
China calls on WTO for greater oversight on unilateral tariffs
BEIJING, June 4 (Reuters) - China's commerce minister has called on the World Trade Organisation to strengthen supervision over unilateral tariffs, and put forward objective and neutral policy proposals, the ministry said on Wednesday.
At a WTO ministerial meeting in France, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reiterated China's stance on upholding a multilateral trading system and said WTO has the country's backing for a more important role in global economic governance.
Wang also met with European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic and had a "pragmatic and frank" discussion with his Canadian counterpart.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BBC News
32 minutes ago
- BBC News
Uzbekistan qualify for first World Cup - and who else is through?
Uzbekistan have qualified for their first World Cup after drawing with the United Arab Emirates on become the eighth team to secure their place at the expanded 48-team tournament in United States, Canada and Mexico in three hosts have qualified automatically, while Uzbekistan join Japan, New Zealand, Iran and Argentina to have earned their could be joined later on Thursday by Jordan, also bidding to qualify for the first time, and South 57th in the world and, with a population of 36 million, Uzbekistan played their first match as a sovereign nation in June 1992 after leaving the Soviet Union, and were accepted by world governing body Fifa two years closest Uzbekistan came previously to qualifying was during a controversial campaign in 2006, when they were in a two-legged playoff against Bahrain to determine who would be the Asian Football Confederation's representative to face Concacaf's Trinidad and Tobago. The winner of that match would then qualify for the finals in won the first leg 1-0, but a refereeing error led to Fifa ordering the match be played again, and they ultimately lost out on away Uzbeks, however, have qualified for every Asian Cup finals since 1996 and progressed to the knockout phase in each appearance since 2004, including a run to the semi-finals in 2011 and the quarter-finals last how does World Cup qualifying work? South America Qualifying places: Six, plus one into intercontinental play-offsTeams already through: ArgentinaSouth American qualifying comprises a big group involving all 10 teams - and started in September top six all reach the World Cup, with seventh place going into the intercontinental four out of 18 games left, Argentina - who have already qualified - Ecuador, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay and Colombia occupy the top six - with Venezuela seventh. Asia Qualifying places: Eight, plus one into intercontinental play-offsTeams already through: Japan, Iran, UzbekistanAsian qualifying started in October 2023 with the lower-ranked teams in are now in the third round, where the top two teams in three different groups qualify Iran and Uzbekistan have now already sealed their slots, while South Korea, Jordan and Australia currently occupy automatic qualification teams who finish third and fourth in each six-team group go on to a fourth round where they have another chance to qualify. There is even a fifth round. Africa Qualifying places: Nine, plus one into intercontinental play-offsTeams already through: NoneThere are nine African groups of World Cup qualifying, each with six teams, which started in November top team in each group go through automatically. With four games to go, the current leaders are Egypt, DR Congo, South Africa, Cape Verde, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Tunisia and best four runners-up go into play-offs... for the chance to compete in the intercontinental play-offs. North, Central American and Caribbean Qualifying places: Six (including three hosts), plus two into intercontinental play-offsTeams already through: None through qualifying - USA, Canada and Mexico automatically as co-hostsThe Concacaf qualifying takes a different look, with three of their biggest hitters not involved as they have qualified as hosts - but still plenty of spots up for Europe, there is still a long way to go with qualifying not possible until the are six five-team groups, with the top two from each advancing to the next third round then has three groups of four teams - with the winners of each group going to the World Cup and the two best-ranked runners-up going into the intercontinental play-offs. Europe Qualifying places: 16Teams already through: NoneThere are 12 groups - with the winners of each group qualifying for the World Cup and the 12 runners-up going into play-offs with the four best-ranked Uefa Nations League group winners that have not already qualified - for four extra is the only continent that does not have a team in the intercontinental only started in March - with some teams not even playing their first qualifiers until September while the Nations League groups end in November, with the play-offs in March 2026. Oceania Qualifying places: One, plus one into intercontinental play-offsTeams already through: New ZealandOceania qualifying has already ended - with New Zealand beating New Caledonia 3-0 in the Zealand go through to the World Cup automatically, as a result of the expanded World Cup. Oceania usually only gets a play-off Caledonia, a French overseas territory, will take place in intercontinental play-offs in March 2026 - featuring teams from Africa, Asia, South America and North America - with two out of six teams going through.


