TikTok building new version of app ahead of expected US sale: report
This comes as US President Donald Trump said on Friday he will start talking to China on Monday or Tuesday about a possible TikTok deal.
He said the United States 'pretty much' has a deal on the sale of the TikTok short-video app.
TikTok has developed a plan to launch the new app to US app stores on Sep 5, the report said.
Last month, Trump extended to Sep 17 a deadline for China-based ByteDance to divest the US assets of TikTok.
The report added that TikTok users will eventually have to download the new app to be able to continue using the service, although the existing app will work until March of next year, though the timeline could change.
TikTok did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.
A deal had been in the works earlier this year to spin off TikTok's US operations into a new US-based firm, majority-owned and operated by US investors. That was put on hold after China indicated it would not approve it following Trump's announcements of steep tariffs on Chinese goods.
Trump said the United States will probably have to get a deal approved by China. REUTERS
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Business Times
36 minutes ago
- Business Times
Here are the top 10 best performing stocks in Singapore's STI for the first half
[SINGAPORE] The Singapore market has done well this first half of 2025, as investors flocked to safe havens amid volatility caused by tariff uncertainty and tensions intensifying in the Middle East. The Straits Times Index reached a new high of 4011.78 last Wednesday (Jul 2). As at Friday, the index has advanced nearly 6 per cent year to date (YTD) – comparable to that of the S&P 500, which is up by slightly over 6.7 per cent. Various Singapore Exchange (SGX)-listed counters such as Sembcorp Industries, UOL Group and DFI Retail Group recorded over 30 per cent YTD returns, and are within the top 10 performing stocks in the Straits Times Index. The trio of local banks – DBS, UOB and OCBC – however, are not within this list, as they take 18th, 19th and 20th place respectively, in terms of total returns YTD. YTD, these companies took the top 10 spots: 1. ST Engineering The technology, engineering and defence company had a strong run for the first half of this year, with a YTD return of 72.3 per cent, as the group recorded a surge of contract wins worth nearly S$4.4 billion in Q1. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up As such, this brought ST Engineering's order book to S$29.8 billion as at Mar 31. Some S$7.3 billion of these contracts are expected to be delivered this year. The group's commercial aerospace segment reportedly accounted for about S$1.3 billion of the new jobs, defence and public security S$2.7 billion, and the rest came from the urban solutions and satcom segment. Despite the ongoing tariff war, ST Engineering said on May 9 that it sees 'immaterial financial impact' for the group, but continues to monitor the 'evolving situation'. The counter was trading 0.3 per cent or S$0.02 lower at S$7.78, as at 11:08 am on Monday. On Jun 25, the company also divested its entire equity interest in ST Engineering LeeBoy, a US-based construction equipment manufacturer, for an estimated US$290 million. It also issued US$750 million of 4.25 per cent notes due 2030 via its subsidiary, ST Engineering RHQ, to bolster its capital structure and support future investments. 2. Hong Kong Land The property developer has made a comeback in the first half of 2025 with a YTD return of 49.2 per cent, after announcing that it would sell 147,025 square feet (sq ft) of One Exchange Square to Hong Kong's stock exchange operator for HK$6.3 billion (S$1.1 billion). This is in addition to the group's plans to launch a share buyback programme. Earlier on Mar 7, the company had posted a 44 per cent lower underlying profit of US$410 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2024, from US$734 million a year prior. The group, which is part of the Jardine-Matheson stable, has said that it is pivoting its business to focus on ultra-premium mixed-use commercial properties in Asia's 'gateway' cities. As at 11:10 am, shares of Hong Kong Land were trading 1.6 per cent or S$0.1 lower at S$6.24. 