Trump and Xi pledge more talks as trade disputes brew
During the more than one-hourlong call, Xi told Trump to back down from trade measures that roiled the global economy and warned him against threatening steps on Taiwan, according to a Chinese government summary.
But Trump said on social media that the talks focused primarily on trade led to "a very positive conclusion," announcing further lower-level U.S.-China discussions, and that "there should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of Rare Earth products."
He later told reporters: "We're in very good shape with China and the trade deal."
The leaders also invited each other to visit their respective countries.
The highly anticipated call came in the middle of a dispute between Washington and Beijing in recent weeks over "rare earths" minerals that threatened to tear up a fragile truce in the trade war between the two biggest economies. It was not clear from either countries' statements that the issue had been resolved.
A U.S. delegation led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet with their Chinese counterparts "shortly at a location to be determined," Trump said on social media.
The countries struck a 90-day deal on May 12 to roll back some of the triple-digit, tit-for-tat tariffs they had placed on each other since Trump's January inauguration.
Though stocks rallied, the 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 U.S. complaints about China's state-dominated, export-driven economic model.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has repeatedly threatened an array of punitive measures on trading partners, only to revoke some of them at the last minute. The on-again, off-again approach has baffled world leaders and spooked business executives.
Major U.S. stock indexes were higher on Thursday.
China's decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets continues to disrupt supplies needed by automakers, computer chip manufacturers and military contractors around the world.
Beijing sees mineral exports as a source of leverage — halting those exports could put domestic political pressure on the Republican U.S. president if economic growth sags because companies cannot make mineral-powered products.
The 90-day deal to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions is tenuous. Trump has accused China of violating the agreement and has ordered curbs on chip-design software and other shipments to China. Beijing rejected the claim and threatened counter-measures.
"The U.S. side should take a realistic view of the progress made and withdraw the negative measures imposed on China," the Chinese government said in a statement summarizing Xi's call with Trump published by the state-run Xinhua news agency. "Xi Jinping emphasized that the United States should handle the Taiwan issue prudently."
In recent years, the United States has identified China as its top geopolitical rival and the only country in the world able to challenge the U.S. economically and militarily.
Despite this and repeated tariff announcements, Trump has spoken admiringly of Xi, including of the Chinese leader's toughness and ability to stay in power without the term limits imposed on U.S. presidents.
Trump has long pushed for a call or a meeting with Xi, but China has rejected that as not in keeping with its traditional approach of working out agreement details before the leaders talk.
The U.S. president and his aides see leader-to-leader talks as vital to sort through log-jams that have vexed lower-level officials in difficult negotiations.
Thursday's call came at Trump's request, China said.
It's not clear when the two men last spoke.
Both sides said they spoke on Jan. 17, days before Trump's inauguration and Trump has repeatedly said that he had spoken to Xi since taking office on Jan. 20. He has declined to say when any call took place or to give details of their conversation. China had said that the two leaders had not had any recent phone calls.
The talks are being closely watched by investors worried that a chaotic trade war could disrupt supply chains in the key months before the Christmas holiday shopping season. Trump's tariffs are the subject of ongoing litigation in U.S. courts.
Trump has met Xi on several occasions, including exchange visits in 2017, but they have not met face to face since 2019 talks in Osaka, Japan.
Xi last traveled to the U.S. in November 2023, for a summit with then-President Joe Biden, resulting in agreements to resume military-to-military communications and curb fentanyl production.
