Xi tells Putin China welcomes fresh US-Russia contacts as Trump seeks end to Ukraine war
Beijing will maintain its stance on the need for peace talks and a diplomatic solution to the conflict, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV quoted Xi as telling Putin.
The call was held at Putin's request, CCTV said.
The call came after the Kremlin said on Thursday that Putin would meet U.S. President Donald Trump in the coming days in the search for an end to the war, now in its fourth year.
Trump took a more conciliatory approach towards Russia after returning to the White House in January but has voiced growing frustration with Putin over the lack of progress towards peace and has threatened to impose heavy tariffs on countries including China that buy Russian oil.
Trump on Wednesday said he could announce further tariffs on China similar to the 25% duties he has already imposed on India over its purchases of Russian oil.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, in response to those remarks by Trump, said on Friday that China's trade and energy cooperation with Russia was "just and legitimate".
"We will continue to take reasonable measures to ensure energy security based on our own national interests," spokesperson Guo Jiakun said in a statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Friday's call between Xi and Putin was their second in less than two months.
The two countries have further bolstered their economic, trade and security cooperation since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which triggered a sharp deterioration in Moscow's relations with the West.
Putin is expected to visit China in September for events marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
28 minutes ago
- The Independent
JD Vance unwittingly sparks new wave of calls to release the Epstein files in Fox interview
Vice President JD Vance 's latest attempt to shift the narrative away from the Jeffrey Epstein furore over the weekend has only succeeded in inspiring fresh calls for the release of all federal files on the late pedophile. Appearing on Fox News 's Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, Vance sought to kill off the uproar that has raged ever since the Justice Department and FBI ruled in early July that the deceased sex trafficker left behind no 'client list' and died by suicide in August 2019. That verdict enraged President Donald Trump 's supporters, who continue to demand answers and allege a 'cover-up' to protect influential people. 'I have to say, Maria, I laugh at the Democrats who are now all of a sudden so interested in the Epstein files,' the VP told Bartiromo on Sunday. 'For four years, Joe Biden and the Democrats did absolutely nothing about this story. We know that Jeffrey Epstein had a lot of connections with left-wing politicians and left-wing billionaires. 'And now President Trump has demanded full transparency from this. And yet somehow the Democrats are attacking him and not the Biden administration, which did nothing for four years.' Vance's comments only succeeded in reviving calls for full disclosure on Epstein after a clip of the interview was circulated on social media. 'Fine. Release all the files,' wrote Defending Democracy's director Bill Kristol. 'With victims and survivors' names and PII redacted. But no redactions of clients, enablers, and see-no-evil associates.' 'The thing about people on that list that bothers me is not their political leanings or their bank account,' said newspaper columnist Brigitte Pellerin. 'Donald Trump's name is in the Epstein files and JD Vance has been plotting with the AG and FBI Director to cover it up,' alleged Pod Save America host Jon Favreau. 'Release the names! Democrats, Republicans, billionaires, or not. What are you afraid of, JD Vance?' Trump continues to face questions about his past friendship with Epstein, but has not been accused of any wrongdoing and is currently suing The Wall Street Journal for reporting that he once sent the sex offender a 'bawdy' doodle for his birthday. It has been reported that the president was briefed by Attorney General Pam Bondi, who stated that his name appears in the files, but this does not imply misconduct. Trump is known to have become increasingly frustrated at the story's continued dominance of the news agenda over the past five weeks and has even lashed out at members of his conservative coalition for obsessing over Epstein. 'Look, the whole thing is a hoax,' he declared impatiently in the Oval Office last week. 'It's put out by the Democrats because we've had the most successful six months in the history of our country. That's just a way of trying to divert attention to something that's total bulls***.' His attempt to dismiss the matter did not satisfy conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, for one, who commented: 'Trump's disastrous handling of the Epstein firestorm last month was starting to die down and now he has let the corporate media bait him into re-launching a new Streisand effect.' Jones was referring to the phenomenon through which a public figure's efforts to suppress an unwanted story only succeed in drawing more attention to it.
