[🇨🇳] - China vs USA | Page 39 | PKDefense - Home

[🇨🇳] China vs USA

Reply (Scroll)
Press space to scroll through posts
G   Chinese Defense
[🇨🇳] China vs USA
195
5K
More threads by Saif


Trump says China can buy Iranian oil, but urges it to purchase US crude
  • Senior White House official said Trump’s comments do not reflect a new policy​
  • Trump’s comments signal bearish outlook for oil prices​
  • No near-term impact on China’s Iranian, US oil purchases expected​
  • Saudi Arabia may be upset by China’s Iranian oil purchases​

Reuters
Published: 25 Jun 2025, 12: 15

1750896392852.png


A tug boat tows a barge off the coast of Khasab, on northern Oman’s Musandam Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Hormuz on 24 June 2025 AFP

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that China can continue to purchase Iranian oil after Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire, a move that the White House clarified did not indicate a relaxation of US sanctions.

“China can now continue to purchase Oil from Iran. Hopefully, they will be purchasing plenty from the US, also,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, just days after he ordered US bombings of three Iranian nuclear sites.

Trump was drawing attention to no attempts by Iran so far to close the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers, as a closure would have been hard for China, the world’s top importer of Iranian oil, a senior White House official told Reuters.

“The president continues to call on China and all countries to import our state-of-the-art oil rather than import Iranian oil in violation of US sanctions,” the official said.

After the ceasefire announcement, Trump’s comments on China were another bearish signal for oil prices, which fell nearly 6 per cent on Tuesday.

Any relaxation of sanctions enforcement on Iran would mark a US policy shift after Trump said in February he was re-imposing maximum pressure on Iran, aiming to drive its oil exports to zero, over its nuclear program and funding of militants across the Middle East.

Trump imposed waves of Iran-related sanctions on several of China’s independent “teapot” refineries and port terminal operators for purchases of Iranian oil.

“President Trump’s greenlight for China to keep buying Iranian oil reflects a return to lax enforcement standards,” said Scott Modell, a former CIA officer, now CEO of Rapidan Energy Group.

In addition to not enforcing sanctions, Trump could suspend or waive sanctions imposed by executive order or under authorities a president is granted in laws passed by Congress.

Trump will likely not waive sanctions ahead of coming rounds of US-Iran nuclear talks, Modell said. The measures provide leverage given Tehran’s demand that any deal includes lifting them permanently.

Jeremy Paner, a partner at law firm Hughes Hubbard & Reed, said if Trump chooses to suspend Iran oil-related sanctions, it would require lots of work between agencies.

The US Treasury would need to issue licenses, and the State Department would have to issue waivers, which require Congressional notification.

Oil traders and analysts in Asia said they did not expect Trump’s comments to have a near-term impact on Chinese purchases of oil from either Iran or the US

Iranian oil accounts for roughly 13.6 per cent of China’s oil purchases this year, with the discounted barrels providing a lifeline to margin-squeezed independent refineries. US oil accounts for just 2 per cent of China’s imports, and Beijing’s 10 per cent tariffs on US oil deter further purchases.

Pressure on China

China has long opposed what it has called Washington’s “abuse of illegal unilateral sanctions.” China’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Trump’s post.

Larger purchases of Iranian oil by China and other consumers could upset US ally Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter.

The impact of US sanctions on Iran’s exports, however, has been limited since Trump’s first administration when he cracked down harder on Tehran.

Trump has “flashed the Glock” this year with sanctions on Chinese trading companies and terminals, Modell said, referring to revealing a gun. But the results have been far more “minimum pressure” than maximum, Modell added.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters that Trump had signaled what he wanted to happen and that his administration is focused on delivering that. She would not say what the process would entail.

