Trump threatens Musk with 'serious consequences' in spending bill row
US President Donald Trump threatened his former advisor Elon Musk with "serious consequences" Saturday if the tech billionaire seeks to punish Republicans who vote for a controversial spending bill.
The comments by Trump to NBC News come after the relationship between the world's most powerful person and the world's richest imploded in bitter and spectacular fashion this week.
The blistering break-up -- largely carried out on social media before a riveted public on Thursday -- was ignited by Musk's harsh criticism of Trump's so-called "big, beautiful" spending bill, which is currently before Congress.
Some lawmakers who were against the bill had called on Musk -- one of the Republican Party's biggest financial backers in last year's presidential election -- to fund primary challenges against Republicans who voted for the legislation.
"He'll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that," Trump, who also branded Musk "disrespectful," told NBC News on Saturday, without specifying what those consequences would be.
He also said he had "no" desire to repair his relationship with the South African-born Tesla and SpaceX chief, and that he has "no intention of speaking to him."
Just last week, Trump gave Musk a glowing send-off as he left his cost-cutting role at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
But their relationship cracked within days as Musk described as an "abomination" the spending bill that, if passed by Congress, could define Trump's second term in office.
Trump hit back in an Oval Office diatribe and from, there the row detonated, leaving Washington stunned.
With real political and economic risks to their falling out, both had appeared to inch back from the brink on Friday, with Trump telling reporters "I just wish him well," and Musk responding on X: "Likewise."
- 'Old news' -
Trump spoke to NBC Saturday after Musk deleted one of the explosive allegations he had made during their fallout, linking the president with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Musk had alleged that the Republican leader is featured in unreleased government files on former associates of Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while he faced sex trafficking charges.
The Trump administration has acknowledged it is reviewing tens of thousands of documents, videos and investigative material that his "MAGA" movement says will unmask public figures complicit in Epstein's crimes.
Trump was named in a trove of deposition and statements linked to Epstein that were unsealed by a New York judge in early 2024. The president has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the case.
"Time to drop the really big bomb: (Trump) is in the Epstein files," Musk posted on his social media platform, X.
"That is the real reason they have not been made public."
Musk did not reveal which files he was talking about and offered no evidence for his claim.
He initially doubled down on the claim, writing in a follow-up message: "Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out."
However, he appeared to have deleted both tweets by Saturday morning.
Trump dismissed the claim as "old news" in his comments to NBC on Saturday, adding: "Even Epstein's lawyer said I had nothing to do with it."
Supporters on the conspiratorial end of Trump's "Make America Great Again" base allege that Epstein's associates had their roles in his crimes covered up by government officials and others.
They point the finger at Democrats and Hollywood celebrities, although not at Trump himself. No official source has ever confirmed that the president appears in any of the as yet unreleased material.
Trump knew and socialized with Epstein but has denied spending time on Little Saint James, the private redoubt in the US Virgin Islands where prosecutors alleged Epstein trafficked underage girls for sex.
"Terrific guy," Trump, who was Epstein's neighbor in both Florida and New York, said in an early 2000s profile of the financier.
"He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side."