Reuters
29 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump urges China to quadruple soybean orders
Aug 10 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday urged China to quadruple its soybean purchases ahead of a key tariff truce deadline, sending Chicago soybean prices higher, though analysts were quick to question the feasibility of any such deal. In a late night post on Truth Social, Trump said China was worried about a shortage of soybeans and he hoped it would quickly quadruple its soybean orders from the U.S. "Rapid service will be provided. Thank you President XI," Trump said in his post. The most active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) jumped 2.38% to $10.11 a bushel at 0637 GMT on Monday after Trump's post. The contract was steady earlier. China, the world's largest soybean buyer, imported roughly 105 million metric tons last year, just under a quarter coming from the U.S. and most of the remainder from Brazil. Quadrupling shipments would require China to import the bulk of its soybeans from the U.S. "It's highly unlikely that China would ever buy four times its usual volume of soybeans from the U.S.," said Johnny Xiang, founder of Beijing-based AgRadar Consulting. A tariff truce between Beijing and Washington is set to expire on August 12, but the Trump administration has hinted that the deadline may be extended. It is unclear if securing China's agreement to buy more U.S. soybeans is a condition for extending the truce as Trump looks to reduce China's trade surplus with the U.S. China's soymeal futures fell 0.65% to 3,068 yuan per metric ton on expectations U.S. imports could increase supply. China's Ministry of Commerce did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Under the Phase One trade deal signed during Trump's first term, China agreed to boost purchases of U.S. agricultural products, including soybeans. However, Beijing fell far short of meeting those targets. This year, amid Washington–Beijing trade tensions, it has yet to buy any fourth quarter U.S. beans, fuelling concerns as the U.S. harvest export season approaches. "On Beijing's side, there have been quite a few signals that China is prepared to forego U.S. soybeans altogether this year, including booking those test cargoes of soymeal from Argentina," said Even Rogers Pay, an agricultural analyst at Trivium China. Reuters previously reported that Chinese feedmakers have purchased three Argentine soymeal cargoes as they aim to secure cheaper South American supplies amid concerns about a possible soybean supply disruption in the fourth quarter. U.S. soybean industry has been seeking alternative buyers, but no other country matches China's scale. Last year, China imported 22.13 million tons of soybeans from the U.S., and 74.65 million tons from Brazil.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Nvidia and AMD reportedly agree to pay 15% of China chip sale revenues to US
Nvidia and AMD have agreed to give the US government 15% of their revenues from chip sales in China, under an unprecedented arrangement to obtain export licenses for the semiconductors, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The revenue share applies to Nvidia's H20 chips and AMD's MI308 chips, the report said, citing a US official, noting that the Trump administration had yet to determine how to use the money. The chipmakers agreed to the quid pro quo arrangement as a condition for obtaining export licenses for the Chinese market that were granted last week, according to the unnamed official. According to export control experts, no US company has ever agreed to pay a portion of their revenues to obtain export licenses, the newspaper reported. But Donald Trump has encouraged firms, and countries, to make investments in the US to, in his words, 'buy down' the tariff rates he imposes. Nvidia follows rules the US government sets for its participation in worldwide markets, an Nvidia spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement. 'While we haven't shipped H20 to China for months, we hope export control rules will let America compete in China and worldwide.' AMD did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The US commerce department started issuing licenses to Nvidia to export its H20 chips to China last week, removing a significant hurdle to the artificial intelligence bellwether's access to a key market. The US in July reversed an April ban on the sale of the H20 chip to China. The company had tailored the microprocessor specially to the Chinese market to comply with the Biden-era AI chip export controls. Nvidia's chips are a major driver of the AI boom, and in July the company became the first ever to have its market value surpass $4tn. Complications facing the company are not necessarily over, however, with growing scrutiny of Nvidia by Chinese authorities. Late last month China's cyberspace watchdog summoned Nvidia to a meeting to discuss whether the chips had any 'backdoor' security risks which would allow remote access or control. Nvidia said they did not. But Chinese state media has continued to raise concerns. In a commentary earlier this month, the People's Daily said Nvidia must produce 'convincing security proofs' to eliminate Chinese users' worries over security risks in its chips and regain market trust. And On Sunday a state media account on Chinese social media platform WeChat said the H20 chips posed a security risk for China. The account, Yuyuan Tantian, claimed Nvidia chips could achieve functions including 'remote shutdown' through a hardware 'backdoor'. Nvidia has not responded. With Reuters