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Japan Times
8 hours ago
- Japan Times
Putin is about to outplay Trump again in Alaska
Ukrainian and European leaders are worried Donald Trump will get played for a second time when and if he meets his Russian counterpart in a meeting tentatively scheduled to take place in Alaska on Friday, and they're right to be nervous. Indeed, if Trump wants to emerge from the talks a master negotiator rather than a pushover, his smartest move would have been to postpone the summit until it's better prepared. Trump isn't wrong to try sitting down with U.S. foes and rivals, even where more conventional leaders would avoid the risk. But hastily arranged encounters rarely result as hoped and everything about the visit by Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow that produced the Alaska invitation last week screams confusion. With so much fog on the American side, it's best to understand what Friday's scheduled meeting is really about from the point of view of Vladimir Putin. To him, this is a windfall he can use both to defuse Trump's threat of sanctions and further his war effort. That's what happened earlier this year, when the former KGB handler made good use of Trump's obvious desperation to secure a peace deal in Ukraine and an economic reset with Moscow. No matter how much Trump was willing to give away, including sanctions relief, Putin saw just one thing: a strategic opportunity. With the U.S. no longer willing to help arm Ukraine's defense, except — as eventually persuaded — when paid, Putin did the only logical thing: He upped the pace of his war effort, both on land and in the air, to take advantage of Kyiv's weakening position. Eventually, even Trump had to acknowledge he was getting strung along. Faced with an Aug. 8 deadline before the U.S. imposed financial consequences on Russia for its intransigence, Putin's task when Witkoff arrived in Moscow was once again to do just enough to stall any U.S. action, while making sure any concrete outcomes would strengthen Russia's position. So far, that's going swimmingly. He got something for nothing. The first priority was to keep Volodymyr Zelenskyy out of the room, rather than have the three-way meeting that Trump — to his credit — was suggesting. The Ukrainian leader's presence would require actual negotiation, making Russian disinterest hard to hide. By insisting on a bilateral sit down with Trump, Putin can seek to propose terms this U.S. administration might accept, but he knows Ukraine can't. That would once again make Zelenskyy the person Trump blames for standing in the way of peace, taking the pressure off Putin. The second goal was to find a location for the meeting that would demonstrate, both to Russians and to leaders around the world, that Putin is no longer a pariah avoiding travel for fear of arrest under a war crimes warrant the International Criminal Court issued against him in 2023. Indeed, this would be Putin's first visit to the U.S. (outside trips to the United Nations in New York) since 2007, before his invasion of Georgia the following year. A summit in Alaska — a U.S. state that once belonged to the Russian Empire — would send a strong signal of Putin's rehabilitation, while also pointing to the Kremlin's long historical reach as a great power. Trump's invitation alone is a win for the Kremlin. If the summit also serves to delay U.S. sanctions or produces a "peace' plan that sows dissension between Ukraine and its allies, all the more so. But any genuine path to a lasting end to hostilities will need a lot more pressure, both financial and military, as well as preparation. If an account in Germany's Bild magazine is correct, Putin and his officials ran rings around Witkoff when they met the U.S. real estate-developer-turned-diplomat last week, leaving him confused about what was on offer. Whatever Witkoff may have misunderstood, it was enough for the U.S. president to say land swaps were on the table, when they aren't. What the Kremlin appears ready to consider is that Ukraine should hand over parts of the Donbas that Russia hasn't yet been able to conquer, in exchange for a ceasefire. So, not a land swap, but land handed over in perpetuity in exchange for a truce that's probably temporary. According to Bild, the Russian "offer' may also have required Ukraine to first withdraw its troops from much larger areas of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia provinces that Russia also claims to have annexed but has yet been unable to occupy. The Kremlin may also be willing to offer a truce in its air war to ward off sanctions, but that's less of a concession than it seems. Unlike two years ago, when that was a one-way fight, Ukraine's newly built long-range drones and missiles are doing increasing damage to Russian energy and military assets. On Monday, they hit a factory making guidance systems for Russia's missiles near the city of Nizhny Novgorod, about 440 kilometers (270 miles) east of Moscow. A truce might at this point be welcomed by both sides. Ukrainians know they'll to have to cede control of territory to end Putin's invasion. But they have in mind the kinds of concessions made to the Josef Stalin in Germany at the end of World War II. He secured control over the eastern half of that country for the Soviet Union, but West Germany retained its sovereign claim over the east and — eventually — got it back. Just as important is that after a brief attempt at seizing all of Berlin, the Kremlin left West Germany to prosper in peace. There's no indication Putin wants that kind of deal. It would do nothing to further his actual goals in going to war, which were to secure control over a de-militarized Ukraine as well as U.S. acceptance of a Russian sphere of influence in Europe, uncontested by NATO. Putin never hides this. It's what he means when he says he's happy to talk about a ceasefire, just as soon as the "root causes' of the war are addressed. There will be a time and place for a Trump-Putin summit. But it's unlikely to be this week in Alaska. Marc Champion is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Europe, Russia and the Middle East.
