Latest news with #Gura
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive: Empathy raises $72 million Series C to tackle the agonizing logistics of death
Ron Gura doesn't use the word 'death' every day. 'From a chemistry perspective, we tune out when we hear the word death, because death is our biggest denial. Nobody wants to contemplate their own self-mortality,' says Gura, a longtime entrepreneur who sold his previous company The Gifts Project to eBay. And yet Gura's latest startup is inextricably entwined with the dreaded D-word and the subject most people would rather not talk about. The common fear of mortality ('Nobody wants to admit that we're just ants playing around with fear and greed—yielding stuff, selling stuff, buying stuff, and ending up leaving, just like the others,' Gura tells me in a philosophical moment) is in fact one of the reasons Gura's startup, Empathy, may be so necessary. Empathy is all about using technology to make it easier for people to deal with the most difficult moments in life, such as the death of a loved one. While there are plenty of people and services to soothe the emotional difficulties of the moment, Empathy focuses on the logistical headaches. As anyone who has had to face the loss of a loved one can attest, death brings with it a ferocious maze of estate planning, probate processes, funeral expenses, and financial settlements—all suddenly dumped into the laps of grief-stricken and frequently unprepared family or friends. It's a durational agony: It takes the average person 15 months to tie off the various loose ends and logistical tasks of a deceased loved one's affairs, according to research conducted by Empathy and presented in a report bearing the coldly analytical title Cost of Dying. If the person handling the tasks is the executor of the estate, the number becomes 18 months, the report says. 'Our job is to make loss less hard for more people every day,' said Gura, who cofounded the company and serves as CEO. 'We think it's the largest consumer sector that is still untouched by innovation, specifically in software.' Founded in 2020, Empathy has raised a $72 million Series C, Fortune has exclusively learned. Adams Street Partners led the round, with participation from General Catalyst, Index Ventures, Entrée Capital, Brewer Lane Ventures, SemperVirens, Latitude, and LionTree. Additionally, in a striking move, Aflac, Allianz, Citi, Munich Re, MetLife, New York Life, Securian, and TIAA also invested in the company's Series C—all are also part of the just-unveiled Empathy Alliance, a coalition of organizations partnering with Empathy to improve technology around both death and crises in life. Insurer partnerships are key, said Joel Cutler, cofounder of General Catalyst, via email: 'Empathy is helping insurers build longer term, generational relationships, providing a better customer experience, and as such Empathy is building long-term, deep relationships with the insurers as well.' In recent years, Empathy has expanded throughout the U.S. and Canada, and is now part of the employee benefits programs for Fortune 500 companies like AT&T and Paramount. This approach could expand to other markets characterized by impossibly difficult moments in life, Gura suggested but declined to disclose specifics. Currently, Empathy's products are focused around loss support and legacy planning, with an app that guides families through bereavement tasks as AI-powered tools automate tasks around documents. 'Let machines do what machines do best—refilling information, calculating financials, setting reminders, and customizing very robust to-dos and care plans,' Gura told Fortune. 'You shouldn't be calling Verizon to explain you don't have the passwords and the credentials. You shouldn't worry if your funeral director is trying to rip you off. You shouldn't feel alone at 2 AM.' There are many obvious questions here. Where does tech belong in a grieving process—and where is it invasive? What prevents this from becoming a dystopian nightmare? In part, it's that matter of tech doing what it does best, so humans can focus on what's purely human. And when it comes to data privacy, Gura said that Empathy has taken particular care: The company doesn't share individual personal information with clients, only provides aggregated demographic information, and personal emotional details remain strictly confidential, he told Fortune. And Empathy gets at something true: When a loved one dies, people don't know what to do, emotionally or logistically. No one knows the right thing to say. Tertiary people and problems dominate your days. You spend a lot of time on phone calls, informing people—and still receive more of those phone calls anyway. You worry about funeral costs. You get flowers in the mail, that soon wilt and die themselves. Condolences aren't helpful, sometimes nothing is. But genuine affection and a casserole dish of lasagna come close. Sometimes, the most valuable help is simple logistical assistance. Gura, who knows something about loss, is building a business around the gone and the living—because to think about death is, ultimately, to think about life. Your own, and others. 'If you imagine yourself right now, God forbid, on your last day,' said Gura. 'I'm 90, I'm surrounded by my daughters, my grandkids, and my wife. The house is tidy and nice. I had a great meal—lobster rigatoni, and we had wine. I didn't wake up from my nap. Perfect. Now, what happens the second after I'm gone?' See you tomorrow, Allie GarfinkleX: @agarfinksEmail: a deal for the Term Sheet newsletter here. Nina Ajemian curated the deals section of today's newsletter. Subscribe here. This story was originally featured on
Buzz Feed
05-05-2025
- Buzz Feed
If You're Team Carry-On Only, These 13 Travel Products Are Actually Worth The Precious Space
1. A waterproof Kindle you can consider a pocket-size portal to another dimension. It's compact, glare-free, and has a ton of storage for thousands of books, plus a battery life that lasts much longer than your seven-hour flight — up to 10 weeks! It also features adjustable warm light that's much easier on your eyes. Abby: ^ Yes, that is me sitting in a pool in Hawaii holding my Kindle over the water without fear or stress that if it falls in, it will break. Truly living my best life. Promising review:"I LOVE reading and being able to access a book anywhere with this thing. It is easy to navigate, very easy to read and adjust the brightness or how warm the light is. It doesn't auto adjust, but I don't need that feature. I've read in bright sunlight to dark rooms, and it's always been so clear. You can adjust the font and use the library to search whatever books you want. Makes packing books for traveling very easy. Battery life lasts me two weeks if I'm reading every day for a few hours." — R@L0 Get it from Amazon for $149.99 (available in three colors and with or without lockscreen ads). 2. A set of packing cubes that help you squeeze in more by keeping everything neat and compressed. You'll be amazed at how much you can fit in your carry-on, and since everything is organized into little sections, it'll be a snap to unpack and get on with your trip! Promising review:"I travel frequently and travel light. My luggage is usually limited to a backpack that slides under the airline seat. For a two-week European cruise, I added a carry-on rolling suitcase. I've used these packing cubes twice so far, and I am hooked. One cube holds everything (including clothing) I take on a three-night trip. The cube slides into my pack, saving massive amounts of room, and everything is easy to find during travel and at the hotel. Taking out one cube and unzipping is much better than digging through a pack! I will never leave home without these!" — Gura Get a set of four packing cubes (also comes with a laundry bag) from Amazon for $21.99 (available in 26 colors and two sets). 3. A Stow-N-Go travel organizer that's basically a portable closet. You can arrange everything while you pack, and when you get to your destination, just hang it up and that's it! You'll have perfectly organized clothes for the whole trip. Abby: Plus, it has a zipper compartment at the bottom you can put all your dirty clothes in, so they don't get mixed together and you end up just washing everything when you get home (because that's usually what happens to me). Promising review:"I just love it. I travel a lot. Now I don't have to hang anything up but my organizer. I can see what I pack and where everything is. Just love it. I can easily fit seven days' worth of outfits and three pairs of shoes in a carry-on suitcase. Just great." — Amazon Customer Get it from Amazon for $22.99+ (available in two sizes and nine colors). 4. Some laundry soap sheets you'll be so glad you brought when you run out of clean underwear. Now you can easily wash your clothes in the sink and rewear them, *and* you won't have to worry about them stinking up your bag. Promising review:"This stuff is awesome. I take it everywhere! We travel a lot, and it's perfect for all sorts of reasons! It was very useful on our trip to Israel where I ended up doing laundry in our hotel sink almost every night because of the dust. The packaging is very small and for as much as I have used this traveling, I haven't run out yet!" — Mia Bauer Get it from Amazon for $12.95. 