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France-Indonesia 'strategic partnership' goes 'beyond geopolitics', includes commerce and defence
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France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
Chinese automakers get stern 'price war' warning after discount spree
"Since May 23, a certain automaker has taken the lead in launching a substantial price drop campaign... triggering a new round of 'price war' panic," the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said in a statement posted to its WeChat account. The group warned that such "disorderly" competition would "exacerbate harmful rivalry" and hurt profit. The statement, dated May 30, did not single out any company by name, but on May 23, BYD announced it was offering big trade-in discounts on nearly two dozen makes, offering discounts of up to 34 percent. Its cheapest model, the smart-driving Seagull, now goes for a starting price of 55,800 yuan ($7,800), down from 69,800 yuan, with a trade-in. Days later, Stellantis-backed Chinese EV startup Leapmotor announced similar discounts on two "entry-level" models through June 8. Geely Auto announced Friday limited-time trade-in subsidies for 10 models, with its X3 Pro going for the lowest starting price of 44,900 yuan. But there is growing domestic criticism against what the autos association called "involution" -- a popular tag used to describe the race to outcompete that ends up nowhere. The CEO of China's Great Wall Motor, whose annual revenue was roughly a quarter of BYD's, compared it to the start of China's years-long housing slump triggered by the 2021 default of property giant Evergrande. "Evergrande in the auto industry already exists," Wei Jianjun said this month in an interview with Chinese outlet Sina Finance. "I hope that... all these years of hard work will not go to waste." Beijing has poured vast state funds into the electric vehicle sector, supporting the development and production of less polluting battery-powered vehicles. But China's automakers association on Saturday warned its goliaths to play fair. "Leading companies must not monopolise the market," the CAAM statement said. It added that "with the exception of lawful discounting, companies must not sell products below cost nor engage in misleading advertising". Such behaviour disrupted the market and harmed both consumer and the industry, it said. An unnamed official from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology added that price wars "produce no winners and no future", the state-backed Global Times reported Saturday.
France 24
7 hours ago
- France 24
Pentagon chief warns China 'preparing' to use military force in Asia
The Pentagon chief made the remarks at an annual security forum in Singapore, as the administration of US President Donald Trump spars with Beijing on trade, technology, and influence over strategic corners of the globe. Since taking office in January, Trump has launched a punishing trade war with China, sought to curb its access to key AI technologies, and deepened security ties with allies such as the Philippines, which is engaged in escalating territorial disputes with Beijing. "The threat China poses is real and it could be imminent," Hegseth said at the Shangri-La Dialogue attended by defence officials from around the world. Beijing is "credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific", he added. Hegseth warned the Chinese military was building the capabilities to invade Taiwan and "rehearsing for the real deal". Beijing has ramped up military pressure on Taiwan and held multiple large-scale exercises around the island, which are often described as preparations for a blockade or invasion. The United States was "reorienting toward deterring aggression by communist China", Hegseth said, calling on US allies and partners in Asia to swiftly upgrade their defences in the face of mounting threats. - 'Wake-up call' – Hegseth described China's conduct as a "wake-up call", accusing Beijing of endangering lives with cyber attacks, harassing its neighbours and "illegally seizing and militarising lands" in the South China Sea. Beijing claims almost the entire disputed waterway, through which more than 60 percent of global maritime trade passes, despite an international ruling that its assertion has no merit. It has clashed repeatedly with the Philippines in the strategic waters in recent months, with the flashpoint set to dominate discussions at the Singapore defence forum, according to US officials. "China's assertiveness in the South China Sea has only increased in recent years," Casey Mace, charge d'affaires at the US embassy in Singapore, told journalists ahead of the meet. "I think that this type of forum is exactly the type of forum where we need to have an exchange on that." But Beijing has not sent any top Chinese defence ministry officials to the summit, dispatching a delegation from the People's Liberation Army National Defence University instead. Hegseth's comments came after Trump stoked new trade tensions with China, arguing that Beijing had "violated" a deal to de-escalate tariffs as the two sides appeared deadlocked in negotiations. The world's two biggest economies had agreed to temporarily lower eye-watering tariffs they had imposed on each other, pausing them for 90 days. But on Friday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: "China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US," without providing further details. Asked about the statement on CNBC, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer took aim at Beijing for continuing to "slow down and choke off things like critical minerals". He added that the United States' trade deficit with China "continues to be enormous", and that Washington was not seeing major shifts in Beijing's behaviour. 'Priority theatre' The Indo-Pacific is "America's priority theatre", the US defence chief said, pledging to ensure "China cannot dominate us -- or our allies and partners". He said the United States had stepped up cooperation with allies including the Philippines and Japan, and reiterated Trump's vow that "China will not invade (Taiwan) on his watch". But he called on US allies and partners in the region to ramp up spending on their militaries and "quickly upgrade their own defences". "Asian allies should look to countries in Europe for a newfound example," Hegseth said, citing pledges by NATO members including Germany to move toward Trump's spending target of five percent of GDP. "Deterrence doesn't come on the cheap."