Daily Mail
35 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
New virus discovered in China is 'one small step' away from triggering a pandemic, scientists warn
A dangerous new coronavirus discovered in China could spark the next pandemic, scientists warn. American researchers say the new HKU5-CoV-2 virus is just one 'small' mutation away from being able to infect and cause outbreaks in humans. The discovery is causing alarm because the pathogen is closely related to MERS, a highly lethal virus that kills up to a third of those it infects. Adding to the controversy is the fact HKU5 was first documented in bats by researchers from the Chinese lab where Covid is feared to have leaked from. For the latest study, a team from Washington State University studied how the new pathogen interacts with human cells in lab experiments. Professor Michael Letko, a virologist at Washington State who co-led the study, said: 'HKU5 viruses in particular really hadn't been looked at much, but our study shows how these viruses infect cells. 'What we also found is HKU5 viruses may be only a small step away from being able to spill over into humans.' The findings reveal that a small change in the virus's spike protein could enable it to bind to human ACE2 cells, which are found in people's throats, mouths and noses. Researchers collected the HKU5-CoV-2 strain from a small subset of hundreds of bats swabbed across southern and eastern regions of China. It is currently only spreading in bats - but experts fear unregulated wildlife trade in China raises risk of spillover events. In their experiments, the researchers used gene-editing tools to create 'pseudoviruses', lab-made virus particles that include the HKU5 spike protein but are harmless and don't replicate. These pseudoviruses were introduced to different types of cells, some carrying bat ACE2 and others carrying human ACE2. The virus glowed green when it successfully entered and replicated inside a cell. Bat cells lit up brightly, showing HKU5 can easily infect them. Human cells, however, showed little response unless the virus carried specific mutations that improved its ability to latch onto ACE2. The results raise concern that if HKU5 jumps to an intermediate animal, such as mink or civets, it could acquire mutatations before reaching humans. The FBI and CIA believe COVID-19 most likely originated from a lab leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which was working with dangerous coronaviruses in the years leading up to the pandemic. Another theory points to a wet market, where dozens of animals were kept in squalid conditions, possibly serving as an intermediate host before the virus jumped to humans. The new study published in the Nature Communications, focused on a lesser-known group of coronaviruses known as merbecoviruses, which includes HKU5 and MERS-CoV, the virus responsible for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012. MERS spreads from camels to humans and has a fatality rate of about 34 percent. To visualize the virus's structure, scientists used cryo-electron microscopy, a high-resolution imaging method that allowed them to examine the spike protein in detail. They found that key parts of the spike remained in a 'closed' position, which makes infection more difficult, but not impossible. 'These viruses are so closely related to MERS, so we have to be concerned if they ever infect humans,' Letko said. 'While there's no evidence they've crossed into people yet, the potential is there and that makes them worth watching.' Earlier this year, scientists in Wuhan reported that one strain of HKU5, Lineage 2, could already bind to human ACE2 receptors. That means it might infect human cells without needing to evolve further. Now, US researchers have broadened the investigation, studying the entire merbecovirus family, not just one strain, but dozens, including MERS-CoV and multiple HKU5 variants, to better understand their potential to infect human cells. Lineage 2 appears more immediately dangerous, already equipped to enter human cells. But this new study reveals that several other type of HKU5 viruses may only be a few mutations away from doing the same.


Reuters
41 minutes ago
- Reuters
Canada's Carney and Trump hold secret talks on trade and security, Globe and Mail reports
June 5 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is secretly holding direct talks with U.S. President Donald Trump to work out a framework for a trade and security agreement, the Globe and Mail reported on Thursday. The talks between the leaders and top cabinet ministers are being held discreetly to ensure a positive outcome, the report said, citing the U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra. The talks include Canadian Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the newspaper said, adding that a deal could be reached before September. "The indications that they are talking and in communications regularly is a clear indicator to me that both sides recognize the importance and the urgency of moving this forward," Hoekstra told the Globe and Mail. Carney's office declined to comment and the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.