China's Xi, Trump hold call, Xinhua reports
US President Donald Trump meets with China's President Xi Jinping at the start of their bilateral meeting at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan in June 2019. PHOTO: REUTERS
BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping on June 5 held talks with US President Donald Trump by phone, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
The talks took place at Mr Trump's request, the Xinhua news agency said without elaborating, and come as Washington and Beijing clash over areas such as trade and student visas.
The call follows officials from the world's two biggest economies accusing each other of jeopardising a trade war truce agreed last month in Geneva.
Mr Trump, who has roiled markets in recent months with successive rounds of tariffs, argued on May 30 that China had 'totally violated' the bilateral de-escalation deal.
Beijing and Washington agreed in Geneva to slash staggeringly high tariffs on each other's goods for 90 days.
China's commerce ministry said this week the Trump administration had since introduced 'discriminatory restrictive measures', including revoking Chinese student visas in the United States. AFP
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
15 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Three killed in Russian attack on Ukraine's Kharkiv; Ukrainian drones injure two near Moscow
Residents walk in front of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine June 7, 2025. REUTERS/Vitalii Hnidyi Rescuers assist an injured resident after she was released from debris of a building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine June 7, 2025. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova Servicemen of the unmanned aircraft systems unit 'Fenix' of the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service prepare a Vampire heavy combat drone before its flight over positions of Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the frontline town of Kupiansk, Kharkiv region, Ukraine June 6, 2025. REUTERS/Anatolii Stepanov Firefighters work at the site of a building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine June 7, 2025. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY Firefighters work inside an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine June 7, 2025. REUTERS/Vitalii Hnidyi Three killed in Russian attack on Ukraine's Kharkiv; Ukrainian drones injure two near Moscow LONDON - Overnight missile and bomb strikes by Russia on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv left three people dead and 22 hurt, while a Ukrainian drone attack in the Moscow region wounded two people, officials from both countries said separately on Saturday. Russian forces used high-precision long-range weapons and drones to hit designated military targets in Ukraine overnight, hitting all of them, according to Russia's Defence Ministry. Separately, Ukraine has indefinitely postponed accepting the bodies of its killed soldiers and the exchange of prisoners of war, Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky said. This was counter to an agreement between the two countries at a second round of peace talks in Istanbul on Monday, where they said they would swap more prisoners and return the bodies of 12,000 dead soldiers. The northeastern city of Kharkiv, one of Ukraine's largest, is just a few dozen kilometres (miles) from the Russian border and has been under frequent Russian shelling during more than three years of war triggered by Russia's full-scale invasion. "Kharkiv is currently experiencing the most powerful attack since the start of the full-scale war," Mayor Ihor Terekhov said in a post on Telegram earlier on Saturday. Residential buildings, educational and infrastructure facilities were attacked, he said, and photos showed buildings burnt and reduced partially to rubble, as rescuers carried the wounded away for treatment. Kharkiv regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said there could still be people buried under the rubble after one civilian industrial facility was hit by 40 drones and several bombs. In the Moscow region, two people were injured after a drone attack by Ukraine overnight and on Friday, Governor Andrei Vorobyov said on Telegram, with nine drones shot down. Russia's aviation watchdog said operations had resumed at the Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo and Zhukovsky airports in the Moscow region after being suspended temporarily for flight safety reasons. The Defence Ministry said that since midnight, air defence units had intercepted and destroyed 36 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory, including the Moscow region. Ukraine's air forces also shot down a Russian Su-35 fighter jet on Saturday morning, its military said without providing further details. Russian forces have not yet commented on the matter while Reuters could not independently verify the report. A Ukrainian drone attack deep inside Russian territory last weekend likely damaged around 10% of Russia's strategic bomber fleet and hit some of the aircraft as they were being prepared for strikes on Ukraine, a senior German military official said in a YouTube podcast set for broadcast later on Saturday. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
