Trump-Xi meeting likely on the cards in South Korea in October: Report
He has called for a universal base tariff rate of 10% 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%.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.- Ends
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Time of India
2 minutes ago
- Time of India
‘Us' bashes ‘Them'
Attacks on immigrants in West & internal migrants in India extract big socio-economic costs In one variation of the trolley dilemma, you can stop a runaway tram and save five lives by throwing a heavy man on the track, but almost nobody likes this solution. It's because humans – despite all the gore in history – are not normally comfortable with violence. Yet, Charanpreet Singh was bashed up in Adelaide on Saturday evening. A few hours later, another Indian was brutally assaulted in Dublin. Both cases have the appearance of hate crime, which is a growing problem around the world. It might not be the age of peak hate against foreigners because something like America's Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which practically barred immigration from China for about 60 years, seems unthinkable today. But that could be the result of political correctness. Data from America – self-appointed guardian of democracy and liberal values – shows a 13% jump in hate crimes in the top 10 cities between 2022 and 2023. As Indians, we narrowly focus on attacks targeting Indians, whether in US, Canada, UK, Australia, or elsewhere, but other nationalities are equally targets of hate. In Jan, Nigeria issued an advisory for its citizens travelling to Australia. Let's not forget that internal migrants in India are often targeted by goonish groups. It is normal for people to be suspicious of the outsider – different in speech, appearance, garb, customs – and be reserved, but violence is hard to explain. What might trigger it? Toxic ideology was the culprit in Nazi Germany. Now, there are reactionary ideologues everywhere. Even Trump's Maga push relies on the vilification of immigrants. But as economist Michael Martell points out in a paper, hate is not the way to achieve national greatness. In fact, it has enormous social and economic costs. Martell cites the 2012 shooting at a gurdwara in Wisconsin that left six dead. Not a high toll at first glance, but its cost to society quickly added up. The gurdwara upgraded its security. Alongside, mosques and Hindu temples took note of the attack and spent on better security systems. Terrorised immigrants curbed their movement, affecting local businesses. And this was just one case of hate crime among many. The cumulative cost of fatal and non-fatal hate crimes in US, in 2019, was estimated at $3.4bn. The economic loss from all the hate crime around the world would be many times more. The social cost enormous. As a community leader in Dublin pointed out, immigrants are crucial for keeping services running. Even demographically young India needs Chinese manufacturing experts, and US needs Indian scientists and engineers. So, all countries – India included – must make an effort to dial down xenophobia. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.
Hindustan Times
2 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
India restarts visas for Chinese tourists after a 5-year pause
India on Wednesday announced the resumption of tourist visas for Chinese nationals, making another step in the normalisation of bilateral ties that were taken to their lowest point in six decades by a military standoff on the Line of Actual Control (LAC). External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar meets China President Xi Jinping, in Beijing. (@DrSJaishankar X) The move, unveiled by the Indian embassy in Beijing on social media, came almost two months after India and China agreed in April on the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra after a gap of five years – seen as the first major breakthrough in people-to-people exchanges. A post on WeChat by the Indian embassy in Beijing said Chinese nationals could apply for tourist visas to visit India by filling applications online from July 24. The post said applicants could then book appointments to submit documents at centres in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Barring the social media post, there was no official word from the Indian side on the development. People familiar with the matter confirmed the resumption of tourist visas for Chinese citizens and said on condition of anonymity that the process for accepting applications will now commence. India had imposed wide-ranging restrictions on visas for Chinese nationals after border skirmishes between troops of the two countries in April-May 2020 triggered the face-off in Ladakh sector of the LAC. A brutal clash in Galwan Valley in June 2020 that killed 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese troops sent bilateral ties plummeting to their lowest point since the border war of 1962. China did not impose restrictions on visas for Indian nationals though travel between the two countries was impacted by the lack of direct flights. China issued about 85,000 visas to Indians, mainly students, tourists and business professionals, between January and June 2025. Before the Covid-19 pandemic and the standoff on the LAC, India issued almost 200,000 visas to Chinese nationals in 2019, but the figure declined to just 2,000 in 2024. The two sides reached an understanding on disengagement of forces along the LAC last October, and this was followed by a meeting in the Russian city of Kazan between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping, who agreed to revive several mechanisms to normalise bilateral relations and address the long-standing border dispute. Since then, there have been several meetings between the foreign and defence ministers and national security advisers of India and China, and the Special Representatives for the border issue – NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi. These meetings have resulted in forward movement in normalising relations, including the resumption of the Kailash Mansaorvar pilgrimage to a holy mountain and lake in Tibet. External affairs minister S Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing on July 14 when he visited China for a meeting of foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and discussed ways to take bilateral ties forward. This was Jaishankar's first visit to China after the start of the stand-off on the LAC. 'The two sides agreed to take additional practical steps, including travel to each other's country and direct flight connectivity, for facilitating people-to-people exchanges,' an Indian readout issued after the meeting said. Jaishankar said at the meeting that India and China must build on 'good progress' in normalising their relations by addressing issues related to the border, including de-escalation, and avoiding 'restrictive trade measures and roadblocks' to economic cooperation. He was referring to China's curbs on exports of rare earth minerals – in many of which Beijing has a near monopoly – and fertilisers. The restrictions on rare earth exports have been officially raised through diplomatic channels by India, especially in view of the impact on manufacturers of electric vehicles.
