South Korea, Japan, China top diplomats to meet in Tokyo this weekend, Seoul says
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The top diplomats for China, South Korea and Japan will meet in Tokyo this weekend for talks, Seoul said Tuesday, as the neighbours move to bolster regional ties.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and his Japanese and Chinese counterparts, Iwaya Takeshi and Wang Yi, will "exchange comprehensive views... for the development of trilateral cooperation", Seoul's foreign ministry said in a statement.
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Gulf Insider
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US & China's Combined GDP Equals 184 Countries
The U.S. and China are in the midst of their second trade war in seven years. Earlier this year President Trump announced an initial 34% 'reciprocal' tariff rate on China, leading to a swift Chinese retaliation. For a brief period, both crossed into 100% territory (i.e., more than the entire cost of the goods itself). Experts cautioned that the resulting chaos could wipe off hundreds of billions from both economies and financial markets saw a swift downturn in response. Since then, tariff rates have come down: varying between 40–50% on Chinese goods entering the U.S. and 10–30% on U.S. products entering China. In this chart, Visual Capitalist's Pallavi Rao compares the combined GDP of the U.S. and China versus everyone else, using April 2025 data from the International Monetary Fund. The latest estimates for 2025 have America's and China's combined GDP at roughly $50 trillion. Of the two, the U.S. is much larger, at about $31 trillion, with China at $19 trillion. Rank Countries 2025 GDP(in Millions) 1 🇺🇸 U.S. $30,507 2 🇨🇳 China $19,232 3 🇩🇪 Germany $4,745 4 🇮🇳 India $4,187 5 🇯🇵 Japan $4,186 6 🇬🇧 UK $3,839 7 🇫🇷 France $3,211 8 🇮🇹 Italy $2,423 9 🇨🇦 Canada $2,225 10 🇧🇷 Brazil $2,126 11 🇷🇺 Russia $2,076 12 🇪🇸 Spain $1,800 13 🇰🇷 South Korea $1,790 14 🇦🇺 Australia $1,772 15 🇲🇽 Mexico $1,693 16 🇹🇷 Türkiye $1,437 17 🇮🇩 Indonesia $1,430 18 🇳🇱 Netherlands $1,272 19 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia $1,084 20 🇵🇱 Poland $980 21 🇨🇭 Switzerland $947 22 🇹🇼 Taiwan $805 23 🇧🇪 Belgium $685 24 🇦🇷 Argentina $684 25 🇸🇪 Sweden $620 26 🇮🇪 Ireland $599 27 🇮🇱 Israel $583 28 🇸🇬 Singapore $565 29 🇦🇪 UAE $549 30 🇹🇭 Thailand $546 31 🇦🇹 Austria $534 32 🇳🇴 Norway $504 33 🇵🇭 Philippines $497 34 🇻🇳 Vietnam $491 35 🇧🇩 Bangladesh $467 36 🇩🇰 Denmark $450 37 🇲🇾 Malaysia $445 38 🇨🇴 Colombia $428 39 🇭🇰 Hong Kong $424 40 🇿🇦 South Africa $410 41 🇷🇴 Romania $403 42 🇨🇿 Czech Republic $360 43 🇪🇬 Egypt $347 44 🇨🇱 Chile $344 45 🇮🇷 Iran $341 46 🇵🇹 Portugal $321 47 🇫🇮 Finland $304 48 🇵🇪 Peru $303 49 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan $301 50 🇩🇿 Algeria $269 51 🇬🇷 Greece $267 52 🇮🇶 Iraq $258 53 🇳🇿 New Zealand $249 54 🇭🇺 Hungary $237 55 🇶🇦 Qatar $223 56 🇺🇦 Ukraine $206 57 🇳🇬 Nigeria $188 58 🇲🇦 Morocco $166 59 🇰🇼 Kuwait $153 60 🇸🇰 Slovak Republic $147 61 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan $132 62 🇰🇪 Kenya $132 63 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic $128 64 