia, which finished down 2.6 percent following a report in The Information that Facebook parent Meta could use Google chips in its data centers.Big-box retailer Best Buy surged 5.3 percent after reporting better-than-expected results as CEO Corie Barry pointed to a confluence in which “customers need to upgrade or replace their consumer electronics and new products and innovation are coming to market.”Oil prices retreated amid reports that a deal to end the war in Ukraine may be close, which, if confirmed, would allow Russia to export vastly more oil.- Key figures at around 2120 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 1.4 percent at 47,112.45 (close) New York – S&P 500: UP 0.9 percent at 6,765.88 (close)Nasdaq – UP 0.7 percent 23,025.59 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.8 percent at 9,609.53 (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.8 percent at 8,025.80 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.0 percent at 23,464.63 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.1 percent at 48,659.52 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.7 percent at 25,894.55 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.9 percent at 3,870.02 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1570 from $1.1521 on MondayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3165 from $1.3105Dollar/yen: DOWN at 155.97  yen from 156.89 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 87.86 pence from 87.91 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.4 percent at $62.48 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.5 percent at $57.95 per barrelburs-jmb

Donald Trump said Tuesday he is sending his envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow as the US president seeks to close out a deal to end the war in Ukraine.Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that there were “only a few remaining points of disagreement” — but European leaders were skeptical and Russian missiles continued to rain down on Kyiv.He also expressed hope to meet “soon” with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, “but ONLY when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages.”An initial US plan which was heavily weighted in Russia’s favor has been replaced by one taking in more of Ukraine’s interests. An official familiar with the new version told AFP it was “significantly better.”However, US officials acknowledged that “delicate” issues remain.French President Emmanuel Macron threw cold water on the idea of a rapid solution, stating there is “clearly no Russian willingness” for a ceasefire or to discuss the new, more Ukraine-friendly proposal.Frantic discussions have been underway since the weekend when Ukrainian and US representatives huddled in Geneva to discuss Trump’s controversial, initial 28-point plan for settling the bloody conflict.The latest talks including US and Russian delegates were taking place in Abu Dhabi, US media reported. Leaders of a group of 30 countries supporting Ukraine also met by video on Tuesday.US negotiator Dan Driscoll emerged upbeat from meeting with Russian counterparts, with his spokesman saying: “The talks are going well and we remain optimistic.”The White House cited “tremendous progress,” while cautioning “there are a few delicate but not insurmountable details that must be sorted out.”But the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, continued unabated.Powerful explosions rocked Kyiv beginning around 1:00 am (2300 GMT), as Russian drones and missiles rained down, setting fires in apartment buildings. City officials said seven people were killed.Thick smoke, turning red and orange in the blizzard of Ukrainian air defense fire, rose over the capital as residents fled underground into metro stations, according to AFP reporters.- ‘Tough road ahead’  -Trump, who long boasted he could negotiate an end to the Ukraine war within 24 hours, announced last week that he wanted his peace proposal approved by Kyiv by this Thursday — the US Thanksgiving holiday.But the initial plan, pushing numerous Russian war aims, sparked alarm in Ukraine and Europe. Among its points were prohibitions on Ukraine ever joining NATO and requiring the country to surrender swaths of new territory to Russia.The updated plan clearly pleases Kyiv more. The official familiar with the text told AFP that one key improvement was raising a proposed cap on the country’s future military forces from 600,000 to 800,000 members.Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said Tuesday there was “common understanding on the core” of the deal between Ukraine and the United States.However, remaining details should be hammered out in direct talks “at the earliest suitable date” Zelensky and Trump, he said.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned: “There’s still a long way to go and a tough road ahead.”Russia’s military occupies around a fifth of Ukraine, much of it ravaged by fighting. Tens of thousands of civilians and military personnel have been killed and millions have fled the east of the country.Ukrainian army Sergeant Ivan Zadontsev said negotiating was “healthy.””We also are getting tired of war. We need a break,” he told AFP.But the proposals by both Washington and the European Union “do not serve Ukraine’s national interests,” he said.burs-sms/wd/mlm