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ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
As John Pesutto faces bankruptcy, the Victorian Liberals struggle to unite
So much of politics is the art of compromise. It's an art form the Victorian Liberals seem unwilling, or unable, to practice as the party once again rips itself apart over the fate of former leader John Pesutto. Unless Mr Pesutto can stump up $2.3 million in the coming weeks, he'll be bankrupted and expelled from state parliament, after he was successfully sued for defamation by his colleague Moira Deeming. On Friday, Mr Pesutto was served an official bankruptcy notice, giving him a 21-day deadline to come up with the money. The Hawthorn MP is desperately trying to raise the money and secure a loan. A proposal for the party to provide that loan still hasn't been landed and is proving a new lightning rod for division and anger. But Mr Pesutto's very public demise is about much more than his defamation defeat — it is about control of the heart of the party. At its core, this contest is about the ideological direction of the Victorian Liberals and is the culmination of years of internal infighting. It's about whether the Liberals are still a "broad church", a term so often used to describe the party. The ABC has spoken to more than a dozen Liberal MPs past and present as well as party figures, who wished to speak anonymously to frankly discuss the state of the party. None, from either side of a widening factional divide, say the opposition is presenting itself as a credible alternative government, despite myriad challenges facing Victorians. The state party room is characterised by personal animus, a focus on petty internal disputes and a desperation to control the party. "It's all about promoting self above the party and the values it can bring to the state or country." After more than a decade in opposition, some Liberals believe MPs are gripped by "institutional opposition", where the only mission goal is internal control. In a sign of just how widespread the rancour is, MPs loyal to both Mr Pesutto and Ms Deeming described the other as a "terrorist" intent on damaging the party just to get their way. Those supporting Ms Deeming think Mr Pesutto should take his medicine and leave parliament if he cannot pay the money. While those behind Mr Pesutto, including former Premier Jeff Kennett, say the party must support a man who was acting in his capacity as leader. "Can you imagine the Labor Party allowing one of their own to be bankrupted,'' Mr Kennett recently wrote to the party's powerful administrative committee, who may decide on a loan for Mr Pesutto. "There are only two questions you need to answer. What is in the best interests of the party? What must we do to give ourselves any chance of winning the state election?" The saga started in early 2023. Ms Pesutto tried to expel Ms Deeming, an outspoken first-term MP, over her attendance at an anti-trans-rights rally. The event, entitled Let Women Speak and categorised by supporters as a women's rights event, was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis. But Mr Pesutto's expulsion attempts backfired, and a court ultimately found he had defamed Ms Deeming on multiple occasions by conveying that she associated with neo-Nazis. In suing Mr Pesutto, Ms Deeming threw out the rule book and disrupted the status quo. "They want someone like me to quit,'' Ms Deeming said in a recent online interview with Club Grubbery, a website started to "provide a voice for all those adversely impacted by the COVID madness". Both Ms Deeming and Mr Pesutto declined to be interviewed for this story. Even with the emphatic court win — $315,000 in damages and $2.3 million in legal costs — Ms Deeming wants total victory. She recently said she had "no idea" why Mr Pesutto remained a Liberal party member. It's a view shared by loud voices outside the state party room, as well as some within. "He tried to silence a woman — don't we already have a problem with women voters?" another said. Mr Pesutto won Hawthorn by 1,500 votes at the 2022 election, returning to parliament after losing his once safe seat to Labor in 2018. The threat now comes from teal independents — Hawthorn sits within the federal seat of Kooyong and the area is one of the strongest for federal MP Monique Ryan. "We can't have a by-election, if we do, we'll get smashed, then we lose all momentum for 2026,'' a senior, despairing, Liberal said. At the heart of this problem is a culture where the Victorian Liberal Party, and many who represent it, are more concerned with internal victories than representing the people. Ms Deeming doesn't like the current direction of the party. She says it has "crashed into the rocks". She wants the party to be more conservative and supports recruiting people that share her views into the party to steer its direction. "We need to take back ownership of the party of the centre right,'' Ms Deeming told Club Grubbery. "We have to get really mercenary about [it], we have to get completely brutal." It's this sort of rhetoric that angers, and frightens, other Liberals — especially from the moderate side who have been railing against a "lurch for the right" for more than a decade. There have been well-publicised efforts and allegations of branch stacking, with operatives targeting Mormon groups and other conservative Christian groups for Liberal membership. In recent times, members of micro-conservative parties who have run for parliament have tried to join the Victorian