Iran wants to navigate away from American GPS
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L'Orient-Le Jour
2 days ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Iran wants to navigate away from American GPS
After 12 days of war with Israel, during which, in the last chapter, the U.S. became directly militarily involved, Iran is looking to establish its technological independence from the Chitsaz, deputy minister of Telecommunications, told the national daily HamMihan in mid-July that Iran would eventually switch fully to the Chinese Beidou satellite navigation system, which it had partially adopted in 2015 to avoid dependence on the American Global Positioning System (GPS). The recent conflict with Tel Aviv in June has made the transition even more pressing for Tehran. By operating with Beidou, Iran hopes to secure easier access to the electronic chips used by this navigation system and to make it more complicated for hostile jamming efforts to disrupt any future jammingThe GPS jamming was intended to decrease the...
L'Orient-Le Jour
2 days ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
China hopes for 'reciprocity' at trade talks with US in Stockholm
Chinese and U.S. economic officials met for talks in Stockholm on Monday, with Beijing saying it wanted to see "reciprocity" in its trade with the United States. The Swedish prime minister's office confirmed the talks, which are expected to last two days, were under way. The talks came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump reached a deal that will see imports from the European Union taxed at 15 percent and the clock ticking down for many countries to reach deals or face high U.S. tariffs. Beijing said on Monday it hoped the two sides could hold talks in the spirit of "mutual respect and reciprocity". Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Beijing sought to "enhance consensus through dialogue and communication, reduce misunderstandings, strengthen cooperation and promote the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-US relations". For dozens of trading partners, failing to strike an agreement in the coming days means they could face significant tariff hikes on exports to the United States come Friday, Aug. 1. The steeper rates, threatened against partners like Brazil and India, would raise the duties their products face from a "baseline" of 10 percent now to levels up to 50 percent. Tariffs imposed by the Trump administration have already effectively raised duties on U.S. imports to levels not seen since the 1930s, according to data from The Budget Lab research centre at Yale University. For now, all eyes are on discussions between Washington and Beijing as a delegation including US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent meets a Chinese team led by Vice Premier He Lifeng in Sweden. In Stockholm, Chinese and U.S. flags were raised in front of Rosenbad, the seat of the Swedish government. While both countries in April imposed tariffs on each other's products that reached triple-digit levels, U.S. duties this year have temporarily been lowered to 30 percent and China's countermeasures slashed to 10 percent. But the 90-day truce, instituted after talks in Geneva in May, is set to expire on Aug. 12. Since the Geneva meeting, the two sides have convened in London to iron out disagreements. China progress? "There seems to have been a fairly significant shift in [U.S.] administration thinking on China since particularly the London talks," said Emily Benson, head of strategy at Minerva Technology Futures. "The mood now is much more focused on what's possible to achieve, on warming relations where possible and restraining any factors that could increase tensions," she told AFP. Talks with China have not produced a deal but Benson said both countries have made progress, with certain rare earth and semiconductor flows restarting. "Secretary Bessent has also signalled that he thinks a concrete outcome will be to delay the 90-day tariff pause," she said. "That's also promising, because it indicates that something potentially more substantive is on the horizon." The South China Morning Post, citing sources on both sides, reported Sunday that Washington and Beijing are expected to extend their tariff pause by another 90 days. Trump has announced pacts so far with the European Union, Britain, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines, although details have been sparse. An extension of the US-China deal to keep tariffs at reduced levels "would show that both sides see value in continuing talks", said Thibault Denamiel, a fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. U.S.-China Business Council president Sean Stein said the market was not anticipating a detailed readout from Stockholm: "What's more important is the atmosphere coming out." "The business community is optimistic that the two presidents will meet later this year, hopefully in Beijing," he told AFP. "It's clear that on both sides, the final decision-maker is going to be the president." For others, the prospect of higher U.S. tariffs and few details from fresh trade deals mark "a far cry from the ideal scenario", said Denamiel. But they show some progress, particularly with partners Washington has signalled are on its priority list like the EU, Japan, the Philippines and South Korea. The EU unveiled a pact with Washington on Sunday while Seoul is rushing to strike an agreement, after Japan and the Philippines already reached the outlines of deals. Breakthroughs have been patchy since Washington promised a flurry of agreements after unveiling, and then swiftly postponing, tariff hikes targeting dozens of economies in April.
Nahar Net
3 days ago
- Nahar Net
Top Chinese, US trade officials huddle in Sweden for second day of thorny tariff talks
by Naharnet Newsdesk 29 July 2025, 15:22 Chinese and U.S. trade officials arrived for a second day of meetings in the Swedish capital Tuesday to try to break a logjam over tariffs that have skewed the pivotal commercial ties between the world's two largest economies. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng made no public comments to reporters after the first day of talks that lasted nearly five hours behind closed doors at the Swedish prime minister's office Monday. Before the talks resumed Tuesday, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson met with Bessent and U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer over breakfast. The United States has struck deals over tariffs with some of its key trading partners — including Britain, Japan and the European Union — since President Donald Trump announced "Liberation Day" tariffs against dozens of countries in April. China remains perhaps the biggest unresolved case. "The Chinese have been very pragmatic," Greer said in comments posted on social media by his office late Monday. "Obviously we've had a lot of tensions over the years. We have tensions now, but the fact that we are regularly meeting with them to address these issues gives us a good footing for these negotiations." "Whether there will be a deal or not, I can't say," Greer added in the clip posted on X from MSNBC's "Morning Joe". "Whether there's room for an extension, I can't say at this point. But the conversations are constructive and they're going in the right direction." Many analysts expect that the Stockholm talks, at a minimum, will result in an extension of current tariff levels that are far lower than the triple-digit percentage rates as the U.S.-China tariff tiff crescendoed in April, sending world markets into a temporary tailspin. The two sides backed off the brink during bilateral talks in Geneva in May and agreed to a 90-day pause — which is set to end on Aug. 12 — of those sky-high levels. They currently stand at U.S. tariffs of 30% on Chinese goods, and China's 10% tariff on U.S. products. Other issues on the agenda include access of American businesses to the Chinese market; Chinese investment in the U.S.; components of fentanyl made in China that reach U.S. consumers; Chinese purchases of Russian and Iranian oil; and American steps to limit exports of Western technology, like chips that help power artificial intelligence systems. The Stockholm meetings could also provide some clarity about the prospects for a summit to be held later this year between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, seen by some as a crucial step to lock in any major agreements between their two countries. On his Truth Social media platform, Trump insisted late Monday that he was not "seeking" a summit with Xi, but may go to China at the Chinese leader's invitation, "which has been extended. Otherwise, no interest!" While the Chinese side has offered few specifics of its aims in Stockholm, Bessent has suggested that the situation has stabilized to the point that China and the U.S. can start looking toward longer-term balance between their economies. Since China vaulted into the global trading system about two decades ago, the United States has sought to press leaders in Beijing to encourage more consumption in China and offer greater market access to foreign-made — including American — goods. Wendy Cutler, a former U.S. trade negotiator and now vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said that Trump's team would face challenges from "a large and confident partner that is more than willing to retaliate against U.S. interests." Rollover of tariff rates "should be the easy part," she said, warning that Beijing has learned lessons since the first Trump administration and "will not buy into a one-sided deal this time around." On Monday, police have cordoned off a security zone along Stockholm's vast waterfront as rubbernecking tourists and locals sought a glimpse of the top-tier officials through a phalanx of TV news cameras lined up behind metal barriers. Flagpoles at the prime minister's office were festooned with the American and Chinese flags.
