World
At APEC 2024, Chinese leader Xi tells Biden he’s ‘ready to work’ with Trump
Chinese President Xi Jinping has held his final meeting with his outgoing counterpart in the United States, Democrat Joe Biden.
But Xi’s words on Saturday seemed directed not simply at Biden but at his Republican successor, returning President Donald Trump.
In his encounter with Biden on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima, Peru, Xi emphasised the importance of the US and China maintaining “mutual respect”.
While Xi did not mention Trump by name, he gave a nod to the incoming US president’s victory in the November 5 election.
“The United States has recently concluded its elections. China’s goal of a stable, healthy and sustainable China-US relationship remains unchanged,” Xi said.
But, he warned, “If we take each other as rival or adversary, pursue vicious competition and seek to hurt each other, we would roil the relationship or even set it back.”
Trump, who served as president previously from 2017 to 2021, oversaw a period of heightened tensions with China, including a trade war sparked by his imposition of tariffs on Chinese goods.
China responded with its own tariffs and trade restrictions, though experts warned that the escalation on both sides damaged the two countries’ economies.
On Saturday, Xi appeared to extend a hand of friendship to Trump, encouraging their countries to work together for mutual gain.
“China is ready to work with the new US administration to maintain communication, expand cooperation and manage differences so as to strive for a steady transition of the China-US relationship for the benefit of the two peoples,” he said.
A major campaign theme
Trump has reprised his “America First” philosophy as he prepares to enter the White House for a second time.
China was a repeated feature of the Republican’s campaign speeches, as he led a successful bid for re-election in the 2024 US presidential race.
As part of a pitch to American voters, Trump pledged to protect US manufacturing from Chinese competition.
“I charged China hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes and tariffs. They paid us,” Trump boasted at his final campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on November 4.
“And you know what? We’re going to get along great with China. We’re going to get along good. I want to get along with them. President Xi was great until COVID came. Then, I wasn’t so thrilled with him.”
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump blamed the Chinese leader for letting the virus spread by “allowing flights to leave China and infect the world”. He also repeatedly called COVID-19 the “China virus”.
Despite their rocky history, Xi called to congratulate Trump on his second term the day after the election, on November 6.
Xi has led the Chinese government since 2013, and under his authority, the two-term limit was abolished for presidents.
Trump has expressed admiration for Xi’s authority over the Chinese government, which some critics compare with authoritarian rule.
“I got along very well with President Xi. He’s a great guy. He wrote me a beautiful note the other day when he heard about what happened,” Trump said after the assassination attempt on him in July. “It’s a good thing to get along, not a bad thing.”
Goodbye to Biden
Xi and Biden have had their own rocky history, with incidents like the 2023 downing of an alleged Chinese “spy” balloon fuelling spikes in tensions.
China maintained that the balloon was a civilian aircraft collecting weather data, and it denounced the US’s decision to shoot it down with a missile after it passed over sensitive US military installations.
Biden, who turns 82 on Wednesday, exchanged some banter with his Chinese counterpart as they spoke to reporters in their final meeting.
“Can you put on your earpiece? We have simultaneous interpreting,” Xi asked Biden at their afternoon news conference.
Biden responded with a joke. “I’ve learned to speak Chinese,” he said with a chuckle.
The US president continued by acknowledging that relations have not always been smooth between their two countries.
“We haven’t always agreed, but our conversations have always been candid and always been frank. We have never kidded one another. We’ve been level with one another. And I think that’s vital,” Biden said, pointing across the table as he read from prepared remarks.
“These conversations prevent miscalculations, and they ensure the competition between our two countries will not veer into conflict.”
He used his final encounter as president with Xi to push several US priorities. In a readout released by the White House, Biden reportedly pushed for greater law enforcement cooperation to stem the flow of synthetic drugs to the US.
He and Xi also spoke about the emerging challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI), including with regards to its use with nuclear weapons.