Liberal Party. Political experts, strategists and indeed some within the Liberal Party know this sort of conservative politics does not wash well with Victorian voters. It is part of the reason Mr Pesutto tried to remove Ms Deeming from the party room. He wanted to assure Victorians his party would not get caught up in culture wars. In a recent interview with the ABC, Mr Pesutto didn't back down. "I was determined, and I remain so now, that I want the Liberal Party to be, and to be seen to be, a party that is broad-based, mainstream, inclusive and can appeal to all Victorians — no matter who you are, whether you own a home or you rent, regardless of how you identify,'' he said. Moira Deeming entered parliament after the 2022 state election following a controversial preselection. Ironically, she won support of moderates in the party as part of a factional war with the other local candidate, one not based on any sort of ideology. As a local councillor, Ms Deeming had pushed back against transgender people accessing women's toilets and playing women's sport, an issue she does not retreat from. When Scott Morrison was prime minister, his office intervened in Victoria to ensure that Ms Deeming was not preselected for a federal seat in 2022 because her views were too distracting from the federal campaign. "Women and girls are suffering in Victoria because this government cannot or will not define what a female is, and as a result every woman and every girl in Victoria has lost the right to enjoy female-only sports, female-only change rooms and countless other female-only activities,'' Ms Deeming said in her first speech to parliament, naming the issue as a priority. It angered several MPs who wanted the opposition to focus on toppling the Labor government. So when Ms Deeming helped organise the Let Women Speak rally on the steps of state parliament, Mr Pesutto pounced. Mr Pesutto had miscalculated how many people within the party shared Ms Deeming's concerns about trans rights. It has cost him dearly. Ms Deeming has found support far and wide within Liberal circles, including from high profile figures such as Peta Credlin, the former chief of staff to Prime Minister Tony Abbott turned Sky News host. Hilton Grugeon, a successful property developer from NSW, also came to her aid and bankrolled her legal case. It's the multi-million dollar loan from him that is causing so much pain for the Victorian Liberals. The saga has taken an incredible personal toll on both MPs. Ms Deeming has often spoken about the trauma it has caused her and her family. Her supporters reluctantly admit that Mr Pesutto and his backers have done well to paint Mr Pesutto as the victim in this sorry episode. But they remain unwavering in the direction the party must take. Since 1982, the Liberal Party has won just two out of 12 elections from opposition, and was returned only once in 1996 under Jeff Kennett. Neither Mr Kennett, who won in 1992, nor Ted Baillieu, who won in 2010, were social conservatives. "The federal election showed that, despite the Liberals enjoying the significant advantage of the unpopular Allan Labor government, Victorians are deeply sceptical of the party's brand in this state,'' Monash University politics professor Paul Strangio said. "The current saga will only reinforce the public's misgivings about the Liberals being a viable alternative governing party.'' Professor Strangio has been watching Victorian politics for decades, and holds grave fears for the Liberal party and what its dysfunction means for the state. Without robust competition for office, there is a risk of declining standards of government. "Victoria was the bedrock of the post-war Menzies-inspired Liberal Party. He insisted that the party's creed ought not to be in any way reactionary. Today that tradition has been effectively bankrupted," he said. "The party in Victoria has dying roots, is riven by philosophical and personality-based animosities, is short on talent and politically inept." Professor Strangio said there was a serious test for current Opposition Leader Brad Battin in this conflict — the new leader has remained tight-lipped on picking a side, provoking anger that he is not doing more to resolve the issue. "He looks like a bystander; he looks like he is washing his hands of a situation that effectively amounts to a proxy war over the direction of his party. It's not tenable for a leader to remain publicly mute in these circumstances,'' Professor Strangio said. "It raises the issue of what kind of premier he would make. How much authority would he actually wield over his party? Who is really in control?" Professor Strangio said the fascination with culture wars and the promotion of deeply socially conservative policies is a fundamental miscalculation by some Liberals. It puts them out of alignment with the sensibility of the majority of Victorians. Equally misguided is the idea that these types of concerns and attitudes resonate with outer suburban voters. "'These are demographically complex, socially and culturally-diverse communities. Aggressive conservatism doesn't speak to them, if anything, it alienates them," he said. Professor Strangio said with its record of chronic underperformance, there was a serious case for some form of federal intervention in the Victorian Liberal Party. But those in the party say an intervention is too difficult and that it would not solve the biggest issue — the personal hostility between state MPs. Finding a compromise is proving difficult. A GoFundMe for Mr Pesutto