Trump attacks on unis leave international students in limbo
It's late at night, but Harvard MBA student Fangzhou Jiang is awake and juggling phone calls.
The dual Chinese-New Zealand national did his undergraduate degree on a rare full scholarship at Australian National University before embarking on his Ivy League dreams.
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West Australian
3 hours ago
- West Australian
In China, The Great American burger is now made with Australian beef
At his restaurant in Beijing, Geng Xiaoyun used to offer a special dish of salt-baked chicken feet — or 'phoenix talons' as they are called in China — imported from America. With prices climbing 30 per cent from March due to tariffs, the owner of Kunyuan restaurant had to pull the Chinese delicacy from the menu. 'American chicken feet are so beautiful,' Xiaoyun said. 'They're spongy so they taste great. Chinese [chicken] feet just aren't as good.' Geng can now source chicken feet from Brazil or Russia but said they just don't stand up to the American ones. He keeps a small stash for himself but hopes to serve his American phoenix talons once again. 'The price of American chicken feet will come back down,' Xiaoyun said, 'as long as there are no big changes in the world's political situation.' But the 90-day tariff pause agreed by China and the US in Geneva in May is now under threat as both sides have accused each other of breaching the terms. On Monday, the Chinese Commerce Ministry responded to President Donald Trump's claim that the country 'totally violated its agreement'. The ministry pointed at recent US artificial intelligence chip export controls as actions that 'severely undermine' the Geneva pact. As the world waits and watches, American agricultural products have been vanishing from Chinese stores and restaurants and losing ground to other imports. US Department of Agriculture grade beef has been a draw for years at Home Plate, a Beijing restaurant known locally for its American-style barbecue. However, staff said the restaurant stopped serving American beef last month. Dishes like The Great American burger are made with beef imported from Australia. Australian beef has zero duty under the terms of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, though China does maintain the right to a safeguard limit on those imports. Liu Li, a beef supplier at the Sanyuanli market for three decades, said the tariffs have disrupted supply, hiking the price of US beef by 50 per cent compared to before the tariff fight. 'US beef is fattier and tastier,' Li said. 'It's a shame we're in a trade war. The high price is just too much to bear.' CNBC
Sky News AU
4 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Strategic expert blasts Anthony Albanese's 'bizarre' attack on defence spending report as Australia faces a 'crisis situation'
Strategic Analysis Australia Director Peter Jennings has blasted Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after he lashed out at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) and refused to meet the United States halfway on defence spending. Sky News' Sunday Agenda reported Mr Albanese would not accept the US request and would stand by Labor's existing policy of increasing defence funding. Under the government's projections, defence spending is forecast to reach 2.33 per cent of GDP by 2033–34, up from about 2.05 per cent in 2025-26. The Prime Minister launched a verbal attack on ASPI last week after it published a report criticising the government's funding trajectory. 'Seriously, they need to, I think, have a look at themselves as well and the way that they conduct themselves in debates,' Mr Albanese told ABC Radio. 'We've had a Defence Strategic Review. We've got considerable additional investment going into defence – $10 billion." Mr Jennings - who worked at ASPI for years - said Mr Albanese's comments were 'bizarre' and not reflective of someone who wanted to present himself as an 'elder statesman in Australian politics'. 'You know, Anthony Albanese, he shouldn't be so glass-jawed,' he said. 'What ASPI was saying in that report is pretty much the mainstream view of that small group of people which actually looks at defence and security, which is that we are significantly underfunded.' Mr Jennings said the current defence force was being 'cannibalised' to pay for future submarines, which he said would not materialise for 10 to 15 years. The strategic expert said Australia was facing a 'crisis situation' which was acknowledged by 'almost everyone that looks at defence'. 'Even those people that don't like the American alliance say that we need to be spending more on defence,' he said. 'So for the Prime Minister to be so sort of mean in the way he picked out ASPI I thought was bizarre.' Mr Jennings claimed it was one of China's demands of Australia to have think tanks 'shut down' that are critical of them. 'Why is the Prime Minister giving this gift to the Chinese?' he said. 'You know, he really needs to be more broad-shouldered and actually look at the content of that ASPI report, which was pretty good.' Mr Jennings argued the government had made 'virtually minimal change' to the 2016 Defence White Paper projections, which outline the strategic plan for the ADF over the following decade. The SAA director said the plan no longer fits the strategic circumstances Australia now faces with the conflict in Europe and the Middle East, and the 'much greater risk of conflict' in the Asia-Pacific region. Mr Jennings said Australia had been 'riding the coattails' of American security for the past 20 to 30 years and had now been warned by US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth to increase defence spending. 