5. A strap to keep your personal items (neck pillow, jacket, purse, etc.) together so you can easily run around the airport without worrying about leaving anything behind. Amazon Promising review:"I love this little gadget. I used it to attach my jacket and computer bag to my luggage on an extended business trip. It made my airport walks so much easier. Now that I'm back home, I've been using it daily to attach my jacket or cardigan to my work bag or purse." — Michele Get it from Amazon for $7.99+ (available in five colors). 6. A splurge-worthy set of Cadence Capsules that stick together ~magnetically~ and take up way less space in your bag than big pill bottles. They'll help you condense so you're bringing what you actually need (and not overpacking); plus, they're leakproof and incredibly sturdy so you can fill 'em with whatever: creams, vitamins, small jewelry — truly anything small that you want to keep safe. The "daily routine" set includes four medium and three small capsules as well as magnetic, interchangeable labels for shampoo, conditioner, body wash, moisturizer, cleanser, a pill icon, and a blank tile. They also offer skincare, bodycare, haircare, and pill case sets as well as extenders that increase the size of the capsule! And if you fall in love with these and *really* want to customize your collection, head to their site to build your own unique set. Cadence is an AAPI woman-owned small business that was founded by Steph Hon with the goal of eliminating single-use travel-sized plastics. The containers are made from recycled ocean-bound plastic. Abby: I have a set of four of these, and, wow, I love them so much. I used them on a six-day trip, and they were perfect. I customized the label so I knew which one was my shampoo vs. conditioner and did a general label for any other things I wanted to bring along. They do hold a surprising amount. According to the brand, they hold approximately one to two weeks of skincare products, more than two weeks' worth of serum, two to three days' worth of haircare, and more than 15 tablets (for medicine and such). And while two to three days worth of haircare might not seem like enough, I found it held more than that for me, but I also don't wash my hair every single day. They were small enough to slip right into my toiletries bag and go through TSA with no problem. The container was easy to open in the shower (even with wet hands), and I had no leakage from them (like I did from my face wash bottle that will not be making the trip with me next time. SMH). These are an incredibly useful tool anyone who travels will want in their luggage. Get the daily routine set from Amazon for $117.30 (available in five colors and other sets). 7. Or a TSA-approved 16-piece travel toiletries set with a container for each and every one of your tried-and-true faves so you don't have to spend more money on the travel-size versions. These are reusable and leakproof, so your products (and other stuff in your bag!) will stay protected. The set comes with four bottles, four jars, two spray bottles, two scoopers (to help transfer creams), one funnel (to help transfer liquids), one cleaning brush, a page of labels, and a bag that everything fits in. Promising review:"I've purchased a lot of different travel sets for my toiletries over the years. Inevitably, they are hard to fill and tend to leak. This set was magic! The wide mouth made it easy to fill from a larger bottle, and the little scoops made transferring creams to the jar containers very easy and with much less mess. The only con (hardly worth mentioning) is that once you squeeze the bottle, it takes a few minutes to expand with air again, so the sides are a bit sunken. I solved that by unscrewing the top just a bit for a quick release of the vacuum pressure. I had no leaks, and plenty of containers for every toiletry." — MDC Get it from Amazon for $9.99+ (available in seven colors). 8. A Hackwith Design House shirt because there's nothing more travel-friendly than a top you can wear *five* different ways (that we know of — but you might discover more playing around with it). It's timeless because you can always change how you style it, and it's made from a high-quality fabric that's soft, breathable, and can last for years. Hackwith Design House is a woman-owned small business that creates made-to-order apparel. This shirt can be worn as a V-neck, off-the-shoulder, boatneck, V-back, and even open as a jacket. And the color is simple, which means it can be paired well with many different bottoms. BuzzFeed Shopping editor Chelsea Stuart says:"I have this shirt and I *love* it. All credit for its discovery goes to TikToker @ who I happened to stumble across on my FYP. It checks all my boxes: black, comfortable, versatile, and durable. My initial worry was that I wouldn't feel secure in it (I have a 38DDD chest and most wrap tops/dresses I've tried haven't stayed where they're supposed to), but I haven't had an issue with this! I've worn it tied in the front giving me a square neck (like the middle picture) and tied in the back giving me a V-neck up front (just like the photo on the right) — both were super comfortable, and I didn't have to adjust myself at all. As someone whose weight fluctuates, I also appreciate that this piece can handle pounds gained and lost. The fabric is medium weight, so I'll be wearing it season to season, and there's just enough elasticity in the arms that if you roll up your sleeves, they won't fall back down. All that is to say trust that I will be buying additional colors!" Get it from Hackwith Design House for $145 (available in women's sizes XS–4X and in three colors). 9. A 2-in-1 hair tool that curls and straightens so you can achieve the perfect balance of texture and shine with just one tool. It's easy to pack for trips and dual-voltage so you can have gorgeous hair no matter what country you're visiting. Just be sure to still pack a plug adapter if you're traveling to another country! Get it from Amazon for $39.99 (available in two colors). 10. A portable rain hood to pair with *any* jacket so you don't have to try to cram in your practical raincoats. You can keep it in your bag for any impromptu downpours! Amazon All it is is a hood attached to a vest you can wear under *any* jacket to protect yourself (and your hair) from whatever the weather has planned. Promising review: "I love this! The quality is very nice and it fits great. Wore it last week in the rain with a coat I love that doesn't have a hood and it was perfect. It slips right under your jacket so all you see is the hood, so it pretty much blends in with your jacket. Such a great idea! Wish there were more colors and patterns, I'd order more." — Jill Hammel Get it from Amazon for $29 (available in two sizes). 11. A flying USB port with four spots to plug in your gadgets so you don't have to pack different power adapters. And bonus: This allows you to make the most of that one working outlet you managed to find at the airport! Multitasky Multitasky is a woman-founded and -run small business that began in 2020 as a way for founder Julia Xu to create products that were both functional and cute. Promising review:"It does as it says it does, allowing my Dell XPS15 to operate a pair of USB devices from my lightning port! The laptop has two USB ports, one of which is always occupied by my USB mouse dongle and the other by my protected USB drive. If I wanted to plug in my phone to switch data or add another thumb drive to transfer a device, everything might have to be disconnected, but not anymore. It was really worth it." — Liberty Get it from Multitasky for $25 (available in three colors). 12. A Subtl Beauty Stack to condense up to nine makeup products into one small stack. You can customize yours with anything from lip tints to face powder. And as convenient as it is for travel, it's also perfect to keep in your purse for any on-the-go touch-ups! Subtl Beauty Each stack also includes a mirror lid, a base, and a mini brush. Promising review:"I absolutely love how compact this product is. I have been pleasantly surprised at how natural the makeup feels and I love the natural look it provides. I originally purchased it for traveling, but have been using it daily and love it!" – Paula Bowie Get the Starter Stack from Subtl Beauty for $60 (available in 18 tones), or customize your own stack starting at $12 per layer, with up to nine product types available. 13. A skyline mini wallet emergency kit packed with the practical items that are easy to forget (like hair ties, tampons, Tylenol, and more!) while still being small enough to fit in your purse — so it definitely *won't* take up too much space in your carry-on. Anne Cate Anne Cate is a woman-owned small business based in Cleveland, Ohio that handmakes minimalist keepsakes with a skyline from more than 100 cities and colleges around the world! The kit includes a hair tie, ChapStick, two floss pics, a sewing kit, bandages, emery board, two safety pins, two earring backs, a makeup wipe, two bobby pins, two mints, a deodorant wipe, a Shout wipe, a tampon, hand sanitizer, and Tylenol. Promising review: "I'm heading to Rome this fall with my best friend and our husbands. I thought this would be the cutest little emergency case to bring along so I got each of us one. I am so excited to give it to her. She will love the Rome skyline and all the goodies inside." — Jen
Buzz Feed
02-05-2025
- Buzz Feed
If You're Only Bringing A Carry-On On Vacation, You Should Pack These 12 Items
