Starbucks Joins China Price War With Discounts for Tea Drinks
Starbucks Corp. on Monday announced price cuts for a slew of its tea-based beverages at its stores across China, as the American coffee chain takes a more aggressive approach to revive sales at its second-biggest market.
Starbucks will reduce prices by 5 yuan (70 cents) on average across more than a dozen Frappuccino, iced tea and tea latte options in its latest campaign to appeal to Chinese consumers for non-coffee offerings during summer, according to a statement posted on the company's official account on Chinese social media WeChat on Monday .
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New York Times
36 minutes ago
- New York Times
China's Chokehold on This Obscure Mineral Threatens the West's Militaries
China's strict controls on the export of heat-resistant magnets made with rare earth minerals have exposed a major vulnerability in the U.S. military supply chain. Without these magnets, the United States and its allies in Europe will struggle to refill recently depleted inventories of military hardware. For more than a decade, the United States has failed to develop an alternative to China's supply of a specific kind of rare earth crucial for the manufacture of magnets for missiles, fighter jets, smart bombs and a lot of other military gear. Rare earth minerals are a central issue in the trade talks between the United States and China now underway in London. China produces the entire world's supply of samarium, a particularly obscure rare earth metal used almost entirely in military applications. Samarium magnets can withstand temperatures hot enough to melt lead without losing their magnetic force. They are essential for withstanding the heat of fast-moving electric motors in cramped spaces like the nose cones of missiles. On April 4, China halted exports of seven kinds of rare earth metals, as well as magnets made from them. China controls most of the world's supply of these metals and magnets. China's Ministry of Commerce declared that these materials had both civilian and military uses, and any further exports would be allowed only with specially issued licenses. The move, according to the ministry, would 'safeguard national security' and 'fulfill international obligations such as nonproliferation.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
40 minutes ago
- New York Times
Trump Administration Live Updates: National Institutes of Health Workers Denounce ‘Harmful' Policies
The U.S. Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, at Lancaster House in London on Monday as trade talks resumed between the United States and China. Top officials from the Trump administration are meeting with their Chinese counterparts in London on Monday for a second round of economic talks, aiming to cement a trade truce between the world's two largest economies. The American delegation is led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Jamieson Greer, the United States' trade representative. China is represented by He Lifeng, the country's vice premier for economic policy, who led the previous round of talks in Switzerland. The meetings are expected to run through Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter. The talks come at a delicate juncture for the global economy, which has been slowed by uncertainty and supply chain disruptions. In April, the United States paused some of the tariffs that Mr. Trump imposed on dozens of countries to provide time for trade negotiations. Those levies, as well as steep import taxes on Chinese goods, were thrust into further uncertainty in late May, when a U.S. trade court deemed them illegal. The tariffs, however, remain in place while an appeal process unfolds. As the U.S. delegation negotiates in London, the Trump administration faces a deadline to make its case to a federal appeals court for why the tariffs should continue. The legal limbo surrounding the tariffs could weaken the Trump administration's hand as it tries to negotiate a broader agreement to give American businesses greater access to China's market, push Beijing to buy more American products and attract more Chinese investment to build factories in the United States. At the same time, the Trump administration wants to make some tariffs essentially permanent to discourage a flood of Chinese exports of manufactured goods. The trade war has triggered sudden and drastic shifts in the flow of Chinese goods, most notably a sharp slowdown of Chinese exports to the United States. China on Monday reported that shipments to the United States fell by over 34 percent in May from the same month a year ago, the steepest decline since 2020. The slowdown may have contributed to Beijing's willingness to meet in London for more trade talks, experts said. In China, a slow-motion housing market collapse over the past four years has wiped out much of the savings of the country's middle class, leaving hundreds of millions of households reluctant to spend. China has tried to offset weak consumer spending at home with a huge, government-financed campaign to build factories and ramp up exports. But the Trump administration, like the Biden administration before it, has been wary that these exports could crush what is left of America's manufacturing sector, which is only half the size of China's. The Trump administration has cited trade imbalances as justification for tariffs against China and dozens of other countries, many of which pay for their own trade deficits with China by running large trade surpluses with the United States. Mr. Trump's trade agenda has upended international commerce this year, sending economic allies and adversaries scrambling to negotiate deals with Washington in hopes of a reprieve on tariff threats. The abrupt announcement of tariffs on America's largest trading partners have often been followed by reversals or pauses, forcing businesses to adjust their plans on the fly and rattling investors. The first round of negotiations between China and the United States, in Geneva last month, ended with promise. The countries agreed to temporarily reduce their tariffs, which exceeded 100 percent as a tit-for-tat trade war escalated. The two sides also agreed to hold additional talks as they worked to lower the temperature. However, the truce appeared to fray in recent weeks. China maintained strict curbs on exports of rare earth magnets that have crippled supply chains. Partly in response to those export curbs, among other things the Trump administration suspended sales to China of technologies related to jet engines, semiconductors and certain chemicals and machinery as well as proposed a plan to revoke visas for Chinese students associated with the Communist Party or studying in certain fields. The standoff frustrated Mr. Trump, who lashed out at China on social media and accused it of 'violating' the Geneva agreement. China hit back, arguing that it was the United States that was undermining the deal. A 90-minute conversation between Mr. Trump and Xi Jinping, China's leader, last week appeared to ease the tension. Mr. Trump