'I'm sad that Australian governments haven't seen their own way to concluding that we need to spend more on defence. But the call from Pete Hegseth is timely,' he told Sky News host Peta Credlin. "We really should be paying attention to it.' Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore last week, Mr Hegseth warned the threat of China was real and potentially imminent as he pushed allies in the Indo-Pacific to spend more on their own defence needs. Mr Hegseth echoed the Trump administration's motto of maintaining 'peace through strength' and stressed the importance of restoring the 'warrior ethos'. Mr Jennings told Sky News that Mr Hegseth's plea was a 'warning from our closest ally to say we've got to get our act in order'. The strategy expert told Credlin that China's President Xi Jinping was not going to 'die wondering' about Taiwan and insisted he would make his move by the end of the decade. '(Defence Minister) Richard Marles at Shangri-La kept talking about a lack of transparency in Chinese planning. That's simply not true. Xi has been telling the military to be ready for war in 2027,' he said. 'He says it repeatedly when he gives speeches. Of course, they'd rather take over Taiwan peacefully, but I think they are more than prepared to do it militarily if they feel they have to. And something in the second half of this decade is going to happen.' Former chief of army Peter Leahy said the Prime Minister's hesitation to up defence spending was an 'abrogation of the primary responsibility' of government. 'The almost total lack of consideration of defence matters during the recent election campaign and the current focus on a far-off distant, enormously expensive force demonstrates how willing our politicians are prepared to tolerate risk,' General Leahy told The Australian. 'This is an abrogation of the primary responsibility of our elected representatives to provide for the defence and security of the nation and the safety of our servicemen and women. 'Those who wear Australia's uniform place great trust in those who task and equip them. This trust is not being honoured.' Shadow defence minister Angus Taylor said Australia must commit to increasing defence spending to at least 3 per cent, adding that Labor 'must find ways to finance it'. Mr Taylor said he worked closely with Andrew Hastie, James Paterson and Jane Hume on the Coalition's commitment to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP within five years and 3 per cent withing a decade. 'The first duty of any government is to protect its citizens. Labor is failing to match this serious duty with funding and action. It needs to catch up or risk jeopardising Australia's safety,' Mr Taylor wrote in The Australian on Tuesday. 'We must move from rhetoric to readiness… We can't afford another decade of 'on-hold' projects. Every delay widens the gap between what Australia needs and what the ADF can actually deliver. 'Defence must be delivered, not just promised.'
AU Financial Review
5 hours ago
- AU Financial Review
ASX to rise, S&P 500 closes higher
Australian shares are set to open higher, tracking a recovery in New York from an opening drop amid competing data, trade and geopolitical headlines. US bond yields surged higher and the greenback extended its losses. The Australian dollar leapt 1 per cent. 'Short covering and new risk flows drove an increase in bullish positioning across US large cap indexes, with position levels now the highest observed over the past month,' Citigroup's Chris Montagu said. Still, investors 'remain cautious', Montagu also said. As US and China exchange allegations of trade agreement violations, the White House is pressing for direct talks in a phone call between President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at some point this week. Shortly after the closing bell, the US said it would extend its tariff pause on some Chinese goods until the end of August. Market highlights ASX futures are pointing up 74 points or 0.9 per cent to 8508. All US prices at 4.15pm New York time. Today's agenda A key focus on Tuesday will be the handing down of the annual award wage decision at 10am AEST. NAB said: 'With inflation back below 3 per cent, the decision is likely to be less consequential for overall wage growth, and result in an award wage rise of around 3.5 per cent.' Separately, the RBA will release minutes from its May meeting at 11.30am and Sarah Hunter, RBA assistant governor (economic) will give the keynote speech – Joining the Dots: Exploring Australia's Links with the World Economy – to the Economic Society of Australia Queensland Business Lunch, Brisbane at 1pm. eToro's Josh Gilbert said he's looking for the minutes to provide a deeper insight into the RBA's current outlook amid global economic uncertainty. 'The RBA remains cautious about inflation, and we can clearly see why. While the inflation figures aren't a reason to panic, they do mean that a rate cut in July is certainly not nailed on. Last week's rate cut, in which the cash rate decreased to 3.85 per cent, doesn't necessarily set the stage for back-to-back cuts.' There will be several GDP partial data points released on Tuesday, as well as NZ's international trade data, China Caixin PMI manufacturing, Eurozone CPI and later US durable goods, factory orders and JOLTS job openings. Top stories Greens senator defects to Labor on eve of super tax talks | The defection came just an hour after Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young suggested the minor party could compromise on its demands the government drop the threshold for the proposed tax and index it. | Assistant Minister for Productivity Andrew Leigh said government too often rewarded process over outcomes. Chanticleer: This is what the Soul Patts deal is really about | There's plenty of history in Soul Patts' merger with Brickworks, but at the heart of the deal is a $2 billion prize that completes Soul Patts' portfolio.
