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Industry

Despite Trump’s promise of Iran peace, analysts say vague deal wobbly at best

US president hails accord as a major victory despite lingering questions, warns Tehran of renewed bombing if it fails to comply with terms “When I say permanent, it should be permanent. But if it’s not permanent, they will be bombed,” he added. “I told them, if you don’t adhere to that agreement, we’re going to bomb the hell out of you.” Trump’s much-anticipated appearance came as an economically dented world tries to assess how substantive and potentially lasting the Sunday memorandum of understanding (MOU) is, with its terms only released on Wednesday. According to the 14-point outline, the two sides agreed to “declare the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon”; end the dual blockades and any Iranian claim to charge tolls; and work to return “at least” US$300 billion in seized funds to Tehran.

June 17, 2026

Industry

Europe rallies around tough new China strategy ahead of key summit

Broad coalition of EU members support new trade strategy to prevent China causing European deindustrialisation as key Brussels summit looms From free marketeers to long-term interventionists, EU countries of all stripes are converging on the need for urgent action to prevent a Chinese-driven European deindustrialisation ahead of a key summit in Brussels, multiple sources said on Wednesday. A broad coalition of members now support the development of a tough new trade strategy that could involve multiple new instruments and a more rapid-fire, strategic use of existing weapons. “There are different strands: a diversification instrument and a more protective instrument. There’s work to be done to see how both can be combined – this is why the commission needs guidance from leaders to find a compromise,” said a senior diplomat from a supportive member state, who, like many, spoke on condition of anonymity because policy is still evolving. “There’s a link between overcapacity and subsidies – especially if we can’t do a proper investigation in third countries on what kind of subsidies they are using, we have to defend ourselves against that,” the diplomat continued.

June 17, 2026

Industry

As the Iran war comes to a close, is the US pulling warships back to the west Pacific?

US Defence Department changes name of Indo-Pacific Command back to US Pacific Command, suggesting new focus The United States began turning its military attention to the Middle East early this year, moving global military assets, including those in the Pacific, nearer to Iran. The Tripoli group is still in the Middle East but US Navy statements and satellite images indicate that other naval forces are coming into the Pacific. The USS Boxer amphibious assault ship, accompanied by the amphibious transport dock USS Portland, joined the Seventh Fleet in the South China Sea from early June, according to US Navy statements and satellite images. The Boxer’s home port is San Diego and it was initially bound for the Middle East before being redirected to the Pacific.

June 17, 2026

Industry

Can China-US breadbasket diplomacy sidestep tension over American’s arrest?

Farm-belt officials from both sides meet as US voters consider issues for midterms and Beijing detains US citizen More than 200 representatives – including those from US battleground states such as Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota, as well as universities such as Harvard and Yale – convened in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua. The Chinese side comprised officials from Henan, Liaoning, Anhui, Hunan and Shaanxi provinces, the agricultural heavyweights of the world’s second-largest economy.

June 17, 2026

Industry

‘Not final’: Trump flips again on Iran deal, plans press conference in France

US leader warns framework is a work in progress and threatens to return to ‘dropping bombs’ if he does not like the terms of the agreement “If they don’t behave, we’ll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head, because they misbehaved for 47 years,” he added. The “America first” leader said markets had “gone wild” following the announcement of the deal, but dismissed reports that Washington was planning to invest in Iran. “We’re not putting up 10 cents,” Trump said. “We are not investing, and we do not have a fund.” He added that he was not asking Gulf countries to invest in Iran, but “if they do it, fine”.

June 17, 2026

Industry

Top operative of China-born tycoon Chen Zhi extradited from Cambodia

Mainland police say Liu Ren founded group that operated multiple online gambling platforms and aggressively solicited Chinese citizens The statement said Chen – who was extradited to China earlier this year and is accused by both Beijing and Washington of transnational fraud – directed Liu in 2016 to found a group called Jinbei that operated multiple online gambling platforms and aggressively lured Chinese citizens into gambling. It said that since 2020, Jinbei Group had also operated telecoms fraud compounds in Cambodia and carried out large-scale telecoms and online fraud involving “extremely large amounts” of money. Liu was also being charged with suspected illegal detention and intentional injury, and his case was under investigation, Chinese police said in the statement.