LeMonde
8 hours ago
- LeMonde
Hegseth reassures US support for Indo-Pacific allies against 'imminent' threat of China
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reassured allies in the Indo-Pacific on Saturday, May 31, that they will not be left alone to face increasing military and economic pressures from China. He said Washington will bolster its defenses overseas to counter what the Pentagon sees as rapidly developing threats by Beijing, particularly in its aggressive stance toward Taiwan. China has conducted numerous exercises to test what a blockade would look like of the self-governing island, which Beijing claims as its own and the US has pledged to defend. China's army "is rehearsing for the real deal," Hegseth said in a keynote speech at a security conference in Singapore. "We are not going to sugarcoat it – the threat China poses is real. And it could be imminent." China has a stated goal of having its military be able to take Taiwan by force if necessary by 2027, a deadline that is seen by experts as more of an aspirational goal than a hard war deadline. But China also has developed sophisticated man-made islands in the South China Sea to support new military outposts and built up highly advanced hypersonic and space capabilities, which are driving the US to create its own space-based "Golden Dome" missile defenses. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a global security conference hosted by the International Institute for Security Studies, Hegseth said China is no longer just building up its military forces to take Taiwan, it's "actively training for it, every day." Hegseth also called out China for its ambitions in Latin America, particularly its efforts to increase its influence over the Panama Canal. He repeated a pledge made by previous administrations to bolster US military capabilities in the region to provide a more robust deterrent. While both the Obama and Biden administrations had also committed to pivoting to the Pacific – and even established new military agreements throughout the region – a full shift has never been realized. Instead, US military resources from the Indo-Pacific have been regularly pulled to support military needs in the Middle East and Europe, especially since the wars in Ukraine and Gaza . In the first few months of President Donald Trump's second term, that's also been the case. The Indo-Pacific nations caught in between have tried to balance relations with both the US and China over the years. Beijing is the primary trading partner for many, but is also feared as a regional bully, in part due to its increasingly aggressive claims on natural resources such as critical fisheries. 'Beware the leverage' Hegseth cautioned that playing both sides, seeking US military support and Chinese economic support, carries risk. "Beware the leverage the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) seeks with that entanglement," Hegseth said. Help us improve Le Monde in English Dear reader, We'd love to hear your thoughts on Le Monde in English! Take this quick survey to help us improve it for you. Take the survey China usually sends its own defense minister to this conference — but in a snub this year to the US and the erratic tariff war Trump has ignited with Beijing, its minister Dong Jun did not attend, something the US delegation said it intended to capitalize on. "We are here this morning. And somebody else isn't," Hegseth said. He urged countries in the region to increase defense spending to levels similar to the 5% of their gross domestic product European nations are now pressed to contribute. "We must all do our part," Hegseth said. It's not clear if the US can or wants to supplant China as the region's primary economic driver. But Hegseth's push follows Trump's visit to the Middle East, which resulted in billions of dollars in new defense agreements. Hegseth said committing US support for Indo-Pacific nations would not be based on any conditions on local governments aligning their cultural or climate issues with the West.