3. Sembcorp Industries The state-owned energy and urban development company came in as the third top-performing stock on the SGX, with a 33.6 per cent YTD return. The group has been developing various partnerships in the Asia region, as two commercial agreements involving Sembcorp Industries were inked during the 15th Singapore-Indonesia Six Bilateral Economic Working Groups Ministerial Meeting on Jun 15. Additionally, on Jun 12, the group's wholly owned renewables subsidiary Sembcorp Green Infra was awarded a 50 megawatt round-the-clock power project from Indian public-sector company Solar Energy Corporation of India. The subsidiary was also awarded a solar-energy storage hybrid project by SJVN, an Indian state-owned power company on May 29. Shares of Sembcorp were trading up 2.7 per cent, or S$0.19 at S$7.33 as at 11.10 am. 4. DFI Retail Group The pan-Asian retailer recorded a YTD return of 31.7 per cent, amid various divestments by the company in recent times. The company had sold Chinese supermarket operator Yonghui Superstores to low-cost retailer Miniso in late 2024, leading to an 18 per cent decline in underlying profit for Q1 2025 compared with the same period a year ago. This considering how the Shanghai-listed player contributed US$23 million in earnings in the corresponding period a year ago. The group also divested its 22.2 per cent stake in Robinsons Retail for an undisclosed sum on May 30. Since then, however, analysts from DBS have a 'buy' rating on DFI Retail, and raised its target price from US$3 to US$3.60 on Jun 9, in light of 'a stronger and more focused business strategy'. As at 11.12 am on Monday, shares in DFI Retail were trading 0.7 per cent or US$0.02 higher at US$2.90. 5. UOL Group The real estate player recorded a YTD return of 31.2 per cent, as it secured more tender wins and launched more developments in its joint venture projects. Its indirect subsidiary Qin Rui Jia (Shanghai) Realty Co had teamed up with China Jinmao Holdings Group on a 10:90 basis for the government land sales tender, which closed on Feb 27. Additionally, the group's joint Tampines project with Singapore Land and CapitaLand Development – Parktown Residence – began previews on Feb 7, with prices starting in the S$2,100 to S$2,300 per sq ft range. This comes after UOL's 60 per cent net profit decline to S$227.8 million for the six months ended Dec 31, 2024, though it saw growth across its key segments that drove a 16 per cent rise in revenue to S$1.5 billion for the period. Its shares were trading at S$6.40, 1.2 per cent or S$0.08 lower as at 11.14 am. 6. Jardine Matheson The Hong Kong-based conglomerate is in sixth place with a 26.9 per cent YTD return. This is good news for the group which had announced earlier on Mar 10 that it logged an 11.4 per cent decrease in underlying profit to US$1.5 billion for its full year ended Dec 31, 2024, from US$1.7 billion in the previous corresponding period. The group attributed the fall in profit to significantly lower contribution from Hong Kong-listed automotive dealership group Zhongsheng. The other drag on profit was due to reduced profit from Hongkong Land due to non-cash impairments it incurred from its build-to-sell segment on the Chinese mainland. Shares in Jardine Matheson were trading 0.02 per cent or US$0.01 lower at US$49.35, as at 11.16 am. 7. Singtel The local telecommunications giant had a 25.3 per cent return YTD, after returning to the black with a net profit of S$2.8 billion for its second half ended March, compared with a net loss of S$1.3 billion for the previous corresponding period. Singtel also authorised its first share buyback programme of up to S$2 billion on May 22. The programme, which will be delivered over the course of three years until financial year 2028, involves the purchase of shares in the open market that will subsequently be cancelled. It also incorporated its wholly owned subsidiaries in Singapore such as Singtel International Digital Services (IDS) and IDS Cloud during this period as well. The counter as at 11.16 am was trading at 0.3 per cent or S$0.01 lower at S$3.85. 8. Singapore Exchange (SGX) In eight position, SGX itself recorded a 20.7 per cent YTD return, after seeing various listings on the bourse in H1. Japanese telco Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) filed to list a real estate investment trust (Reit) on Jun 27 – possibly the largest S-Reit listing in ten years. Meanwhile, software services provider Info-Tech Systems closed at S$0.35, about 16.6 per cent above its initial public offering (IPO) price of S$0.30 on its first trading day on Jul 4. Automotive group Vin's Holdings (VH) also made its listing debut on Apr 15 on SGX this year, as the first IPO on the bourse in 2025. SGX's shares were trading at 0.3 per cent or S$0.04 higher at S$15.21 as at 11.16am. 9. Capitaland Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) The largest Reit listed on the Singapore bourse had a 16.4 per cent return YTD. This comes after the manager of the trust on May 2 decided to sell its stake in the serviced residence component of CapitaSpring worth S$126 million, with the transaction expected to conclude in the second quarter of 2025. A week earlier, on Apr 25, CICT posted a 0.8 per cent dip in net property income of S$291.5 million for its first quarter of FY2025 from the same year-ago period. This came as revenue shrank 0.8 per cent on the year to S$395.3 million. Units in CICT were trading flat at S$2.20 as at 11.17am. 10. Keppel The asset manager recorded a 16 per cent YTD