Trump downplays Chinese hacking, IP theft and pathogen smuggling, says US ‘getting along well' with Beijing
WASHINGTON, June 30 — President Donald Trump on Sunday dismissed the importance of aggressive actions linked to Beijing including recent arrests of two Chinese nationals accused of smuggling a dangerous pathogen into the United States, saying 'that's the way the world works.'
Trump told Fox News that Washington behaves in a similar way.
'You don't think we do that to them? We do, we do a lot of things,' he said on the 'Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo' show.
'That's the way the world works. It's a nasty world.'
Trump was responding to a question about how he viewed Chinese intellectual property theft, hacking of the US telecoms system and controversy around the Covid-19 pandemic.
He likewise dismissed concerns over a case in which two Chinese nationals were accused last month of smuggling in a toxic fungus.
Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, are charged with conspiracy, smuggling, false statements, and visa fraud.
The US Justice Department said the pair conspired to smuggle into the United States a fungus called Fusarium graminearum that causes 'head blight,' a disease of wheat, barley, maize, and rice.
Trump downplayed this saying, 'you don't know where that came from, though. I mean, did that come from the country, or is that three wackos that happened to carry something?'
Referring to the ongoing US-China trade war, Trump appeared to signal he was satisfied, saying 'We're getting along well with China.'
He added: 'I think getting along with China is a very good thing, but they are paying substantial tariffs.'
This past week the White House signaled trade progress with China, with an official saying both sides have reached an understanding on issues including expediting rare earth shipments to the United States.
After talks in Geneva in May, Washington and Beijing agreed to temporarily lower steep tit-for-tat tariffs on each other's products. — AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
TomTom axes 300 roles to curb losses, bets on AI
THE HAGUE: Dutch car navigation firm TomTom said on Monday that it was slashing 300 jobs, roughly 10 per cent of its workforce, as it seeks to stem financial losses and "embraces artificial intelligence." The Amsterdam-based company was an early pioneer of digital navigation in cars, but has been struggling as people no longer use a separate device to move around. TomTom announced in a statement that it was "realigning its organisation... as it embraces artificial intelligence", resulting in "organisational changes." These changes would affect "certain roles in the units working on our application layer, and in our sales and support functions, resulting in a reduction of 300 roles," the firm said. The company employs around 3,600 people worldwide. TomTom forecasts a drop in sales from 574 million euros (US$674 million) in 2024 to 505-565 million this year. Chief executive Harold Goddijn told investors in April that trade tensions resulting from US President Donald Trump's tariffs made the short-term outlook for the firm "less predictable." However, he said that he remained "confident in our long-term trajectory."--AFP
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
UK economy grew at fastest pace in a year in Q1 before expected slowdown
LONDON: Britain's economy grew at its fastest pace in a year in the first three months of 2025 as homebuyers rushed to beat a deadline on property purchases and manufacturers sped up output ahead of US President Donald Trump's higher import tariffs. In a bounce that is not expected to be maintained in the rest of 2025, output grew by 0.70 per cent, confirming a preliminary estimate and the fastest quarterly pace since the first three months of 2024, the Office for National Statistics said. Growth in March alone was revised up to 0.40 per cent from a previous reading of 0.20 per cent, the ONS said. The jump in economic output in early 2025 contrasted with growth of just 0.10 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024 and data has already shown that gross domestic product fell by 0.30 per cent in April from March although the drop was exacerbated by one-off factors. The Bank of England has said it expects economic growth of about 0.25 per cent in the second quarter of this year. Finance minister Rachel Reeves is hoping for a pickup to reduce the pressure on her to raise taxes again later this year to remain on course to meet her budget targets. Thomas Pugh, chief economist at audit firm RSM UK, said weak consumer spending and hiring figures in recent weeks were likely to be a one-off reaction to a tax increase on employers and Trump's tariffs, many of which have been suspended. "Now that uncertainty has started to recede, consumer confidence is rebounding, and business surveys point to the worst of the labour market pain being behind us," Pugh said. A survey published earlier on Monday showed confidence levels among British employers hit a fresh nine-year high as they became more optimistic about the outlook for the economy. The BoE is expected to cut interest rates twice more over the remainder of 2025 which is likely to support household spending. However, a renewed rise in energy prices in the event of further conflict in the Middle East could add to the strains on the already slow-growing economy. Monday's data from the ONS showed household expenditure grew by 0.40 per cent in the January-to-March period, revised up from an initial estimate of an increase of 0.20 per cent, driven by housing and household goods and services as well as transport. Britain's property market saw a sharp increase in activity in the run-up to the March 31, 2025 expiry of a tax break for some homebuyers. Households dipped into their reserves to help fund their spending with the saving ratio falling for the first time in two years although at 10.90 per cent it remained strong. Manufacturing grew by 1.10 per cent in the first quarter – ahead of the increase in US import tariffs in April – compared with the last three months of 2024. The ONS also said Britain's current account deficit grew to a bigger-than-expected £23.46 billion in the January to March period from just over £21 billion in the last three months of 2024.
Malay Mail
an hour ago
- Malay Mail
China denies Taiwan VP car-ramming plot, defends diplomats after Prague incident claims
BEIJING, June 30 — China defended its diplomats on Monday after Taiwan accused Beijing's embassy staff of planning to ram its vice president's car during an official visit to Europe. 'Chinese diplomats overseas always respect their host country's laws and regulations,' Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said. Taiwan's top China policy body, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), said on Friday that Hsiao Bi-khim's motorcade was surveilled and followed in a ploy to be rammed during a visit to the Czech Republic in March 2024. Czech military intelligence spokesman Jan Pejsek told AFP on Sunday that Hsiao was targeted by 'persons legalised in diplomatic positions at the Chinese Embassy in Prague'. He said they tailed her and sought information about Hsiao's programme and meetings with Czech officials. China claims Taiwan as its territory and has ramped up the deployment of fighter jets and warships around the self-ruled island in recent years. In response to the Czech claims, Beijing insisted on Monday that 'Taiwan is a part of China and has no so-called vice president'. 'No matter how the DPP authorities try to change things up and seek independence from the outside, and drive a wedge in China's diplomatic relationships, they will not be able to cover up their sinister plot and their attempt will not succeed,' Mao said, referring to Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party. — AFP
