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China says trade war 'has not made America great again'

Agencies
June 2, 2019

Beijing, Jun 2: Washington's escalating trade war with Beijing has not "made America great again" and has instead damaged the American economy, China said Sunday, stressing that while it wants resolution through talks it will not compromise on core principles.

The comments came in a white paper released by the Chinese government a day after it hit USD 60 billion worth of US goods with new punitive tariffs ranging from five to 25 per cent, in retaliation for Washington raising duty on USD 200 billion in Chinese goods to 25 per cent.

"The (US) tariff measures have not boosted American economic growth. Instead, they have done serious harm to the US economy," the paper said, pointing to what it described as increased production costs and consumer prices in the United States and threats to economic growth.

Washington and Beijing resumed their bruising trade battle last month when the latest round of talks ended without a deal, with American negotiators accusing their Chinese counterparts of reneging on previous commitments.

But China said the US should bear "sole and entire responsibility" for the breakdown, accusing Washington of repeatedly changing its demands and of making "reckless" allegations about Beijing's conduct during the negotiations.

The world's top two economies have so far exchanged tit-for-tat tariffs on two-way trade worth hundreds of billions of dollars, and the spat has spooked markets and sparked worries about global economic growth.

The trade conflict has been upstaged in recent weeks by Washington's blacklisting of Chinese tech titan Huawei over national security concerns, and in an apparent response to that move, Beijing said Friday it would release its own list of "unreliable entities".

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Agencies
May 19,2020

Washington DC, May 19: US President Donald Trump has threatened to permanently halt funding for the World Health Organisation (WHO) if it did not commit to improvements within 30 days, and to reconsider the membership of the United States in the global health body.

On Monday, Trump wrote a letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus that read, "If WHO doesn't commit to major substantive improvements within the next 30 days, I will make my temporary freeze of US funding to WHO permanent and reconsider our membership in the organisation."

Trump had temporarily suspended US' contribution to the WHO last month, accusing it of promoting China's "disinformation" about the coronavirus outbreak, although WHO officials denied the accusation and Beijing said that it was transparent and open.

"The only way forward for the WHO is if it can actually demonstrate independence from China. My administration has already started discussions with you on how to reform the organisation. But action is needed quickly. 

We do not have time to waste," Trump said in the letter.

"I cannot allow American taxpayer dollars to continue to finance an organisation that, in its present state, is so clearly not serving America's interests," he added.

On Monday, the WHO said that an independent review of the global coronavirus response would begin at the earliest and it received backing from China, where the virus was first discovered.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

Sydney, Jul 28: Nearly 3 billion koalas, kangaroos and other native Australian animals were killed or displaced by bushfires in 2019 and 2020, a study by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said on Tuesday, triple the group's earlier estimates.

Some 143 million mammals, 2.46 billion reptiles, 180 million birds and 51 million frogs were impacted by the country's worst bushfires in decades, the WWF said.

When the fires were still blazing, the WWF estimated the number of affected animals at 1.25 billion. The fires destroyed more than 11 million hectares (37 million acres) across the Australian southeast, equal to about half the area of the United Kingdom.

"This ranks as one of the worst wildlife disasters in modern history," said WWF-Australia Chief Executive Officer Dermot O'Gorman in a statement.

The project leader Lily Van Eeden, from the University of Sydney, said the research was the first continent-wide analysis of animals impacted by the bushfires, and "other nations can build upon this research to improve understanding of bushfire impacts everywhere".

The total number included animals which were displaced because of destroyed habitats and now faced lack of food and shelter or the prospect of moving to habitat that was already occupied.

The main reason for raising the number of animal casualties was that researchers had now assessed the total affected area, rather than focusing on the most affected states, they said.

After years of drought made the Australian bush unusually dry, the country battled one of its worst bushfire seasons ever from September 2019 to March 2020, resulting in 34 human deaths and nearly 3,000 homes lost.

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Agencies
July 22,2020

Houston, Jul 22: China said on Wednesday that the US has ordered it to close its consulate in Houston in what an official called an outrageous and unjustified move that will sabotage China-US relations.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin condemned the action, which comes as tensions rise between the world's two largest economies. He warned of firm countermeasures if the US does not reverse its decision.

The unilateral closure of China's consulate general in Houston within a short period of time is an unprecedented escalation of its recent actions against China, Wang said at a daily news briefing.

There was no immediate confirmation or explanation from the U.S. side.

Media reports in Houston said that authorities had responded to reports of a fire at the consulate. Witnesses said that people were burning paper in what appeared to be trash cans, the Houston Chronicle reported, citing police.

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