Liberal US states led by California on Tuesday said parents should continue to get their children immunized, contradicting what they said was “dangerous misinformation on vaccines and autism” issued by the federal government.The West Coast Health Alliance said it was “deeply concerned” by the anti-science mood that has overtaken the Centers for Disease Control under the leadership of vaccine skeptic Health Secretary Robert Kennedy. “Rigorous research of millions of people in multiple countries over decades provides high-quality evidence that vaccines are not linked to autism,” said a statement from the alliance, which groups California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii.”Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental condition with multiple contributing genetic and environmental factors. Suggesting it stems from any single cause, such as vaccination, misleads families who deserve accurate guidance.”The intervention comes after the CDC revised its website, using language that undermines its previous, scientifically grounded position.The new language accuses health authorities of having “ignored” research supporting a link and said the US health department “has launched a comprehensive assessment of the causes of autism.”A purported connection between the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism stems from a flawed study published in 1998, which was retracted for including falsified data. Its results have not been replicated and are refuted by voluminous subsequent research.Kennedy has a long history of promoting dubious claims, many of which have become articles of faith among adherents to his “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement, a vital part of President Donald Trump’s fractious Make America Great Again (MAGA) coalition.The website edits last week were met with anger and fear by career scientists and other public health figures who have spent years combatting such false information.The West Coast Health Alliance came together in September in an effort to counter what many Democrats see as a dangerous turn towards conspiracy theories in the highest reaches of US government.Organizers say it is intended to “safeguard scientific expertise” and ensure public policy is informed by trusted and qualified voices.”Through this partnership, the four states will coordinate health guidelines by aligning immunization recommendations informed by respected national medical organizations, allowing all people in the United States to receive consistent, science-based recommendations they can rely on — regardless of shifting federal actions,” they said.

Donald Trump turned Washington’s fluffiest tradition into something a little tougher to carve on Tuesday — swapping holiday cheer for political score-settling as he pardoned two turkeys in the annual White House Thanksgiving ceremony.Since Abraham Lincoln’s day, presidents have occasionally spared a lucky bird from becoming dinner, though the ceremony didn’t become a yearly tradition until John F. Kennedy made it official in 1963.This year’s feathered VIPs — Waddle and Gobble of North Carolina — were meant to be the stars of a festive, bipartisan moment.But the Hallmark-card episode quickly turned into a holiday roast as Trump tore into Democrats, fumed about crime and even revived a conspiracy theory about Joe Biden’s pardoning process.Waddle was absent for reasons that were not immediately clear but Gobble showed up — and appeared grateful not to get cooked alongside Trump’s many targets.The president focused on Chicago, declaring once again that he could clean up crime in America’s third largest city if only Illinois Governor JB Pritzker — whom he branded a “fat slob” — would let him send in federal troops.Then came the Biden hit: Trump said US officials conducted a “very rigorous investigation” and discovered that last year’s turkey pardon was signed not by the then-president but by an autopen — rendering the whole thing invalid.Even the birds weren’t safe from becoming political props. Trump mused aloud about naming Waddle and Gobble after Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi — before stopping himself. “I realized I wouldn’t be pardoning them. I would never pardon those two people,” he remarked acidly.He then pivoted to economics, delivering a burst of cherry-picked statistics. “Egg prices are down 86 percent since March,” he declared. “And gasoline will soon be hovering around $2 a gallon.” He also boasted he had delivered the largest tax cuts in history.While egg prices have indeed fallen from their record highs, grocery costs overall are still rising. The national average for gasoline sits at $3.10 — slightly higher than this time last year, according to automotive services group AAA. And the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — which extends provisions of Trump’s 2017 tax law — ranks around the sixth-largest tax cut ever, not the biggest.As for Gobble, the bird carried on with remarkable composure for a turkey caught in the spotlight at a de facto campaign rally.The fowl were selected by North Carolina students in an online vote and will now retire to a comfortable post-pardon life back home.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said a Ukraine-Russia deal is “very close,” but European leaders were skeptical and Russian missiles continued to rain down on Kyiv.Trump, visibly frustrated at his failure to make good on last year’s election boast that he could quickly end the war, said “we’re getting very close to a deal.”An initial US plan which was heavily weighted in Russia’s favor has been replaced by one taking in more of Ukraine’s interests. And an official familiar with the new version told AFP that it was “significantly better.”However, US officials acknowledged that “delicate” issues remain.And French President Emmanuel Macron threw cold water on the idea of a rapid solution, stating that there is “clearly no Russian willingness” for a ceasefire or to discuss the new, more Ukraine-friendly proposal.Frantic discussions have been underway since the weekend when Ukrainian and US representatives huddled in Geneva to discuss Trump’s controversial, initial 28-point plan for settling the bloody conflict.Latest talks including US and Russian delegates were taking place in Abu Dhabi, US media reported. Leaders of a group of 30 countries supporting Ukraine also met by video on Tuesday.US negotiator Dan Driscoll emerged upbeat from meeting with Russian counterparts, his spokesman saying: “The talks are going well and we remain optimistic.”The White House cited “tremendous progress,” while cautioning “there are a few delicate but not insurmountable details that must be sorted out.”But the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, continued unabated.Powerful explosions rocked Kyiv beginning around 1:00 am (2300 GMT), as Russian drones and missiles rained down, setting fires in apartment buildings. City officials said seven people were killed.Thick smoke, turning red and orange in the blizzard of Ukrainian air defense fire, rose over the capital as residents fled underground into metro stations, AFP reporters said.