return thanks to successful green infrastructure tie-ups in H1, and the appointment of former DBS chief executive Piyush Gupta as deputy chairman and non-executive independent director of its board, effective Jul 1. Keppel partnered Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank on Jun 25 to facilitate up to US$1.5 billion worth of sustainable infrastructure investments and financing opportunities in the Asia-Pacific. The venture will last for an initial five-year period up to December 2030. Its infrastructure division will also work with Chinese tech giant Huawei International to design and develop solar photovoltaic systems and battery energy storage system technologies for interconnected power grids across South-east Asia, according to a company statement on May 13. The company on Jun 6 also said it will divest its stakes in a New-York based company and a logistics park in China to unlock more than S$80 million from the monetisation of non-core assets. As at 11.19 am on Monday, the counter was trading 0.3 per cent or S$0.02 lower at S$7.61.
Business Times
an hour ago
- Business Times
STI's top performing stocks for the first half year revealed
[SINGAPORE] The Singapore market has done well this first half of 2025, as investors flocked to safe havens amid volatility caused by tariff uncertainty and tensions intensifying in the Middle East. The Straits Times Index reached a new high of 4011.78 last Wednesday (Jul 2). As at Friday, the index has advanced nearly 6 per cent year to date (YTD) – comparable to that of the S&P 500, which is up by slightly over 6.7 per cent. Various Singapore Exchange (SGX)-listed counters such as Sembcorp Industries, UOL Group and DFI Retail Group recorded over 30 per cent YTD returns, and are within the top 10 performing stocks in the Straits Times Index. The trio of local banks – DBS, UOB and OCBC – however, are not within this list, as they take 18th, 19th and 20th place respectively, in terms of total returns YTD. YTD, these companies took the top 10 spots: 1. ST Engineering The technology, engineering and defence company had a strong run for the first half of this year, with a YTD return of 72.3 per cent, as the group recorded a surge of contract wins worth nearly S$4.4 billion in Q1. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up As such, this brought ST Engineering's order book to S$29.8 billion as at Mar 31. Some S$7.3 billion of these contracts are expected to be delivered this year. The group's commercial aerospace segment reportedly accounted for about S$1.3 billion of the new jobs, defence and public security S$2.7 billion, and the rest came from the urban solutions and satcom segment. Despite the ongoing tariff war, ST Engineering said on May 9 that it sees 'immaterial financial impact' for the group, but continues to monitor the 'evolving situation'. The counter was trading 0.3 per cent or S$0.02 lower at S$7.78, as at 11:08 am on Monday. On Jun 25, the company also divested its entire equity interest in ST Engineering LeeBoy, a US-based construction equipment manufacturer, for an estimated US$290 million. It also issued US$750 million of 4.25 per cent notes due 2030 via its subsidiary, ST Engineering RHQ, to bolster its capital structure and support future investments. 2. Hong Kong Land The property developer has made a comeback in the first half of 2025 with a YTD return of 49.2 per cent, after announcing that it would sell 147,025 square feet (sq ft) of One Exchange Square to Hong Kong's stock exchange operator for HK$6.3 billion (S$1.1 billion). This is in addition to the group's plans to launch a share buyback programme. Earlier on Mar 7, the company had posted a 44 per cent lower underlying profit of US$410 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2024, from US$734 million a year prior. The group, which is part of the Jardine-Matheson stable, has said that it is pivoting its business to focus on ultra-premium mixed-use commercial properties in Asia's 'gateway' cities. As at 11:10 am, shares of Hong Kong Land were trading 1.6 per cent or S$0.1 lower at S$6.24. 3. Sembcorp Industries The state-owned energy and urban development company came in as the third top-performing stock on the SGX, with a 33.6 per cent YTD return. The group has been developing various partnerships in the Asia region, as two commercial agreements involving Sembcorp Industries were inked during the 15th Singapore-Indonesia Six Bilateral Economic Working Groups Ministerial Meeting on Jun 15. Additionally, on Jun 12, the group's wholly owned renewables subsidiary Sembcorp Green Infra was awarded a 50 megawatt round-the-clock power project from Indian public-sector company Solar Energy Corporation of India. The subsidiary was also awarded a solar-energy storage hybrid project by SJVN, an Indian state-owned power company on May 29. Shares of Sembcorp were trading up 2.7 per cent, or S$0.19 at