Hindustan Times
9 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Epstein files row: Democrats win big amid Trump link reports; infamous logs could be out soon
A House subcommittee on Wednesday voted to subpoena the Department of Justice for files in the sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein after Democrats successfully goaded GOP lawmakers to defy President Donald Trump and Republican leadership to support the action. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol (Getty Images via AFP) The vote showed the intensifying push for disclosures in the Epstein investigation even as House Speaker Mike Johnson — caught between demands from Trump and clamoring from his own members for the House to act — was sending lawmakers home a day early for its August recess. The House Committee on Oversight also issued a subpoena Wednesday for Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted sex offender and girlfriend of the late Epstein, to testify before committee officials in August. Meanwhile, Democrats on a subcommittee of the powerful House Oversight Committee made a motion for the subpoena Wednesday afternoon. Three Republicans on the panel voted with Democrats for the subpoena, sending it through on an 8-2 vote tally. The Republican subcommittee chairman, Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana, said that work was beginning to draft the subpoena but did not give a timeline for when it would be issued. 'I've never handled a subpoena like this. This is some fascinating stuff,' said Higgins, who voted against the motion. Democrats cheered the action as proof that their push for disclosures in the Epstein investigation was growing stronger. The committee agreed to redact information on victims, yet Democrats successfully blocked a push by Republicans to only subpoena information that was deemed to be 'credible' — language that Trump has also used when discussing what he would support releasing. 'Democrats are focused on transparency and are pushing back against the corruption against Donald Trump. What is Donald Trump hiding that he won't release the Epstein files?' said Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the oversight committee. Democrats push for disclosure of the Epstein files Earlier Wednesday, Johnson had said there was no need to vote on a separate piece of bipartisan legislation calling for the release of the Epstein files this week because the Trump administration is 'already doing everything within their power to release them.' Yet Democrats have delighted in pressing Republicans to support the release of the files. Their efforts halted the GOP's legislative agenda for the week and turned attention to an issue that Trump has unsuccessfully implored his supporters to forget about. 'They're fleeing our work, our job and sending us back home because they don't want to vote to release these files. This is something that they ran on. This is something that they talked about: the importance of transparency, holding pedophiles accountable,' said Rep. Summer Lee, the Pennsylvania Democrat who pushed for the subpoena. Democrats have seized on Epstein files to divide GOP Democratic leaders are hoping to make the issue about much more than just Epstein, who died in his New York jail cell six years ago while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. 'Why haven't Republicans released the Epstein files to the American people? It's reasonable to conclude that Republicans are continuing to protect the lifestyles of the rich and the shameless, even if that includes pedophiles,' said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries at a news conference. 'So it's all connected.' It comes as both parties are gearing up to take their messaging to voters on Trump's big multitrillion-dollar tax breaks and spending cuts bill. For Republicans, it's 'beautiful' legislation that will spark economic growth; for Democrats, it's an 'ugly' gift mostly to the richest Americans that undermines health care for low-income people. Yet as furor has grown on the right over the Trump administration's reversal on promises related to Epstein, several Democrats have seized on the opportunity to divide Republicans on the issue. 'This goes to a fundamental sense of, 'Is our government co-opted by rich and powerful people that isn't looking out for ordinary Americans? Or can we have a government that looks out for ordinary Americans?'' said Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who has put forward a bipartisan bill meant to force the release of the files. Republican leaders accuse Democrats of caring about the issue purely for political gain. They point out that the Department of Justice held on to the Epstein investigation through the presidency of Democrat Joe Biden. Trump's Justice Department has also sought the release of testimony from secret grand jury proceedings in the Epstein case, but a federal judge in Florida rejected that request on Wednesday. A similar records request is still pending in New York.