- ‘Tough road ahead’  -Trump, who long boasted he could negotiate an end to the Ukraine war within 24 hours, announced last week that he wanted his peace proposal approved by Kyiv by this Thursday — the US Thanksgiving holiday.But the initial plan, pushing numerous Russian war aims, sparked alarm in Ukraine and Europe. Among its points were prohibitions on Ukraine ever joining NATO and requiring the country to surrender swaths of new territory to Russia.The updated plan clearly pleases Ukraine more. The official familiar with the text told AFP that one key improvement was raising a proposed cap on the country’s future military forces from 600,000 to 800,000 members.Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said Tuesday there was “common understanding on the core” of the deal between Ukraine and the US.However, remaining details should be hammered out in direct talks “at the earliest suitable date” between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump, he said.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned: “There’s still a long way to go and a tough road ahead.”Russia’s military occupies around a fifth of Ukraine, much of it ravaged by fighting. Tens of thousands of civilians and military personnel have been killed and millions have fled the east of the country.Ukrainian army Sergeant Ivan Zadontsev said negotiating was “healthy.””We also are getting tired of war. We need a break,” he told AFP.But the proposals by both the United States and EU “do not serve Ukraine’s national interests,” he said.burs-sms/iv

The sentient animals of the fictional city of Zootopia are back with a fairytale for our times, examining how the powerful exploit our prejudices, in a family-friendly movie Disney hopes will be a big holiday hit.Nine years after the Oscar-winning first installment, “Zootopia 2” — known as “Zootropolis 2” in some markets — delves deeper into a world that has grossed over a billion dollars at the global box office, despite — or because of — its clear moral ambition. “The great thing about these movies is that they are like fables,” Byron Howard, one of the two directors, told AFP in Los Angeles.”These animals are a great way for us to hold a mirror up to human nature and the mistakes that we make.”We’re plunged back into the city of Zootopia, a modern metropolis where predators and prey have learned to coexist without devouring each other, but stereotypes continue to influence relations.Judy, the first rabbit to join the city’s police force, has proven to her macho colleagues — buffaloes, hippos, and warthogs — that she deserves her place in the investigative department. Along the way, she forges an unexpected partnership with Nick, a solitary fox whose past as a con artist proves to be a valuable asset in uniform. – Exploiting stereotypes – The budding friendship will be tested by a high-stakes heist, carried out during the city’s centennial gala by a snake, a species long banned from the city.But when it comes time to arrest the culprit, Judy learns the rattlesnake — Gary — is simply trying to uncover a secret to restore his family’s honor.”We have a lot of misconceptions about reptiles and snakes in general,” says co-director Jared Bush.But Gary is “the most kind-hearted, warm, vulnerable character I think we’ve ever made.”Over Nick’s objections, Judy lets her quarry escape — turning her and her partner into fugitives and setting them on the path to discovering how Zootopia’s rulers have exploited stereotypes to keep reptiles out of the city.Like every odd couple, Judy and Nick clash repeatedly as they battle to the inevitable happy ending.”They have very different ways of looking at the world,” said Howard.”It was really fun for us to put them through the ringer and to basically have them look at each other and say: ‘Are these differences too much for our partnership to succeed?'” – A pro-diversity fable – With a soundtrack that includes catchy pop from Shakira — who also reprises her role as a gazelle — Disney has produced a pro-diversity tale that appears at odds with the current moment.As with the first installment, released in 2016 at the beginning of Donald Trump’s first term, this lesson in living together jars with the direction America has taken under a president who routinely disparages immigrants and has worked to undermine the notion of inclusivity.Disney, which conservatives accuse of being “woke,” has been the target of an investigation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which is examining its hiring practices,.But for the creators of “Zootopia,” these parallels with current events are simply a coincidence of timing for a story intended to be timeless and which took several years to develop. “As human beings, there’s this natural tendency to look at a difference in someone else and to worry about it, or have an opinion about it,” says Bush.”What we’re trying to say with this movie is, yes, those differences exist, but we’re stronger because of them.”