“The two leaders affirmed the need to maintain human control over the decision to use nuclear weapons,” the readout explained.
“The two leaders also stressed the need to consider carefully the potential risks and develop AI technology in the military field in a prudent and responsible manner.”
Biden also confirmed that the US’s “one China policy” remained “unchanged”: The US acknowledges the government in Beijing as the sole government of China. It does not have formal diplomatic relations with the self-governing island of Taiwan, which China considers its territory.
China has called acknowledging Taiwan’s sovereignty a “red line” in its relationship with the US.
While Biden has previously pledged to protect Taiwan should it ever face attack, on Saturday, he struck a note of peace, calling for a continuation of the status quo.
“He reiterated that the United States opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side, that we expect cross-Strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, and that the world has an interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” the White House readout said.
But, it added, Biden also “called for an end to destabilizing PRC [People’s Republic of China] military activity around Taiwan”.
World
Keir Starmer reportedly considering stepping down as PM and could announce timetable for departure
British PM Keir Starmer could face leadership challenge amid internal troubles
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces significant internal pressure following Andy Burnham’s special election win, potentially triggering a leadership contest. Starmer is under fire for economic pressures, illegal immigration issues, and controversies surrounding his previous role in prosecuting grooming gangs. Elon Musk also accused Starmer of complicity.
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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is reportedly considering stepping down and could announce a timetable for his departure as early as Monday, according to a report published Saturday.
Britain’s Observer newspaper reported that Starmer was discussing his future with his wife at his Chequers country residence before making a final decision.
The outlet reported that senior Labour Party figures expect a statement addressing his future as early as next week.
A government source told Reuters that Starmer remains focused on governing and pointed to previous comments in which he vowed to remain in office.
AS EPSTEIN-LINKED APPOINTMENT SPARKS BACKLASH, UK PM STARMER FACES PARTY REVOLT AMID RESIGNATION CALLS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer awaits Switzerland’s Federal President Guy Parmelin on the sidelines of the G7 summit, in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday. (Isabel Infantes/Pool Reuters via AP)
Fox News Digital has reached out to the prime minister’s office for comment.
Pressure on Starmer has been building for months amid growing dissatisfaction within his party and concerns over the government’s handling of the economy and cost-of-living issues.
The political threat to Starmer intensified Friday after rival Andy Burnham won a seat in Parliament, positioning him to mount a formal leadership challenge.
LABOUR MP PUTS CABINET ‘ON NOTICE,’ THREATENS TO TRIGGER LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE AGAINST STARMER BY MONDAY
Britain’s Labour party candidate Andy Burnham speaks to supporters after the Makerfield by-election in Ashton in Makerfield, England, Friday. (Jon Super/AP)
Starmer congratulated Burnham following the victory, writing on X that voters, “chose Labour’s campaign of hope and optimism over division and hate.”
When asked about Burnham’s apparent ambitions to replace him, Starmer insisted he intends to remain in office.
“I’ve said repeatedly I’m not going to walk away from that,” Starmer said.
UK’S STARMER JUGGLES TROUBLE AT HOME AS HE WALKS GEOPOLITICAL TIGHTROPE WITH TRUMP
Sir Keir Starmer is battling to save his position and refusing to stand aside despite dozens of Labout MP’s demanding he resigns. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Starmer has led the Labour Party since 2020 and became prime minister in 2024.
Calls for his resignation intensified last month, with more than 100 Labour lawmakers publicly urging him to step aside or set out a timetable for his departure. Several parliamentary aides also resigned in protest.
The internal revolt followed a series of disappointing local election results for Labour, which lost hundreds of council seats across England, surrendered long-held ground in Wales and fell behind political rivals in Scotland.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks a news conference at Downing Street in London, March 5. (Tolga Akmen/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images, File)
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Starmer’s popularity has also declined amid a persistently high cost of living, sluggish economic growth and criticism over his acceptance of gifts from wealthy donors.
Fox News Digital’s James Cirrone and Emma Bussey, and Reuters contributed to this report.