has raised $212,562 and has now been closed as he works to secure a loan to cover the costs. Other major donations are understood to have been committed privately. A plan has been cooked up for the Liberal party or one of its fundraising arms to provide a loan to him to cover the costs. At the time of writing, a proposal has not been put to the administrative committee who will decide. Mr Battin is a member of the panel along with elected volunteers from the membership. He's now understood to be supportive of some rescue package. Anything to avoid a messy by-election that could present questions for his leadership. There has been some reticence from the party to get involved. When Mr Pesutto first moved on Ms Deeming, the admin wing of the party was essentially told to butt out, as it was a matter for the party room. It's why there's some reluctance, and in some members, complete resistance to helping out Mr Pesutto. "He was pig-headed then, and now he wants our help,'' one senior figure said. The personal animosity is party-wide, not just confined to the MPs. Mr Battin did not create the mess but has to deal with it. It's distracting him from his work of trying to end 12 years in the political wilderness for the Victorian opposition. He wants it resolved and is quietly trying to do so, although publicly he is staying tight-lipped. Even if he can resolve this matter, the challenge remains to try and unify a fractured party room. If Mr Pesutto is bailed out by the party, it will only incense Ms Deeming and her group. But if Mr Pesutto is bankrupted, the party will be just as angry. And there is Ms Deeming's upper house preselection. Among the MPs and party figures canvassed for this story was a view that Ms Deeming would lose preselection for next year's election. If that occurs, you can bet the party infighting will ramp up again. And that will be even closer to polling day.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Coco Gauff beats Aryna Sabalenka to win French Open final in Paris
French Open champion Coco Gauff says her victory in Paris was for people back in the United States who "look like me" and those who struggle amid ongoing political turmoil. Gauff battled from a set down to beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-4 in the final and lift her first French Open crown and second major title. She is the first American to win the French Open since Serena Williams in 2015 and the youngest American to achieve the feat since Williams in 2002. "[The title] means a lot, and obviously there's a lot going on in our country right now with things, like everything … I'm sure you guys know," Gauff told reporters without elaborating further. "But just to be able to be a representation of that and a representation of, I guess, people that look like me in America who maybe don't feel as supported during this time period, and so just being that reflection of hope and light for those people." There has been significant political upheaval in the US following the election of President Donald Trump last year. Gauff was contesting the WTA Finals in Riyadh when the US election was held in November, a tournament she won. "I remember after the election and everything, it kind of felt a down period a little bit and my mum told me during Riyadh, 'Just try to win the tournament, just to give something for people to smile for'," Gauff said. "So that's what I was thinking about today when holding that [trophy]. "Then seeing the flags in the crowd means a lot. Some people may feel some type of way about being patriotic and things like that, but I'm definitely patriotic and proud to be American. "I'm proud to represent the Americans that look like me and people who kind of support the things that I support." Paris was guaranteed a new champion but the first clash between the top two women in the world rankings in a major final since the 2018 Australian Open failed to live up to its billing on Court Philippe-Chatrier, with 100 unforced errors in total. Competing in her third straight major final but first at Roland-Garros, Sabalenka broke to love in the third game with smart play at the net and mixed delicate drop shots and raw power to lead 4-1 in the first set. Gauff was undeterred and broke back from 40-0 down after a shaky service game by Sabalenka and hung on to draw level after eight games as the vocal centre court crowd spurred her on to prolong the contest. What followed was a festival of mistakes from both players in blustery conditions, before Gauff forced a tie-break with a neat backhand winner, only to squander a 4-1 advantage as Sabalenka roared back to take the opening set. Gauff, the 2023 US Open champion, barely flinched and she dialled up the intensity in the second set by claiming four of the opening five games and levelled the contest after her rival's unforced error count climbed to 51. The 2022 French Open runner-up, Gauff stepped up another level in the deciding set to build a 3-1 lead before Sabalenka clawed her way back. But Gauff composed herself just in time and wrapped up the win to spark wild celebrations among her fans. Gauff dropped to the ground in disbelief before shedding tears of joy and racing up the stands to meet her team. Sabalenka was left to digest another major final defeat after losing the Australian Open decider to Madison Keys in January. The result denied the 27-year-old the chance to become the only active woman on tour to lift singles titles at three of the four majors after her success at the Australian Open in 2023-24 and the US Open last year. "Honestly this will hurt so much especially after such a tough two weeks. To show such terrible tennis in the final, it really hurts," a tearful Sabalenka said at the on-court presentation. "You're [Gauff] a fighter, a hard worker, so congratulations to you and your team … thank you to my team for the support. I'm sorry for this terrible final, but I'll come back stronger." Reuters