US retail sales lost momentum in September and firms grappled with an uptick in business costs, government data showed Tuesday, underscoring growing concerns about affordability in the world’s biggest economy.Beyond these delayed economic figures — indicating that consumers turned cautious towards the end of the summer — a separate survey saw consumer confidence hitting its lowest level since April this month.Economists warn that the softening in sales is likely to persist as President Donald Trump’s tariffs add to cost increases, while the labor market weakens.Overall retail sales picked up by 0.2 percent on a month-on-month basis, said the Commerce Department, slightly below analyst expectations and cooling from August’s 0.6 percent increase.A report by the Labor Department meanwhile showed that wholesale inflation picked up in September, rising by 0.3 percent, in line with forecasts.This rise was driven by a 0.9-percent jump in goods prices, highlighting the steeper costs that businesses face. Much of it was attributed to the volatile food and energy segments.But for now, some retailers continue to shield customers from the full effects of higher business prices.- ‘Value-hunting’ -As Trump’s tariffs take hold, all eyes have been on how consumers — a key driver of the world’s biggest economy — respond to price pressures.Affordability has emerged as a key worry, with Democrats’ victories in off-year elections in New Jersey, New York and Virginia this month fueled by voters angry over rising costs.Trump has since widened tariff exemptions to cover various agriculture products as costs of living weigh on American voters.Besides the “muted growth” in September’s retail sales, Navy Federal Credit Union chief economist Heather Long flagged notable monthly declines in categories hard hit by tariffs.These include auto parts, electronics, appliances, sporting goods and instruments.”American consumers are in value-hunting mode,” Long said. “They are spending more on the basics and being extra choosy with where they spend their discretionary dollars.”- Rate cut ahead? -There is also a growing gap between higher earners and lower-income households.Although wealthier households continue to spend, “middle- and lower-income families are turning more cautious heading into the holiday season,” said EY-Parthenon senior economist Lydia Boussour.She noted mounting pressures from a weaker jobs market.The retail figures, alongside fresh evidence of soft private-sector hiring, boost the case for another Federal Reserve interest rate cut in December, Boussour added.Data released by The Conference Board showed Tuesday too that consumers are not only “less sanguine” about their current situations but “notably more pessimistic about business conditions six months from now.”Its consumer confidence index dropped to 88.7 in November, from 95.5 in October, the lowest reading in seven months.Looking ahead, Fed officials will be digesting the newer private sector indicators and delayed federal figures as they mull the need for another rate cut in December.Both government reports published Tuesday had been delayed as a shutdown between October and mid-November halted data releases on inflation, jobs and others.The stoppage hit the collection of consumer inflation and employment data for October in particular, resulting in the cancellation of full reports on both fronts. Instead, available numbers will be released with November’s figures.On Tuesday, Commerce Department figures showed that September retail sales were still up 4.3 percent from a year ago.The producer price index report, meanwhile, indicated that “the inflation impulse from the tariffs is modest and underlying services inflation is still slowing,” said Samuel Tombs of Pantheon Macroeconomics.Underlying PPI inflation “should ease after producers have finished passing on tariff costs in a few months’ time,” he added.