S$7.33 as at 11.10 am. 4. DFI Retail Group The pan-Asian retailer recorded a YTD return of 31.7 per cent, amid various divestments by the company in recent times. The company had sold Chinese supermarket operator Yonghui Superstores to low-cost retailer Miniso in late 2024, leading to an 18 per cent decline in underlying profit for Q1 2025 compared with the same period a year ago. This considering how the Shanghai-listed player contributed US$23 million in earnings in the corresponding period a year ago. The group also divested its 22.2 per cent stake in Robinsons Retail for an undisclosed sum on May 30. Since then, however, analysts from DBS have a 'buy' rating on DFI Retail, and raised its target price from US$3 to US$3.60 on Jun 9, in light of 'a stronger and more focused business strategy'. As at 11.12 am on Monday, shares in DFI Retail were trading 0.7 per cent or US$0.02 higher at US$2.90. 5. UOL Group The real estate player recorded a YTD return of 31.2 per cent, as it secured more tender wins and launched more developments in its joint venture projects. Its indirect subsidiary Qin Rui Jia (Shanghai) Realty Co had teamed up with China Jinmao Holdings Group on a 10:90 basis for the government land sales tender, which closed on Feb 27. Additionally, the group's joint Tampines project with Singapore Land and CapitaLand Development – Parktown Residence – began previews on Feb 7, with prices starting in the S$2,100 to S$2,300 per sq ft range. This comes after UOL's 60 per cent net profit decline to S$227.8 million for the six months ended Dec 31, 2024, though it saw growth across its key segments that drove a 16 per cent rise in revenue to S$1.5 billion for the period. Its shares were trading at S$6.40, 1.2 per cent or S$0.08 lower as at 11.14 am. 6. Jardine Matheson The Hong Kong-based conglomerate is in sixth place with a 26.9 per cent YTD return. This is good news for the group which had announced earlier on Mar 10 that it logged an 11.4 per cent decrease in underlying profit to US$1.5 billion for its full year ended Dec 31, 2024, from US$1.7 billion in the previous corresponding period. The group attributed the fall in profit to significantly lower contribution from Hong Kong-listed automotive dealership group Zhongsheng. The other drag on profit was due to reduced profit from Hongkong Land due to non-cash impairments it incurred from its build-to-sell segment on the Chinese mainland. Shares in Jardine Matheson were trading 0.02 per cent or US$0.01 lower at US$49.35, as at 11.16 am. 7. Singtel The local telecommunications giant had a 25.3 per cent return YTD, after returning to the black with a net profit of S$2.8 billion for its second half ended March, compared with a net loss of S$1.3 billion for the previous corresponding period. Singtel also authorised its first share buyback programme of up to S$2 billion on May 22. The programme, which will be delivered over the course of three years until financial year 2028, involves the purchase of shares in the open market that will subsequently be cancelled. It also incorporated its wholly owned subsidiaries in Singapore such as Singtel International Digital Services (IDS) and IDS Cloud during this period as well. The counter as at 11.16 am was trading at 0.3 per cent or S$0.01 lower at S$3.85. 8. Singapore Exchange (SGX) In eight position, SGX itself recorded a 20.7 per cent YTD return, after seeing various listings on the bourse in H1. Japanese telco Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) filed to list a real estate investment trust (Reit) on Jun 27 – possibly the largest S-Reit listing in ten years. Meanwhile, software services provider Info-Tech Systems closed at S$0.35, about 16.6 per cent above its initial public offering (IPO) price of S$0.30 on its first trading day on Jul 4. Automotive group Vin's Holdings (VH) also made its listing debut on Apr 15 on SGX this year, as the first IPO on the bourse in 2025. SGX's shares were trading at 0.3 per cent or S$0.04 higher at S$15.21 as at 11.16am. 9. Capitaland Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) The largest Reit listed on the Singapore bourse had a 16.4 per cent return YTD. This comes after the manager of the trust on May 2 decided to sell its stake in the serviced residence component of CapitaSpring worth S$126 million, with the transaction expected to conclude in the second quarter of 2025. A week earlier, on Apr 25, CICT posted a 0.8 per cent dip in net property income of S$291.5 million for its first quarter of FY2025 from the same year-ago period. This came as revenue shrank 0.8 per cent on the year to S$395.3 million. Units in CICT were trading flat at S$2.20 as at 11.17am. 10. Keppel The asset manager recorded a 16 per cent YTD return thanks to successful green infrastructure tie-ups in H1, and the appointment of former DBS chief executive Piyush Gupta as deputy chairman and non-executive independent