The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
US and China set for new trade talks in London
Three of US President Donald Trump's top aides are set to meet with their Chinese counterparts in London for talks aimed at resolving a trade dispute between the governments of the world's two largest economies that has kept global markets on edge. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will represent the United States in the talks on Monday, Trump announced in a post on his Truth Social platform. China's foreign ministry said on Saturday that Vice Premier He Lifeng will be in the United Kingdom between Sunday and Friday, adding that the first meeting of the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism would be held during this visit. "The meeting should go very well," Trump wrote. The first meeting of the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism will be held with the United States during He's visit, Chinese authorities said. He led the Chinese side in the first round of trade talks that took place in Switzerland in May. Trump spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday in a rare leader-to-leader call amid weeks of brewing trade tensions and a dispute over critical minerals. Trump and Xi agreed to visit one another and asked their staffs to hold talks in the meantime. Both countries are under pressure to relieve tensions, with the global economy under pressure over Chinese control over the rare earth mineral exports of which it is the dominant producer and investors more broadly anxious about Trump's wider effort to impose tariffs on goods from most US trading partners. China, meanwhile, has seen its own supply of key US imports like chip-design software and nuclear plant parts curtailed. The countries struck a 90-day deal on May 12 in Switzerland to roll back some of the triple-digit, tit-for-tat tariffs they had placed on each other since Trump returned to the presidency in January. That preliminary deal sparked a global relief rally in stock markets, and US indexes that had been in or near bear market levels have recouped the lion's share of their losses. The S&P 500 stock index, which at its lowest point in early April was down nearly 18 per cent after Trump unveiled his sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs on goods from across the globe, is now only about 2 per cent below its record high from mid-February. The final third of that rally followed the US-China truce struck in Geneva. Still, that temporary deal did not address broader concerns that strain the bilateral relationship, from the illicit fentanyl trade to the status of democratically governed Taiwan and US complaints about China's state-dominated export-driven economic model. Three of US President Donald Trump's top aides are set to meet with their Chinese counterparts in London for talks aimed at resolving a trade dispute between the governments of the world's two largest economies that has kept global markets on edge. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will represent the United States in the talks on Monday, Trump announced in a post on his Truth Social platform. China's foreign ministry said on Saturday that Vice Premier He Lifeng will be in the United Kingdom between Sunday and Friday, adding that the first meeting of the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism would be held during this visit. "The meeting should go very well," Trump wrote. The first meeting of the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism will be held with the United States during He's visit, Chinese authorities said. He led the Chinese side in the first round of trade talks that took place in Switzerland in May. Trump spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday in a rare leader-to-leader call amid weeks of brewing trade tensions and a dispute over critical minerals. Trump and Xi agreed to visit one another and asked their staffs to hold talks in the meantime. Both countries are under pressure to relieve tensions, with the global economy under pressure over Chinese control over the rare earth mineral exports of which it is the dominant producer and investors more broadly anxious about Trump's wider effort to impose tariffs on goods from most US trading partners. China, meanwhile, has seen its own supply of key US imports like chip-design software and nuclear plant parts curtailed. The countries struck a 90-day deal on May 12 in Switzerland to roll back some of the triple-digit, tit-for-tat tariffs they had placed on each other since Trump returned to the presidency in January. That preliminary deal sparked a global relief rally in stock markets, and US indexes that had been in or near bear market levels have recouped the lion's share of their losses. The S&P 500 stock index, which at its lowest point in early April was down nearly 18 per cent after Trump unveiled his sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs on goods from across the globe, is now only about 2 per cent below its record high from mid-February. The final third of that rally followed the US-China truce struck in Geneva. Still, that temporary deal did not address broader concerns that strain the bilateral relationship, from the illicit fentanyl trade to the status of democratically governed Taiwan and US complaints about China's state-dominated export-driven economic model. Three of US President Donald Trump's top aides are set to meet with their Chinese counterparts in London for talks aimed at resolving a trade dispute between the governments of the world's two largest economies that has kept global markets on edge. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will represent the United States in the talks on Monday, Trump announced in a post on his Truth Social platform. China's foreign ministry said on Saturday that Vice Premier He Lifeng will be in the United Kingdom between Sunday and Friday, adding that the first meeting of the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism would be held during this visit. "The meeting should go very well," Trump wrote. The first meeting of the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism will be held with the United States during He's visit, Chinese authorities said. He led the Chinese side in the first round of trade talks that took place in Switzerland in May. Trump spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday in a rare leader-to-leader call amid weeks of brewing trade tensions and a dispute over critical minerals. Trump and Xi agreed to visit one another and asked their staffs to hold talks in the meantime. Both countries are under pressure to relieve tensions, with the global economy under pressure over Chinese control over the rare earth mineral exports of which it is the dominant producer and investors more broadly anxious about Trump's wider effort to impose tariffs on goods from most US trading partners. China, meanwhile, has seen its own supply of key US imports like chip-design software and nuclear plant parts curtailed. The countries struck a 90-day deal on May 12 in Switzerland to roll back some of the triple-digit, tit-for-tat tariffs they had placed on each other since Trump returned to the presidency in January. That preliminary deal sparked a global relief rally in stock markets, and US indexes that had been in or near bear market levels have recouped the lion's share of their losses. The S&P 500 stock index, which at its lowest point in early April was down nearly 18 per cent after Trump unveiled his sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs on goods from across the globe, is now only about 2 per cent below its record high from mid-February. The final third of that rally followed the US-China truce struck in Geneva. Still, that temporary deal did not address broader concerns that strain the bilateral relationship, from the illicit fentanyl trade to the status of democratically governed Taiwan and US complaints about China's state-dominated export-driven economic model. Three of US President Donald Trump's top aides are set to meet with their Chinese counterparts in London for talks aimed at resolving a trade dispute between the governments of the world's two largest economies that has kept global markets on edge. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will represent the United States in the talks on Monday, Trump announced in a post on his Truth Social platform. China's foreign ministry said on Saturday that Vice Premier He Lifeng will be in the United Kingdom between Sunday and Friday, adding that the first meeting of the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism would be held during this visit. "The meeting should go very well," Trump wrote. The first meeting of the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism will be held with the United States during He's visit, Chinese authorities said. He led the Chinese side in the first round of trade talks that took place in Switzerland in May. Trump spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday in a rare leader-to-leader call amid weeks of brewing trade tensions and a dispute over critical minerals. Trump and Xi agreed to visit one another and asked their staffs to hold talks in the meantime. Both countries are under pressure to relieve tensions, with the global economy under pressure over Chinese control over the rare earth mineral exports of which it is the dominant producer and investors more broadly anxious about Trump's wider effort to impose tariffs on goods from most US trading partners. China, meanwhile, has seen its own supply of key US imports like chip-design software and nuclear plant parts curtailed. The countries struck a 90-day deal on May 12 in Switzerland to roll back some of the triple-digit, tit-for-tat tariffs they had placed on each other since Trump returned to the presidency in January. That preliminary deal sparked a global relief rally in stock markets, and US indexes that had been in or near bear market levels have recouped the lion's share of their losses. The S&P 500 stock index, which at its lowest point in early April was down nearly 18 per cent after Trump unveiled his sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs on goods from across the globe, is now only about 2 per cent below its record high from mid-February. The final third of that rally followed the US-China truce struck in Geneva. Still, that temporary deal did not address broader concerns that strain the bilateral relationship, from the illicit fentanyl trade to the status of democratically governed Taiwan and US complaints about China's state-dominated export-driven economic model.