1. A waterproof Kindle you can consider a pocket-size portal to another dimension. It's compact, glare-free, and has a ton of storage for thousands of books, plus a battery life that lasts much longer than your seven-hour flight — up to 10 weeks! It also features adjustable warm light that's much easier on your eyes. Abby: ^ Yes, that is me sitting in a pool in Hawaii holding my Kindle over the water without fear or stress that if it falls in, it will break. Truly living my best life. Promising review:"I LOVE reading and being able to access a book anywhere with this thing. It is easy to navigate, very easy to read and adjust the brightness or how warm the light is. It doesn't auto adjust, but I don't need that feature. I've read in bright sunlight to dark rooms, and it's always been so clear. You can adjust the font and use the library to search whatever books you want. Makes packing books for traveling very easy. Battery life lasts me two weeks if I'm reading every day for a few hours." — R@L0 Get it from Amazon for $149.99 (available in three colors and with or without lockscreen ads). 2. A set of packing cubes that help you squeeze in more by keeping everything neat and compressed. You'll be amazed at how much you can fit in your carry-on, and since everything is organized into little sections, it'll be a snap to unpack and get on with your trip! Promising review:"I travel frequently and travel light. My luggage is usually limited to a backpack that slides under the airline seat. For a two-week European cruise, I added a carry-on rolling suitcase. I've used these packing cubes twice so far, and I am hooked. One cube holds everything (including clothing) I take on a three-night trip. The cube slides into my pack, saving massive amounts of room, and everything is easy to find during travel and at the hotel. Taking out one cube and unzipping is much better than digging through a pack! I will never leave home without these!" — Gura Get a set of four packing cubes (also comes with a laundry bag) from Amazon for $21.99 (available in 25 colors and two sets). 3. Or a Stow-N-Go travel organizer that's basically a portable closet. You can arrange everything while you pack, and when you get to your destination, just hang it up and that's it! You'll have perfectly organized clothes for the whole trip. Abby: Plus, it has a zipper compartment at the bottom you can put all your dirty clothes in, so they don't get mixed together and you end up just washing everything when you get home (because that's usually what happens to me). Promising review:"I just love it. I travel a lot. Now I don't have to hang anything up but my organizer. I can see what I pack and where everything is. Just love it. I can easily fit seven days' worth of outfits and three pairs of shoes in a carry-on suitcase. Just great." — Amazon Customer Get it from Amazon for $22.99+ (available in two sizes and 10 colors). 4. A strap to keep your personal items (neck pillow, jacket, purse, etc.) together so you can easily run around the airport without worrying about leaving anything behind. Amazon Promising review:"I love this little gadget. I used it to attach my jacket and computer bag to my luggage on an extended business trip. It made my airport walks so much easier. Now that I'm back home, I've been using it daily to attach my jacket or cardigan to my work bag or purse." — Michele Get it from Amazon for $7.99+ (available in six colors). 5. A splurge-worthy set of Cadence Capsules that stick together ~magnetically~ and take up way less space in your bag than big pill bottles. They'll help you condense so you're bringing what you actually need (and not overpacking); plus, they're leakproof and incredibly sturdy so you can fill 'em with whatever: creams, vitamins, small jewelry — truly anything small that you want to keep safe. The "daily routine" set includes four medium and three small capsules as well as magnetic, interchangeable labels for shampoo, conditioner, body wash, moisturizer, cleanser, a pill icon, and a blank tile. They also offer skincare, bodycare, haircare, and pill case sets as well as extenders that increase the size of the capsule! And if you fall in love with these and *really* want to customize your collection, head to their site to build your own unique set. Cadence is an AAPI woman-owned small business that was founded by Steph Hon with the goal of eliminating single-use travel-sized plastics. The containers are made from recycled ocean-bound plastic. Abby: I have a set of four of these, and, wow, I love them so much. I used them on a six-day trip, and they were perfect. I customized the label so I knew which one was my shampoo vs. conditioner and did a general label for any other things I wanted to bring along. They do hold a surprising amount. According to the brand, they hold approximately one to two weeks of skincare products, more than two weeks' worth of serum, two to three days' worth of haircare, and more than 15 tablets (for medicine and such). And while two to three days worth of haircare might not seem like enough, I found it held more than that for me, but I also don't wash my hair every single day. They were small enough to slip right into my toiletries bag and go through TSA with no problem. The container was easy to open in the shower (even with wet hands), and I had no leakage from them (like I did from my face wash bottle that will not be making the trip with me next time. SMH). These are an incredibly useful tool anyone who travels will want in their luggage. Get the daily routine set from Amazon for $138 (available in three colors and other sets). 6. Or a TSA-approved 16-piece travel toiletries set with a container for each and every one of your tried-and-true faves so you don't have to spend more money on the travel-size versions. These are reusable and leakproof, so your products (and other stuff in your bag!) will stay protected. The set comes with four bottles, four jars, two spray bottles, two scoopers (to help transfer creams), one funnel (to help transfer liquids), one cleaning brush, a page of labels, and a bag that everything fits in. Promising review:"I've purchased a lot of different travel sets for my toiletries over the years. Inevitably, they are hard to fill and tend to leak. This set was magic! The wide mouth made it easy to fill from a larger bottle, and the little scoops made transferring creams to the jar containers very easy and with much less mess. The only con (hardly worth mentioning) is that once you squeeze the bottle, it takes a few minutes to expand with air again, so the sides are a bit sunken. I solved that by unscrewing the top just a bit for a quick release of the vacuum pressure. I had no leaks, and plenty of containers for every toiletry." — MDC Get it from Amazon for $9.99+ (available in eight colors). 7. A Hackwith Design House shirt because there's nothing more travel-friendly than a top you can wear *five* different ways (that we know of — but you might discover more playing around with it). It's timeless because you can always change how you style it, and it's made from a high-quality fabric that's soft, breathable, and can last for years. Hackwith Design House is a woman-owned small business that creates made-to-order apparel. This shirt can be worn as a V-neck, off-the-shoulder, boatneck, V-back, and even open as a jacket. And the color is simple, which means it can be paired well with many different bottoms. BuzzFeed Shopping editor Chelsea Stuart says:"I have this shirt and I *love* it. All credit for its discovery goes to TikToker @ who I happened to stumble across on my FYP. It checks all my boxes: black, comfortable, versatile, and durable. My initial worry was that I wouldn't feel secure in it (I have a 34G chest and most wrap tops/dresses I've tried haven't stayed where they're supposed to), but I haven't had an issue with this! I've worn it tied in the front giving me a square neck (like the middle picture) and tied in the back giving me a V-neck up front (just like the photo on the right) — both were super comfortable, and I didn't have to adjust myself at all. As someone whose weight fluctuates, I also appreciate that this piece can handle pounds gained and lost. The fabric is medium weight, so I'll be wearing it season to season, and there's just enough elasticity in the arms that if you roll up your sleeves, they won't fall back down. All that is to say trust that I will be buying additional colors!" Get it from Hackwith Design House for $145 (available in women's sizes XS–4X and in three colors). 8. A 2-in-1 hair tool that curls and straightens so you can achieve the perfect balance of texture and shine with just *one* tool. It's easy to pack for trips, *and* it's dual-voltage so you can have gorgeous hair no matter the country you're visiting. Amazon Promising review:"Don't be fooled by the tiny price or size, this little baby is serious. If you are looking for a small travel option rather than lugging your big straightener and giant curling iron around the world, than I think you'll love this. It performs really well, turning my frizzy wavy hair into a smooth and sleek style. The curling iron option also creates shiny, silky lasting curls! It's easy to transition between both. I also like the grippy handle and the fact that the curling iron clip is a different color than the straightening bars because that helps me see how I should be maneuvering it around. The voltage goes up to 240m, so you are good using it internationally without a converter (but you will need an adapter just to fit it into various foreign outlets). At this price, definitely give it a try and flaunt your tresses abroad." — Christine Get it from Amazon for $39.99 (available in two colors). 