director of its board, effective Jul 1. Keppel partnered Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank on Jun 25 to facilitate up to US$1.5 billion worth of sustainable infrastructure investments and financing opportunities in the Asia-Pacific. The venture will last for an initial five-year period up to December 2030. Its infrastructure division will also work with Chinese tech giant Huawei International to design and develop solar photovoltaic systems and battery energy storage system technologies for interconnected power grids across South-east Asia, according to a company statement on May 13. The company on Jun 6 also said it will divest its stakes in a New-York based company and a logistics park in China to unlock more than S$80 million from the monetisation of non-core assets. As at 11.19 am on Monday, the counter was trading 0.3 per cent or S$0.02 lower at S$7.61.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
How Europe got stuck between Xi's China and Trump's America
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Responding to US tariffs, China limited global exports of rare earth magnets. European firms are also affected. BRUSSELS – It once looked to many as if US President Donald Trump could be a reason for Europe and China to bring their economies closer. His planned tariffs did little to distinguish the European Union (EU), a longtime ally of the United States, from China, the principal challenger to American primacy. It has not turned out that way. Instead, the EU finds itself in a geopolitical chokehold between the world's two largest economies. In Brussels, officials are trying to secure a rough trade deal with their American counterparts before Mr Trump hits the bloc with high, across-the-board tariffs that could clobber the bloc's economy. At the same time, EU policymakers are trying to prod their counterparts in Beijing to stop supporting Russia, to stop helping Chinese industry with so much state money and to slow the flow of cheap goods into the EU. But at a moment of upheaval in the global trading system, the bloc also needs to keep its relationship with China, the world's leading manufacturing superpower, on a relatively stable footing. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Construction starts on Cross Island Line Phase 2; 6 MRT stations in S'pore's west ready by 2032 Singapore New SkillsFuture requirements by April 2026 to mandate regular training for adult educators Singapore MPs should not ask questions to 'clock numbers'; focus should be improving S'poreans' lives: Seah Kian Peng Singapore Sequencing and standards: Indranee on role of Leader of the House Asia Australian Erin Patterson found guilty of all counts in mushroom murders case Singapore askST Jobs: Facing intrusive demands from your employer? Here's what you can do Singapore NUS College draws 10,000 applications for 400 places, showing strong liberal arts interest Singapore Life After... blazing biomedical research trail in S'pore: Renowned scientist breaks new ground at 59 Leaders from the EU are scheduled to be in Beijing for a summit in late July, plans for which have been in flux. Hopes for the gathering are low. Even as China pushes the idea that Mr Trump's hostility to multilateral trade is prodding Europe into its arms, Europe's problems with China are only growing. 'There is no China card for Europe,' said Ms Liana Fix, a fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations. Tensions were on full display last week , when Mr Wang Yi, China's foreign minister, visited Brussels for meetings in the run-up to the summit. China portrayed the tone as productive and dismissed the notion that the two sides had conflicts. EU officials stressed lingering pain points, including trade imbalances. The EU recently moved to curb government spending on medical devices from China, arguing that Chinese government agencies had been treating European companies unfairly and that it was necessary to level the playing field. China announced on July 6 that it would retaliate . Yet the EU remains in a delicate dance with China. Economic ties between the two economies are extensive. Many European countries remain heavily dependent on China for industrial materials. European exports to China remain substantial, especially from Germany, which has long had close trade ties with China. But Europe's exports have been dwindling, even as Chinese imports into the bloc have been surging. As cheap products from the fast fashion retailers Shein and Temu flood into European markets, policymakers have been working to tighten restrictions on such imports. European leaders regularly complain that China's state-controlled banks subsidise the country's manufacturers so heavily that European companies cannot compete. Nor are Europe's complaints unique to trade. European Union officials are angry about China's support for Russia during the war in Ukraine, providing a market for Russian fuel and other products that has blunted the bite of European sanctions. The EU's aim cannot be to cut ties with China, according to the Danish foreign minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen. 