World
Trump vows Iran will not charge Strait of Hormuz tolls, but says US might
United States President Donald Trump has pledged there will be no tolls for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, unless they are collected by his own country.
Trump’s statement, made in a Saturday afternoon post on Truth Social, is the latest sign that a recently signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) may be unravelling.
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“There will be NO TOLLS in the Hormuz Strait for 60 days during the Cease Fire Period, and there will be NO TOLLS after the 60 day period has expired,” Trump wrote, “unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America.”
Since the US and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28, Iran has successfully used the Strait of Hormuz as a pressure point, closing the strategic waterway to traffic.
But under the terms of Wednesday’s ceasefire memorandum, the strait is supposed to reopen for an interim period of 60 days. During that time, Iran is barred from charging vessels for passage.
On Saturday, however, Iran’s joint military command said it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, citing a “clear breach” of the memorandum’s commitments.
US Central Command (CENTCOM), the agency that oversees military operations in the region, denied that report and maintained that the traffic continues to flow through the waterway.
The Strait of Hormuz has long been a flashpoint in the conflict between the US and Iran. Nearly 20 percent of the world’s oil and natural gas is transported through the strait, as well as about 30 percent of the global fertiliser trade.
Closure of the strait has caused global fuel costs to soar and has tested agricultural sectors across the world.
Trump had responded to Iran’s chokehold over the strait by imposing a US naval blockade on Iran’s ports in the region.
But that naval blockade was lifted under the terms of Wednesday’s memorandum. The deal also paused fighting on all fronts in the regional conflict, including in Lebanon.
The memorandum, though, was not intended as a long-term deal. It serves as a launching point for negotiations on key issues, including the future of Iran’s nuclear programme.
Several points of divergence also went unaddressed in the memorandum. Nowhere does the memo say that future tolls cannot be collected from the strait after the 60-day period expires.
Before the war, there was no charge for passage through the strait. Trump himself said in an interview with The New York Times that the waterway should remain “permanently toll-free”.
But he appeared to reverse course in Saturday’s post, once again floating the possibility that the US could extract tolls in the strait, while barring Iran from doing so.
No fees should be levied, Trump wrote, “unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America, should the deal not be completed”.
He explained that such a charge would compensate the US “for services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East for purposes of both past, present, and future reimbursement of costs”.
Trump used similar language in his New York Times interview earlier this week, floating the US becoming “the guardian of the Middle East” in exchange for 20 percent of its revenue.
Saturday’s post is not the first time Trump has mused about the US imposing tolls in the strait, either.
In April, for instance, he discussed the idea with reporters, saying, “What about us charging tolls? I’d rather do that than let them have them. Why shouldn’t we? We’re the winner. We won.”
There has been no indication that Trump’s plans have been officially presented to countries in the region, many of whom have struck a careful balance in their dealings with both the US and Iran during the war.
Iranian officials, meanwhile, have repeatedly said they will not rule out imposing tolls in the strait, framing the issue as a matter of sovereignty and regional negotiation. The strait sits between Iran and Oman.
Further discussions are expected on the matter in the coming weeks.
But such negotiations have been thrown into jeopardy amid ongoing Israeli military operations in Lebanon, which threaten to violate Wednesday’s ceasefire memorandum.
Iran claimed that Saturday’s closure of the strait was a result of new Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon, which killed dozens of people after the ceasefire was announced.
Iranian officials have also said that any upcoming talks should focus on proper implementation of the initial memorandum, and that the 60-day negotiating period stipulated in Wednesday’s deal would begin after that was settled.
Pakistan, a top mediator between the US and Iran, has said that follow-up talks are set to begin in Switzerland on Sunday.
Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that an Iranian delegation, led by parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, has already arrived for the negotiations.
On the US side, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Vice President JD Vance are expected to attend.
Vance departed for Switzerland late Saturday.
World
Video: Moscow Tanker Blast Most Likely Russian Missile, Video Shows
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