All posts tagged: iShares China Large-Cap ETF

Alibaba, Baidu, BYD named on Pentagon’s China military list

Alibaba, Baidu, BYD named on Pentagon’s China military list

Published by Sam Flores

A general view of the office building of Baidu is in Pudong, Shanghai, on Feb. 9, 2026. Ying Tang | Nurphoto | Getty Images The Pentagon added a slew of Chinese companies, including Alibaba Group, Baidu Inc and carmaker BYD, to a list of entities it believes have aided the Chinese military, complicating the fragile diplomatic relationship between Washington and Beijing. The Defense Department published an updated “1260H list” Monday evening stateside — a roster of companies the Pentagon considers affiliated with China’s military or defense industrial base. The designations do not impose sanctions explicitly, but mean the Defense Department will be prohibited from contracting directly with listed companies starting later this month, and from procuring their products or services through third parties beginning in June 2027. “These indirect restrictions could force some U.S. firms that work with the U.S. military to drop designated Chinese firms as suppliers,” said Michael Hirson, head of China Research at 22V Research. Baidu’s American depositary receipts dropped 2.1%, Alibaba slumped 0.8% and BYD slid 0.8%. The additions come after President …

Trump mum on U.S. defending Taiwan from China

Trump mum on U.S. defending Taiwan from China

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump said that China and Taiwan “ought to both cool it” after his summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. Trump, in an interview with Fox News that aired Friday afternoon, insisted that long-standing U.S. policy on Taiwan remains unchanged after his two days of meetings with Xi. The people of Taiwan should feel “neutral” about his visit, Trump said. But he also appeared to express some opposition to the prospect of the U.S. leaping to Taiwan’s defense if it is attacked, while framing Taipei’s decision to pursue independence from China as the deciding factor. “I will say this: I’m not looking to have somebody go independent, and you know, we’re supposed to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war,” Trump said. “I’m not looking for that. I want them to cool down, I want China to cool down.” He added that he has yet to approve a potential large sale of weapons to Taiwan: “I may do it, I may not do it.” “We’re not looking to have somebody say ‘Let’s …

Analysts expect ‘stabilization’ in U.S.-China ties as Trump-Xi meet

Analysts expect ‘stabilization’ in U.S.-China ties as Trump-Xi meet

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a bilateral meeting at the Great Hall of the People on May 14, 2026 in Beijing, China. Alex Wong | Getty Images News | Getty Images As the world watches U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s historic summit, analysts suggest it could mark a reset in ties between the world’s top two economies. The two leaders are expected to discuss a slew of thorny issues, including Chinese purchases of American agricultural and industrial goods, tariffs, Taiwan, and rare earths, with the backdrop of the war in Iran.  After nine turbulent years, the summit could mark a “defining test” for the world’s G2 power dynamic, said Justin Feng, Asia economist at HSBC, pointing out that the U.S., China, and European Union now account for 60% of global GDP. The summit builds on Trump and Xi’s meeting late last year in South Korea that led to a thaw in the trade war between the two countries, with Trump referring them as G2, sparking hopes …

White House says Trump will meet Xi in China in May

White House says Trump will meet Xi in China in May

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping as they hold a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Busan, South Korea, October 30, 2025. Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters A long-awaited meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will take place in Beijing on May 14 and 15, the White House said Wednesday. Trump and first lady Melania Trump will also host Xi and Madame Peng Liyuan for a “reciprocal visit” in Washington, D.C., at a to-be-announced date later this year, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a briefing. The announcement amounts to a roughly six-week postponement of the China summit, which was expected to occur in late March and early April. But Trump said in mid-March that the U.S. had asked to delay that meeting “by a month or so” in light of the Iran war. In a Truth Social post after Wednesday’s press briefing, Trump said that U.S. representatives are “finalizing preparations for these …

Japan rejects U.S. intel assessment that Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks represent ‘significant shift’

Japan rejects U.S. intel assessment that Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks represent ‘significant shift’

Published by Sam Flores

Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s prime minister, during a party leaders’ debate at the upper house of parliament in Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. Takaichi said she hadn’t intended to get into any details of a Taiwan contingency in recent remarks that have been fiercely criticized by China. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Japan on Thursday rejected a U.S. intelligence assessment that said Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan represented a “significant shift” for a sitting Japanese prime minister. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters during a press briefing that Tokyo’s approach remains “quite consistent.” “A significant policy shift is not something that is happening right now,” Kihara said, according to a translation provided by the Prime Minister’s Office. The response came as Takaichi arrived in the U.S. for a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, with the Iranian conflict expected to dominate the meeting. Takaichi had sparked a furious response from Beijing in November when she told parliament that a Chinese attempt to seize Taiwan by force could prompt the intervention …

U.S. asked China to delay Xi meeting ‘a month or so’ due to Iran war

U.S. asked China to delay Xi meeting ‘a month or so’ due to Iran war

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump said Monday that the U.S. has asked to delay his planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing by “a month or so” due to the ongoing war with Iran. Trump was expected to travel to China at the end of March for the meeting with Xi. But when asked in the Oval Office on Monday afternoon if that trip was still on, Trump said, “I don’t know, we’re working on that right now.” “We’re speaking to China. I’d love to, but because of the war, I want to be here. I have to be here, I feel,” Trump said. “And so, we’ve requested that we delay it a month or so,” Trump said. “I’m looking forward to being with him. We have a very good relationship.” The comments came as tensions between the two economic superpowers have recently appeared to ratchet up, spurred by the Iran war and the U.S. announcing a new investigation into Chinese trade practices. Trump insisted in Monday’s remarks that the proposed delay was solely about …

Iran may ‘lash out harder’ following Khamenei’s death

Iran may ‘lash out harder’ following Khamenei’s death

Published by Sam Flores

TOPSHOT – A plume of smoke rises following a reported explosion in Tehran on February 28, 2026. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images) Afp | Getty Images The escalating conflict in the Middle East is fueling fears that Washington’s pursuit of regime change in Iran, and Tehran’s retaliation, could destabilize regions from the Gulf to Europe, leaving global leaders scrambling to assess the fallout. The U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran over the weekend, killing the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, prompting waves of attacks by Tehran across the region. President Donald Trump made it clear in a video message Saturday following the initial wave of U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran that his objective was “eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people.” Geopolitical analysts warned that Saturday’s strikes could be the opening salvo of a sustained military campaign aimed at dismantling the Iranian regime, with the U.S. seeking to assert dominance over the world’s most critical oil-producing region. “The scale of the strikes by …