#china-visit

#china-visit

San Francisco's No. 1 industry is not tech, it's not AI - it's actually tourism, according to Mayor Daniel Lurie, highlighting the city's economic reliance on visitors.

Winnie Wong embarks on a fascinating endeavor to unpack the crisis of naming and agency as it arises in the creative worlds of artists in southern China who created works for foreign clientele.

"The resumption of train services suggests that exchanges of people and goods are gradually returning to normal. It also appears to send a message to the international community that China and North Korea are strengthening ties amid the current global situation."

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi stated that the government hopes for a durable solution, emphasizing that the burden of real process lies with Afghanistan to act against terrorist groups.

When Keir Starmer met Xi Jinping recently, reporters said the British prime minister was shocked at his Chinese counterpart calling Crystal Palace Palace, liking Manchester City and Arsenal and supporting Manchester United. The reasons can be guessed. Fan Zhiyi was popular at Selhurst Park in the late 1990s, Sun Jihai was a cult hero at Maine Road and Manchester United had Dong Fangzhuo. The president of the world's second most populous country and second biggest economy didn't, however, mention Everton.

Friedrich Merz said he saw a "great opportunity" for the industrial exporters, while Xi Jinping called for "enhanced strategic cooperation." China has been courting Western leaders amid Trump's trade tensions. It's Merz's first trip to China since he became chancellor, his predecessor Olaf Scholz visited in 2024.

The sum of exports and imports between the two countries last year totalled 251.8 billion (roughly $296.6 billion), a 2.1% increase, according to Destatis. China was Germany's most important trading partner from 2016 all the way through to 2023. In 2024, the US briefly held the title. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is also set to visit China next week, where he is set to discuss trade and other topics.

We have very specific concerns regarding our cooperation, which we want to improve and make fair, said Merz, in an acknowledgement of the strain faced by Germany's manufacturing sector from Chinese competition.

A decade ago, China's political leaders laid out an ambitious industrial plan: By 2025, they pledged, their country would be a world capital, with the goal of moving from "Chinese speed to Chinese quality, the transformation of Chinese products to Chinese brands." This is the difference, they wrote, between "Made in China" and "Created in China." At WIRED, we never take what the government (ours or anybody else's) says at face value.

Your visit this time has drawn a lot of attention. Sometimes good things take time. As long as it is the right thing that serves the fundamental interests of the country and the people, then as leaders we should not shy away from difficulties and we should press ahead. As long as we take a broad perspective, rise above differences and respect each other, then we will prove ourselves able to stand the test of history.

When meeting United States President Donald Trump in the Oval Office in September, Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, opened a briefcase with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif standing next to him. Inside were a set of glistening minerals. Their display was part of Pakistan's latest offer to the Trump administration: The country was willing to open up its minerals to US investment.

Putin described the foreign policy ties between the two nations as an important stabilising factor amidst growing turbulence in the world, according to a transcript released by the Kremlin on Wednesday. He said Russia and China would continue close coordination on global and regional agendas, both bilaterally and within all the multilateral frameworks, including the United Nations, the BRICS coalition of economies, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, where he said the Russian-Chinese tandem plays an essential role.

China's official discourse centres on the idea of peaceful rise, the commitment to non-interference in internal affairs, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and economic partnerships based on mutual benefit. Beijing insists that relations with Washington should not slide into conflict, calling for a system of global governance built on cooperation rather than confrontation. Yet the geopolitical landscape reveals a wide gap between this discourse and reality. Donald Trump's return to the White House has brought back rhetorical escalation and increased geopolitical pressure.