“But clearly we are focused on making sure that (the) guiding hand of President Trump prevails and moves this government forward, so we will have to wait and see when it comes to what that ends up looking like,” Bruce said.​
 

Trump tells Fox News he has group of wealthy people to buy TikTok

REUTERS
Published :
Jun 30, 2025 00:00
Updated :
Jun 30, 2025 00:00

1751239754504.png

A general view of the offices of TikTok, as the site faced an April 5 deadline to reach a deal to find a non-Chinese buyer under threat of being banned from the United States, in Culver City, California, US, Apr 2, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Daniel Cole

US President Donald Trump said in a Fox News interview broadcast on Sunday that he had found a buyer for the TikTok short-video app, which he described as a group of "very wealthy people" whose identities he will reveal in about two weeks.

Trump made the remarks in an interview on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo" programme. He said the deal he is developing would probably need China's approval to move forward and he predicted Chinese President Xi Jinping would likely approve it.

The US president earlier this month had extended to Sept 17 a deadline for China-based ByteDance to divest the US assets of TikTok despite a law that mandated a sale or shutdown without significant progress.

A deal had been in the works this spring that would have spun off TikTok's US operations into a new US-based firm, majority-owned and operated by US investors, but it was put on hold after China indicated it would not approve it following Trump's announcements of steep tariffs on Chinese goods.

"We have a buyer for TikTok, by the way," Trump said. "I think I'll need probably China's approval. I think President Xi will probably do it."

A 2024 US law required TikTok to stop operating by Jan 19 unless ByteDance had completed divesting the app's US assets or demonstrated significant progress toward a sale.

Trump, who credits the app with boosting his support among young voters in last November's presidential election, has extended the deadline three times.​
 

Rubio meets China's Wang amid trade tensions, says good chance of Trump-Xi talks

REUTERS
Published :
Jul 11, 2025 19:07
Updated :
Jul 11, 2025 19:07

1752280491070.png

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi during the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers? meeting and related meetings at the Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur on July 11, 2025. Photo : MANDEL NGAN/Pool via REUTERS

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday he had "positive and constructive" talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, as the two major powers vied to push their agendas in Asia at a time of tension over Washington'stariff offensive.

The top US diplomat was in Malaysia on his first Asia trip since taking office, seeking to stress the United States' commitment to the region at the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum, where many countries were reeling from a raft of steep US tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump this week.

Rubio had his first in-person talks with the Chinese foreign minister, coming as Beijing has warned the United States against reinstating hefty levies on its goods next month and threatened retaliation against nations that strike deals with the US to cut China out of supply chains.

Wang has sharply criticised Washington during talks with Asian counterparts in Malaysia, calling the US tariffs "typical unilateral bullying behavior".

But both sides described the bilateral meeting as positive and constructive on Friday. And Rubio said the odds of Trump meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping were high.

"We're two big, powerful countries, and there are always going to be issues that we disagree on. I think there's some areas of potential cooperation and I thought it was a very constructive, positive meeting, and a lot of work to do," he told reporters.

Rubio emphasised that his sitdown with Wang was not a negotiation, but rather about establishing a constructive baseline to continue talks.

Asked about a possible Trump-Xi meeting, Rubio said both sides wanted to see it happen.

"We have to build the right atmosphere and build ... deliverables, so that a visit isn't just a visit, but it actually has some takeaways from it that are concrete. But there's a strong desire on both sides to do it."

China's foreign ministry said Wang had emphasised that both countries should translate consensus reached by their leaders into policies and actions,

"Both sides agreed that the meeting was positive, pragmatic and constructive," it said.

TRIP OVERSHADOWED BY TARIFFS

Rubio's visit is part of an effort to renew US focus on the Indo-Pacific region and look beyond conflicts in the Middle East and Europe that have consumed much of the administration's attention since Trump's return to office in January.

But that has been overshadowed by this week's announcement of steep US tariffs on imports from many Asian countries and US allies, including 25 per cent targeting Japan, South Korea and Malaysia, 32 per cent for Indonesia, 36 per cent for Thailand and Cambodia and 40 per cent on goods from Myanmar and Laos.

China, initially singled out with levies exceeding 100 per cent, has until August 12 to reach a deal with Washington to avoid Trump's reinstating additional import curbs imposed during tit-for-tat tariff exchanges in April and May.

Analysts said Rubio would use the trip to press the case that the United States remains a better partner than China, Washington's main strategic rival. Rubio met his counterparts from Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia on Friday.

