News that caught our eye / The week ending May 2, 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.
World’s first wearable flying vehicle takes off in China / April 29, 2025
The Zhiyuan Research Institute has created the first “flying vehicle” and demonstrated its flying capabilities in Hangzhou, China recently. The vehicle looks like a drone with three propelling engines on a tripod flanking the human passenger. China is investing heavily in what is called the low-altitude economy, which could boom in the next five years (VNExpress).
China lowers minimum amount for tax refunds for tourists to boost spending / April 27, 2025
China’s government announced that it would lower the amount foreign tourists can spend on purchases made at the same store on the same day and get a refund of their sales tax. The minimum purchase was lowered from about $69 to about $27 USD. The upper limit also was doubled to about $2,745. The changes are intended to boost sales and improve the economy (AP News).
Why China-Taiwan Relations Are Getting So Tense / April 26, 2025
Beijing has not been happy with the elections of President Lai in Taiwan and President Trump in the US as both leaders have focused on their countries’ needs and independence from China. Recently, President Lai has become more outspoken in his speeches, but China has responded with its own rhetoric, and military exercises around Taiwan (TIME).
After Trump tariffs shock, can Taiwan still trust the US? / April 27, 2025
"A recent survey by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation found more than 57 per cent of respondents no longer believed the US was a reliable partner, while less than a third still viewed Washington as dependable" (SCMP).
China’s Caribbean beachhead / May 1, 2025
The chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Rick Crawford (R-Ark) maintains Beijing is on track to displace U.S. influence in the Caribbean unless Washington boosts trade and investment. “We have taken our eye off the ball in our hemisphere, and that has allowed an entrée for the Chinese to fill that void, and they’ve done it pretty masterfully, right under our nose, and they’re becoming more aggressive” (Politico).
‘Boxed-in China’ turns to Asia: Cheap Chinese imports spark fears of economic disruption / April 27, 2025
Long before Trump’s tariff war, Chinese imports into the US have been decreasing from about 25% of US imports coming from China in 2017 down to 16% in 2024. Consequently, China has shifted the excess products to other countries, especially in Asia, often flooding their markets and dampening those national economies. It also has diverted its exports to ASEAN countries and Mexico, who then ship the products to the US, but Trump plans to block that move, too (Financial Express).
Port Of Los Angeles Warns 'Difficult Decisions' Ahead as Shipments from China Cease / April 29, 2025
China has halted shipments of manufactured goods to the US because of the increased cost of the tariffs President Trump has placed on Chinese imports. Now, the executive director of the Port of Los Angeles says the lack of ships in his port will trigger layoffs at the port, as well as in transportation. And the lack of goods will create empty shelves in retail stores by late May if the trade war isn’t resolved (Investor Business Daily).
‘No way’ US can recoup lost China container imports: Analyst / April 28, 2025
The volume of China shipping containers dominates most US ports on both the East and West coasts of the US, so the absence of those ships due to the tariff war will mean layoffs for port workers, semi-drivers, and warehouse workers, and will likely create empty shelves in retail stores if the US and China don’t resolve the trade issues between the two countries (SONAR).
Scott Bessent says China could lose 10 million jobs 'very quickly' if tariffs don't drop / April 29, 2025
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that China is at risk of losing 5 to 10 million jobs if it doesn’t enter into negotiations with the US to resolve the tariff issue. Since China sells many times more goods to the US than the US sells to China, the pileup of goods in China’s ports could bring Chinese manufacturing to a serious slowdown if not a halt (Yahoo Finance).
Xi's real test is not Trump's trade war / April 30, 2025
To President Xi of China, President Trump’s trade challenge is not the real threat; rather, China’s own struggling economy is Xi’s main problem, and the tariff war only exacerbates that issue. The Chinese population is still hurting over lost investments in the tanked housing market, hyper-unemployment among young adults, and fears among future retirees that government pensions won’t be around when they retire (BBC).
China creates list of US-made goods exempt from 125% tariffs, sources say / April 29, 2025
While confusion looms over high-level talks to resolve the trade war between the US and China, anonymous reports in China said that government authorities have been polling Chinese manufacturers to identify US exports that could be waved from China’s 125% tariff as a means to keep production in line. At least someone is talking (Reuters).
US has approached China seeking talks on Trump tariffs, says state social media / May 1, 2025
An unofficial Chinese media outlet revealed that low-level talks have been underway as US authorities in various areas of government have approached their Chinese counterparts to open talks on the trade issues between the two countries. China’s easing of duties on some US exports to China was seen as a good sign of progress. However, negotiations may take a while (The Guardian).
China's factory activity falls sharply as Trump tariffs bite / April 29, 2025
China’s manufacturing activity in April contracted at the fastest pace in the last sixteen months, with the purchasing manager’s index falling to 49.0 compared to 50.5 in March. The drop is likely due to President Trump’s tariff escalation that has halted the shipping of goods out of Chinese ports to the US (Reuters).
JD Vance's 'Chinese peasants' comment adds fuel to tensions on Chinese social media / April 25, 2025
US Vice-President JD Vance’s poor choice of words to describe Chinese factory workers as “peasants” lit off a firestorm of angry comments on Chinese social media in the weeks following his early April comment. Ironically, Vance himself grew up in a poverty-stricken family, and China is now leading the world in many technological advances (MSN).
China’s first-quarter industrial profits return to growth amid tariff woes / April 27, 2025
China’s industrial profits returned to growth in the first quarter, spurred by a 2.6% increase in profits in March alone. Government stimulus and its popular “trade-in” campaign helped boost sales, but Trump’s tariff war threatens to pull China’s economy back down in the second quarter until the US and China resolve the trade conflict (CNBC).
DeepSeek: A Tool Tuned for Social Governance / April 25, 2025
DeepSeek is the AI China is developing to bolster its national economy and to help it make other high-level decisions. It is also designed for use by ordinary Chinese with the added benefit of influencing how they perceive China, the world, and themselves. The concept of using AI for social governance has the potential to spread to other countries. "As a result, any adoption of DeepSeek’s model overseas has the potential to spread the PRC’s domestic social governance system abroad" (The Jamestown Foundation).