News that caught our eye / The week ending April 18, 2025
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NOTE: The news reports below are not in chronological order. There is often a time lag in their reaching the US and in gaining our attention. These reports reflect the opinions of a variety of news sources.
Curated by James Getka.
Humanoid Robots Are Poised to March into the Real World / April 11, 2025
In China, excitement about the potential of humanoid robots soared after the Lunar New Year’s Eve, when 16 of Unitree Robotics’ general-purpose robots appeared at the Spring Festival Gala. Performing a tightly choreographed Chinese folk dance alongside human dancers, the robots — dressed in traditional floral-patterned cotton jackets and spinning red handkerchiefs — wowed more than a billion viewers with their synchronized movements (Sixth Tone).
Forget tariffs — Beijing is already choking off US exports on the sly / April 12, 2025
China’s toolkit in the US-China trade war includes simply blocking imports of various goods from the US, especially those produced by manufacturers that have been supportive of the Trump Administration. China has blocked US imports of beef, produce like soybeans, and natural gas. But it may be of more concern that China has also blocked its own exports of critical minerals to the US (Politico).
China put steep tariffs on U.S. exports. Farmers are worried / April 12, 2025
American farmers are concerned about how the tariff trade war will affect their bottom line if there isn’t a settlement reached between the US and China, as well as the myriad of other countries in the Trump Administration’s trade crosshairs. However, during his first term, Trump supported farmers with government aid, and he successfully renegotiated the USMCA, so some farmers are hopeful he can do the same this time around (NPR).
Trump tariffs on China will soon bring ‘irreversible’ damage to many American businesses / April 12, 2025
Uncertainty about the seemingly daily change in tariffs and the complicated variety of shipping contracts and port policies are on the minds of everyone in the global supply chain, but small US businesses may not be able to withstand the higher costs or the lack of materials needed for their businesses to survive (CNBC).
‘Invasion’ barges, subsea cable cutters & surprise naval drills: China is testing Trump / April 13, 2025
China has been flexing its muscles in the South China Sea and even as far as Australia lately, not just to keep its neighbors on alert, but to send a message to President Trump in the midst of the current trade war. China could use military threats in its arsenal of trade negotiations with the US, but that puts US allies in the region on alert—would the US give up an ally’s safety for its own purposes (The Guardian)?
China orders its airlines to stop accepting deliveries of Boeing jets / April 15, 2025
China’s economy enjoyed a more prosperous first quarter in 2025 in many sectors, but US President Trump’s tariff hikes are likely to threaten up to 20 million jobs in China as exports from China remain in China. Estimates for hiring plans in March dropped significantly. Increasing automation in China will also rob more jobs from Chinese workers (Yahoo Finance!).
China orders its airlines to stop accepting deliveries of Boeing jets / April 15, 2025
As China raised its tariffs on US imports to 125%, the Chinese government also ordered its domestic airlines to stop receiving deliveries of new planes from US-based Boeing, as well as aircraft parts from US manufacturers. The extra tariff costs make them unaffordable. About ten planes were scheduled to be delivered this month after over 100 planes were delivered in the first quarter of this year (CBS News).
China’s Xi Jinping says there are no winners in a tariff war as he visits Southeast Asia / April 14, 2025
Chinese President Xi Jinping touted his strong relationship with Vietnam as he began a tour of Southeast Asian nations this week. He promoted China as a stable, reliable partner in trade compared with President Trump’s current enigmatic maneuvers to secure trade agreements favorable to the US economy (AP News).
The China-US Trade War Is in Full Swing / April 9, 2025
Beyond the economics, there’s also a psychological dimension to the trade war that is fueling the escalation cycle. Unlike other countries that have shown a willingness to negotiate with Trump – like Vietnam, Japan, and India – China is locked in a global rivalry with the United States. Each side views the other with extreme suspicion, and that makes any compromise unlikely. Instead, both the United States and China have accused each other of bullying behavior, adding an emotive component to the trade war that will make it exceedingly difficult for either Trump or Xi Jinping to back down (The Diplomat).
China's Commerce Ministry Says It Maintains Communication with US / April 17, 2025
While it may appear that the US and China are not on speaking terms, China’s Commerce Ministry did verify that it has been in regular contact with its counterparts in the Trump Administration. Blaine Holt, a former military rep to NATO, states that China’s economy is in much worse trouble than people realize. Some workers haven’t been paid in months, factories are closing, which may push the government into a corner where acting out militarily could be seen as its only option (Newsmax).
China lashes out, says 'peasants in the United States' will suffer from trade war / April 15, 2025
Xia Baolong, the director of China's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, borrowed from US Vice President JD Vance’s complaint that, for decades, the US has been going into debt by buying goods made by Chinese peasants, retorting that US peasants should “wail in front of 5000 years of Chinese civilization.” Since a pro-democratic protest in Hong Kong in 2019, China has put pro-China sympathetic leaders into positions of power on the once-autonomous island (Fox Business).
Trump wants to make a deal with China. Here’s how he’s trying to make that happen / April 16, 2025
US President Trump hopes to make trade deals with many countries around the world, especially in Asia, so that the newly created bloc isolates China, drawing it into negotiations, too. But China may be prepared for that strategy, and President Xi’s power over his own people may give him more time to endure austerity than US citizens might give Trump (Politico).
Did Trump really just levy a 245% tariff on China? / April 17, 2025
While it would seem that tariffs as high as 145% were extreme, rumors that President Trump plans to strike back at China with a 245% tariff are incorrect. The 245% number is an accumulation of tariffs going back to Trump’s first term and applies to just two items: syringes and electric vehicles (CBC News).
Aboard the 'silver trains', China's retirees do their bit to offset Trump's tariffs / April 16, 2025
To spur the economy into action, the Chinese government is encouraging retirees to travel on “silver trains” that take retirees, and their hard-earned savings, on a luxurious train ride to areas of China that they normally would not see. Many routes stop at economically struggling regions that need the financial support retirees bring with them (BBC).