9. A portable rain hood to pair with *any* jacket so you don't have to try to cram in your practical raincoats. You can keep it in your bag for any impromptu downpours! Amazon All it is is a hood attached to a vest you can wear under *any* jacket to protect yourself (and your hair) from whatever the weather has planned. Promising review: "I love this! The quality is very nice and it fits great. Wore it last week in the rain with a coat I love that doesn't have a hood and it was perfect. It slips right under your jacket so all you see is the hood, so it pretty much blends in with your jacket. Such a great idea! Wish there were more colors and patterns, I'd order more." — Jill Hammel Get it from Amazon for $29 (available in two sizes). 10. A flying USB port with four spots to plug in your gadgets so you don't have to pack different power adapters. And bonus: This allows you to make the most of that one working outlet you managed to find at the airport! Multitasky Multitasky is a woman-founded and -run small business that began in 2020 as a way for founder Julia Xu to create products that were both functional and cute. Promising review:"It does as it says it does, allowing my Dell XPS15 to operate a pair of USB devices from my lightning port! The laptop has two USB ports, one of which is always occupied by my USB mouse dongle and the other by my protected USB drive. If I wanted to plug in my phone to switch data or add another thumb drive to transfer a device, everything might have to be disconnected, but not anymore. It was really worth it." — Liberty Get it from Multitasky for $25 (available in three colors). 11. A Subtl Beauty Stack to condense up to nine makeup products into one small stack. You can customize yours with anything from lip tints to face powder. And as convenient as it is for travel, it's also perfect to keep in your purse for any on-the-go touch-ups! Subtl Beauty Each stack also includes a mirror lid, a base, and a mini brush. Promising review:"I absolutely love how compact this product is. I have been pleasantly surprised at how natural the makeup feels and I love the natural look it provides. I originally purchased it for traveling, but have been using it daily and love it!" — Paula Bowie Get the Starter Stack from Subtl Beauty for $60 (available in 19 tones), or customize your own stack starting at $12+ per layer, with up to nine product types available. 12. A skyline mini wallet emergency kit packed with the practical items that are easy to forget (like hair ties, tampons, Tylenol, and more!) while still being small enough to fit in your purse — so it definitely *won't* take up too much space in your carry-on. Anne Cate Anne Cate is a woman-owned small business based in Cleveland, Ohio that handmakes minimalist keepsakes with a skyline from more than 100 cities and colleges around the world! The kit includes a hair tie, ChapStick, two floss pics, a sewing kit, bandages, emery board, two safety pins, two earring backs, a makeup wipe, two bobby pins, two mints, a deodorant wipe, a Shout wipe, a tampon, hand sanitizer, and Tylenol. Promising review: "I'm heading to Rome this fall with my best friend and our husbands. I thought this would be the cutest little emergency case to bring along so I got each of us one. I am so excited to give it to her. She will love the Rome skyline and all the goodies inside." — Jen Get it from Anne Cate for $25 (available in 96 skylines).
Buzz Feed
22-04-2025
- Buzz Feed
Maturing Is Realizing You Really Only Need A Carry-On, And These 27 Travel Products Prove It
1. A set of packing cubes to level up your packing game since these keep your items compressed and organized. You can sort them by item or by day — so when you get off the plane and make it to your hotel, you can easily change outfits without cave-diving into your carry-on to find that one cute top! Promising review:"I travel frequently and travel light. My luggage is usually limited to a backpack that slides under the airline seat. For a two-week European cruise, I added a carry-on rolling suitcase. I've used these packing cubes twice so far, and I am hooked. One cube holds everything (including clothing) I take on a three-night trip. The cube slides into my pack, saving massive amounts of room, and everything is easy to find during travel and at the hotel. Taking out one cube and unzipping is much better than digging through a pack! I will never leave home without these!" — Gura Get a set of four packing cubes (also comes with a laundry bag) from Amazon for $21.99+ (available in 26 colors and two sets). 2. Or, a pack of vacuum-free, space-saving compression bags that come in handy when you're packing for the trip, but come in SUPER handy when you realize you went a little overboard at those local boutiques and are bringing back way more than you packed in the first place. Just zip up your clothes, roll, and watch all the air leave the bags, making sure you can still zip up your roller board! BuzzFeed Shopping writer Emma Lord says:"HELLO, I AM OBSESSED WITH THESE. Despite all the rave reviews I was definitely skeptical of space-saving bags that didn't require a vacuum, and even as they were actively squishing my clothes into oblivion I still couldn't quite believe it. I had easily two suitcases worth of clothes I wanted to pack for a three-week trip to London, and I managed to neatly pack the entirety of my wardrobe in one roller carry-on bag. Truly all I had to do was put my clothes in the bag, push them to the bottom, and then sit on it to get the air out before sealing it up. I had tons of extra bags and make a habit of taking them with me in case other people joining me on trips need them to be able to pack souvenirs on the way home. I'm never taking a long trip without these again — these are worth every damn penny." Promising review: "I travel monthly for work, usually gone for 4–5 days. Before these, I would have to check a bag. Dress shirts and pants roll up nicely and stay wrinkle free. It's tempting to want to over-stuff these, but if you're packing golf shirts or cloths with 'slippery' fabric, they slide out of the top of the bag as you get close to the end. The clips take a minute to get used to, but after a couple of times zipping up the bags, it's pretty easy." — BigSkinny Get a set of eight from Amazon for $15.98. 3. The 4-in-1 Alleyoop Pen Pal, which is basically a cooler makeup version of the classic Bic 4 Color Pen. This has four retractable colors so you can touch up your brows, eyeliner, lips, and highlights. Plus, it's small enough to fit in your purse if you need to do some on-the-go touch-ups! Amazon Promising review:"I love that this product is an all-in-one! It saves me so much space when I travel, and the products are high-quality too. The lightest brow pencil is still a little dark for blondes like me, but the other shades complement me perfectly. I like the lip liner the best; it easily elevates a simple lip look!" — Sam Get it from Amazon for $20 (available in three colors). 4. And a Subtl Beauty Stak that has genius written all over it. It allows you to keep up to NINE makeup products in one compact and convenient place, AND you can customize it if your routine is more of a no-makeup makeup routine. Plus, it comes with a mirror lid and includes a brush! Subtl Beauty is a small business that specializes in vegan, cruelty-free beauty products, including compact, customizable beauty stacks. Promising review:"I absolutely love how compact this product is. I have been pleasantly surprised at how natural the makeup feels, and I love the natural look it provides. I originally purchased for traveling, but have been using it daily and love it!" — Paula Bowie Get the Starter Stack from Subtl Beauty for $60 (originally $70; available in 19 tones), or customize your own stack starting at $12 per layer. 5. A sturdy, lightweight eight-compartment pill organizer so you can bring all your important medications and supplements without their bulky bottles taking up all the room in your toiletry bag. Plus, some reviewers have even used the compartments to store smaller items like jewelry! Promising review:"My husband and I travel a lot and take a number of prescription drugs. It was always a hassle accessing our medication when needed, so I purchased this organizer to make things easier. I used a label maker and labeled each little compartment and it has performed wonderfully. I highly recommend this organizer to anyone who travels and needs medications throughout the day." — Jacqueline Get a three-pack from Amazon for $6.97+ (available in two color set options). 6. A jewelry organizer to prevent your necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings from basically getting into a full-on catfight in your suitcase. This is easy to roll up and a LOT easier to pack than a mini jewelry box. Promising review:"Best jewelry travel pouch ever. Plenty of room for all my travel jewelry needs. Half the size of previous pouches I have tried and holds more than any of them." — T Rex Mom Get it from Amazon for $15.99+ (available in two sizes and 10 colors). 