Japan Times
8 hours ago
- Japan Times
Dispelling the myth of Yasukuni Shrine
Of all the historical issues surrounding Japan and the war period, Yasukuni Shrine is the one that continues to generate the most controversy. For decades, the shrine has been a lightning rod — especially as it has been used by some of Japan's neighbors as a convenient means to shift attention away from their domestic issues. Beijing and Seoul have falsely spun visits by Japanese leaders to the shrine — particularly around Aug. 15 — as an attempt to glorify Japan's wartime deeds, citing the fact that 14 individuals convicted as Class-A war criminals are enshrined there among the millions of Japanese and non-Japanese who fought for the country. Many in the Western media have resorted to simplistically describing it as a 'war shrine,' as if to fit the false narrative that the place is a symbol of Japan's past militarism. Some others criticize the presence of the Yushukan Museum on the premises, which detractors argue is further proof of ulterior motives. Much of the controversy stems from a lack of understanding of Japanese culture and the Shinto religion. So, what is Yasukuni Shrine? Shinto beliefs Emperor Meiji established Yasukuni Shrine in 1869 in Tokyo, very close to the current Imperial Palace, expressly to honor the eirei, or spirits, of those who died in civil wars beginning in 1853 that ended the 250-year-old reign of the Tokugawa shogunate to restore political power to the emperor. Those who died fighting for the pro-imperial side were enshrined in Yasukuni, as they perished for their country. The name Yasukuni literally means "to preserve peace for the entire nation." The shrine's founding objective was to promote peace within the nation and cultivate a peaceful society. Japanese Shinto priests attend a ritual during an autumn festival at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Oct. 17. | REUTERS In Japan, a division of labor has existed between religious groups for over 1,500 years. Buddhist temples assumed primary responsibility for conducting rituals for the dead and offering burial plots within temple grounds for the remains of the deceased. On the other hand, Shinto shrines became holy grounds to obtain blessings for newly born children, mark the transition to adulthood, secure the safe construction of new homes and buildings and offer prayers for a new job, good health and a bountiful harvest (though less common, some Japanese choose to perform Shinto funerals). From the 1900s, they also began to conduct weddings. As a Shinto shrine, there have never been, nor will there ever be, graves, burial plots or any physical human remains present within the grounds of Yasukuni Shrine. Instead, Yasukuni enshrines, through a Shinto ritual process, the spirits of over 2,466,000 individuals who died from 1853 to today while in service to Japan, primarily in the military, but also civilians on government assignment. All of these spirits are treated as completely equal, regardless of their rank or standing in life and irrespective of the war in which they sacrificed their lives, which side or how well they fought or whether they died on the battlefield or later in a military hospital. There is also an ancient belief that the spirits of the dead should be honored with purification through prayer and offerings. For those killed suddenly in war, the need becomes more urgent to pacify and purify the spirits of the dead so they can move forward. The primary role of Yasukuni Shrine is to honor and appease the spirits of all who have died in service to Japan through daily prayer and ritual offerings so that they may rest in peace. And, with their support, Japan may remain at peace. Postwar controversy After World War II, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in Japan, issued orders to halt government recognition and support of all religious organizations, instructing them to be privately managed and funded. In essence, he imposed a separation of church and state. Since 1946, there has been no government oversight or financial support for any shrine or temple in the nation, including Yasukuni. The shrine was nearly shut down permanently by MacArthur's General Headquarters, or GHQ, after the war ended. Yasukuni was allowed to continue as a registered private religious organization funded by private donations after the intervention of two Roman Catholic priests, Father Bruno Bitter of the Roman Curia and Father Patrick Byrne of the Maryknoll order, who argued that honoring war dead is the right and duty of all citizens. But according to Japanese constitutional law, the government has no authority over how it or any other religious organization conducts its rituals or spiritual practices. Most importantly, Yasukuni is perhaps the only place where the bereaved families of over one million Japanese who died during the war and whose remains remain unrecovered can pay their respects. People visit Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on the 77th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II on Aug. 15, 2022. | REUTERS Japan experienced an estimated 2.4 million military related deaths from 1931 to 1952. The record-keeping did not end in 1945, as the spirits of some 60,000 Japanese who died in Josef Stalin's postwar slave labor camps could only be accounted for until the last of the captives returned home in 1952. The remains of 1.12 million war casualties