The oldest survivor of the Tulsa race massacre, one of the worst episodes of racist violence in US history, has died aged 111, a local official said on Tuesday.Viola Fletcher was a child in 1921 when her Black neighborhood of Greenwood in Oklahoma state was torched by white mobs. Historians say as many as 300 African American residents were killed.”Today, our city mourns the loss of Mother Viola Fletcher — a survivor of one of the darkest chapters in our city’s history,” Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols said in a statement.”Fletcher carried 111 years of truth, resilience, and grace and was a reminder of how far we’ve come and how far we must still go.”The violence began after a group of Black men went to the local courthouse on May 31, 1921, to defend a young African American man accused of assaulting a white woman.They found themselves facing a furious white mob and retreated to Greenwood when shots were fired.White men looted and burned the neighborhood, then one of America’s most successful Black enclaves and so affluent it was known as Black Wall Street, at dawn the next day.Much of the neighbourhood was burned to the ground, buildings were destroyed, and businesses looted. Thousands of people were left homeless.Fletcher, who dropped out of elementary school and suffered decades of poverty, working mostly as a housekeeper for white families, later said she had “lived through the massacre every day” for the past century.- ‘Still hear the screams’ -She was one of the survivors of the massacre who testified before Congress a century later to the horrors she witnessed, calling for reparations.”I still see Black men being shot, Black bodies lying in the street… I still see Black businesses being burned. I still hear the screams,” Fletcher told a House Judiciary Committee hearing in 2021.”Our country may forget this history but I cannot. I will not, and other survivors do not, and our descendants do not,” she said.The commission concluded that Tulsa authorities themselves had armed some of the white rioters.It also recommended that Greenwood residents and their descendants be compensated, but the effort failed.In 2021, Joe Biden became the first US president to commemorate the massacre in a Tulsa service honoring the forgotten victims.The city also began to excavate mass graves, where many Black victims of the massacre were buried, in an effort to shed more light on its dark past.The last surviving witness to the massacre is 111-year-old Lessie Evelyn Benningfield, six months younger than Fletcher.The United States has been embroiled in a debate over racism in recent years, fuelled by the 2020 killing of African American George Floyd, who suffocated under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer.

Donald Trump demolished part of the White House near the end of 2025 to make way for a giant ballroom, a fitting symbol for a president whose second term began like a political wrecking ball.In the second year of his second presidency, Trump will seek to turn his bulldozer into a lasting legacy. But in politics, as with his construction work, 2026 is going to involve heavy lifting.And the clock is ticking for the 79-year-old. After midterm elections in November that will be dominated by the cost of living, his Republican Party will have to contemplate life without Trump in 2028.”The shock and awe sent everyone on the other side reeling,” William Galston, senior fellow at Brookings Institution, told AFP. “But I have a feeling that the shock and awe is wearing off.” Trump’s immediate challenge will be to deliver on the promises of his first year back in the White House — an unprecedented display of presidential power that climaxed with the physical destruction of the East Wing.In his first 100 days, Trump issued a slew of executive orders aimed at ripping apart the government and laying off federal workers, aided by tycoon Elon Musk until their relationship blew up.He cracked down on migration, sent troops into Democratic-run cities, targeted political enemies for retribution, and used legal threats to cow businesses, universities and media organizations.On the world stage Trump was the great disruptor yet again.His tariffs sent the world’s economies scrambling, he held summits with the strongmen leaders of Russia and China, and see-sawed on Ukraine with his notorious Oval Office ambushing of Volodymyr Zelensky.His peace efforts brought fragile success in Gaza but war drums could be beating for Venezuela, with an American aircraft carrier now deployed off the coast.- ‘Promises’ -Trump insists his approach his working. “We’ve had a great nine months. Now we have to do it more than a few more times, we just have to keep it going,” he said last week.But the vultures have already started hovering as year two approaches, thanks to Trump’s rare predicament as a president serving non-consecutive terms.His critics believe the first cracks have started to show, in the face of poor off-year election results, worries about affordability, and a rebellion inside the Republican Party over the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.Looming over 2026 will be November’s mid-term elections.Democrats will be hoping to win back the House amid mounting discontent with the cost-of-living and with Trump himself, whose approval ratings keep hitting new lows.White House officials told AFP Trump is turning his focus to the economy, ramping up domestic travel even before the end of 2025 with a series of events and campaign-style rallies.Trump, they say, has got the message from voters worried about affordability and healthcare, even as critics in his own Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement have criticized his focus on foreign peace deals.”Candidate Trump 2024 made a series of promises to working-class Americans,” Galston said. “They’re going to have to get redeemed in the next 12 months.”