Wang has rebuked the United States in Kuala Lumpur, saying no country should support or agree with its tariffs, according to remarks released by Beijing on Friday.

He told Thailand's foreign minister the tariffs had been abused and "undermined the free trade system, and interfered with the stability of the global production and supply chain".

During a meeting with his Cambodian counterpart, Wang said the US levies were an attempt to deprive Southeast Asian countries of their legitimate right to development.

"We believe that Southeast Asian countries have the ability to cope with complex situations, adhere to principled positions, and safeguard their own interests," he said.

In a joint communique on Friday, ASEAN foreign ministers expressed concern over rising global trade tensions and the need to diversify trade, calling for a transparent and fair multilateral trading system.

Without mentioning the United States, they said unilateral tariffs were "counterproductive and risk exacerbating global economic fragmentation".

INDISPENSABLE PARTNERSHIP

Rubio also met Russia's Sergei Lavrov on Thursday and said he and Lavrov had shared some ideas on a new or different Russian approach on Ukraine.

"I don't want to oversell it, okay, but it was constructive," he said on Friday. "We'll find out, but there are some things that we will potentially explore, and I relayed that to the president and our team last night."

Rubio also met Japan's foreign minister and South Korea's first vice foreign minister in Malaysia on Friday to discuss regional security and a strengthening of their "indispensable trilateral partnership", a US State Department said in a statement.

Asked about Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's remarks on Thursday that Tokyo needs to wean itself off of its dependence on Washington, Rubio said it was not a comment to be viewed negatively.​

"We obviously have very strong commitments and an alliance with Japan. We continue to cooperate very closely with them," he said.
 

Trump, Xi might meet ahead of or during October APEC summit in South Korea, SCMP reports

REUTERS
Published :
Jul 20, 2025 22:44
Updated :
Jul 20, 2025 22:44

1753058370256.png

US President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping pose for a photo ahead of their bilateral meeting during the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. Photo : REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/Files

US President Donald Trump might visit China before going to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit between October 30 and November 1, or he could meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC event in South Korea, the South China Morning Post reported on Sunday citing multiple sources.

The two countries have been trying to negotiate an end to an escalating tit-for-tat tariff war that has upended global trade and supply chains.

Trump has sought to impose tariffs on US importers for virtually all foreign goods, which he says will stimulate domestic manufacturing and which critics say will make many consumer goods more expensive for Americans.

He has called for a universal base tariff rate of 10 per cent on goods imported from all countries, with higher rates for imports from the most "problematic" ones, including China: imports from there now have the highest tariff rate of 55 per cent.

Trump has set a deadline of August 12 for the US and China to reach a durable tariffs agreement.

A spokesperson for Trump did not respond to a request for comment about the reported plans for a meeting with Xi in the fall.

The two countries' most recent high-level meeting was on July 11, when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had what both described as a productive and positive meeting in Malaysia about how trade negotiations should proceed.

Rubio noted then that Trump had been invited to China to meet with Xi, and said that both leaders "want it to happen."

On Friday, China Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said China wants to bring its trade ties with the US back to a stable footing and that recent talks in Europe showed there was no need for a tariff war.​
 

China, US to extend tariff pause at Sweden talks by another 90 days, SCMP reports

REUTERS
Published :
Jul 27, 2025 23:17
Updated :
Jul 27, 2025 23:17

1753658770889.png

US and Chinese flags and a "tariffs" label are seen in this illustration taken April 10, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Beijing and Washington are expected to extend their tariff truce by another three months at trade talks in Stockholm beginning on Monday, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.

During the expected 90-day extension, the U.S. and China will agree not to introduce new tariffs or take other actions that could further escalate the trade war, the report said.

While the earlier discussions in Geneva and London focused on "de-escalation", the latest meeting the Chinese delegation will also press Trump’s trade team on fentanyl-related tariffs, the report further said, citing three sources familiar with the matter.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The third round of US-China talks is set to be held in Stockholm on Monday to tackle longstanding economic disputes at the centre of the countries' trade war.​
 

Members Online

Latest Threads

Latest Posts