June 17, 2026

Industry

It’s time the West genuinely accepted China’s global ascent

In 1996, the bestselling China Can Say No, co-authored by a group of intellectuals, reflected a nascent rejection of worship of the West and a rise in Chinese nationalism. Thirty years on, China is not just saying “no” to the West, it possesses the strategic leverage to hit back, underpinned by its dominance in global supply chains, rare earth minerals and critical green technologies. China’s confidence is perhaps most evident in its rebuttals and forceful countermeasures against Western claims...

June 17, 2026

Industry

Is the US warming up to Hong Kong? High-level meeting with business group signals shift

AmCham HK delegation expected to meet high-ranking US State Department official as part of annual trip to Washington, sources say In a possible sign that Washington’s stance on Hong Kong is shifting, a senior US State Department official will meet a delegation of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong (AmCham HK), the South China Morning Post has learned. “He will be the highest-ranking State Department official to meet the Hong Kong delegation in the past several years,” one source familiar with the matter said. “That signals a warming up of relations after President Trump’s meeting with President Xi.” In recent years, the AmCham HK delegation has typically met officials at the level of principal deputy assistant secretary or deputy assistant secretary, according to the source.

June 17, 2026

Industry

China’s role in Cabo Verde’s historic World Cup draw with Spain

Part of China’s “stadium diplomacy”, the country’s national arena was financed by Beijing and built by a Chinese contractor “If today, 50 years later, we are at the World Cup, we have already proven that we are a viable nation,” he wrote on Facebook, following the match in the US city of Atlanta. Yet, the story of the former colony’s footballing achievements is not complete without mentioning China’s role in building the country’s sports infrastructure. This included the 15,000-capacity Estadio Nacional de Cabo Verde, which was completed in 2014. The stadium was financed by Beijing and built by a Chinese state-owned contractor. This followed Cabo Verde’s first appearance at the African Cup of Nations in 2013, when the national team made it to the quarter-finals for the first time. The stadium became the national team’s home turf, from which it has launched subsequent qualifying campaigns.

June 17, 2026

Industry

The white paper making China’s case for new rules for the world’s new frontiers

Beijing says international governance is at a crossroads and needs to be more in line with evolving realities China has pitched itself as a champion of rule-making for new frontiers, including AI and outer space, calling for a “more just and equitable” world order as humanity navigates “dangerous waters”. The document, a white paper called “More Just and Equitable Global Governance: China’s Principles, Proposals and Actions”, said China saw no need to “rebuild” or “replace” the existing international system but supported changes that were “more compatible and aligned” with realities today. Unveiling the white paper in Beijing, China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, warned that the international system established after World War II had been disrupted by multiple crises, leaving global governance at a “critical crossroads”. In the white paper, China said the “growing” challenges in the world were crying out for “more effective governance”.

June 17, 2026

Industry

As France passes law on returning loot, should China pop the champagne?

While the law should make returning artefacts easier, it sets high standards of evidence which may be hard to meet In November 1861, during his self-imposed political exile, French writer Victor Hugo penned a blistering condemnation of his country. The author of Les Misérables described two “bandits” – France and Britain – who had attacked the Old Summer Palace, or Yuanmingyuan, in Beijing the previous year. “One plundered, the other burned.” “The French empire has pocketed half of this victory, and today with a kind of proprietorial naivety it displays the splendid bric-a-brac of the Summer Palace. “I hope that a day will come when France, delivered and cleansed, will return this booty to despoiled China.” Nearly 165 years later, on April 13, as parliamentarians gathered to vote on a landmark bill to streamline the return of looted cultural artefacts, National Assembly Deputy Jeremie Patrier-Leitus invoked Hugo’s words. When the vote was tallied – 170 in favour, zero against – he declared that the day Hugo hoped for had finally arrived.

May 17, 2026

Industry

Why Trump took US tech leaders to Beijing

US President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing with a delegation of leading American tech executives should not be read as a throwback to transactional diplomacy. It points to something more consequential. After years of rhetoric about economic separation, the reality is becoming harder to ignore: the United States and China are not decoupling. They are learning how to compete while remaining deeply entangled. For much of the past decade, Washington has framed its China policy around technological...

May 17, 2026