7. A Kindle Paperwhite because the list of books you want to read is getting larger by the second (thanks a lot, BookTok), but the space in your suitcase for a book is just non-existent. This little thing holds thousands of books, is waterproof, and has a glare-free screen. Reviewers love how the charge lasts for weeks (yes, weeks!) and the optimal warm light feature that's easy on the eyes. Promising review:"I always have my Kindle Paperwhite with me when traveling or just sitting at the beach to read. Recently, we traveled to a tropical wedding destination, I was sitting by the pool reading when my daughter's boyfriend sat down with his book and said he was almost finished reading it, he was complaining that he wanted to bring more, but they would be too heavy. I showed him my Kindle and said that I loaded five books into it for the trip, he was was very interested and amazed after I let him play with it. So now, he's getting one for Christmas." — Steve M. Get it from Amazon for $159.99 (available in three colors and with or without lock screen ads). 8. Some Tide sink packets so you can wash your dirty clothes and not force yourself to re-wear a stained and stinky top to dinner. These are easy to slip into your toiletry bag and will def come in handy in case your travel nightmare comes true, and you actually do poop your pants (lol). Tide BuzzFeed Shopping editor Elizabeth Lilly is a big fan of these:"Each pack comes with three packets. And, because they *are* liquid, they'll easily slide into the side of your toiletries bag. I've packed these on international trips to much success!" Promising review: "Taking these out of the country to wash under things is exactly the right size." — Laura Wilson Get nine packs from Amazon for $6.39 (available in two scents and four pack sizes). 9. A splurge-worthy set of Cadence Capsules if you're a little picky about hotel shampoos and prefer to stick to your tried and trues. These are super sturdy and they're magnetic, so they'll keep all your vitamins, moisturizers, lotions, and basically anything you want to put in them super safe and organized. The "daily routine" set includes four medium and three small capsules as well as magnetic, interchangeable labels for shampoo, conditioner, body wash, moisturizer, cleanser, a pill icon, and a blank tile. They also offer skincare, bodycare, haircare, and pill case sets as well as extenders that increase the size of the capsule! And if you fall in love with these and *really* want to customize your collection, head to their site to build your own unique set. Cadence is an AAPI woman-owned small business that was founded by Steph Hon with the goal of eliminating single-use travel-sized plastics. The containers are made from recycled ocean-bound plastic. Promising review: "These containers are perfectly sized for all my travel needs, whether it's skincare products, vitamins, or even small jewelry pieces. They fit neatly into my carry-on, saving space and keeping everything organized. No more messy toiletry bags or digging around for tiny items — everything has its place with Cadence. The quality of the materials is top-notch. The containers snap together securely, making it easy to keep them organized and prevent any spills. It's such a clever and practical feature that adds a touch of luxury to the whole experience. Plus, it's oddly satisfying to hear the little click when they snap into place! "I'll be honest — the price did give me pause at first. These containers are definitely an investment, but I can confidently say they're worth it. The peace of mind they provide, knowing my products are safe and secure during travel, is priceless. Plus, the high-quality build means they'll last for many trips to come, making them a smart long-term investment." — Randy G. Get the daily routine set from Amazon for $138 (available in five colors and other sets). 10. Or, if you don't want to splurge, a TSA-approved 16-piece travel toiletries set that comes with four squeeze bottles, three little pots, and one spray bottle for all your skincare and shower necessities. These are leak-proof, refillable, and easy to clean! Plus, they come with labels so you know what's what and a little bag for storing them all. Promising review:"I've purchased a lot of different travel sets for my toiletries over the years. Inevitably, they are hard to fill and tend to leak. This set was magic! The wide mouth made it easy to fill from a larger bottle, and the little scoops made transferring creams to the jar containers very easy and with much less mess. The only con (hardly worth mentioning) is that once you squeeze the bottle, it takes a few minutes to expand with air again, so the sides are a bit sunken. I solved that by unscrewing the top just a bit for a quick release of the vacuum pressure. I had no leaks, and plenty of containers for every toiletry." — MDC Get it from Amazon for $9.99+ (available in eight colors). 11. A travel cable organizer because you've got gadgets and gizmos a plenty which all come with So. Many. Charging. Cables. This keeps everything organized in one convenient place, and it's even waterproof! Amazon Promising review:"Excellent for travel! Nice to have a go-to individual pouch especially for the chords. Husband travels for business and this is a must, so if he's in an airport or hotel he can locate them easily and they don't get mixed with others." — Brent Webb Get it from Amazon for $9.85+ (available in three sizes and 23 colors). 12. A 2-in-1 hair tool that curls *and* straightens, but doesn't take up a lot of room in your carry-on. So when you want pin-straight hair for Day 1 of vacay, but then want voluminous curls for Day 2, you'll be so glad you packed this. Amazon Plus!!!!! This is also dual voltage which is so handy when traveling internationally! Promising review:"Don't be fooled by the tiny price or size, this little baby is serious. If you are looking for a small travel option rather than lugging your big straightener and giant curling iron around the world, than I think you'll love this. It performs really well, turning my frizzy wavy hair into a smooth and sleek style. The curling iron option also creates shiny, silky lasting curls! It's easy to transition between both. I also like the grippy handle and the fact that the curling iron clip is a different color than the straightening bars because that helps me see how I should be maneuvering it around. The voltage goes up to 240m, so you are good using it internationally without a converter (but you will need an adapter just to fit it into various foreign outlets). At this price, definitely give it a try and flaunt your tresses abroad." — Christine Get it from Amazon for $39.99 (available in two colors). 13. A skyline mini wallet emergency kit equipped with things like an extra hair tie, Tylenol, a bandage, and a deodorant wipe. Whether you use it on the actual plane ride or keep it in your purse for the vacation days following, this will be sure to come in handy. Anne Cate Anne Cate is a woman-owned small business based in Cleveland, Ohio, that handmakes minimalist keepsakes with a skyline from more than 100 cities and colleges around the world! The kit includes a hair tie, lip balm, two floss pics, a sewing kit, bandages, emery board, two safety pins, two earring backs, a makeup wipe, two bobby pins, two mints, a deodorant wipe, a Shout wipe, a tampon, hand sanitizer, and Tylenol. Promising review: "I'm heading to Rome this fall with my best friend and our husbands. I thought this would be the cutest little emergency case to bring along so I got each of us one. I am so excited to give it to her. She will love the Rome skyline and all the goodies inside." — Jen Get it from Anne Cate for $25 (available in 96 skylines). 14. A plush microfiber makeup-removing cloth so you don't have to settle for 3.4 ounces of makeup-removing liquid for your whole trip or bring wasteful makeup-removing wipes. This will gently get your makeup off with just water! And you didn't hear this from me, but this is three times cheaper than the Makeup Eraser! Amazon, Promising review: "This is incredible! I can't believe how well this works! I travel a lot for work and usually take makeup remover wipes because of the liquid restrictions for travel, but they are expensive and heavy. I have been using this cloth all week and LOVE IT! A bit of warm water and everything comes off in a few easy swipes. I am super excited to travel with this. It weighs nothing and rolls up to take very little space. I am ordering another for my mom who also travels. Highly recommend!" — KT Get it from Amazon for $6.99+ (available in six colors and in multipacks). 15. A 3-in-1 foldable magnetic wireless charging station that charges your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods all at the same time. You can stay organized by getting rid of tangled cords *and* the high-quality magnets in the pad make sure your items don't slip away. When folded up, it easily fits into your pocket! Promising review: " This is my new favorite travel gadget! Super compact and sleek, so far no issues with charging my iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods, and performance remains consistent. This charger has eliminated at least two additional cords and I deeply appreciate not having to shuffle chargers around when packing for travel. The charging light has an on/off feature by the watch pad, so I'm able to keep it on the bedside table at night without a bright green light shining in my face. It's also hard to overlook when packing back up to leave a hotel, which might be the second most important feature! Overall a great value for the money and such a great tool for staying organized during travel." — Cassandra Get it from Amazon for $23.99. 