scattered across a vast area from Russia to distant Pacific atolls have yet to be recovered. Half of those were lost at sea or in locations that refuse ongoing efforts by Japan to search for and retrieve them, namely Russia and China. There are no graves for the one million fallen whose remains are unrecovered. Instead, their names appear in the registry of Yasukuni Shrine as eirei, and prayers are offered daily to appease their spirits. And so, we reach the crux of the political controversy that has yet to be addressed forthrightly and consistently by Japanese political leadership: the 1978 enshrinement of 14 Japanese civilian and military wartime leaders selected, tried and convicted as "Class-A" war criminals by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, better known as the Tokyo Trials. The Class-A defendants were tried under the then-newly established charges of "crimes against peace" and "crimes against humanity," first adjudicated in the Nuremberg Trials in Europe. Yet the Tokyo Trials were the mirror opposite of the well-structured Nuremberg Trials. It had numerous flaws, particularly in the trial design, the unwieldy prosecutorial and judicial staffing, the comparatively lower level of professional competence of justices and prosecutors and the inefficient administration of the trial from start to completion. The Tokyo Trials, which took as much time as the 13 Nuremberg trials, ended with only one main trial. Part of the issues inherited by Yasukuni Shrine were created by the Tokyo Trials failing to achieve the level of universal closure that the Nuremberg Trials delivered. Much focus remains on the 14 Class-A defendants who were included in the registry at Yasukuni in 1978. Yet, at the time Beijing and Seoul did not aggressively level complaints about their inclusion. Their criticism curiously and conveniently coincides with South Korea and China's rise from developing-country status in the 1980s and 1990s, especially when the latter launched its 'patriotic education' that focused on Japan's wartime behavior to foment loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party, which partially claims its legitimacy for fighting off the Japanese Imperial Army. Since the war, Yasukuni Shrine has not arbitrarily selected those who are enshrined. In the past, the Imperial Army and Navy reviewed who would be honored at Yasukuni, including details such as names, ranks, military units, dates and places of death. After the war, separation of church and state became law and the Japanese government was prohibited from directing Yasukuni to take any action. The evidence required for enshrinement was then received by Yasukuni either by a carbon copy of the official death notice sent to bereaved families or presented directly by bereaved family members when they learned their loved one was not enshrined. Yasukuni views its mission as appeasing the spirits of the war dead and honoring the sacrifices made. On May 22, 1980, the Roman Catholic Church joined in that effort. Pope John Paul II officiated at a mass in St. Peter's Basilica, offering prayers for the repose of the souls of all 1,618 Japanese convicted of Class-A, -B and -C war crimes. Yushukan Museum Within the grounds of Yasukuni Shrine, a museum called Yushukan has existed since 1882. Its name translates to a place to learn the stories of those who gave their lives for their country. Yushukan has undergone several transformations over the decades from its original purpose as a war museum to what it has now become in the 21st century: a 'repository of the relics of those who died in war; its sole purpose being to honor the memory of Japanese war dead.' It was closed by the GHQ in 1945, but was later renovated and fully reopened to the public in 1986. It is dedicated solely to telling the stories of the individuals who gave their lives in wars since 1853 and whose names are inscribed in Yasukuni, featuring over 100,000 photos, personal effects, documents and artifacts they left behind. There is no sense that this is a place glorifying war or the weapons that were used, nor to justify any war. A Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero Model 52 fighter aircraft is displayed inside the Yushukan Museum in February 2015. | Bloomberg What stirred controversy — and led to the notoriety of the museum — was that some of the display boards in the 1980s laid out why Japan went to war with the United States from the Japanese perspective. It was an era when outsiders wanted to see what is still in U.S. history books; that Imperial Japan was an evil fascist empire; and that it attacked Pearl Harbor without notice or reason — which is hardly a nuanced or accurate depiction of history. The boards have since been removed or toned down, so the focus is on the individuals, not whose version of history is correct. It is a humbling place, a solemn place and one leaves with a sense of melancholy at the loss one feels. And if you are lucky, you will have a shared commitment to achieving the mission of Yasukuni in building a peaceful country. 