suggested that the questions surrounding China's restrictions on critical minerals known as rare earths, and magnets made from them, had been addressed and that talks would proceed. Mr. Trump also seemed to soften his administration's stance on visas for Chinese students. It remains unclear what additional concession Washington or Beijing might be prepared to make in a broader economic agreement. The addition to the U.S. delegation of Mr. Lutnick, who was not part of the talks in May, suggested that there could be greater discussion of American export controls, which his agency oversees. The Trump administration also expressed concerns about China's currency practices in a report to Congress last week. Although it declined to formally label China a currency manipulator, the report warned that it might do so in the future if it found evidence that suggested China was weakening its currency. The talks in London come as many factories in the United States, Europe and Japan are quickly running out of rare earth magnets, for which China produces 90 percent of the world's supply. Beijing announced on April 4 that it would require export licenses for all exports of seven rare earth metals and magnets made from them, which are widely used in cars, drones, speakers, fighter jets and ballistic missiles. Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, said in an interview on CBS's 'Face the Nation' on Sunday that a goal of the talks would be to get shipments of rare earths from China 'to flow just as they did before the beginning of April.' Rare earths are a family of 17 metals found near the bottom of the periodic table. China is particularly dominant in the processing of the seven for which it now requires licenses to export, producing up to 99.9 percent of the world's supply. The big question lies in what concessions by the United States and others will prompt Beijing to allow further shipments of rare earths. In addition to pressing the United States to remove Mr. Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods, China's Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday that it had offered to speed up the approval of rare earth exports to Europe. But the ministry also called for the European Union to remove its recent tariffs on imports of electric cars from China, and it called for the bloc to allow more sales of high-tech goods to China. Under pressure from the United States, the Netherlands has limited the sale to China of equipment for manufacturing the most advanced semiconductors, which have many military as well as civilian applications. Alexandra Stevenson contributed reporting from Hong Kong.
Forbes
42 minutes ago
- Forbes
Eileen Gu Is Joining Shaun White's Snow League As Global Ambassador
Eileen Gu of Team China reacts after winning the gold medal during the Women's Freestyle Freeski ... More Halfpipe Final on Day 14 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at Genting Snow Park on February 18, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China. Shaun White's professional snowboarding and freeskiing competition, The Snow League, debuted this year with a host of big-name sponsors and backers. White's venture is supported by partners like Marriott Bonvoy, INEOS Automotive, Pacifico, Hublot and Tiffany & Co., and it inked a multi-year media rights deal with NBC Sports. These partnerships have allowed White and his team to offer athletes the opportunity to compete for an unprecedented $2.5 million season purse at the end of The Snow League's four-stop season. Now, The Snow League has announced that Eileen Gu, one of the most recognizable names and faces in action sports, is joining as global ambassador. The news is sure to excite freeskiing fans, who eagerly await that sport's debut in the second stop of the Snow League's first season in Yunding Secret Garden in China on December 4–6, 2025. 'Eileen represents everything The Snow League stands for: greatness, creativity and a relentless drive to push boundaries,' White said. 'The Snow League is doing what no other winter sports league has done—bringing together world-class venues, premium global partners and high-profile investors to create an experience that elevates both the athletes and the sports themselves.' Having Gu onboard, White added, 'is not only an asset for the league, but also for the future of winter sports, and I'm so proud to have her as a partner on this journey.' Freeskier Eileen Gu, a powerhouse on and off the slopes, is joining Shaun White's Snow League as ... More global ambassador Gu, at 21, is already making her case as one of the best freeskiers to ever do it. She is as skilled in halfpipe as she is slopestyle and rails. At Beijing 2022, Gu became the youngest freeski Olympic gold medalist at age 18. She's also the first winter sports athlete to claim three medals at both the 2021 X Games and FIS World Championships. In World Cup competition, Gu has made the podium in 89% of her starts. But skiing represents just a fraction of Gu's platform. Gu is a full-time student at Stanford University, where she is studying quantum physics. She is also an in-demand model, having walked the runway for designers like Louis Vuitton and Brunello Cucinelli and been featured on covers of magazines like Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. In short, Gu is a sports and culture powerhouse, truly the freeskiing equivalent to White, who became the face of snowboarding during his pro career. Gu has already served as an ambassador for the 2022 Beijing Olympics, 2024 Gangwon Youth Olympics, 2024 Paris Olympics and Salt Lake City's 2030 Olympic bid. Now, Gu will bring that global crossover appeal to The Snow League as the series prepares for its event in China at the same venue that saw Gu made history, becoming the only action sports athlete to win three medals (two golds and a silver) at the Beijing 2022 Games. The inaugural Snow League event, held in Aspen Snowmass March 7–8, featured snowboard halfpipe only. The final two events of the season in 2026, at Aspen Snowmass again in February and then Laax, Switzerland, in March, will also feature both disciplines. Shaun White poses in the halfpipe after competition on day 2 of The Snow League at Buttermilk Ski ... More Resort on March 08, 2025 in Aspen, Colorado. The list of invited freeski athletes for the remaining Snow League events has not yet been released. 'I vividly remember the first time I heard about The Snow League," Gu told me. 'I was getting my boots fitted in the springtime when my phone rang in my pocket. Shaun and I spoke for over an hour about our common goal of sharing the joy of snowsport with kids and adults all around the world who maybe hadn't engaged in winter sports before.' The partnership is symbolic of The Snow League's—and White's and Gu's—goal of elevating winter sports as a whole, moving beyond the tired skiing vs. snowboarding debate. 'It's about the power of sport to bring people together, cultivate resilience and build sportsmanship,' Gu added. 'I'm excited to align with TSL to make the world better through sport.'
