r/China

It's pretty interesting to see how China can order a US company to unwind the purchase of another company in Singapore, after it was already complete.

🇺🇸 Meta > 🇸🇬 Manus ❌ 🇨🇳 Government

#SingaporeWashing

Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would speak to Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te, an unprecedented move for a US leader that could roil US relations with China.

“I’ll speak to him,” the US president told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland before boarding Air Force One when asked about Lai. “I speak to everybody … We’ll work on that, the Taiwan problem.”

Responding to Trump’s comments on Thursday morning, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said Lai would be happy to speak to the US leader, according to Reuters.

US and Taiwanese presidents have not spoken directly since Washington shifted diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei in 1979. However, as president-elect in late 2016, Trump broke decades of diplomatic precedent when he spoke to then-Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen.

The political fallout from that call saw China’s government lodge a complaint with the US government, while Trump’s transition team played down the significance of the conversation.

Beijing has never renounced the use of force to take control of the democratically governed island. It has been angered by longstanding US military support for Taiwan to deter Chinese military action.

Trump’s comments was the second time in a week he said he intends to speak to Lai, dispelling initial speculation that his first mention of it after meeting China’s leader Xi Jinping last week was a verbal slip.

A call between the leaders had not yet been scheduled, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on when such a call might happen or what would be discussed. China’s embassy in Washington also did not respond immediately.

Trump administration officials have noted that Trump has approved the sale of more weapons to Taiwan than any other US president, but he has also described future weapons sales as a “very good negotiating chip.”

Trump has repeatedly touted his relationship with Xi as “amazing”. After last week’s trip to Beijing, Trump said he has not decided whether to proceed with a major weapons sale worth up to $14bn to Taiwan, adding to uncertainty about US support for the island.

In an attempt to pressure Trump, Beijing is now reportedly withholding approval for a potential summer visit to China by the Pentagon’s undersecretary of defence for policy, Elbridge Colby.

Beijing has signalled to Washington that it cannot approve Colby’s trip until Trump decides on how he will proceed with the weapons sale, according to the Financial Times, citing people familiar with the matter.

Any direct US-Taiwan conversation would ordinarily anger China, which sees the island as its own territory.

However, Trump’s language has sent mixed signals to Taipei. While Lai has welcomed the chance to speak to Trump, the US president’s reference to the “Taiwan problem” echoes Beijing’s phrasing. Lai, who Beijing views as a separatist, said earlier on Wednesday that if he got the opportunity to speak to Trump, he would say his government is committed to maintaining the status quo across the Taiwan Strait, and that it was China that was undermining peace with its massive military buildup in the Indo-Pacific.

“No country has the right to annex Taiwan. The people of Taiwan pursue a democratic and free way of life, and democracy and freedom should not be regarded as provocation,” Lai said.

Under US law, Washington is required to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, and both Republican and Democratic US lawmakers have urged the Trump administration to continue with weapons sales.

Underscoring Taiwan’s strategic importance to the US, the island of 23 million people is the fourth-largest US trading partner, behind China, which has 1.4 billion people. Much of that trade is based on exports to the US of advanced semiconductors, which fuel the global economy.

I have noticed that some of my female Chinese friends grab each other's asses, help each other exfoliate their bodies and rub creams on themselves nude, hold hands, and sleep together.

I am wondering if they are actually partially lesbian and just haven't discovered themselves or if this is a bigger part of their culture.

I was surprised to learn that they often watch each other change and will sometimes fondle each other but don't kiss or do sex acts together.

I was surprised to hear that they know the intricacies of each other's bodies.

Are they bisexual or is this just common in Chinese culture?

I just found out my dad is heading to Shenzhen for work, he's literally in the airport now and spending two days there. Is there a convenient way/place I can ask him to pick up Cdrama merch (specifically Liu Yuning's merchandise)? I live in the US and have no hope of going to China anytime in the near future, he lives in Dubai but I know my uncle will be coming to visit here next month so am really hoping I can get my hands on some items that you can only get in China 🙏

Why are there so many animal abuse videos on DouYin? And it doesn’t seem like the platform bans these kinds of videos. Just today in the past hour I’ve seen 8 vicious animal abuse videos on the platform. Does anyone have any insight on this?

In this video, I speak through how China moved from a country struggling with smog to become the “OPEC of renewable energy.”

I'm sorry for lurking here, but I was wondering if u guys could help.

How do chinese students study for such long hrs without getting burnt out? How do u pull urself?

I have studied for like 8-12hrs in the past but once the burn out hit me,it's been 5 months and I can't pull myself even for 8hrs. I've lost the will to even live. I can't find any reason as to live or stay motivated to study either.

Thanks for reading it!!

Stay blessed!

中国4月零售销售几乎停滞，融资数据却仍在扩张。国家统计局数据显示，4月份社会消费品零售总额同比仅增长0.2%，较3月1.7%的增速继续放缓。中国人民银行稍早公布的数据则显示，4月末社会融资规模存量为456.89万亿元，同比增长7.8%。

After 4 years in London, I’ll be leaving the UK soon and moving back to my hometown: Shenzhen, China.

Even though I’m leaving physically, I still want to keep some connection with the UK and this community.

So maybe this can be the start of that.

Not many people know much about Shenzhen, but if you check your power bank… there’s a good chance part of it came from there.

But the city is much more complicated (and honestly more interesting) than that.

It’s one of the fastest-changing cities in the world. Tech, manufacturing, supply chains, EVs, design, hardware startups, cross-border business, logistics, social media brands, exporting… everything moves extremely fast there.

Over time, I’d love to share small observations about:

• how business actually works there
• factory / OEM / manufacturing realities
• the EV industry
• cross-border trade
• creative industries in China
• what people outside China usually misunderstand
• and what is changing very quickly right now

If there’s anything you’re curious about regarding Shenzhen / China / manufacturing / business culture, feel free to leave a comment.

The Pentagon is planning to send a high-level delegation to Beijing within weeks to lay the groundwork for a potential visit by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, the South China Morning Post has learned.

Sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly, said the delegation was expected to be led by Elbridge Colby, defence undersecretary for policy and a key architect of the 2026 National Defence Strategy.

According to the sources, the trip was aimed at, among other things, finalising arrangements for a Hegseth visit but they did not offer a timeline for when that might happen.

The Pentagon delegation follows US President Donald Trump’s high-profile visit to Beijing last week. Hegseth was part of the entourage, making him the first American defence chief to accompany a sitting president on a state visit to China since relations were normalised in the late 1970s.

Hegseth’s inclusion meant he was also the first US defence chief to visit China in nearly eight years, marking his first trip there since assuming the role last year.