All posts tagged: iShares MSCI China ETF

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 …

China to buy U.S. oil to feed its ‘insatiable appetite,’ Trump tells Fox News

China to buy U.S. oil to feed its ‘insatiable appetite,’ Trump tells Fox News

Published by Sam Flores

BEIJING, CHINA – MAY 15: U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping tour the Zhongnanhai leadership compound on May 15, 2026 in Beijing, China. Mark Schiefelbein-Pool | Getty Images News | Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump said China has agreed to buy American oil, in a pre-recorded interview with Fox News that aired Thursday evening stateside, as the two nations push for concrete trade and business wins at their ongoing bilateral summit. “They’ve agreed they want to buy oil from the United States, they’re going to go to Texas, we’re going to start sending Chinese ships to Texas and to Louisiana and to Alaska,” Trump said in the interview that was conducted after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday. China also agreed to help with Iran negotiations and not to supply military equipment to Tehran, Trump said, adding that the Chinese leader would like to see the Strait of Hormuz open and free of tolls. “They have an insatiable appetite for energy, and we have unlimited energy,” …

Trump puts Taiwan arms sales, Jimmy Lai on agenda with Xi meeting

Trump puts Taiwan arms sales, Jimmy Lai on agenda with Xi meeting

Published by Sam Flores

US President Donald Trump speaks during a maternal healthcare event in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, May 11, 2026. Aaron Schwartz | Bloomberg | Getty Images President Donald Trump said Monday that U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and the imprisonment of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai would be on his agenda for the Beijing summit later this week. Washington’s arms sales to Taiwan have been a flashpoint between the two countries, drawing a sharp response from Beijing that has accused the U.S. of violating the “one-China principle,” and warned that attempts to “contain China” via Taipei were set to fail. When asked about Washington’s longstanding support for Taiwan’s defense, Trump said Monday that, “I’m going to have that discussion with President Xi.” “President Xi would like us not to, and I’ll have that discussion. That’s one of the many things I’ll be talking about.” That comes after Beijing reportedly pressed the Trump administration to scale back its security commitments for the island. Trump is expected to …

Trump’s Hormuz blockade tests U.S. ties with China and India

Trump’s Hormuz blockade tests U.S. ties with China and India

Published by Sam Flores

The U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is adding strain to Washington’s relations with China and India, as Beijing hardens its rhetoric and New Delhi faces rising energy risks. Getty The U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is not only squeezing Iran but also ratcheting up pressure on two of its most consequential relationships in Asia — India and China. With roughly 98% of Iranian oil exports bound for China, and a summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping weeks away, Washington’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran risks destabilizing the fragile detente that the administration has carefully cultivated with Beijing. India, with its complicated ties with the U.S., is increasingly finding U.S. policy at odds with its economic interests — most acutely in the energy shock now rippling through its economy. Trump is scheduled to visit China in mid-May, and the administration signaled repeatedly in recent weeks that it wants the bilateral relationship stable enough to keep the high-stakes meeting on track. “The Iran conflict, particularly the blockade, may upend …

Trump threatens tariffs of 50% on nations supplying weapons to Iran

Trump threatens tariffs of 50% on nations supplying weapons to Iran

Published by Sam Flores

US President Donald Trump looks on during a press conference about the conflict in Iran in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on April 6, 2026, in Washington, DC. Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images The U.S. will impose tariffs of 50% on “any and all” goods imported to the country from any nation “supplying military weapons to Iran”, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday. Trump said in a Truth Social post that any country found to be supplying Iran with weapons would be subject to the levy “immediately”, with no “exclusions or exemptions”. The president wrote: “A Country supplying Military Weapons to Iran will be immediately tariffed, on any and all goods sold to the United States of America, 50%, effective immediately. There will be no exclusions or exemptions!” It came as Trump said the U.S. would “work closely” with Iranian authorities, following the ceasefire agreement announced on Tuesday and what Trump called “very productive regime change”. Trump said in a separate Truth Social post that “there will …

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 …

‘I don’t want to do a ceasefire’ in Iran war

‘I don’t want to do a ceasefire’ in Iran war

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday he is not interested in a ceasefire with Iran. “We could have dialogue, but I don’t want to do a ceasefire,” Trump said from the White House South Lawn before departing for Florida. “You know you don’t do a ceasefire when you’re literally obliterating the other side.” “They don’t have a navy. They don’t have an air force. They don’t have any equipment,” Trump continued. Trump’s comments come nearly three weeks into the U.S.-Israel war against Iran, which has turned into a broader regional conflict. They signal no quick end to the conflict, which sent stocks tumbling on Friday and has caused oil prices to soar. US President Donald Trump speaks to journalists before boarding Marine One as he departs from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 20, 2026. Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images Earlier Friday, Trump said in a phone call with MS Now’s Stephanie Ruhle that the U.S. could end the war “right now” but that he planned …

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 …

Trump slams NATO allies for not joining Iran war effort

Trump slams NATO allies for not joining Iran war effort

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump on Tuesday slammed the U.S.’ NATO allies over their reluctance to get involved in the Iran war, before asserting that the U.S. does not need any help with its ongoing military operations. The alliance of 32 European and North American nations is “making a very foolish mistake,” Trump said in the Oval Office during a meeting with the prime minister of Ireland, which is not a NATO member. Trump, a longtime NATO critic who has accused the organization of taking advantage of the U.S.’ spending and military strength, called the members’ hesitance to join the Iran war “a great test, because we don’t need them, but they should have been there.” Trump has claimed in recent days that numerous countries would be joining a coalition to aid the U.S. in Iran, including by helping to secure the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil shipping route that has been choked off amid the war. He has called on “the Countries of the World that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait” to “take care …

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 …