'It is about engaging on a more equal footing and being more transactional in our approach,' he said, speaking at a briefing with reporters on July 4. As the US upends the global trading system in a bid to shrink its trade deficit, raise revenue and re-shore domestic manufacturing, the EU finds itself in a lonely place. It is a bloc of 27 nations that together make the world's third-largest economy. The EU was devised to promote commerce across borders and remains a powerful defender of free trade. Europe wants to 'show to the world that free trade with a large number of countries is possible on a rules-based foundation,' Ms Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Union's executive branch, said at a news conference in June. The EU has already deepened its trading relationships with like-minded countries like Switzerland and Canada. Ms von der Leyen suggested that it could go a step further. It could pursue a new collaboration between the bloc and a trading group of 11 countries that includes Japan, Vietnam and Australia, but that notably does not include the US or China. Yet even as Ms von der Leyen tries to go on the offensive, EU officials have spent months on a far more defensive footing. That is because even as the EU takes issue with the policies coming out of the US and China, it is also being battered by — and torn between — the two. No matter the outcome of its trade talks with the Trump administration, the EU is expected to end up with higher tariffs on its exports to the US than it faced at the start of 2025. American officials have said repeatedly that 10 percent across-the-board levies are not negotiable. Officials are also likely to be compelled to make concessions to secure an agreement. Those include a possible commitment to taking a tougher stance toward China. The EU agrees with Mr Trump that China has pursued unfair trading practices. Yet the bloc can push China only so far, given how intertwined the economies are. China has recently offered the EU a damaging reminder of that reality. In response to US tariffs, China limited global exports of rare earth magnets, which are critical to producing a range of goods from cars and drones to factory robots and missiles. Because China dominates rare earth production, it can inflict serious pain on its trading partners with such limitations. European policymakers initially hoped that China's restrictions would mainly affect American companies. But European firms have also faced long delays in getting China to approve its purchases of rare earths. The slowdown is caused not only by logistical kinks as China works through a queue of applications. Instead, it appears to be tied to a longer-standing trade flashpoint between Europe and China. The Chinese government has for years required that foreign companies share or transfer technology to their Chinese partners as a condition for entering the China market. Recently, European carmakers and other companies have found themselves far behind their Chinese competitors, which have led the development of electric cars, solar panels and other technologies. Given that, EU officials have been pressing Chinese companies to transfer technology as part of the price of admission to the European market. The EU has also joined the US in restricting the shipment to China of equipment to make the fastest semiconductors, which have military as well as civilian applications. That has annoyed Chinese officials. China's minister of commerce, Wang Wentao, called for Europe to cancel controls on high-tech exports to China as part of discussions on a resumption of rare earth supplies. 'Minister Wang Wentao expressed the hope that the EU will meet us halfway and take effective measures to facilitate, safeguard and promote the compliant trade of high-tech products to China,' the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement in June. At the Beijing summit this month, European officials are likely to keep pushing Chinese officials for more consistent access to rare earths. Mr Jens Eskelund, the president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said the chamber also wants the meetings to focus on trying to persuade Chinese officials on the need for more transparent and predictable regulations and to address how hard it has become for foreign companies to do business in China. But the outlook for meaningful changes, or anything that draws Europe and China closer, is dim. The tone coming from Europe is not positive. Ms von der Leyen, in a speech at the Group of 7 meeting in Canada in June, said China was engaged in a cycle of 'dominance, dependency and blackmail.' NYTIMES