16. Or a braided 4-in-1 fast charging cord to minimize the amount of space your charging cords take up and maximize the amount of devices you can charge at one time. Promising review:" My husband and I have different phones with different charging ports. This was great for our international travel and limiting the number of cords we needed to carry. Was useful during travel for charging both devices and for charging other family members' devices as well. Quick charging as well." — veronicawhite Get it from Amazon for $13.99. 17. Or a compact, all-in-one international travel adapter if you find yourself taking a multi-country and need something that won't take up a lot of space in your tech bag, but will work for all your bucket-list destinations. Plus, this lets you plug up to seven devices at once! The charger can be used in Mexico, Canada, the UK, the UAE, Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, and countries in Europe, Asia, and South America. Promising review:"My partner and I traveled to a few different countries that had different outlet styles. He travels with a CPAP so we weren't sure if a traditional adapter would hold up. This fit every country we went to and allowed him to use his CPAP without any issues at all. The additional USB-C and USB ports were also extremely helpful, as we were traveling with a host of electronics. Very pleased with this purchase!" — ElizabethN Get it from Amazon for $39.99. 18. A neck pillow you can stuff with clothing, which many reviewers have said helped them skirt around those strict carry-on restrictions many airlines enforce. Sometimes you gotta work smarter, not harder, to get in those extra vacay outfits, and this thing does just the job! Check out a TikTok showing how someone used a similar neck pillow to just take that and a personal item onto a RyanAir flight that was charging for hand luggage. Promising review: "The Tube Pillow was a savior on my last trip. It held a surprising amount of clothes and doubled as a dirty laundry bag. I used it as an on-the-lap pillow... for extra storage without extra fees, it's worth it!" — Sharon Get it from Amazon for $29.95. 19. A hanging toiletry bag that proves you can do a carry-on only, but still bring every toiletry you need. This holds so many things, keeps them in one compact place once you unpack, and lets you see everything at a glance! Promising review:"This is so handy. My friend and I both got one for our travels. We love to cruise and want to take our beauty items with us, but we can't always find the small travel sizes. So, this fits us WELL... we put our full-sized bath soap, shampoo, conditioner, and other supplies in it as well as some makeup... It hangs nicely on the towel rack, or you can get a super strong magnet and use that. I love the light pink color that I got, and she got a minty type of green that is so pretty as well. If you need to travel but want those regular-sized items, get this... it is a big blessing!" — Pattie Get it from Amazon for $16.19 + (available in three colors and two sizes) 20. A collapsible silicone water bottle because even though you love your refrigerator-sized Stanley Cup, you need something a lil' smaller for when you're traveling. This is refillable and rolls up to be super compact when you're done sipping. Promising review: "I got this the day before a cruise, and it made it so easy to throw into my carry-on and was able to fill once I got through security at the airport. I used it all through my cruise as well, and when I was done with it, I folded it back up, and it went right back into my purse at each port. People asked where I got it, and I honestly loved it. It's a little bulky, so it isn't slim for small purses, but my backpack and having it was nice. I will not use it for day-to-day use, but it's another great travel find for those who travel often :)" — Mary Get it from Amazon for $9.29 (available in six colors/styles). 21. An on-the-go Gillette razor that proves that many of the best things in life come in small packages. This five-blade razor saves space and saves you from using those disposable razors that just don't step up to the plate. Amazon It comes with one handle and one blade refill but will work with other normal Venus refills! Promising review: "I am a flight attendant, space is limited in my bag. Great product for your travel bag." — Caitlin Hemphill Get it from Amazon for $9.99. 22. A refillable travel perfume atomizer so you can take your signature scent on the go and not worry about a floral-scented mess leaking in your entire carry-on! This doesn't require a funnel and simply connects to the nozzle of your perfume bottle for easy refilling. Elizabeth Lilly / BuzzFeed Promising review:"I originally bought these for traveling purposes so I did not have to carry my full-size perfume bottles but now they are a daily use item and keep them in my purse so that way I can always refresh my favorite scents. TSA approved small and convenient." — Tee63143 Get a four-pack from Amazon for $8.99. 23. A lightweight, waterproof raincoat, which surprisingly packs up super duper small, allowing you to reserve most of your carry-on space for your wardrobe. Amazon Promising review: "I got this a little bigger to go over my sweatshirt and it was perfect. It is super lightweight and kept me dry. It also helped lock in some extra warmth so that was a bonus. It's the perfect little rain jacket for the price." — Amie Linsday Get it from Amazon for $31.99 (available in women's sizes S–XXL and nine colors). 24. Or, an even smaller portable rain hood if you don't want to even bother with packing a designated rain coat at all. So when Mother Nature tries to pull a fast one on ya, you can be like, "Not today!" Amazon, Amazon It can be easily stashed in your purse when the rain finally stops, and it takes up way less room in your luggage than a regular rain jacket. Promising review: "I love this! The quality is very nice and it fits great. Wore it last week in the rain with a coat I love that doesn't have a hood and it was perfect. It slips right under your jacket so all you see is the hood, so it pretty much blends in with your jacket. Such a great idea! Wish there were more colors and patterns, I'd order more." — Jill Hammel Get it from Amazon for $29. 25. A travel version of the popular "flossing" toothbrush with super fine bristles that get into the hard-to-reach crevices, so it'll brush *and* floss at the same time. It folds into itself, and the handle even acts as a cap, so you won't have to go out to buy one before your trip! Amazon BuzzFeed Shopping contributor Katy Herman swears by these:"The brand sent me a sample of these to try out, and I love them for all the reasons above! Mine has honestly stayed super clean- and fresh-looking after several trips over the past couple of months, so I haven't immediately tossed it after short trips like I usually do with travel toothbrushes. It's super convenient, compact, and my teeth and gums feel fresh and invigorated after use!" Mouthwatchers is a dentist-founded small business specializing in upgraded toothbrushes. While these can't be a full substitute for flossing, they're helpful if you don't floss as much as you should (I feel you). Promising review: "This toothbrush is a new staple item for my on-the-go Invisalign bag. When I need to brush my teeth and don't have time to floss before putting my aligners back in, this brush makes sure my teeth and mouth feel clean and removes debris in between my teeth. The bristles are soft, this toothbrush is sturdy, and the different lengths of bristles help remove debris or help floss your teeth on the go. This brush also dries very fast in between uses." — V. Brown Get it from Amazon for $5.99 (available in two colors). 26. A 2-in-1 contact and glasses case perfect for those who aren't blessed with 20-20 vision. (Curse you, vision gods!) This allows you to keep your glasses and everything you need for your contacts — a case, contact solution, and rubber-tipped tweezers — in separate compartments but in one place for traveling! Amazon Promising review: "Because of my job, I live out of a suitcase, and I am always worried if I need an extra set of contacts or a spare pair of eyeglasses. This is perfect, because I just put it in the bottom of my suitcase, and I am confident I have them both in one place. I got the pink case, and it's very cute. Very happy with this purchase." — N. Rivera Get it from Amazon for $13.95+ (available in eight colors). 27. A fully tricked-out travel backpack with *brace yourself* two laptop sleeves, a shoe compartment, a "wet bag" for damp clothes, a waterproof interior, and an anti-theft design. Plus, it has a USB charging port! This personal item is in a league of its own. Promising review:"I recently took a cross-country flight with my three kids. I really didn't want to worry about checked bags getting lost so maximizing our carry-ons was a priority. This backpack fit an unfathomable amount of stuff! Lots of zippers and compartments for everything from shoes to laptops/iPads, easy access compartments for cell phones and boarding passes, I fit tons of neatly folded clothes. The best part was that fully loaded it easily slid under the seat." — Kindle Customer Get it from Amazon for $22.79+ (available in five sizes and 40 colors).
