Donald Trump says Xi Jinping invited him to China, hints at possible meeting
Meanwhile, Reuters informed that the aides of both Trump and the Chinese leader have discussed a possible meeting between the two leaders at the time of the US president's visit to Asia later this year.
The report follows a senior-level meeting between the US and Chinese officials last week, on July 11, when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met in Malaysia.
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Although details of a meeting have yet to be finalised, both sides in the discussions have considered a potential Trump stopover during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea, said two individuals who are familiar with the situation.
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The proposed diplomatic meeting comes when Trump toned down his rhetoric directed towards China in recent weeks after he suspended a tit-for-tat tariff war that has unsettled global trade and supply chains.
China's stance on Washington-Beijing relations
Beijing also seems willing to engage in diplomatic channels. China's US embassy confirmed last week that it is inviting foreign dignitaries — some of them American — to a September 3 ceremony in Beijing commemorating the 80th anniversary of the conclusion of World War II.
"Diplomacy between heads of state plays an irreplaceable strategic leading role in Sino-U.S. relations," said Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun on Monday, declining to comment on a possible Trump-Xi meeting.
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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.
On the other hand, Trump has set a deadline of August 12 for the US and China to reach a durable tariff agreement.
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First Post
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Critical minerals: India should bide its time and build strategic capacity
India currently produces only 1 per cent of global output in critical rare earth minerals even though it has 6 per cent of the reserves—but concrete steps are now underway to boost production and diversify supply sources read more A worry about what to do with EV lithium batteries once their life is over, in about eight years, based on current technology, is being addressed. Instead of heaping them up without use, the batteries can be recycled to extract critical rare earth minerals. This process is faster and is at least 25 per cent cheaper than setting up greenfield mines and refining facilities, and it deals with some part of the waste material at the same time. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India could even import expired EV batteries to recycle their rare earth minerals and magnets. It already runs some of the largest ship scrappage facilities in the world and attracts many large ships at the end of their useful life from all over the world. China's trade war with America is based on the restricted sale and export of critical minerals/metals/magnets. But it also restricts such sales in general so that the requirements cannot be sourced from third countries not on the embargoed list. This has prompted most of the world to seek alternatives. India and its fast-developing aatmanirbharta manufacturing programme has been hit hard as stockpiles of the rare earth magnets run out. Besides recycling, several countries, including major consumers in the US and Europe, plan to increase the mining of their own resources and set up refining plants for end products. So far, most countries that have been hit with Chinese embargoes were content to source them from China for its cost advantages and the fact that mining and refining rare earth minerals is a highly polluting business. Despite being a near monopoly on the part of China, the price of rare earth minerals, metals, and magnets has been falling, according to Australia. 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Mint
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Tally of Microsoft Victims Surges to 400 as Hackers Capitalize on SharePoint Flaw
(Bloomberg) -- The number of companies and organizations compromised by a security vulnerability in Microsoft Corp.'s SharePoint servers is increasing rapidly, with the tally of victims soaring more than six-fold in a few days, according to one research firm. Hackers have breached about 400 government agencies, corporations and other groups, according to estimates from Eye Security, the Dutch cybersecurity company that identified an early wave of the attacks last week. That's up from roughly 60 based on its previous estimate provided to Bloomberg News on Tuesday. The security firm said that most of the victims are in the US, followed by Mauritius, Jordan, South Africa and the Netherlands. The National Nuclear Security Administration, the US agency responsible for maintaining and designing the nation's cache of nuclear weapons, was among those breached, Bloomberg reported earlier. The hacks are among the latest major breaches that Microsoft has blamed, at least in part, on China and come amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing over global security and trade. The US has repeatedly criticized China for campaigns that have allegedly stolen government and corporate secrets over a period spanning decades. 'We estimate that the real number might be much higher as there can be many more hidden ways to compromise servers that do not leave traces,' Eye Security's co-owner Vaisha Bernard said in an email to Bloomberg News. 'This is still developing, and other opportunistic adversaries continue to exploit vulnerable servers.' The organizations compromised in the SharePoint breaches include many working in government, education, and technology services, Bernard said. There were smaller numbers of victims in countries across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South America. The security flaws allow hackers to access SharePoint servers and steal keys that can let them impersonate users or services, potentially enabling deep access into compromised networks to steal confidential data. Microsoft has issued patches to fix the vulnerabilities, but researchers cautioned that hackers may have already got a foothold into many servers. Microsoft on Tuesday accused Chinese state-sponsored hackers known as Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon of being behind the attacks. Another hacking group based in China, which Microsoft calls Storm-2603, also exploited them, according to the company. The Redmond, Washington company has repeatedly blamed China for major cyberattacks. In 2021, an alleged Chinese operation compromised tens of thousands of Microsoft Exchange servers. In 2023, another alleged Chinese attack on Microsoft Exchange compromised senior US officials' email accounts. A US government review later accused Microsoft of a 'cascade of security failures' over the 2023 incident. Eugenio Benincasa, a researcher at ETH Zurich's Center for Security Studies who specializes in analyzing Chinese cyberattacks, said members of the groups identified by Microsoft had previously been indicted in the US for their alleged involvement in hacking campaigns targeting US organizations. They are well known for their 'extensive espionage,' he said. It's likely that the SharePoint breaches are being carried out by proxy groups that work with the government rather than Chinese government agencies directly carrying out the hacking, according to Benincasa. Private hacking companies in the country sometimes participate in 'hacker for hire' operations, he added. 'Now that at least three groups have reportedly exploited the same vulnerability, it's plausible more could follow,' he said. China is against all forms of cyberattacks and cybercrime, the Chinese Embassy in Washington said in a statement on Tuesday. 'We also firmly oppose smearing others without solid evidence,' the embassy said. 'We hope that relevant parties will adopt a professional and responsible attitude when characterizing cyber incidents, basing their conclusions on sufficient evidence rather than unfounded speculation and accusations.' According to Microsoft, the hacking group Linen Typhoon was first identified in 2012, and is focused on stealing intellectual property, primarily targeting organizations related to government, defense, strategic planning, and human rights. Violet Typhoon, first observed in 2015, was 'dedicated to espionage' and primarily targeted former government and military personnel, non-governmental organizations, as well as media and education sectors in the US, Europe, and East Asia. The hackers have also used the SharePoint flaws to break into systems belonging to the US Education Department, Florida's Department of Revenue and the Rhode Island General Assembly, Bloomberg previously reported. More stories like this are available on
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First Post
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