China pledges support for overseas students after Trump's Harvard curb
U.S. actions will undoubtedly affect its image and credibility, said Mao Ning, spokesperson for the ministry, during a regular press briefing, adding that educational cooperation between China and the U.S. benefits both parties.
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Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
Milei's bet on China threatens an ugly fallout with his idol
When firebrand libertarian Javier Milei was campaigning to be president, he vowed that under his watch Argentina would not engage with 'decadent communists' like the Chinese, branding their leaders murderers and thieves. But 18 months is a long time in geopolitics. Milei, one of the few world leaders to attend the presidential inauguration of his political hero Donald Trump in January, has performed a remarkable political U-turn. On Monday, Milei rewrote the visa rules to make it easier for Chinese people to visit or work in Argentina. A week earlier, he unlocked a $5bn (£3.7bn) China-backed hydroelectric project in the country's south, which had been fractiously frozen since before he took office. And in April he renewed a currency swap arrangement with China, worth about 35bn yuan (£3.6bn) – a move that prompted an alarmed White House to dispatch Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, to Buenos Aires to deliver a dressing-down. By cosying up to China, Milei is risking his idol's ire. What has changed? Economics vs politics On the campaign trail in 2023 Milei told Argentine voters: 'I am not going to do business with any communist.' He has previously branded the country a 'bloody dictatorship'. But by last December he was having a sit-down with Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio, and said he was up for a trip to Beijing. 'If you compare Milei during the campaign to Milei as president, he has softened his views on many, many issues. One of them is China,' says Bruno Binetti, an associate fellow at Chatham House, a think tank. 'He is adapting to the realities of governing, without this affecting his core beliefs and identity.' While Trump and Milei might be political soulmates – radically anti-woke, anti-regulation, anti-net-zero – Argentina cannot do without China's appetite for its exports, nor its investment into areas like mining and energy. 'If you want the economy to grow, if you want to show that Milei's economic model can generate growth, then you need good ties with China,' Binetti says. Milei has tried to separate this economic need from Argentina's wider political and diplomatic relationships, from his radical reform agenda – which has won him admirers worldwide, including Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader. He has refused to join the anti-Trump Brics group of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. 'We must separate the geopolitical question from our commercial question,' Milei told the Wall Street Journal last year. Trading and economic relationships should be driven by business and he would not be 'meddling in whatever the private sector decides'. But economics and politics don't separate so easily, particularly in Trump's binary, zero-sum world. Peter Lamelas, Trump's nominee as the next ambassador to Argentina, told a US Senate committee hearing this week that his mission was 'to reduce the malignant influence of opposing powers' in Latin America – and that includes China. 'Argentina is essential, critical to opposing authoritarian regimes like Venezuela and China,' he said. Jim Risch, a Republican senator and the committee's chairman, urged Lamelas to fight China's 'expanding influence' in the region and to 'reduce China's technological and financial influence in Argentina'. Snubs and dealmaking This was not an exchange the two men might have anticipated having. When Trump returned to power, Milei – whom the American calls 'a friend' and 'my favourite president' – would have been at the very bottom of the White House's list of leaders to worry about. Not only was Milei at Trump's inauguration, but he came back a month later to publicly present Elon Musk, then setting up his department for government efficiency, with a version of his trademark bureaucracy-slaying chainsaw. The gift – which was inscribed with Milei's catchphrase 'Long live freedom, dammit!' – was handed over at a Conservative Political Action Conference, where Milei also met Trump. The two leaders discussed Argentina's 'groundbreaking economic reforms', according to a White House readout. Milei was back in the US yet again in April, heading to Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort for the 'American Patriots Gala', where he picked up an award recognising his 'unwavering dedication to freedom, market economics and conservative values'. But this time, Trump was unavailable. Supposedly a problem with the US president's helicopter prevented him from getting to Florida in time to catch Milei on this flying visit. That wasn't the only snub. The day before, Trump had unveiled his 'liberation day' tariffs – and there was no exemption for Argentina from the 10pc worldwide hit. Today, Trump's Aug 1 trade-deal-or-tariff deadline is looming and there is not yet any sign of any agreement with Milei that might ease the pain for Argentina's soy and beef exporters. By contrast, in early May several Chinese officials visited Buenos Aires to sign a deal to buy $900m of Argentine soybeans, corn and vegetable oil. The White House did reportedly help Argentina to secure a new $20bn loan programme from the International Monetary Fund in April. Mauricio Claver-Carone, Trump's special envoy for Latin America, said he hoped this might supplant the Chinese currency swap agreed at almost the same time. 'What we would like to see, eventually, is the end of the famous line of credit Argentina has with China,' he said. 'That line of credit is extortionate, and as long as they maintain that line of credit, China will always be able to extort.' Beijing shot back. 'Fair-minded people are able to tell who is extorting and coercing others and making trouble,' said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian. Balancing act Milei will probably try to keep the two superpowers in some kind of balance. But both will be looking to use carrots and sticks to tip favour their way. China seems to be making most of the running right now, and has ambitions to get further ahead of Trump. A Chinese official told the Argentine newspaper Clarin earlier this year: 'We're doing well, but not as well as we'd like'. If Beijing is appealing to Milei's pragmatism, Washington can count on his passion. His friendship and ideological affinity with Trump will likely stop the scales from tipping too far towards China. 'Milei sees himself clearly as a global leader figure in a Right-wing, pro-West, pro-market movement. And his alignment with Trump is a big part of that identity – it makes him feel part of something bigger,' Binetti says. 'You'd think that given Milei's symbolic role in some Trumpist circles in the US, he would get a little bit more leeway.' If Milei's rapprochement with the Chinese continues to deepen, he might end up testing just how far that leeway extends.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Rubio urges Cambodia, Thailand to deescalate, offers US for talks
WASHINGTON, July 27 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with the foreign ministers of Cambodia and Thailand on Sunday, urging them to immediately deescalate tensions and telling them the United States was ready to help with talks, the State Department said. "The United States is prepared to facilitate future discussions in order to ensure peace and stability between Thailand and Cambodia," the department said in statements on Sunday about separate calls with Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa and Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn.
Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
Maxwell questioned over Duke of York by Trump officials
Ghislaine Maxwell was questioned about the Duke of York during an interview with Trump administration officials. The former girlfriend of convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein was asked about the royal for the first time during two days of meetings with the US deputy attorney general, a source told the Mail on Sunday. They said: 'This is the first time anyone has asked Ghislaine about any of the men. 'She told the truth and didn't back away from any questions. She wants the truth to come out.' Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in helping Epstein recruit and abuse underage girls, is the only person to have ever been convicted in connection with his crimes. In 2021, Virginia Giuffre, who was trafficked by Epstein, claimed she was raped and abused by the Duke on three separate occasions, when she was 17. The Duke has always vehemently denied the allegations, insisting he has 'no recollection' of meeting Giuffre, who died by suicide earlier this year. Without admitting liability, the Duke allegedly paid his accuser more than £12 million in an out-of-court settlement in February 2022. Maxwell's lawyer said she answered 'every question' put to her by Trump administration officials during the nine-hour interview at Tallahassee Federal Prison in Florida. The 63-year-old was granted a limited form of immunity, allowing her to answer questions put to her by Todd Blanche, the US deputy attorney general, without risk of her responses later being used against her, sources said. This included being quizzed about 'more than 100 different people', according to an individual familiar with the meeting. 'The limited immunity deal is a huge risk for her because this case is so politicised she only has immunity so long as she hasn't lied,' a source told the Mail on Sunday. 'She was asked about a laundry list of people including Prince Andrew, Bill Gates, Les Wexner, Bill Clinton, Alan Dershowitz, Leon Black and a Who's Who of powerful Wall Street moneymen and financiers. 'There were Silicon Valley names in there along with world leaders, other non-British royals aside from Andrew and famous names from the world of show business.' The interview comes amid growing political pressure on Donald Trump who has been dogged by allegations that the White House is suppressing information contained in the so-called Epstein files. The documents have remained sealed despite promises made by the president's administration to release them. 'Funny business' According to reports, Pam Bondi, the US attorney general, told Mr Trump he appeared in the files weeks before her department announced it would not be releasing any more of the documents. Department of Justice (DoJ) officials reviewed the files earlier this year and discovered Mr Trump's name appeared multiple times, senior officials told the Wall Street Journal. Mr Trump is said to have privately told people he fears being accused of 'funny business' because of his former friendship with the financier. The president, who is currently making a scheduled trip to Scotland, is expected to meet with the US deputy attorney general in the coming days to discuss the interview with Maxwell. Speaking with reporters on Friday, Mr Trump refused to rule out granting clemency to the disgraced British socialite in exchange for her testimony. 'I'm allowed to do it, but it's something I haven't thought about,' he said of Maxwell. 'Fake news stories' Responding to the allegations, Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, told The Telegraph: 'The fact is that the president kicked him [Epstein] out of his club for being a creep. 'This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media, just like the Obama Russiagate scandal, which President Trump was right about.' Meanwhile, Maxwell's family have previously suggested that the convicted sex trafficker could use 'government misconduct' to challenge her imprisonment, claiming 'she did not receive a fair trial'. David Markus, Maxwell's lawyer, briefly spoke with reporters ahead of his client's renewed questioning, describing her as a 'scapegoat'. 'The truth will come out about what happened with Mr. Epstein and she's the person who's answering those questions,' he added. Legal appeals against Maxwell's sex trafficking convictions have been rejected by the courts, however.
