Trump’s woes at home, what China’s World Cup presence shows: 7 US-China relations reads

We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering US-China relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.1. Trump has an understanding with Xi. His own administration doesn’t like itPool photo: AFPOn a state visit to China last month, US President Donald Trump shocked his political base with a series of rhetorical concessions – and it was not the first time Trump’s softer stance on China clashed with his own administration’s hardline approach.Read the full story here.2. US adds Alibaba, BYD, other Chinese tech champions to military company blacklistPhoto: APThe Pentagon signalled in June that it was adding Alibaba, BYD, Baidu and dozens of other Chinese companies to its list of entities it says are linked to China’s military, widening a blacklist that increasingly targets sectors at the heart of US-China technological competition.Read the full story here.3. Nationals from China, India among 17 new US denaturalisation casesPhoto: ShutterstockThe Trump administration is stepping up efforts to revoke the citizenship of naturalised Americans, with the US Justice Department having filed lawsuits against 17 people accused of obtaining citizenship through fraud or concealing serious crimes.Read the full story here.4. Taiwan opposition leader promotes cross-strait peace during US tripPhoto: EPAThe need for Beijing and Washington to pursue “reconciliation and cooperation” and avoid war was the central message of her June US trip, Taiwan’s main opposition leader Cheng Li-wun said in San Francisco.Read the full story here.5. China missed the World Cup. Its brands didn’tPhoto: HandoutInside a sprawling broadcast hub in Dallas, thousands of devices supplied by Lenovo helped Fifa manage and distribute its World Cup content, showing how Chinese companies remain deeply embedded in global commercial ecosystems despite US moves to shore up its security.Further ReadingRead the full story here.6. US and China hold ‘candid’ maritime military safety talks in HawaiiPhoto: ReutersThe Chinese and US militaries held working group talks on maritime military safety in Hawaii in early June, in the latest effort by the two geopolitical rivals to keep military-to-military communication channels open.SCMP Plus is a new premium news platform that gives you an all-inclusive edge to stay ahead on China news. To access our exclusive content you’ll need to subscribe.Already a subscriber?LOG INRead the full story here.7. US farm chief says reliance on China threatens American ‘freedom’Photo: APUS Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told lawmakers that American dependence on China for food, fertiliser and other agricultural inputs poses an “existential” threat, framing food security as a national security issue while defending the White House’s reduced fiscal 2027 budget request.Read the full story here.