International Business Times
26 minutes ago
- International Business Times
Russia Offers Political Asylum to Elon Musk Amid Escalating Feud with Donald Trump
Russian lawmaker Dmitry Novikov has proposed that Elon Musk might consider seeking political asylum in Russia if he wishes to amid escalating tensions between the Tesla CEO and President Donald Trump. Novikov, who is the First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs and is a member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, made the remark after a fiery exchange of allegations between Musk and Trump, according to the Russian news agency TASS. "I think that Musk has a completely different game, that he will not need any political asylum," Novikov told the news agency on Friday following calls from Trump allies to deport Musk. Russia to Welcome Musk If Required "However, if he did, Russia, of course, could provide it," he added in response to a question about whether Russia would grant asylum to Musk, similar to the way it did for Edward Snowden. The lawmaker pointed out that over time, Musk has developed "a kind of political communication", and therefore "individual disagreements will remain separate disagreements." "At this stage, the return of the Democratic team to the White House in three years is not what I think Musk needs and not what he is ready to applaud. Therefore, there are tactical differences, and there are strategic things, and he will adhere to them, it seems to me," Novikov explained. The offer from Russia came after Bannon, one of Elon Musk's most vocal critics, suggested on Thursday night that Trump should deport Musk after the multi-hour tirade. Bannon, said, "They [US government] should initiate a formal investigation of his immigration status because I am of the strong belief that he is an illegal alien, and he should be deported from the country immediately." Trump's Enemy, Russia's Friend Bannon's remarks came after Musk on Thursday threatened to shut down SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, which transports astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS). Bannon claimed this posed a significant risk to national security and urged Trump to invoke the Defense Production Act to take control of SpaceX without delay. Meanwhile, when questioned about the controversy on Friday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refused to comment, according to the Moscow Times. "This is a domestic issue of the United States, and we don't intend to interfere," Peskov told reporters. "We're confident the US president will handle this situation on his own." Russia has in the past offered asylum to American whistleblower Edward Snowden as well as British blogger Graham Phillips, who is known for his pro-Kremlin stance.
International Business Times
26 minutes ago
- International Business Times
FACT CHECK: Did Donald Trump Post on Truth Social That Elon Musk 'Totally' Did a Nazi Salute?
There have been several claims floating on social media amid the escalating feud between Elon Musk and Donald Trump. On Friday, a claim surfaced online alleging that President Trump wrote on Truth Social that the tech mogul and ex-White House adviser "totally" did a Nazi salute. The claim went viral in no time. However, the claim is not true and just like many of the rumors have been circulating online, confusing users. Musk and Trump have been engaged in an online feud over the past few days which intensified on Thursday, with both going out of control. Since then several claims have surfaced and much like the others are false. The Weird Claim The claim first appeared on Thursday. According to the claim, Trump posted on social media that Musk "totally" did a Nazi salute. The alleged post read, "That totally was a Nazi salute that Elon did by the way. You know it. I know it. Everyone knows it." The message shown in the image referred to an incident during Trump's second Inauguration Day in January, when Musk raised his arm in a way that many felt resembled the stiff-armed salute linked to Nazism. Musk later accused the "legacy media" of wrongly portraying his gesture. The image was shared on multiple social media platforms, including a June 6, 2025 post on X from the @TylerDurden account. The fake post was uploaded without any accompanying caption or explanation. Several social media users have since been trying to verify the authenticity of the post. However, the claim is completely false, with the intention of either cracking a joke or spreading misinformation amid the ongoing feud. No Authenticity of Image An extensive review of Donald Trump's Truth Social account also showed no evidence of a post matching the claim between May 31 and June 6, 2025. Also, a Google search using the "site:" operator to look for the term "Nazi" within returned no results, suggesting that no such post had been recently indexed by Google. Trump's Truth, a site that keeps a record of Trump's posts on Truth Social, also showed no entries containing the phrase "Nazi salute." The claim, thus, is completely false.
