China-US agree to ‘done deal', Trump says, pending sign-off by President Xi
China and the US have agreed to 'a done deal' including tariff cuts, rare earth exports from China, as well as Chinese students going to colleges in the US, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, pointing to a potential breakthrough aimed at cooling trade tensions that had been reignited by mutual accusations of deal violations.
Advertisement
'Our deal with China is done, subject to final approval with President Xi and me,' Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social, as the negotiating teams from the two countries concluded talks in London from the past two days.
'Full magnets, and any necessary rare earths, will be supplied, up front, by China. Likewise, we will provide to China what was agreed to, including Chinese students using our colleges and universities (which has always been good with me!).
'We are getting a total of 55 per cent tariffs, China is getting 10 per cent. Relationship is excellent! Thank you for your attention to this matter!'
Trump's latest post followed a rocky stretch in bilateral ties, marked by a fraying trust between the world's two largest economies. But a
phone call between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump last week helped fuel a sense of cautious optimism ahead of the London talks.
Advertisement
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Standard
an hour ago
- The Standard
Beijing to speed up standardization for platform economy
The new committee targets involutional competition and the chaotic phenomenon of live-streaming and e-commerce. XINHUA
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Britain ready to implement US tariff deal on cars and steel, trade minister says
Britain is ready to implement its side of a tariff deal with the United States and is hopeful for a proclamation from US President Donald Trump to put the agreement into effect in the coming days, trade minister Jonathan Reynolds said on Thursday. Advertisement British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Trump on May 8 agreed to reduce tariffs on UK imports of cars and steel to the US, with Britain agreeing to lower tariffs on beef and ethanol, but implementation of the deal has been delayed. Reynolds met US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Tuesday and discussed the implementation of the deal. Asked on Thursday if there would be an update by the end of the week, Reynolds said he was 'very hopeful'. 'We're ready to go, and as soon as the president and the White House are ready to go on their side, we'll implement [our] part of the deal,' Reynolds told reporters. Reynolds said he would issue a government order known as a statutory instrument to implement the changes to reciprocal tariffs. Officials said that the update on implementation was likely to come early next week. Advertisement
HKFP
2 hours ago
- HKFP
Lawbreakers to be ‘held accountable,' China says as US airs support for activist Joshua Wong after nat. security charge
China's foreign ministry office in Hong Kong has slammed the United States for voicing support for jailed activist Joshua Wong after he was charged under the national security law, accusing Washington of 'blatantly interfering' in the city's affairs. The Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong on Wednesday expressed 'strong disapproval and firm opposition,' after Washington said it 'strongly condemns' a second national security charge levelled against Wong. Wong, who is serving a four years and eight months jail sentence over conspiring to subvert state power under a Beijing-imposed national security law, was hit with a foreign collusion charge last week. The 28-year-old activist – one of Hong Kong's most prominent pro-democracy figures – stands accused of conspiring with self-exiled activist Nathan Law to request foreign countries to impose sanctions or engage in hostile activities against Hong Kong or China. 'Hong Kong is a society governed by the rule of law, where lawbreakers must be held accountable,' a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry office in Hong Kong said in a statement, describing Wong as an 'anti-China element.' 'The Hong Kong police acted lawfully in handling anti-China forces, and the judiciary delivered fair rulings – this is entirely legitimate,' the spokesperson said. 'The US has repeatedly used 'human rights' and 'freedom' as pretexts to back its pawns, exposing its malicious intent,' the spokesperson added. 'Unjust sentence' Earlier this week, a spokesperson for the US State Department criticised the charge against Wong. He faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment if convicted. 'Wong is already serving an unjust sentence under vague national security charges simply for engaging in peaceful political activity,' the US spokesperson told US state-funded outlet the Voice of America (VOA) on Monday. The activist was among 45 convicted last year under the national security law in a case linked to primary elections in 2020. 'This tragic assault on Hong Kong's future – including the future of Joshua Wong and other activists languishing in custody or exiled for defending their fundamental freedoms – only proves Beijing never meant to keep its promises to maintain Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy and civil liberties,' the US spokesperson said. 'We call on Beijing and Hong Kong officials to stop using bogus national security laws to target Hong Kongers, release all political prisoners, and drop these outrageous charges against Joshua Wong,' the spokesperson added. 'Erroneous slanders' In a statement issued on Wednesday night, the Hong Kong government also strongly condemned 'some Western countries, anti-China organisations and anti-China politicians… for making erroneous slanders and smears.' 'As the legal proceedings of the case involving Joshua Wong Chi-fung are still ongoing, it is inappropriate for any person to comment on the details of the case,' a Hong Kong government spokesperson said. The city judiciary exercises its power independently and defendants are entitled to ac fair trial, the Hong Kong spokesperson said. 'We are appalled by irresponsible remarks of some countries, organisations or individuals that seemed to suggest that people with certain political beliefs should be immune to legal sanctions,' the spokesperson added. Int't NGOs condemn charge The Hong Kong government statement came after international NGOs criticised the new charge against Wong. 'This latest charge against him underscores the authorities' fear of prominent dissidents and shows the lengths they will go to keep them behind bars for as long as possible – in so doing, continuing a chilling effect on civic activism in the city,' Amnesty International's China Director Sarah Brooks said in a statement last week, after Wong was brought to court to face the new allegation. 'While imprisoned under one trumped-up charge, Joshua Wong has been suddenly slapped with yet another as the authorities appear intent on keeping one of Hong Kong's most influential democracy leaders behind bars. This decision is arbitrary, cruel, and outrageous,' Maya Wang, associate China director at Human Rights Watch, said in a separate statement. Wong has already spent over 1,600 days in prison since being remanded in custody in November 2020 over an unauthorised assembly charge. He pleaded guilty to conspiring to subvert state power in the city's largest national security case and was sentenced to four years and eight months in jail last November. Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong's mini-constitution in June 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.