- ‘Explosive’ 2028 looms -The question is how much Trump will be able to do.The Supreme Court is set to hand down a series of major judgments that may not all go his way despite its conservative bent, particularly on the legality of his tariffs.At the same time, Trump’s administration effectively admitted that tariffs are raising the cost of living — it recently lowered them on goods like coffee, beef and tomatoes.Still, the consummate political showman will keep selling his political brand.Two major events will help him — the FIFA World Cup, and the 250th anniversary of US independence, which Trump will celebrate with a cage fight on the White House lawn.”I’m not sure he’s a lame duck yet,” Garret Martin, professor of international relations at American University, told AFP.But he predicted an “explosive” situation over Trump’s succession, the battle for which will start as soon as the midterms are over.Vice President JD Vance has already staked out his claim, while MAGA ally-turned-foe Marjorie Taylor Green has emerged as a possible rival, despite her denials.Trump could throw further oil on the fire if he starts hinting again that he try to run for a third term in 2028, despite this being barred by the US Constitution.”Given the president’s inclination to litigate everything, I wouldn’t put it past him,” said Galston.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping pressed the ever-sensitive issue of Taiwan in a phone call Monday with US President Donald Trump, as he stressed the need to build on a fragile trade truce between the two superpowers.China’s foreign ministry said the call touched on other issues, such as Ukraine, but Taiwan featured prominently, with China embroiled in a weeks-long diplomatic row with key US ally Japan over the self-governing island.China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, and Xi told Trump that its return was an “integral part of the post-war international order” forged in the joint US-China fight against “fascism and militarism”, according to the department.”Given what is going on, it is even more important for us to jointly safeguard the victory of WWII,” Xi told Trump.Taiwan Premier Cho Jung-tai hit back at Xi’s comments, telling reporters on Tuesday that Taiwan “is a fully sovereign state” and “there is no such option as return”.The latest bitter dispute between Tokyo and Beijing was triggered by new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggesting this month that Tokyo could intervene militarily in any attack on Taiwan.While the United States does not officially recognise Taiwan’s claim to statehood, Washington remains the island’s most important partner and arms supplier.Trump praised “extremely strong” US-China relations in a social media post after the call, but made no mention of the contentious issue of Taiwan.According to China’s foreign ministry, Trump told Xi during their discussion that the United States “understands how important the Taiwan question is to China”.The US president’s statement also confirmed that he will visit China in April, and that Xi will go to Washington later in 2026.Meanwhile Takaichi said she also had a call with Trump and discussed his conversation with Xi, as well as US-Japan relations.We “held a wide-ranging exchange of views on strengthening the Japan-US alliance and the challenges and issues facing the Indo-Pacific region”, she told reporters, without elaborating.She said Trump had proposed the call.Both China and Japan have sent letters to the UN in recent days over the Taiwan issue.- Trade talks momentum -Xi and Trump’s call came after the pair met in late October for the first time since 2019, engaging in closely watched trade talks between the world’s top two economies.The Washington-Beijing tussle, which encompasses everything from rare earths to soybeans and port fees, has rocked markets and gummed up supply chains for months.A tentative deal reached in October’s meeting in South Korea saw Beijing agree to suspend for one year certain export restrictions on critical minerals.China is hugely dominant in the mining and processing of rare earths, which are essential for sophisticated electronic components across a range of industries, including auto, electronics and defence.Meanwhile, the United States said it will cut back tariffs on Chinese products, and Beijing will buy at least 12 million tonnes of American soybeans by the end of this year and 25 million tonnes in 2026.Xi told Trump on Monday that their two countries should “keep up the momentum”, according to the foreign ministry.He added that the “successful” meeting in South Korea “recalibrated the course of the giant ship of China-US relations and provided more momentum for it to sail forward steadily”.Since the meeting, China–US ties have “generally maintained a steady and positive trajectory, and this is welcomed by the two countries and the broader international community”, Xi said.Trump struck a similarly optimistic tone in his statement. “Now we can set our sights on the big picture,” he said.US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said Washington hoped to finalise a deal with Beijing for securing supplies of rare earths by the Thanksgiving holiday, which falls on Thursday.The two leaders also discussed the war in Ukraine — an issue high on Trump’s agenda as he pushes for an end to the war with a fresh deal that critics say largely satisfies Russian demands at the expense of Kyiv.China has positioned itself as a neutral party, and in Monday’s call Xi reiterated his backing to end the nearly four-year conflict.