🇪🇨 Ecuador $126 65 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico $123 66 🇬🇹 Guatemala $121 67 🇪🇹 Ethiopia $117 68 🇧🇬 Bulgaria $117 69 🇦🇴 Angola $113 70 🇻🇪 Venezuela $109 71 🇴🇲 Oman $104 72 🇨🇷 Costa Rica $103 73 🇭🇷 Croatia $99 74 🇱🇺 Luxembourg $97 75 🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire $94 76 🇷🇸 Serbia $93 77 🇵🇦 Panama $92 78 🇱🇹 Lithuania $89 79 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan $89 80 🇬🇭 Ghana $88 81 🇹🇿 Tanzania $86 82 🇺🇾 Uruguay $80 83 🇨🇩 DRC $79 84 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan $79 85 🇸🇮 Slovenia $75 86 🇧🇾 Belarus $72 87 🇲🇲 Myanmar $65 88 🇺🇬 Uganda $64 89 🇧🇴 Bolivia $56 90 🇹🇳 Tunisia $56 91 🇯🇴 Jordan $56 92 🇨🇲 Cameroon $56 93 🇲🇴 Macao $53 94 🇰🇭 Cambodia $50 95 🇧🇭 Bahrain $48 96 🇱🇾 Libya $47 97 🇳🇵 Nepal $46 98 🇱🇻 Latvia $46 99 🇵🇾 Paraguay $45 100 🇪🇪 Estonia $45 101 🇨🇾 Cyprus $39 102 🇭🇳 Honduras $38 103 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe $38 104 🇸🇻 El Salvador $37 105 🇬🇪 Georgia $35 106 🇮🇸 Iceland $35 107 🇸🇳 Senegal $35 108 🇭🇹 Haiti $34 109 🇵🇬 Papua NewGuinea $33 110 🇸🇩 Sudan $32 111 🇬🇳 Guinea $30 112 🇿🇲 Zambia $29 113 🇧🇦 Bosnia &Herzegovina $29 114 🇦🇱 Albania $28 115 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso $27 116 🇹🇹 Trinidad& Tobago $26 117 🇦🇲 Armenia $26 118 🇬🇾 Guyana $26 119 🇲🇳 Mongolia $26 120 🇲🇹 Malta $26 121 🇲🇿 Mozambique $24 122 🇲🇱 Mali $23 123 🇧🇯 Benin $22 124 🇳🇪 Niger $22 125 🇯🇲 Jamaica $21 126 🇳🇮 Nicaragua $21 127 🇬🇦 Gabon $20 128 🇰🇬 KyrgyzRepublic $20 129 🇲🇩 Moldova $19 130 🇧🇼 Botswana $19 131 🇹🇩 Chad $19 132 🇲🇬 Madagascar $19 133 🇲🇰 North Macedonia $18 134 🇾🇪 Yemen $17 135 🇱🇦 Laos $16 136 🇧🇳 Brunei $16 137 🇲🇺 Mauritius $15 138 🇨🇬 Congo $15 139 🇧🇸 The Bahamas $15 140 🇹🇯 Tajikistan $15 141 🇷🇼 Rwanda $15 142 🇳🇦 Namibia $14 143 🇲🇼 Malawi $14 144 🇸🇴 Somalia $13 145 🇬🇶 EquatorialGuinea $13 146 🇲🇷 Mauritania $11 147 🇽🇰 Kosovo $11 148 🇹🇬 Togo $10 149 🇲🇪 Montenegro $9 150 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone $8 151 🇧🇧 Barbados $8 152 🇲🇻 Maldives $7 153 🇧🇮 Burundi $7 154 🇫🇯 Fiji $6 155 🇸🇿 Eswatini $5 156 🇱🇷 Liberia $5 157 🇩🇯 Djibouti $5 158 🇸🇷 Suriname $5 159 🇦🇼 Aruba $4 160 🇦🇩 Andorra $4 161 🇸🇸 South Sudan $4 162 🇧🇿 Belize $4 163 🇧🇹 Bhutan $3 164 🇨🇫 Central AfricanRepublic $3 165 🇨🇻 Cabo Verde $3 166 🇬🇲 The Gambia $3 167 🇱🇨 Saint Lucia $3 168 🇱🇸 Lesotho $2 169 🇦🇬 Antigua& Barbuda $2 170 🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau $2 171 🇸🇨 Seychelles $2 172 🇹🇱 Timor-Leste $2 173 🇸🇲 San Marino $2 174 🇸🇧 Solomon Islands $2 175 🇰🇲 Comoros $2 176 🇬🇩 Grenada $1 177 🇻🇺 Vanuatu $1 178 🇻🇨 Saint Vincent& the Grenadines $1 179 🇼🇸 Samoa $1 180 🇰🇳 Saint Kitts& Nevis $1 181 🇸🇹 São Tomé& Príncipe $1 182 🇩🇲 Dominica $1 183 🇹🇴 Tonga $1 184 🇫🇲 Micronesia $1 185 🇵🇼 Palau $0.3 186 🇰🇮 Kiribati $0.3 187 🇲🇭 Marshall Islands $0.3 188 🇳🇷 Nauru $0.2 189 🇹🇻 Tuvalu $0.1 Note: Data missing for Afghanistan, Eritrea, Lebanon, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria, and Palestine. If we skip the next three economies—Germany, India, and Japan—then the entire rest of the world (184 countries), also has an economic output of around $50 trillion. Which means