Gulf News
18-04-2025
- Business
- Gulf News
Who will blink first in the US-China trade war?
As the trade war between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping continues to escalate, economists around the world are asking the same question: who blinks first? On Big Take podcast, Bloomberg's John Liu and Jennifer Welch join host David Gura to discuss what it will take for both presidents to come to the negotiating table, how the current state of China's economy impacts its positioning in the trade war and why hardball tactics are unlikely to work this time around. Here is a lightly edited transcript of the conversation: David Gura: The standoff between the US and China continues to escalate, which is leading to economic uncertainty worldwide. BTV: Bloomberg News now reporting China is expanding the ongoing trade war… It does not seem like we're getting any kind of state visit or detente any time soon, or even high-level talks… Gura: In the last two weeks, the US has placed tariffs of 145% on Chinese exports, and China has retaliated with tariffs of 125% and export restrictions on critical rare earth minerals. Trump: China wants to make a deal. They just don't know how quite to go about it. You know, it's one of those things they don't know quite — they're proud people. And the president, Xi's a proud man. Jennifer Welch: At the moment, it doesn't seem to be working out I think in the way in which President Trump may have anticipated or hoped that it would. Gura: Jennifer Welch helped lead China policy at the National Security Council during the first Trump administration, and also under President Biden. Today, she's Chief Geoeconomics Analyst for Bloomberg Economics. Welch: I think President Trump's MO is to build pressure. There's a real contrast of approaches here. President Trump prides himself on his unpredictability as well as his hardball tactics, whereas Beijing, and particularly Chinese President Xi Jinping, is a very methodical player when it comes to negotiations. They like structure. They like having a clear idea of what the agenda's gonna be so that they can prepare for it. And I think President Trump's unpredictability really puts them on the back heel in a lot of ways. Gura: For its part, China has signaled it's open to talks. On Wednesday, Beijing appointed a point person for negotiations. But sources close to China's government have told Bloomberg that President Xi wants to see the White House approach talks with more respect, and it wants the Trump administration to adopt a more consistent position on tariffs. It begs the question: With the world's two largest economies in a standoff, which leader, President Trump or President Xi, will blink first? John Liu: China is not gonna engage in negotiations until it feels, the United States has shown some sincerity. Gura: John Liu is Bloomberg's Executive Editor for greater China. He's based in Beijing. Liu: I think the main concern for the Chinese side is that. They go into some sort of back and forth with Washington and that, whatever agreements they reach are either scuttled or the US goes back on them. The US, the Trump administration does something to embarrass not only the Chinese government, but also Xi. And so, that I think is the number one concern for the Chinese side. And they wanna make sure that does not happen. Gura: I'm David Gura and this is the Big Take from Bloomberg News. Today on the show, what it will take for Presidents Trump and Xi to come to the negotiating table, how the current state of China's economy impacts its positioning in the trade war and why hardball tactics are unlikely to work this time around. Gura: When President Trump announced sweeping tariffs on about 60 trading partners earlier this month, he made good on a big campaign promise. Trump: On day one we will throw out Bidenomics, and we will reinstate Maganomics. Trump: We will go right after China. We will not rely on them one bit. Gura: And while China has long been a target of Trump's ire, the size and scope of these tariffs caught Beijing by surprise. But Bloomberg's John Liu says it shouldn't have come as a shock Liu: I was surprised that there was surprise because I think what Donald Trump did was exactly what he said he was gonna do, right? He said on the campaign trail, he is gonna take tariffs on China to 60-some percent. After he took office, I think there was a bit of optimism here in China that that would not happen, but that's exactly what he did. The Chinese, for their part, made very clear that if tariffs came into effect, that they would hit back. And from what I can glean, the US was itself relatively surprised that the Chinese retaliated as proactively and aggressively as they did. Gura: You know, here in the US this is all over the place in newspapers and on television. There in China, how much is this a subject of conversation? Is it everywhere as well? Liu: It's everywhere. It is the thing everybody is talking about. There's an overwhelming country-wide consensus or sort of broad support for China to fight this. And so these tariffs have made, you know, Xi Jinping very popular for retaliating. It's seen, I think, a broad swelling of patriotic sentiment, support for the government. And there is this feeling on the ground here amongst ordinary people, business owners, that China is being wronged by these tariffs. I think the additional thing here though is there is a sense of foreboding. I think there is a sense of what it means for China economically and could this get even worse? Gura: John, on Wednesday, China's National Bureau of Statistics reported that the country's gross domestic product grew 5.4% in the first quarter from a year ago. That's more than was expected. How does China's economic position play into how it's approaching this trade war? Liu: I think the longer China can keep the economy ticking along, the longer China can hold out. And I think ultimately this is sort of a game of chicken, if you will, but also I think a game of endurance. And so, whether or not economically China can keep growth up, I think that'll be a determining factor in how this trade war unfolds. And, and you mentioned the GDP data was better than expected for the first quarter. I don't know that that is super telling of the actual economic conditions here on the ground. There was actually a lot of exports in the first quarter that were pulled ahead. That companies in the US buyers in the US actually moved their orders ahead and sort of built up their inventories in anticipation that there would be higher tariffs on Chinese goods. And so that might be actually hiding some of the underlying weakness in the Chinese economy. We've had a terrible property crisis that is yet to be resolved. We've had weak consumer sentiment, weak consumer spending. The government has promised and has already started to roll out lots of stimulus measures to try and get household spending again, get companies investing again. And I would expect that the government will do more of that. And at a greater magnitude as we go forward, as the impact of these tariffs are felt more broadly. Gura: That is going to determine how negotiations between the US and China play out, but another factor will be personality. Bloomberg's Jennifer Welch, who worked in the first Trump administration, thinks Trump's longstanding emphasis on the 'art of the deal' will play a huge role. Welch: From his perspective, he is the deal maker, right? He plays hardball. He is very much empowered at home and I think he's trying to leverage that to bring a lot of confidence into these negotiations, as sort of coming in with a mandate from the American people and really trying to utilize the fullest extent of America's comprehensive national power here, and going further than most presidents have in the past to challenge the limits of that. That's how I think he is approaching not just China, but negotiations with all these partners. Gura: What role does pride play in these conversations? You have two leaders here who are extremely proud individuals. I think it's fair to say, how does that affect or shape talks of this magnitude? Welch: I think that's one of the main hurdles to talks really taking off in a serious way at this point in time. Obviously, there's a lot of pain on both sides. There's the potential for even deeper pain as these tariffs start to bite, and yet we're not really seeing a lot of progress in terms of negotiations and in fact, each side still seems to be saying that the ball is in the other side's court, and I think a main reason for that is because neither of them wants to look weak, right? President Trump, especially after pausing on reciprocal tariffs and then even on the electronics exemptions, has been pushing back