'Shrine for peace' Today, Yasukuni sees itself as a "shrine for peace" and not just for Japan's war dead, says Umio Otsuka, the chief priest of Yasukuni Shrine. Mostly unknown within the Yasukuni Shrine precincts, but symbolically sited just to the left (south) exactly in between the main worship hall and the main sanctuary where the spirits reside, is a separate memorial with the appearance of a shrine that was established in 1965 to offer prayers daily to the spirits of everyone who perished in wars around the world, including enemy combatants who died fighting against Japan. The chief priest of Yasukuni and the priests on duty offer prayers there every day. Its name is "Chinreisha," which means "spirit pacifying shrine." Though little known, when Shinzo Abe visited Yasukuni in 2013, he also visited Chinreisha to offer prayers for those who died fighting against Japan. As Yasukuni is dedicated to pacifying the spirits of all those who died in war in service to their country, Chinreisha fits perfectly within its mission. This mission continues with a special prayer service conducted every July for all those who died in the past year, including in the Middle East and Ukraine. In the 21st century, Yasukuni Shrine can be both a place to celebrate the peace that every Japanese has cherished for the past 80 years by remembering those who gave their lives for their country, but also one of the few places in Japan where its citizens can confront the harsh realities of the wartime period that inflicted such pain and suffering on our neighbors. There are two sides to many mirrors. When it comes to the war period, one side reflects what the Japanese tend to see: Hiroshima, Nagasaki, the Tokyo fire bombings and the over one million dead whose remains are yet to be repatriated. The reverse side reflects what others see: invasions, bombings, atrocities and human rights abuses. Both were real. For 80 years, Yasukuni Shrine has made sure that Japan never loses sight of what the war period inflicted on our neighbors while honoring the sacrifices of those who gave their precious lives for Japan. This nation is one of only nine countries in the world that existed in 1945 and has not been a participant in a war since. Japan has been a nation at peace. Imagine a time in the near future when the emperor and empress, a Japanese prime minister and other world leaders visit Yasukuni during the Spring and Autumn festivals, the two most important dates in the year for Yasukuni (not Aug. 15) to give a prayer for peace as they do at other war memorials around the world. It is time. Edo Naito is a commentator on Japanese politics, law and history. He is a retired international business attorney and has held board of director and executive positions at several U.S. and Japanese multinational companies.
Yomiuri Shimbun
8 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
TICAD Draft Outlines African Development Strategies;Japanese Technologies to Have Key Role in Cooperation
Leaders of Japan and African countries aim to support economic growth in Africa through private-sector initiatives using Japan's cutting-edge technologies, according to a draft document to be adopted at the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) to be held on Aug. 20-22 in Yokohama. The draft document, the Yokohama Declaration, obtained by The Yomiuri Shimbun, also states the importance of the 'rule of law' for sustainable growth on the continent. TICAD 9 will be cohosted by the Japanese government, the United Nations, the African Union Commission and others, and will be chaired by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. TICAD 8 was held in Tunisia in 2022, and this will be the first time for the conference to be held in Japan since 2019. The draft proposes cooperation measures in three key areas — economy, peace and stability, and society — aimed at strengthening relations between Japan and Africa, where population growth is expected to continue and economic growth is anticipated. In the field of economy, the draft proposes the establishment of 'Africa-Japan Innovation Hubs' to promote digitization and technological cooperation. Japan will support Africa's economic growth by leveraging its strengths in robotics and artificial intelligence. The draft also calls for the establishment of a governance system aimed at realizing 'safe, secure and trustworthy AI.' In regard to procurement of development funds in African countries, the draft emphasizes the need for reforms, such as improving transparency. 'The high cost of capital, largely due to inadequate credit ratings … [is] diverting Africa's resources away from financing development,' the draft says. The background to this is that China has provided huge loans to African countries for the purpose of securing resources, resulting in many of these countries falling into debt and facing the risk of default. The draft also says, 'Increasing trade protectionism is limiting Africa's access to global markets.' This appears to be in response to tariff measures taken by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. The draft says, 'We aim to accelerate efforts to … integrate African countries into global supply chains through a free, open, and fair trade and investment environment.' In the field of peace and stability, the draft emphasizes that 'democracy and the rule of law are foundational pillars.' It also states the view that strategic cooperation between Japan and the African Union, which conducts peacekeeping activities in Somalia, should be strengthened to improve security in Africa. In the field of society, the draft mentions plans to promote the manufacturing of medicines and vaccines in Africa. It also proposes the use of Japanese satellite data for drought and flood countermeasures.