that despite the rise of regional trade, there is no escaping one of the two economic giants. Groups 2025 GDP(in Millions) 🇺🇸 U.S. & 🇨🇳 China $49,739 🌐 184 Countries $50,381 🇩🇪 Germany, 🇮🇳 India, 🇯🇵 Japan $13,118 Note: Figures are rounded to the closest trillion in the visualization. China's figures do not include Hong Kong or Macao. The U.S. is the world's largest importer of consumer goods, and China is the largest exporter. Most of the world picks one of these two as their largest trading partner. So even when countries might not enjoy the geopolitics of both countries, their economic might effectively makes them the loudest voice in the room. Want more fun comparison maps? Check out: Germany's Economy Equals 22 Other European Countries Combined for regional-specific breakdowns.
Daily Tribune
3 days ago
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US says trade row with China could ease after Trump-Xi talks
A logjam in the trade talks between the United States and China could be broken once Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping speak, US officials said yesterday -- a conversation they said could happen soon. Trump on Friday accused Beijing of violating a deal reached last month in Geneva to temporarily lower staggeringly high tariffs the world's two biggest economies had imposed on each other, in a pause to last 90 days. China's slow-walking on export license approvals for rare earths and other elements needed to make cars and chips have fueled US frustration, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday -- a concern since confirmed by US officials. But US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent seemed to take the pressure down a notch on Sunday, telling CBS's "Face the Nation" that the gaps could soon be bridged. "I'm confident that when President Trump and Party Chairman Xi have a call that this will be ironed out," Bessent said, however noting that China was "withholding some of the products that they agreed to release during our agreement." When asked if rare earths were one of those products, Bessent said, "Yes." "Maybe it's a glitch in the Chinese system. Maybe it's intentional. We'll see after the president speaks with" Xi, he said. On when a Trump-Xi call could take place, Bessent said: "I believe we will see something very soon." Kevin Hassett, director of the White House's National Economic Council told ABC that the call could happen "this week" but that he had no confirmation of a scheduled time. Since Trump returned to the presidency, he has slapped sweeping tariffs on most US trading partners, with especially high rates on Chinese imports. New tit-for-tat levies on both sides reached three digits before the de-escalation this month, where Washington agreed to temporarily reduce additional tariffs on Chinese imports from 145 percent to 30 percent. China, meanwhile, lowered its added duties from 125% to 10%. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told "Fox News Sunday" that China was "slow-rolling the deal," adding: "We are taking certain actions to show them what it feels like on the other side of that equation."