in other ways to demonstrate he's still very strong on trade, and I think that's especially important for him when it comes to China because of the legacy of his campaign promises there and the legacy of his first term, of wanting to appear tough on Beijing. I think, likewise for President Xi Jinping, he feels as the leader of the second-largest economy in the world, they need to demonstrate that they can't be pushed around by the United States anymore. They took those prior tariff hikes on the chin. And have to demonstrate their willingness to stand up for China. Gura: We've gotten familiar with the latest iteration of President Trump's personality, but President Xi is more of an enigma for American audiences. John, could you paint a picture for us of President Xi as a leader? How has he responded and what does that tell us just about the way that he approaches leading this country? Liu: I think he is a leader that projects stability, that projects forthrightness and, you know, standing his place, not making sudden turns in policy, but at the same time, I think, when push comes to shove, he will make dramatic changes. During Covid, China had this Covid Zero policy. It put a tremendous burden on the economy on the average citizen. And then at the end of 2022, we started seeing protests, people going on the street wanting the government to end the Covid Zero policy. And because of that, he did almost overnight, just did away with that policy. He is a man who is willing to make changes. But before that, I think he's shown that he's going to project strength and he's going to project stability and that he knows where he's going and it's the right direction forward. Gura: Jennifer Welch says what President Trump may have been betting on is that China's economic situation — in particular, the size of its debt, along with the housing and youth unemployment crises John mentioned — would make Xi bend. Welch: This is me reading the tea leaves a little bit. He may have not fully anticipated the extent to which Beijing was going to push back on this. So I think he engaged in kind of this tit-for-tat with Beijing to try and back them down by escalating to deescalating again. But the deescalation never happened and now we have these extremely high tariff rates on both sides. Gura: After the break, where the US-China trade war goes from here and the weapons Beijing has at its disposal to counter additional tariffs. Gura: Tensions between the US and China are fraught right now. And from the rhetoric coming out of the White House, you'd think the two have never been farther apart on trade. But Bloomberg Economics's Jennifer Welch says Presidents Trump and Xi have brokered a deal before. Welch: It was inked in January 2020. It's called the phase one trade deal, and that was meant to be the starting point for what were called phase two negotiations that were supposed to deal with much more contentious issues around structural reforms in China that never really took off in part because of the pandemic and in part because of deepening US-China tensions. The question now is, are the negotiations that may emerge out of this current round of tensions geared towards a phase one redux — where it's going to be addressing the kind of current trade imbalance and through purchase agreements — or is it going to be trying to attack what those phase two talks that never started were geared towards, these larger structural issues? And I think different members of the administration probably have different perspectives on that. And the key question is going to be: What's President Trump's view, right? And some of this may depend a little bit on the timeline to be frank, right? I think one of the major incentives for him on the phase one deal was that it was inked in an election year and he probably wanted to put the US China trade war to the side and get that resolved before heading into a presidential election. Gura: Jennifer says it's important to remember that, while President Trump isn't up for re-election, and doesn't seem too worried about the fallout from a trade war, many of his allies in Congress are. And the midterms are right around the corner. Welch: That could be an incentive for him where maybe the ambition, so to speak, is lowered to something more like a phase one redux deal. But I think that's a million dollar question at this point. And it's also another reason why talks probably haven't progressed all that far. Gura: As the stalemate continues, both the US and China are eyeing other trade partners. The Trump administration has been lining up potential deals with some of China's biggest economic rivals. Some of the president's economic advisors met with leaders from Japan yesterday, and the administration has talks scheduled with South Korea and India in the coming weeks. For his part, President Xi has made trips to Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia, and John Liu says Xi is looking to improve China's trade relationship with the EU. Liu: Not only has Trump put these tariffs on China, but he's also put them on lots of American allies: Europe, many Southeast Asian countries. And so, that gives China an opportunity to step in and to have itself be seen as a stabilizing force in the global economy as opposed to Washington DC, which Beijing will project as being unpredictableand as being not so caring about the rest of the world and concerned mostly about itself. Xi Jinping is in Southeast Asia this week. He's visiting Vietnam. He's visiting Malaysia. In Vietnam, he called on the Vietnamese to partner with China to resist the unilateral bullying that's happening in the world, which is of course a veiled reference to the United States. There's been reports that we're going to get many European leaders visiting Beijing later this year for a summit that would suggest another opportunity for China to enhance its relationship with Europe. Whether or not other countries wholeheartedly embrace China, I think is a different question. In Asia, for example, you have places like Japan, India, the Philippines, other Southeast Asian countries that have territorial disputes with China. And so they're not gonna be embracing China that quickly. There's going to be suspicion in those relationships. Same with Europe. China has supported Russia and its war invasion of Ukraine, diplomatically, rhetorically, economically. And so that has put many European countries off. And so there's gonna be suspicion as China tries to strengthen these relationships. Gura: You characterised this as a game of chicken, and I'm wondering sort of how long China has here, how long the runway is for President Xi to hold out on negotiating before the situation becomes difficult for China, economically. Any sense of that at this point? Liu: I would say the runway for Xi, in terms of that game of chicken, is very long. Without a doubt, there is broad public support for China to fight back, and I think that means people are willing to take a little bit more pain if it means that that's what they need to do to contribute to the fight against the United States. And the other thing I would say is the Chinese government has a history of enduring difficult periods where they've placed additional burdens on local companies, local households. Covid is a great example of that. You know, I don't know of many countries where the government could have imposed lockdowns like they did here in China. And so, I do think those points suggest that they can play this game for quite a while. Gura: Meaning, President Trump might not get that phone call anytime soon. Liu: And the reason for that is there's a very different cultural dynamic at work where the Chinese believe very strongly that at a working level that Xi will appoint somebody, that Trump will appoint somebody, and those two individuals will go back and forth and back and forth and back and forth and work out all the details of a deal. And only after that deal has been finalized and everybody's happy with it, only then will Xi Jinping appear to shake hands and sign something. President Trump really just wants to get Xi on the phone and try and work something out, person-to-person, one-on-one. And it's just not the way the Chinese system works. It's not the way that Xi Jinping works. Gura: So, back to that big question: Who's going to blink first? I put it to both Jennifer Welch in Washington, and John Liu in Beijing. Liu: The first person to blink is going to immediately get a quick response from the other side. So if President Trump blinks first, you're going to get something affirmative from the Chinese side because they want out of this just as badly. If the Chinese blink, I think you probably will hear this great sigh of relief from Washington DC.
